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324
Joined
5/21/2010
Location
Chicago, IL
US
Edited Date/Time
3/5/2020 12:08pm
If you look at DeCoster’s riding and results in 1976 you see the top MX racer in the world at that moment. He won the 500cc World Championship, the Motocross and Trophee Des Nations, and the Trans AMA title. He was up against some very fast Americans in the Trans AMA - Lackey, Smith, Hannah, Howerton, Weinert, Semics, etc. + Euros Wolsink, Noyce, Weil, and Geboers.
Any image of him on the 1976 factory Suzuki ‘s shows him looking completely comfortable and at home on the bike.
My question is, why then, only a few months later, were he and Suzuki caught so unprepared by Mikkola and Yamaha in the GP's? I know Mikkola was an animal, but DeCoster had raced him plenty of times before.
Was Roger hurt in the off season? Did they drop the ball developing the 77 factory bike? Was Roger just worn out by then.
Always wondered about why he didn’t have more for Heikki that year. Any stories or insights appreciated.
1976
1977
Any image of him on the 1976 factory Suzuki ‘s shows him looking completely comfortable and at home on the bike.
My question is, why then, only a few months later, were he and Suzuki caught so unprepared by Mikkola and Yamaha in the GP's? I know Mikkola was an animal, but DeCoster had raced him plenty of times before.
Was Roger hurt in the off season? Did they drop the ball developing the 77 factory bike? Was Roger just worn out by then.
Always wondered about why he didn’t have more for Heikki that year. Any stories or insights appreciated.
1976
1977
http://memotocross.fr/downloads/2cm-1977-500-res-complet.pdf
Gotta love the old school guys.... tough as nails!
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Hell of a life really. Saved his own money as a kid,
I think he was 15, bought his first bike and had to hide it from his father at a friends house. When the old guy read about him winning a local race in the paper he thought that was his ass. But the old guy
all of a sudden was like, “that’s my boy!”
He took that beater and somehow rode the heck out of it good enough to catch a ride at CZ. This, at a time when Belgium was THE Mecca of motocross.
He beat out a ton of talent to catch that ride.
Which then turned into the Zook thing, the rest, History.
He is one of those that believes in going out a winner.
Won his last GP event on a factory Honda, and hung it up.
Yeah, heck of a ride. His whole life, one way or another, was, shoot, still is, Moto Cross.
Apparently DeCoster was fast that day and almost nipped Pomeroy for 1st in the opening moto. He was chasing Lackey for 1st in the second moto when Lackey went down taking DeCoster with him. DeCoster's bike was tweaked.
Even though his mechanics straightened the bike out, RD walked away from the moto giving up big points to Mikkola.
Gerrit Wolsink won the overall on time over Heikki Mikkola.
https://racerxonline.com/2017/08/23/25-day-countdown-to-mxgp-of-usa-car…
Even tho it was just a moto, it was a huge thing for the moto heads here in the USA.
Especially when Jim said he could have won both motos, the bike was perfect, but over his objections the factory mechanics changed a bunch of stuff.
I mean, we all thought, after having our asses handed to us for so long,it was game on.
But alas, the Spanish Curse rang true.
I heard that bike was so light they had to strap it down in the pits or it would float away.
Seriously, great pic.
Dude must have been standing next to me when he took it.
Better shoulder protection (obvious in the ‘77 pic) Than common today.
Boots hardly changed. (Much quicker to do up now!!)
Gloves far more protective back then.
Leather pants - more protective, but hot and expensive.
Helmet modern design - only with MIPS etc have they moved much.
The old “Joffa” face mask seemed very effective when ever I applied my face to anything. No risk of rotating the head like a full face.
Little advancement in safety gear considering it’s over 40 years ago.
Talking about the gear, I know he went full face helmet towards the end of his riding days, but it seems he stuck with that road bike style visor for a long time. Almost a trademark.
That was the first pro race (and GP) that I ever attended as a kid, and DeCoster kept sliding out and falling on both the Ledge and just before Devils Drop.
Even the locals like Wayne Boyer, Rex Staten, and Kenny Zhart were riding more in control.
Wolsink's bike was dialed in, he knew how to ride the blue groove.
I don't think Roger ever found the right Metzeler, or correct suspension setting for Carlsbad.
Pit Row
He had the opposite of MX parents.
No one that starts riding in their teens now, could become world champion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCZhCiuA3hA&t=337s
If you can get those magazines, you will really see inside the guy. His punctuation wasn’t the best, he’d be run off a place like this. But once a month, he only did it for a year or so, it was ringside at deCosterville.
I was just in elementary school in the late 70's reading magazines in the school library to follow my superheroes and have no "real" insight. Lackey, Mikkola,Hannah, Glover were my favorites and made me a life long Husqvarna and Yamaha fan.
1969 250cc Husqvarna 14th
1970 250cc Husqvarna 4th
1971 250cc Husqvarna 4th
1972 500cc Husqvarna 3rd
1973 250cc Husqvarna 3rd
1974 500cc Husqvarna 1st
1975 500cc Husqvarna 2nd
1976 250cc Husqvarna 1st
1977 500cc Yamaha 1st
1978 500cc Yamaha 1st
1979 500cc Yamaha 5th
I think the current level is so high, you can’t give the rest of the field a head start.
the
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