Just great for the underdog
By TMX Archives on 6th Aug 08
It was great to hear about two unknown riders last weekend taking on the big boys and beating them! COUPLE of interesting things on the MX front this week. First, great letter about the Unknown Warrior mounted on an ancient (albeit well turned-out), twin-shocked, drum-braked Yamaha YZ two-stroke seeing-off all the shiny new four-bangers in an AMCA meet last weekend – whoever you are pal, you are my new hero.
And on a similar kick, talking of unknown warriors, how about Estonian kid Gert Krestinov (I'd never heard of him either and have to keep checking how to spell his name!) winning the MX2 overall at the famous sandpit in Lommel. Now I have been informed, by a normally reliable source, that Gert operates out of the back of a Transit – oh, OK, out of the back of an Iveco truck, as opposed to a fleet of artics, so once again he can count on me as a member of his fan club. If only I could remember his name... Krestinov, Krestinov, Krestinov!
Supporting the underdog is of course a well-known British trait and one to which I am a fully paid-up devotee. As long ago as 20-years back, myself and John Wren (of John Wren Motorcycles) used to speculate on the prospects (ie: dream) of operating a British Championship MX ‘team' out of a Mini pick-up or, at a stretch, a Morris 1000.
The ‘team' would naturally comprise the rider, who would of course be a larger-than-life one-off, plus one mate, probably roped-in on the day after a night on the tiles, who would be mechanic, tea-boy, beer monster – whatever he was called upon to do in fact, including shouting very loudly over the pit gate for the rider to "Get a ****ing move on!” towards the end of each race.
There would be no awning, hospitality would comprise a tupperware box of sandwiches and a flask of tea, to be consumed while sitting on the tail-gate. No massive Snap-on tool box – a good old five drawer cantilever would suffice, containing a hammer, a rusty adjustable, a pair of pliers, miles of old wire and a duff spark plug.
Why do all cantilever tool boxes contain a duff spark plug? As I said, this was over 20-years ago when the paddock had only just started to grow out of short-wheelbase Transits and into motorhome city.
Truth to tell, the prospect of a similar project has become more and more alluring as the transporters have grown bigger and ever bigger.
Over the years, competing in the sport has effectively been turned on its head. Once upon a time (yes, it really was that long ago!) you got your hands on a bike – and then did whatever was necessary to go racing, which often meant sharing, borrowing or begging transport. These days, you start with a motorhome and work your way down through generator, flat-screen TV, power washer, pit-bike, barbecue, etc, etc until you finally get round to thinking about a bike...
To my surprise, no less a person than CCM founder Alan Clews, brought up that very subject recently when he welcomed Dave Thorpe to the CCM GP project. Alan mentioned to Dave that someone had told him that it would still be possible to challenge for Grand Prix glory operating out of a Transit. My ears pricked-up like a donkey's at this left-field play and David's reply was, as expected, worth listening too.
Dave did agree that it would very likely be possible and put forward one very good reason saying: "It is possible to do very well on a bike based on a standard production machine these days. I think that the gap has closed considerably between production and full factory machines. Years ago, I think that riders on full factory bikes enjoyed more of an advantage.”
An interesting point and one that, having thought about it, is true. For one thing, Grand Prix machines now must be production-based anyway as the full-on factory special was banned a long time ago. Yes, it was done for all the right reasons but it spelled the end for the one-off factory models on which the engineers tried out their ideas in public rather than behind closed doors.
I must quickly add that Dave wasn't actually proposing that CCM go down the Transit van route – although I do suspect that he had some sympathy in the basic premise. In the general conversation on the subject he said to Alan: "...but it's not really about the transport, we have the artics and big trucks and such to promote the image of the sport because that is the way the teams and organisers have taken it.”
Still, Team Transit anyone...?