Posts
21436
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
USA
Edited Date/Time
2/26/2015 7:53am
Not long ago a brash young American went to compete against the best of the best... with hardly a chance according to the folks in the know. We all know what happened with that.
{His main competition in the 500 cc world championship would come from Suzuki rider Barry Sheene, winner of the two previous titles. Roberts said that he was initially indifferent about competing in Europe, but when he read that Sheene had labeled him as,"no threat", he made up his mind to compete.[34] Few observers gave Roberts any chance of winning the championship, citing the reasoning that it would take him at least one season to learn the European circuits.
His main competition in the 500 cc world championship would come from Suzuki rider Barry Sheene, winner of the two previous titles. Roberts said that he was initially indifferent about competing in Europe, but when he read that Sheene had labeled him as,"no threat", he made up his mind to compete.[34] Few observers gave Roberts any chance of winning the championship, citing the reasoning that it would take him at least one season to learn the European circuits.}
First American world road racing champ... and 3 years in a row at that.
{His main competition in the 500 cc world championship would come from Suzuki rider Barry Sheene, winner of the two previous titles. Roberts said that he was initially indifferent about competing in Europe, but when he read that Sheene had labeled him as,"no threat", he made up his mind to compete.[34] Few observers gave Roberts any chance of winning the championship, citing the reasoning that it would take him at least one season to learn the European circuits.
His main competition in the 500 cc world championship would come from Suzuki rider Barry Sheene, winner of the two previous titles. Roberts said that he was initially indifferent about competing in Europe, but when he read that Sheene had labeled him as,"no threat", he made up his mind to compete.[34] Few observers gave Roberts any chance of winning the championship, citing the reasoning that it would take him at least one season to learn the European circuits.}
First American world road racing champ... and 3 years in a row at that.
There isn't anyone on two-wheels who is even fit to polish King Kenny's balls. And to be completely fair, the Euros were a lot cooler back then, too. I'd hang out with Barry Sheene and James Hunt. sip tea and eat spotted dick, whatever, when in Rome...
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Now where did i put that spotted dick...
Whatever that is?.
Freddie Spencer, or "Fast Freddie," as fans called him, will go down in history as one of the greatest road racers that America ever produced. Spencer was a record setter. In addition to winning three world championships, he was the only rider ever to win the 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix World Championships in the same season (1985). He was the only rider to win three major races during Bike Week at Daytona International Speedway (the Superbike, Formula One and International Lightweight races in 1985), the youngest rider to win the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship (at 21), the youngest rider ever to win an AMA Superbike race in 1979 (age 18) and had the longest span between AMA Superbike victories (just under 16 years).
I met Freddie earlier this month in Shreveport during the Krewe of Centaur Mardi Gras parade. His childhood best friend hosts a tent party annually, and we were lucky enough to be invited. I told the host that I didn't want to be one of those guys who beat down Freddie with bike talk. He said not to worry, Freddie loves talking riding and racing.
And he wasn't kidding! My wife and I met Freddie and his girlfriend around 6:00, and for the rest of the night (except when the parade passed by) it was a non-stop bench racing session. Not many people knew who Freddie was, and I felt fortunate to spend so much time talking about bikes and listening to racing stories. (Let's just say he and King Kenny may not be on each other's Christmas card list.) We really got into the psychology of riding, and how it builds confidence and allows a person to dig deep inside themselves. Freddie was friendly, outgoing, and modest. Plus his girlfriend and my wife hit it off, which always helps!
Please
Probably never even saw the guy ride.
Gets my goat
Pit Row
11.20
And the guy goes out after 30 years and doesn't even warm up, just takes off full throttle. I don't do that after a month of not riding!
To Bobby, "Jane, you ignorant slut!"
This Forum is Moto.
Therefore, I'll bail your Raider loving ass out...'cause, I love ya, Dawg!
From those Wiki guys...
Seeking new challenges, LaPorte decided to compete at the world championship level in 1982 riding for the Yamaha factory racing team. In his first attempt, he claimed the FIM 250cc motocross world championship against the heavily favored Georges Jobé.
You should have known...
Steve Baker (born September 5, 1952 in Bellingham, Washington) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle roadracer. He was the first American to win a road racing world championship when he won the 1977 Formula 750 title.[1]
Baker began his career racing on the dirt track ovals of the Pacific Northwest.[1] He then switched to road racing and began competing in Canada, becoming a three-time Canadian champion.[1] His good results earned him a factory sponsored ride with the Yamaha factory team for the 1977 season.[1] He began the year by winning the prestigious Daytona 200 before traveling to Europe to compete in the world championships.[1][2][3]
Baker won the 1977 Formula 750 title and finished second to Barry Sheene in the 500cc world championship.[4][5] He was released by the Yamaha team after the season and competed in the 1978 championship on a privately supported Suzuki.[1] At the end of that season, Baker suffered a devastating accident at the Mosport circuit in Canada that left him with a broken arm and shattered his left leg. Afterwards, he decided to retire from competitive racing.[1]
After his racing career, Baker purchased a motorcycle dealership in his hometown of Bellingham.[1] He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.[1]
In December 1979, Roberts made good on his threats when he, along with the other top world championship riders, released a letter to the press announcing their intention to break away from the FIM and create a rival race series called the World Series.[52] When Roberts first arrived on the Grand Prix scene, motorcycle racers were competing for as little prize money as $200, at venues such as Imatra in Finland that featured railroad crossings and hay bales wrapped around telephone poles.[1] In 1956, the reigning 500 cc world champion, Geoff Duke and thirteen other riders were given six-month suspensions for merely threatening to strike.[53] Roberts adopted a confrontational, sometimes belligerent stance with race promoters, challenging the previously accepted poor treatment that motorcycle racers of the day were accustomed to receiving.[1] Although the competing series failed to take off due to difficulties in securing enough venues, it forced the FIM to take the riders' demands seriously and make changes regarding their safety.[1][4] During the 1979 FIM Congress, new rules were passed increasing prize money substantially and in subsequent years, stricter safety regulations were imposed on race organizers."
its on popcorn flix on my roku
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