[ad_1]
The interview with Eddie lawson Appeared on the YouTube channel MotoStarr continues. HERE the first part. Eddie has his say on the possibility of young American drivers having a say in the 2021 World Championship.
“Obviously I wish all the best, a Joe Roberts and Cameron Beaubier. I hope they do well, but the team and the bike matter a lot. In my day you could have had a bad bike and moved on. Today I think it is difficult. I hope they find a good situation to express themselves ”.
Lawson: “It was Roberts who took me to Europe, he said: you are ready. And I tried the 500 in Laguna …”
Lawson found it on his 500 debut in 1983. Thanks to Kenny Roberts.
“Kenny was instrumental in my arrival in Europe. He told me: I think you’re ready for 500. I was scared. In Laguna I gave it a try: it flew like a flag, I slammed the throttle down, bumping my helmet against my head, and I thought, heck, I signed up for two years to ride this bike. Kenny calm down: you can drive it. KR always jokes, but when there’s work to be done it’s perfect … he taught me everything by letting me participate in his briefings. It would stop and say: I want the bike five millimeters lower at the rear and three compression clicks on the fork. And then switch me to third. I learned to do the same ”.
When Kenny left, crossing to the other side of the fence as a manager …
“When KR had his team, I used everything I had learned to beat him.”
Here is one of the rare smiles on the face of Awesome lawson. Which reveals for the first time why, at the end of 1988, he left Agostini’s team.
Lawson: “Agostini told me about the budget and I switched to Honda in the middle”
“At the end of 1988, he told me that Marlboro had cut the budget. Eddie can no longer pay you like the year before … I replied: Aug, but we won the world championship! So I took the first plane and went to Lausanne, where Marlboro told me it wasn’t true. The budget had doubled. So I left Yamaha and went to Honda for half. When Ago called me back, I told him it was too late. I made the team with Erv Kanemoto, a fantastic person ”.
This is 1989. Eddie also won that world championship riding the NSR 500. He was the first to win for two consecutive seasons on two different bikes.
Lawson: “In 1989 Honda made 13 frames. I told him: your gearbox sucks, they made one in two weeks.”
“Yamaha and Honda were completely different bikes, but the NSR was good. The Japanese told me that Gardner and Doohan couldn’t drive it, but that season they produced 13 chassis for 15 races. And the engine was amazing. When they asked me if something was wrong I told them: the gearbox is disgusting compared to the one on the Yamaha. They grimaced … But in two weeks they got ready and gave me the best change I have ever had. The RD spent a million to do it, it was like having an automatic transmission. Honda had the budget and wanted to win. The Japanese told me that we had brought NSR to the next generation. “
However, Lawson changed again at the end of 1989, returning to Yamaha.
Lawson: “I won the title but Honda ‘out of loyalty’ didn’t want to pay me more than Gardner: I left them”
“Honda told me they couldn’t pay me more than Gardner – it’s a loyalty issue, they said. But Phillip Morris paid me triple. In the first race, however, I injured one ankle and Laguna the other. The season ended before it started ”.
And that’s how Eddie came into the Cagiva’s sights.
Lawson: “With Cagiva I won in Hungary because of the tires, it was raining, I started with the carved slicks”
“It was 1991. I was ready to retire. When they asked me what I wanted, I said: first, a lot of money but you must also promise to improve. And they did. I traveled by helicopter and private planes. It was a fascinating way to travel. I ran with them for two years. The bike improved. The engine, however, was very heavy and lacked power in the low and mid range, at the top it was good. I won a race, in Hungary, yes but with a bit of luck: it was raining, I started with the carved slicks. It was raining hard, at the starting line I sent Ago away saying what the hell are you doing, but what did we have to lose? after a while it dried up and I recovered 10 seconds per lap from whoever was in front. The Italians obviously had a different way of working than the Japanese, but Ferrari helped us even though they didn’t know much about motorcycles. At the end of the contract I retired but after another two years the Cagiva was as good as the Japanese bikes ”.
(Keep it up)
[ad_2]
