Grab A Handful

MXoN - The Cost

While thinking about the massive budget Roger De Coster spoke to Lewis Phillips from mxvice/racerx about, I got thinking. Now, “The Man” told Lewis (great interview by the way) it was $300,000us to run Team USA, which seems a lot of money, considering you can run a complete season of the GPs (a smaller team) for 300,000. In fact, Team Estonia, who finished fourth this year, spent around 30,000euro to go to the Redbud Nations last year, where they finished eight. 

I remember other team managers of teams who finished ahead of Team USA telling me a similar cost for Redbud and way off $300,000us. I get for that investement, it isn't worth if unless you are kicking the Worlds ass.

The question is, if the cost is a problem, and Team USA are finishing below Team Estonia anyway, why not cut the budget and make it Thomas Covington (who is rumoured to be returning to the GPs in 2020), Mitchell Harrison, and somebody else who is keen to race for their country, but happy with an air ticket, hotels and a borrowed bike from a factory GP team and not a million hangers on?

Would pretty quickly get that 300,000 down to probably 10,000 as the riders I mentioned will be based in Europe anyway, supported by their teams, and apart from that other rider costs would be limited. You think Covington and Harrison wouldn’t be excited to race for Team USA at Ernee and put in the effort to give Team USA a shot at a podium.

As we saw with Team USA this year, the GP teams will bend over backwards to help the Americans and that has always been the case and it won’t change soon, because that is the whole concept of this race.

When you hear that Kawasaki in America are pulling their effort and you start to hear what is costs and how the date is wrong and the rain and sand suck for the AMA boys, then you really start to think the whole concept is lost to the American team members, apart from maybe the riders, who just seem to want to race and enjoy the experience.

While the excuses by people in America are way less than previous years, talking about money, and dates and how the AMA guys are actually better than the GP guys, just rode bad, really tasted bad in all the GP paddock people’s mouths. Love the event or hate it, I love the idea that riders are coming to race just for National pride and not for the dollar and it is clear the riders love that concept also, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it with such passion.

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Team USA - Video

Zach Talks MXoN

 Zach Osborne on his MXoN experience

Zach Osborne is arguably more passionate about the Motocross of Nations than any other rider, which was evident by the amount of commitment and work that went into representing Team USA over the weekend. Although the results didn't pan out as expected, it was down to misfortune more than anything else. Osborne and his two teammates, Jason Anderson and  Justin Cooper, can take comfort in the fact that they clearly had the potential to battle for a podium on race day.

MX Vice: It was not the result anyone wanted. I think the way I sum it up is everyone left RedBud saying, "What happened?" Here you kind of leave it saying, "What are you going to do?" Luck wasn't on your side. That was that.  

Zach Osborne: Yeah. After yesterday we were feeling pretty positive about it. Justin [Cooper] was really good. He was clearly the best in the MX2, then today obviously he came together with Jason [Anderson] on the first lap and that was worst-case scenario. We didn't make any progress there. That is super unfortunate, so it is what it is. I don't know what else to say. I rode pretty good in the first moto.  

Mediocre in the second moto and had to stop for goggles. There are a million things you can say, but we were the sixth-best team today. I can really hang my hat on knowing that we came here, we did our very best and we put in a lot of effort. Both of the teams put in a lot of effort, IceOne and Kemea with Star. We gave it our all. There is nothing left to question except that we were not the best team today.

When you were watching that first moto and saw that both the guys were so far down the order on lap one, did that kind of change things for you? Did you immediately have this gut feeling that you have kind of got to do your job?

Yeah. It was worst-case scenario from there on, from the first lap of the first moto. It is what it is. What do you do? I knew that I needed to go out there and make something happen in the second moto, so they gave me the gate pick. I was able to get a fifth, which was decent. Just kind of got the ball rolling in the other direction. That was all we could really write home about today. 

You were not too happy after yesterday. Hard to judge too much, because of the conditions today, but do you feel like you made a lot of progress overnight?

Yeah, but also I just don't feel like I rode to my full potential either day. Whether I was putting too much pressure on myself or whatever, I don't really know. It is what it is and we'll just carry on.

After all of the testing you have done over the last month, did that kind of help? Did you come in after a couple of laps of practice yesterday and feel like you needed to overhaul the bike completely? Was your base setting pretty close?

We were basically both really close to our US-based settings. It was what we knew the best, but definitely the track was like nothing we rode in the weeks prior. It's super strange. It's super slick-feeling. Not much to really turn on. There is nothing really to be said other than that it didn't go our way. That's huge. If we could have had Justin, I feel like he was easily two times in the top fifteen. That would put us on the podium. It was really unfortunate for him to get injured or banged up in the first race and have a terrible day.

No regrets, right? You put a lot into this event. Your family did too. Are you sat here bitter and pissed off, because of that? Like you said, there is nothing you could do about this.

Yeah. I would have loved to have a trophy to take home or something. That would have been really nice for all the effort, but if I was asked to do it again then I would sign up straight away. No regrets at all. Like I said, I think that we can hang our hats on the fact that we came here when no one else would and put in a bigger effort than probably has been done in a long time. I'm happy with my guys. They picked the flag up and ran towards the battle just as I did, and that's all we can say.

This event means more to you than maybe any other American rider. You obviously desperately want to stand on the podium. You have had two shots and have not managed it. Is patience starting to wear a little thin? Are you starting to get a bit antsy and really want this to happen?

I mean, of course I would love for it to happen. It's a huge goal of mine. Even a win with Team USA would be awesome, but it's one of those deals where what do you do? It's a freaking hard race to win. I think that we were a little bit spoiled in the US with so many wins in a row and not really realizing the task and how big it actually is.

Then you have a day like today where it is just terrible weather. For me, I hope I get another chance. It's hard to get picked, honestly. Even with guys saying no, it's still a decision. I'm grateful every time that I'm mentioned in the conversation. We'll just keep plugging away and hope for another selection.

When you got selected you were quite vocal about wanting to change the set-up of Team USA and have you guys closer together again. Just looking at the paddock, it seems like you managed that. Do you feel like that was a big advantage compared to say Matterley Basin? 

For sure. We have a much better team atmosphere this week. It's one of those things where you change something and it doesn't go well, so then there's going to be criticism. I'm totally aware and ready for that. I think we did a much better job as a team than I've seen in a long time.

Interview: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: ConwayMX

KTM buying GasGas – what’s the story?

 

As KTM and GasGas join forces we’ve taken a look at the details behind the deal and what it might mean for enduro and the Girona-produced bikes in the future.

News emerged over the weekend about a deal between KTM and GasGas. Namely KTM Industries AG and Black Toro Capital signed an agreement to work together – saving the GasGas factory and boosting KTM product range.  

On the surface it seems quite a simple deal and the logical conclusion is we will see red bikes alongside orange and white ones in dealer showrooms. But what does it mean for GasGas and what is the point for KTM? Here’s what we know…

What’s the story?

It is an understatement to say GasGas has had an up and down recent history. Bankruptcy, staff layoffs, buyouts, re-launches, a fire and poor sales have put the the Spanish manufacturer, and all associated with it, through the mill. 

Despite that “the brand” GasGas remains a strong one which is why when news arrived last week that KTM were buying a major share of the company, it came as no surprise. 

GasGas is joined to Torrot (e-mobility company) so KTM isn’t just buying a Spanish enduro and trials arm but a whole ‘e’ brand as well. As we all head towards a battery powered future that has to be significant.

We know KTM were not the only interested party and understand Sherco owner, Marc Tessier was also in the running.

 

What’s the financial issue?

Most recently the Girona-based factory underwent a temporary layoff of staff due to a fall in sales, which dropped from 39.3M Euros in 2017 to 22M Euros in 2018. It was the point at which parent company, Torrot, cried enough with mounting debts growing to 23 million Euros – putting the factory at risk. 

As recently as September (2019), GasGas received financial aid from the Spanish government who injected 4.6 million Euros to the company to reduce the chance of shutdown while a new owner was sought.

Enter KTM Industries AG 

KTM Industries AG (soon to be renamed Pierer Mobility AG) and Black Toro Capital last week signed an agreement to give GasGas a future and boost their own portfolio in terms of trials and e-bikes. 

“New models will be developed alongside the Trial and Enduro bikes of GasGas” says a statement by KTM Industries AG, which importantly also points out that production of GasGas and TORROT electric vehicles will continue in the GasGas factory in Girona, Spain. 

KTM took over the rights for Husqvarna Motorcycles when the then Italian produced brand was on its arse so this is nothing new. It is also not the first time KTM has shown interest in GasGas as the two brands tried reaching an agreement back in 2015. That deal fell through before Torrot took over. 

Orange bikes painted red in showrooms?

Black Toro Capital has also released a statement saying: “This agreement will allow the expansion of the GasGas product portfolio into different segments, engine capacities and models. The main new models will be four-stroke and electric motorcycles (including children’s models) as well as electric bicycles.”

So, a four stroke GasGas range again and a reliable one at that with parts back-up and a strong dealer network. About time. 

What is unclear at this stage is exactly how GasGas models will differ from KTM or Husqvarna models. We know of course the Husqvarnas share much with KTM models but we also know the strong points of the Gasser are its chassis and in particular its OE suspension. 

Chances of KTM Industries AG, owner of WP suspension, releasing a model range with KYB suspension are slim but we await news on this. 

Going forward with KTM produced engines, this means GasGas models will not have the same hurdles to jump regarding EU emissions laws they would have faced because KTM already has this in hand particularly with the fuel injected, two-stroke engines.

What else might it mean? 

This is speculation on our part but it could mean we see another “brand” racing in the World Enduro Super Series instead of it being quite so much of a two-horse race between orange and white teams. 

We also hope it means the continuation of a GasGas team in the EnduroGP world championship paddock and re-establishing its presence on the world stage in general at major events like Erzbergrodeo and Romaniacs.

KTM will have the possibility to include a trials bike under its wing at long last but we don’t exepct to see orange ones. The GasGas trials range has remained the bedrock for the company as it moved through the various ups and downs in recent years – the bikes are good and have a reputation. 

The deal could see the GasGas trials bike range growing however to include more models including potential four stroke but certainly smaller capacity models – KTM makes the smaller capacity engine for Beta’s 80cc models, we believe. 

E-bike collaboration

The deal will also mean a progression of the e-bike development with both Black Toro Capital and KTM Industries pointing to this in their separate releases about the deal. The KTM Group already makes a lot of electronic components for other brands and the trade between the two seems an easy fit.

KTM (and Husqvarna) and Torrot already have solid kids e-motorcycles which are on-par with the petrol-powered equivalent models and we expect this will only develop into the adult market in the future. 

Then there’s the rapidly expanding e-cycle/e-mobility market which is huge business globally and one which KTM Industries AG are very much into.  

End user parts supply, new bikes, dealers? It gets confusing…

In terms of the end user, i.e. the customers who already own a Gas Gas and those who potentially might buy one in the future, it can only be a good thing – in the future. In the near future however GasGas as it stands has a problem selling the current enduro bikes (and any 2020 models already built). 

The grey area lies with what happens to existing bikes in showrooms, what GasGas dealers will do and in particular what happens to the current importers. In the UK one of the most fiercely loyal GasGas importers and someone who has been through a hell of a lot in recent years to maintain his business, John Shirt says the deal is “fantastic news, very, very positive and I’m buzzing.” 

What Shirt isn’t any clearer about than anyone else regards what that means for his business. Like all GasGas importers, he is heavily financially tied with a serious problem selling the enduro bikes he has in stock – in recent years people haven’t had the faith in the bikes – plus the production of any trials bikes dried up while the factory shut down this summer.

Times are tough but as Shirt says: “the future looks bright at the end of the tunnel, we just don’t know how we get there yet.”  

It is worth remembering there was a dormant period when KTM bought Husqvarna before we saw the new white bikes coming out of Austria. It is likely there will be a similar delay in any red bikes with KTM engines coming out of Girona – next May time would make sense when the new models from Austria are usually introduced.

What do we think at Enduro21? 

It has got to be good in the long run. Good to see the historically important GasGas brand surviving and coming back with a bang. Whatever you feel about the differences/similarities between KTM and Husqvarna enduro models, having a third option in red will indeed be just that, another option.

One thought is you could buy the last of the KYB-fitted Gas Gas two-strokes and keep it as a classic – last of the carbed two-stroke models, great suspension etc.

In reality where they (KTM) pitch the price of the red bikes, what suspension it will have, how the hell current dealers will fit a whole range of new bikes in their showrooms remains to be seen. 

Multi-year Kawasaki MXGP contract confirmed for Febvre

Frenchman to join Desalle in factory Kawasaki Racing Team from 2020.

Former MXGP world champion Romain Febvre’s move to Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team from 2020 has been made official, the Frenchman signing a multi-year contract to pilot the factory KX450.

The 28-year-old will transfer from Yamaha to Kawasaki alongside Belgian Clement Desalle, who will remain with KRT next year for a fifth-straight season.

“We turn to a new page, but the book is still open and there is a new adventure on the horizon!” Febvre commented. “I’m very happy with this choice – it’s never easy to change after five years on the same team, but I’m sure this is the best moment to do it.

“My injury late this season will delay my first days with the team, but I will be even more motivated later this winter when I can get back on a bike again – everyone in the team is highly motivated and I’m impatient to be with them and on the bike.”

Febvre is currently recovering from the broken femur he sustained at the Swedish round of MXGP. Prior to that in 2019 he took a double victory in the Czech Republic for the overall, won four motos in total and earned five GP podiums.

“As far as my injury is concerned it’s taking a long time, of course, but everything is going as planned by the medical staff,” he explained. “I will soon have the first examination six weeks after surgery – we’ll see how it is with the femur and we’ll be able to make our plans for the rehabilitation.

“I will take a longer winter break than usual, but patience is the only option and I don’t want to endanger any stage, so I will be able to start testing in good conditions and to open this new chapter of my career on a good basis. The team is 100 per cent behind me, they have a strong experience of racing and I’m sure we’ll achieve great things together.”

KRT team owner Thierry Chizat Suzzoni commented: “We are very happy to welcome Romain to the team alongside Clement. Both have a lot of experience and I’m convinced that they will join forces to cooperate and get the best from our Kawasaki – it’s a great bike which both of them will want to put on the podium.

“We know that Romain always gives 100 per cent and we confidently expect that both he and Clement will put the bike in the leading pack. It gives us great satisfaction to see one of this season’s GP winners so enthusiastic to join us. We are confident that the new KX450 has a huge potential. It’s a winning bike and we now have two GP winners on the team to show that to the world.”

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MXoN

Gary Semics - Team USA 1977

 

Gary Semics was a leading American racer who rode for Team USA back in 1977, when the American team finished second in the World to the almighty Belgians, led by Roger DeCoster. 

While America might have been a dominant force between 1981 and 2011, many still feel the golden era of American motocross was in fact the 1970s, with names like Bob Hannah, Marty Smith, Tony DiStefano, Broc Glover, Jimmy Weinert, Mark Barnett, Kent Howerton, Marty Tripes and so many more. It was young, fresh and nothing like the conveyor belt of this era. It was romantic, and lets be honest, it was the future of the sport.

Gary Semics first rode Husqvarna and won the 500cc Supercross championship in 1974. Semics switched from the Husqvarna to Factory Kawasaki in 1975. 1976 was the best season for Semics who just missed out on the 500cc Outdoor title after winning the last three nationals of the year. He was also strong in the Trans AMA series with several moto wins. Semics, along with a lot of American riders back in that era also raced Grand Prix motocross as his career started to slow down in America.

Below is his memory of that 1977 MXdN event. It is a great read and one that I would commend everyone reads. Grab a beer, a coffee or whatever you like and sit and enjoy a part of American motocross history.

Gary Semics and 1977 MXdN

With the Des Nations happening this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to bring up this story from a past Des Nations. There won’t be any fancy bells and whistles in this story, what you are about to read is what actually happened.

It was late August 1977, and at that time there was a Motocross (500cc) and Trophee Des Nations (250cc). I was selected for the US team on Kawasaki along with Steve Stackable (Maico), Kent Howerton (Husqvarna) and Tony Distefano (Suzuki). Yes, there were also four riders at that time instead of three. We all just finished a long year of racing all the Supercrosses and Nationals. As a matter of fact, we had just raced two hot 45 minute motos of the 500 National in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday and Monday morning we were on a plane to New York where we would make our connecting flight to Paris, France. The following Sunday would be the first race in the south of France, Bordeaux, and then the next Sunday would be the Trophee Des Nations in Markelo, Holland.

I had never been to Europe before, and I don’t think any of the other riders or mechanics had either. But that wouldn’t matter because when we arrived in Paris I would be on my own. You see, back in 1977, it wasn’t that people didn’t think the Americans had a chance at the Motocross Des Nations and Trophy Des Nations, they knew we didn’t have a chance. I guess it was just something that the AMA did to see where we stood. And besides, the AMA official was getting an interesting vacation, if nothing else. This AMA official, who’s name escapes me, was suppose to be our organizer and team captain, like Roger DeCoster has been in the more recent past. When Roger goes over with the American team he uses his resources to have practice tracks for the team to train on that are similar to the racetrack. They operate as one team and every detail is planned out. We were four riders who were sent to Europe to do these two races and figure the details out when we got there. Some of the mechanics came with us, and some would meet up with us later. My mechanic, Rick Jones, would be there later. We weren’t worry about testing and practicing in order to get ready for the race. We were more concerned with just making it to the race.

Things seemed to be going pretty good...pretty good that is, until we arrived at the JFK Airport in New York. We were all supposed to fly to Paris together. Then from the Paris Airport Husky rider Kent Howerton and his mechanic Eric Crippa would fly all the way to Sweden to the Husky factory. I really don’t remember what Tony D did, but he must have gone with them because he sure wasn’t with me. After they were in Sweden for most of the week they would take a ferry all the way to the south of France for the race. Yea, that’s right a ferry, as in ferry boat. I thought that was incredibly stupid, but that was what they were doing. Steve Stackable and I had our plan to fly from Paris to Bordeaux, where the race was, relax and get rested up for the race. So everything’s cool, we’re standing in line at the ticket counter at JFK when I look at Steve, my traveling buddy, and I see a face as white as a sheet, stricken with FEAR! Steve couldn’t find his passport, and realized he had left it at the motel in Florida. He quickly called his brother Rolf and had it mailed, next day air, to New York. This was not good. Now I would have to go from Paris to Bordeaux, get a rental car in Bordeaux, and find the motel alone. I had never been to Europe before and didn’t speak anything but English with an accent. Steve and I planned to meet there a few days later. This wouldn’t have been so bad if we were going on a joy ride, but we kind of had a little bit of a job to do, like represent the US in the biggest motocross race in the world.

It was morning when we arrived in Paris, and I had no luck sleeping on the long flight. This is where the US Team split. Howerton, Crippa, and the rest of the crew flew to Sweden and I flew to Bordeaux. It was difficult enough finding my way around the Paris Airport, but after a while I finally arrived in Bordeaux. It took a long time to get a rental car, but I was happy to be on my way to the motel and out of the airport. The only problem was that I didn’t know how to get to the motel. I must have stopped to ask directions 15 times. I picked up three hitchhikers and after five hours of driving I was still lost. All these little roads that I was driving on were unmarked and when I came to a town it was a free-for-all getting through the intersections. It was late in the afternoon by now, so I guess it was their rush hour and there were no traffic rules. I don’t know how it is now but in those days hardly anyone in the south of France spoke English. It was starting to get real weird. I had just finished the last National of the year, and I was thinking that I should be back home in California, kicking back by the pool instead of driving around lost in France. We only had a few weeks off before the twelve-race Trans Am Series would be starting back in the states. As I keep trying to find my way, I noticed one of those advertising posters for motorcycle races in a bakery window. I went in and found a nice old lady who spoke some English. She knew about the motocross race and had me follow her to the promoter’s house. I thanked her and was happy to finally have some contact of where I was suppose to be. The promoter was a big jolly man who was also happy to see me. I had been up for about 36 hours so I really just wanted to beeline it to the motel and go to sleep, but I thought I should be sociable as he invited me into his house. He wanted to have a bite to eat and drink some wine, then he wanted to drive me to the track to have a look. We made the short drive and I saw something that I thought I would never see. I saw a track that had a surface harder than Carlsbad or the old Saddleback tracks in the middle of the week in August. This track was literally rock on top of rock. There were sections that had no dirt at all. The ground was made of layers of rock, and in some places there were loose rocks on top of the layered rock. I just came from a sand track in Florida and I’m thinking, "Huh, this is different, now can you take me to the motel?"

I arrived at the motel as the sun was setting. Well, it wasn’t exactly a motel. It was a castle from the 16th century located way out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest and grape vineyards. As I hammered on this huge front door with a ten-pound ring hammer it swung open and there stood a man who said something like, good evening won’t you come into my house. Images of vampire movies started running through my mind. I started thinking stuff like this is all a mistake, I’m in the wrong place this could be some kind of vampire castle. I know, I know, it sounds stupid but everything in that place was just like the old vampire movies. The big open rooms in the lobby area and long darken hallways, the art on the walls, the winding balconies, the dry sink and foot thick window seals in my room, the whole place had this eerie feel about it. Another strange thing was that there wasn’t anybody else around. There was just the guy who opened the door and me, that’s it. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere so I put my imagination to rest and rationalized the situation out and went to bed hoping that I would wake up in the morning. After about 15 hours of solid sleep I woke up to the sound of chickens. I swung the heavy hinged windows open from the thick window seal and gazed out across the beautiful gardens of the castle from the first story to see a bright sunny day. I thought great, I’m still alive and I’m here.

Now what do I do? It’s only Tuesday morning, I don’t race until Sunday and I’m out here in the middle of nowhere at a castle. I wasn’t going to drive anywhere, because I had nowhere to go and sure didn’t want to get lost again. I just hung out and ran through the vineyards for some exercise while I waited for Steve and the others to arrive. After a few days Steve showed up. Man, was I glad to see him. Now I had someone to do nothing with. We just hung out and ran farther through the vineyards, far enough to come close to an old farmhouse and get chased by a couple of big dogs.

Sometime towards the end of the week the rest of the group showed up. We all eat meals together outside in the garden and took a guided tour of the old castle as our guide explained its history. That was about it for the castle, it was almost race time.

I was glad to find myself in the familiar surrounding of the race on Sunday. As I said before it was a hard, rocky track. It was so hard and rocky that I broke a front hub on the 380 Works Kaw in practice. Neither my mechanic nor I had ever seen that before. Rick changed the front wheel and I was back out trying to figure the track out and get comfortable on it. After practice they had the very organized opening ceremonies that go on at big races in Europe, even bigger at the Motocross and Trophee Des Nations. After all that it was time to get down to business. Each four-man team (country) had to qualify. I don’t remember exactly how we qualified but I do remember that we qualified pretty well. For those of you who would like to know more about the race I’ll have to apologize. That was 24 years and many races ago and I don’t remember the details. I do remember that we finished 2nd overall. That was really good for the Americans at the time. We were all pretty happy with the way things turned out in Bordeaux and looking forward to next week’s race in Marelo, Holland.

We flew into Amsterdam. Man, what a change, going from this Castle in the country to an off the hook city like Amsterdam. Some of us split up, Howerton was the only guy there with his wife (Jill) so they went sight seeing or something. Tony D. wasn’t with us so he must have went with the other group. I was, I guess you could say, in the adventure group, Stackable, Crippa and my mechanic Rick Jones. We had a lot of time to be adventurous. We had nowhere to practice or do anything like that, so we had the rest of the week to wait for race day.

I remember one day for lunch we went into a restaurant in the city. We were tired of guessing things off the menu that we couldn’t read, so there were four people eating at a near by table and we all just said we’ll have the same as them. What the heck, it looked pretty good and it was. After the meal we were pretty proud of our technique. The waitress brings the bill and after we converted the Dutch guilders to US currency we were amazed that we just spent over $150.00 for lunch. 24 years ago that was a lot of money.

Then one night the four of us were walking around in town checking things out. We asked a local what there was to do around here. He told us to follow him. Where we were going was supposed to be a nightclub type deal. We started following him on foot and pretty soon were looking at each other thinking where is this guy taking us. We’re going through all these back alleys and old sandy streets. Some of the old buildings were propped up with big telephone poles because they were starting to sink into the sand. Finally we all go into this building and before we realized where we were a bunch of guys are trying to talk to us. By the time we figure out that they are trying to sell us drugs we realize that just about all the 30 plus people in this dump are tripping out. They are either withdrawing and freaking out for a fix or tripping. These guys trying to get some cash from us are not taking no for an answer. They implied that either we buy some of their goods or we may not be leaving. There were too many of them and we did see knifes, so we decided to play it safe and buy some of their fake dope so we could all leave in one piece. After we were back out in breathable oxygen we all had a good laugh about how stupid we were. That’s about all I remember from that week leading up to the race.

On race day we find ourselves on the extreme opposite type of track conditions from the last week in Bordeaux. Now I knew that Holland was sandy, but I didn’t know just how sandy that could be. The Marelo track made the Florida tracks seem smooth. It was a track that started in a big open field area. Then right at the end of the long start straight it made the traditional Holland sand track feature of going into the woods. Then the entire track would wind around through the woods until it returned into the open start area for some nice sweeping corners than head back into the woods again, not a very good spectator track. As the track wore on through practice we could see that it was different than anything we had seen before. Where the sand was a little more toward the harder side the bumps were getting deep, but closer together and not nearly as deep as where the sand was very soft and bottomless. In these areas the bumps were very deep and far apart. They were more like giant whoops. By the 2nd moto they would be so deep that if a rider and bike went down into one he would disappear. I don’t mean if he fell over, I mean he would disappear while he was still on two wheels. In order to go fast across these sections you would have to stay in 4th gear and jump from the top of one to the next, and the next, and the next and so on. At the same time the track was lined with trees. Many of these trees were about 3 foot in diameter with wire about 3 inches deep in the tree marking the track. That’s how long the track had been there, the tree grew over the wire. It took me most of practice to become comfortable brushing by shoulder on tree bark while pinned through the sand.

Did I mention that the Motocross Des Nations in Bordeaux was an open class race and the Trophy Des Nations in Marelo was a 250 race? Anyway, our team qualified. I don’t exactly remember what position we qualified but I don’t think it was as good as we qualified on the hard packed track in Bordeaux.

The starting gate in Markelo was ahead of its time. Back at that time all the gates were just one big forward falling gate. But, this gate had individual single T gates that fell straight down into the ground (a cement foundation). If you went too early you would hit the gate and cause it to stop from falling into the ground. I felt confident that I could win the start. I just had that old familiar feeling that I was going to win the start. When I had that feeling it was like I had a patent on the holeshot, the patented holeshot. And sure enough the old patent came through again. Going into the woods I was in the lead, but I just couldn’t hang with two of the Euros who started right behind me. They soon passed me and were beginning to pull away. Then Roger DeCoster was trying to pass me for third. I thought to let him by so I could follow him and learn his lines. But right after that my 250 Works Kaw had enough of the power sucking sand and blew a head gasket. I nursed it back to the pits and watched the rest of the team try to salvage the US effort.

In the 2nd moto I remember spoding around the roughest track with shocks that for some reason would only go half way down. I wish this story had a happy, heroic, ending but that only happens in the movies. The US didn’t do so well at the 1977 Trophy Des Nations in Markelo, Holland. But we did take home the experience that continued to grow and eventually helped to make the US a motocross power that knows no such word as impossible, and accepts no such end as failure.

The times they will keep a changin'!