It was no secret how far behind suzuki was in the mid 90's. Part of the reason why McGrath electing to race a RM250 in 97 was such a shocker. He went from the hands down best bike, CR250, to the worst bike, RM250. I remember at the time Honda scrambling because it really reinforced the negative press about the aluminum frame CR250 in 97. Magazines hated that bike, McGrath hated it so much he was willing to ride a suzuki?!
Then Albee won the opener in LA, while MC could only muster 15th? After having the best SX season in history? Meanwhile Larocco gets 4th on a bike he openly admitted wasn't good.
Ya, it was wild times for bench racing. The SX world was turned upside down. I remember McGrath struggling so much, while the yamaha's and kawasaki's seemed to do so well. MC could never get that conventional fork bike to work. Then finally getting the ok to put on the upside down honda forks. That seemed to make a big difference. Larocco went with the setup as well. MC could only get 2 wins in 97, compared to 14 in 96. MC called that bike a RM175 due to its poor power.
Albee had to suffer through 96, 97, and 98 on those terrible RM250's. Well terrible for MX/SX. Those RM250's were amazing off-road. The upside was Decoster and suzuki got the bike right and he won the 250 outdoor title in 99. Arguably one of the deepest fields in history that year.
Suzuki went from terrible to amazing in just a few years. Thanks to Decoster, but also albee. Albee stuck around and the bike got better but it definitely cost him injuries and probably a title or two, and some race wins.by 01/02 the RM250 was a great bike. Windham and Pastrana showed that, followed by Tortelli, Hepler, and RC. The RM250 was the last two stroke to win a major championship.
So in a way although albee didnt get all the wins and titles he COULD have, he was definitely a part of turning suzuki into an incredible team and help develop the bike into probably the best 250 ever made. Thats nothing to be ashamed of.