Hooper works Relentlessly!
By TMX Archives on 11th Mar 09
JD looks at the economic meltdown and finds the answer - look no further than Rob Hooper's Relentless Suzuki squad... WELL, there's no doubt that the MX season is now well and truly under way. First, the Hawkstone Park International set the pace with an enthusiastic crowd at the historic and still atmospheric Shropshire circuit and now the opening event of the eight-round Maxxis British Championship at the old-favourite Canada Heights venue and presented by the most organised of organisers, the boys and girls of the Sidcup club.
Unfortunately, I wasn't at Canada Heights but did make Hawkstone and after, along with everyone else in the industry, wondering what kind of a turnout there would be, given that every day we are assured that "...the end of the world is nigh”, there was a cumulative sigh of relief when it turned out to be a really positive occasion.
Truth to tell, I have always found the parc ferme for the big MX events something of a fantasy land and with the current economic woes, massive job losses, the car industry at a standstill, virtually every company on earth (including motorcycle manufacturers) reporting trading losses on a truly epic scale and the government threatening to turn what few quid we have in our pockets into monopoly money, I don't really know what I expected.
So I sought sanctuary in that oasis of common sense that is Rob Hooper's Relentless Suzuki awning. Rob has always had my utmost respect firstly as a rider and later as a team owner.
As honest as the day is long, in these days of occasional fly-by-night teams, Rob has sometimes ploughed a lonely and what must at times have been a frustrating furrow, yet somehow has always managed to get a professionally turned-out squad to the start-line.
At the end of season shows last year, when late deals are traditionally being cobbled together with riders, teams and sponsors, Rob was almost embarrassed to say that he was happy that (touch wood) he had everything in place for 2009. He agreed that it was indeed ironic that as the country faced its biggest economic test in living memory his 2009 team looked to be adequately funded and stable. I was more than pleased for him. As Rob said at Hawkstone: "There's no fat on this team and never has been. I build engines, look after all aspects of the bikes, my wife Cheryl cooks and cleans out the truck and looks after everyone. Of course we welcome guests but they take us as they find us. We are here to race and we do it to the best of our ability.” Who could ask for more?
Talking of Hawkstone I couldn't help but applaud the fact that at one point in the Support race – yes I did watch ALL the races – two-strokes were running first, second, third and fourth.
I wasn't the only person to comment on how quiet they were either, considering the working-over the big four-strokes gave my ears. Well done to the lads who dared to take on the thumpers.
Talking of two-strokes I have been keeping an eye on things across the pond and – best whisper this – the powers-that-be Stateside have been seriously looking at running 250cc two-strokes alongside 250cc four-strokes in this summer's AMA Motocross Championship. Whoever would have thought that the Yanks would have been first to excercise a bit of common sense?
However, sadly it isn't actually going to happen this year, mainly because the off-road motorcycle industry in the US is currently trying to save itself from annihilation in the face of the crazy attack by the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which, as we have reported in the pages of T+MX, has resulted in the total ban of motorcycles/ quads which are primarily for the use of children under the age of 12. This is down to the lead content of certain components in the bikes as the Act is all about protecting children from exposure to lead. But its application regarding motorcycles is surely crazy as any component that may contain traces of lead (and we are talking very small levels indeed – parts per million, in fact) are in reality out of reach of children anyway.
This ban on sales, which was implemented wholesale on February 10, with all bikes to be withdrawn from showrooms, is having a significant impact on motorcycle sales in the States and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake. There's obviously a knock-on effect to the factories and the industry is currently lobbying the Obama Government to reverse this law or at least offer exemption for off-highway motorcycles.
But back to the 250cc two-strokes. MX Sports, promoter of the US outdoor series, has said that it has postponed its proposed integration of 250cc two-stroke and four-stroke this year, but it will be back on the cards for 2010.
Meanwhile, the plan is to introduce 250cc two-stroke support races to the Championship series to show that MXS understands the passion many fans retain for the two-strokes and that it understands the need to keep costs down and competitor numbers up...