The Motorbike Archives

Last year, Roger attended the Motocross and Trophee des Nations, his first attendance without having to throw a leg over a bike during the two weekends of racing. Even still he came home a winner, but his emotions were mixed this time. He could feel the tug of his Belgian heritage, as he helped guide a young American team of motocross riders to victories in both events… events that his home country has dominated over the last two decades. 

The main problem with U.S. riders is that they race for money first—not… for the love of racing.

 I talked about some of these things with Roger at the start of the year and asked him to share his thoughts about some of the other aspects of the sport of motocross in America. We were an unlikely looking couple during our last meeting as we sat in a Marina del Rey restaurant; his and my right shoulder had been broken in unrelated riding accidents that happened a week apart.

MXA: — What happened when you showed up in Europe with an American team for the Motocross and Trophee des Nations?

R.D.: — The Europeans don't give the American motocross riders much credibility because of how their press reacts to American performances in Europe, and also the fact no Americans have done anything very significant there. They think racing in America is a joke and it doesn't mean anything because of this.

I remember when the American team did compete when I was riding for Belgium. I thought, at the time, the right people were not representing the U.S. and that their effort wasn't very good. It didn't bother me; I knew if things had been different, the team would have been a threat to the Championships.

I've felt all along that the American riders owed more to the sport than they have been giving. It was the Europeans who came here to help the sport of motocross grow in America. I came here before I ever won a World Championship. And even after I did, I wanted to race here—and anywhere else in the world—to prove to myself and anyone else that I was the best. You can't do that without being willing to put forth some extra effort and truly loving the sport for what it is. I think part of the main problem with U.S. riders is that they race for money first—not so much for the love of racing. 

When I came to collect the money, they didn't want to pay any because I had brought a second- rate team. I had a big argument with the promoters.

 I was really disappointed when U.S. Suzuki and Yamaha stopped their riders from racing the des Nations events. They were being very short-sighted about the Championships.

When you called me at the last minute, and asked me to help put together the team, it had been something I had already been thinking about for some time. I didn't want to be a team manager; I still felt some loyalty to my country, but they didn't ask for my help; if they had, I would have given it.

When I talked to the press in Europe after we arrived with the Team, I told them that the Belgian team would probably win. After all, it was their home track and they were probably the strongest team. But I warned them not to underestimate the young American team because they might surprise everyone.

I couldn't believe how hard every one of the guys worked when we arrived in Belgium. When I saw some of the practice times, I then realized we had a good chance. I'd never seen the guys try so hard in the U.S., and it got me excited about our effort. They were riding the bikes harder than ever, and the result was many engine seizures. I had a friend that owned a machine shop in town and the night before the first event I tried to find him so I could use his equipment to fix the cylinders. I found his 60-year-old mother, who let me in. Dave Arnold and I stayed up most of the night setting up the machinery to hone and surface the hard-chromed Honda cylinders.

The next day (race day), I had a problem with the promoters of the event; getting our team's start money. I had had an agreement, a couple of weeks before the event, that we would get double because we had to come so far. But when I came to collect, they didn't want to pay any because I had brought a "second-rate" team. I had a big argument with the promoters, and then held a press conference and told everyone what happened. When we won the Trophee des Nations, the press then took the promoters to task for treating the U.S. team so shoddily.

When the Belgian team got beaten, I felt sad in one way, but I also felt their heads had gotten too big and they deserved to lose. I offered to buy the Belgian team's champagne that they had bought in anticipation of a win. I offered them half price…as a joke.

During the following week, between the two events, Joel Robert took me to see Rene Brunee, head of the Belgian Federation of the FIM, and offered our services and guaranteed a win in the Motocross des Nations for Belgium. Joel said he would practice for three days and promise not to have a drink for two days before the event. It was Joel's way of showing his feelings about the results and not letting things lie without rubbing it in some.

I think the 125 class should be an age-limited class so riders can't stay in that class forever, like Barnett, and win two or three championships in a row.

 Winning the Trophee and Motocross des Nations this way was the next best thing to riding and winning it myself. I still don't think our riders have realized what they have accomplished, or how important it was. Maybe Danny LaPorte has, because he wants to race in Europe, but Johnny O'Mara, Donnie Hansen and Chuck Sun probably still haven't felt the impact yet. They are World Champions!

MXA: — What is your job with Honda?

R.D.: — It's not really clear what I do with Honda. I'm not working for American Honda, I work for Honda R&D in Japan. My boss is Mr. Miyakoshi, director of worldwide racing for Honda. I'm his personal advisor and he uses me where I can help the most—including the United States. The United States has been the biggest problem because Honda has not been winning here. We have seven riders in motocross now. We had the same number last year and didn't win any championships. There are only two riders in Europe and we have won World Championships the last three years. Things are smooth there compared to here.

MXA: — What changes have been made to correct the problem?

R.D.: — We have different riders for next year. In the 125 class we will have O'Mara, Brian Myerscough and maybe Jim Gibson. The 250 riders will be Hansen, Darrell Shultz and David Bailey. At this time, only Sun will be on 500, but it could change.

Also, we have made management changes. There will be better cooperation now between American Honda and Honda of Japan. They will now better understand the United States' needs for making good results. The things we do for success in Japan or in Europe will not work here, and vice versa. The mentality is different, the number of races is different and the type of races is different.

MXA: — How do you feel about motocross racing in the United States?

R.D.: — I think the Supercross is doing all right. They look good from a spectator's point of view. The Nationals need a lot of changes to make them more interesting; they are really boring now.

Except for a couple of races this year where Hannah and Howerton had a good fight, there was no racing. In the 125 class, Barnett rode away from everybody on the first lap and they never saw him again. At some tracks he was five seconds a lap faster —it was ridiculous. In the 500s, it wasn't much of a contest, either. Chuck won a few races, but there wasn't much close racing after the first two riders.

I would have one class. Then you are going to see some real racing.

I mentioned to Mike DiPrete (AMA Commissioner of Racing) that I think we need more top riders competing in the same race. That's why Supercross is so interesting. It has other advantages, also, such as seating and comfort, but the program is so much better. It's quick and you see all the good racers together. In the Nationals, all the good racers are racing separately. What you want to see is the riders passing each other and fighting with each other—and you will only see that when you get all the good riders together.►

◄I think the 125 class should be an age-limited class so riders can't stay in that class forever, like Barnett, and win two or three championships in a row. It would give a chance to upcoming guys to come through. Now it's almost impossible because every factory team has one or two good guys. If there was an age limit, the guys couldn't stay in there and it would make for a greater turnover of riders. The AMA is trying to protect the privateer with weight limits on bikes and things like that, but that is the worst way of regulating the problem. If you want to give the privateer a chance, I think there are other races in which they can prove themselves.

It is not possible to have a hundred factory riders, but factory riders are what people want to see. They want to see the factories involved. And it's because they are involved that motocross has grown so fast in the United States. The Japanese got involved and put a lot of money into the sport.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a works bike winning. If there was only one works rider, it would be a different story, but Honda has had seven this year. Suzuki and Yamaha have the same number, also. There are a few from Kawasaki , Husky and Maico, among others.

It would be nice if you could protect everybody's interests, but it's impossible to make everybody happy. To have top racing in a country the size of the United States, you can have special equipment in racing. Why not? What is wrong with it? If we are trying to achieve the same results by the use of claiming rules, weight limits and such, the results will be like what happened to flattrack—only one or two factories competing against each other.

What are the mile and half-mile today like, compared to the way things were 20 years ago? How much has improved? I think it has gone downhill compared to motocross.

If it was up to me, alone, I would have one class which was open-250cc and over. You ride anything you want and you get all the top guys together. You could call it the GP Class, the World Class or any other good name. If they want to have another class on top of that, that's a different story. But there should be, at every National race, a Pro Class with all the top riders such as Barnett, Hannah, Howerton, etc. The 125cc class would need some thought about the age limit; I don't think a rider should be over 20 years old and still able to compete in it. Maybe even 19. I know this is going to hurt some guys' feelings, but if they really think about it, in the long run, it's going to be the best way of getting all the good guys together. Then you are going to see some real racing.

MXA: —As a many-time winner of the Trans-AMA, how do you feel about its demise?

R.D.: — I'm disappointed and sad about it —it was the best series in the United States. It was the only series that was really international.

If you ask me why it went wrong, I think there are several reasons. Supercross is one reason; it made the 250cc class bigger and the AMA paid a lot of attention to the class, and the Trans-AMA was 500cc. Another reason is that American riders got much better, so the factories did not have to send the best European riders over here to compete against their own riders.

The system of entries is very wrong if you want to have international riders. You cannot expect riders to come from Europe and start a race here, when they have not one penny guaranteed up front—and when they can make the same prize money racing in Europe only a hundred miles away from home. You can't expect a rider to have to fly here, stay in a hotel the whole time, with no guarantee.

It doesn't work in other sports, so why should it work in motocross?

 The AMA says we work prize money only and it's the best way of doing things. It is a good system, to a certain extent, but, internationally, it doesn't work. It doesn't work in other sports so why should it work in motocross? The AMA will have to make a system that pays appearance money. Why is road racing completely dead in the United States? In one European country there is more attendance at one race than all of the road races put together in the United States. This is because of the AMA's system of prize money only.

MXA: — What are your plans with Honda for this year?

R.D.: — I don't exactly know, on a long term basis, what I will be doing. Roughly, now is the testing of the '82 bikes. I will attend some of the races before the GPs in Europe; afterward, I'll see some GPs. I will also be at a lot of the Supercross and National events in the United States.

MXA: — Who will win the 500cc World Championships this year?

R.D.: — I think it will be a very difficult year for us (Honda), and Andre Malherbe, because of his wrist injury and the complications. Hakan Carlqvist will be very strong. Noyce is hard to predict. I surely did not think he was going to finish second last year after his bad leg injury early in the season. If he does much better than what I expected him to do last year... he may win it. But I think whoever will beat Carlqvist in '82 will be World Champion. I don't write Malherbe off, but it will be very tough for him.

MXA: — You've worked on Honda's development of production bikes this year. Lb you like the results?

R.D.: — There were quite a few problems with the bikes last year, especially the 450, so they were pretty easy to improve upon. The people at Honda know how to do things, but the problem was emphasizing where the priorities were in making a bike.

In the past, they made a motocross bike with the same approach as a street bike, but the needs are very much different. A motocross bike is for competition; performance is the main criteria—not price, and similar things. The testing procedure in the past was not fitted to motocross. There was not enough information between the real racing people and the people who build the production bike. We created a link between these people so they could all work together. I did most of the testing myself, especially for the 250 and 500. We applied these results to the 125 and another rider helped me with that testing, although I did ride it several times. Each bike has had almost every aspect of it changed from last year. We now have a Honda support program for production bikes. Now the people who build these bikes are interested in racing. Before, they built the bike and there was nobody at Honda involved in the racing of these bikes.

MXA: — You've been retired from competition for a year now. How is it working out?

R.D.:— I'm more busy now than when I was racing. I thought I was going to retire and have a good time—you know, do a little work, but have time to play tennis three times and week and enjoy more of a social life. I'm so busy now it's ridiculous! If I don't take some time off this year I'll go coo coo, I think!■