Roger De Coster may be Belgian, but he’s probably the greatest man in American motocross! He was one of a group of riders that exported modern motocross to the USA, exposing the Yanks to the sport.
To some, he remains the greatest motocross rider that ever lived, winning five world 500 championships and leading the Belgian team to six Motocross des nations wins. He pioneered riding techniques and dedication to physical fitness that changed the face of motocross. He defined what it meant to be a professional rider.
When he stopped racing, he joined Honda and helped turn its production bikes from archaic twin-shock, air-cooled dinosaur Elsinores to single-shock, watercooled CRs that would go on to dominate.
With Roger De Coster being a Nations fan, he was shocked to find that his adopted homeland of the USA didn’t take the event seriously. So as boss of the U.S. Honda team, he took his whole squad of Donnie Hansen, Chuck Sun, Johnny O’Mara and Danny La Porte to represent the USA in 1981. And they won, as the team did for 13 straight years afterwards under his guidance. He’s still boss of the team, which has won a record 22 times since 1981, including every year since 2005.
He built and managed the U.S. Honda powerhouse team of riders like Ricky Johnson, David Bailey, Chuck Sun, Johnny O’Mara and Danny “Magoo” Chandler, Jeremy McGrath. Jeff Stanton and Ricky Carmichael.
He helped turn a deserted bit of Californian desert called Glen Helen into a world-class facility, personally promoting the first ever major event there – the 1990 American 500 GP.
At Suzuki, he helped riders like Ryan Dungey reach their potential and win the U.S. Supercross and national championship.
So when KTM decided it was time to really get serious about winning in the USA, they hired the 67-year-old to run the revamped KTM team of Dungey, Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin. And in his first season, De Coster guided Dungey to not only KTM’s first ever Supercross win but then to go on to take a hat-trick.
Roger De Coster knows how to win at the very highest level. He’s turned many riders and teams from being almost-there to being winners, and he continues to do so.
“I’m proud of what I did. Along with Torsten Hallman, Joel Robert, Dave Bickers and myself, we really got things going in America. It’s something I’m very proud of. But I don’t live in that time any more,” he says. “I live for today and tomorrow and next year.”
Reprinted from moto.mpora.com