Schwantz Song
Schwantz Song
KEVIN'S LAST RIDE?
KEVIN SCHWANTZ'S REPUTATION FOR A ROLLICKING good time precedes him. Before I left for Australia to mop up the final details of the NSR test, CW Executive Editor Brian Catterson offered the following: "Make sure you go out drinking with Schwantz one night. You'll have a lot of fun."
In fact, I did. But Schwantz turned-in early, intent on a full night's sleep. "I could have stayed out and had a big night," he told me, "but this test was something that really meant a lot to me. I definitely wanted to make the most of the opportunity."
At any rate, a handful of relatively slow (well, by GP standards) laps is all the opportunity the ex-worid champ got. Maybe that's all Schwantz-or anyone else-needed to stifle speculation of a retirement-ending return to motorcycle racing. "At that pace, the bike's not going to do anything wrong," Mick Doohan stated flatly. "Maybe he can kind of feel what it would be like against the Suzuki and make an assessment of that." Schwantz didn't deny Doohan's chiding. "That's so true, it's not even funny," he confessed. "You can take a bike that's great at 1:33 lap times, and it will be a bag of shit at 1 :32s."
Doohan doesn't believe Schwantz would have scored more championships had he ridden for Honda. "I think the Suzuki was quite good early in the `90s," said the reigning world champion. "Kevin was a little bit flamboyant," he added, referring to the Texan's propensity for spectacular get-offs. Schwantz agreed: "In 1989, the Suzuki was the best bike out there. We won more races, had more pole posi tions, led more laps, did everything there was to do. And we finished fourth in the championship behind Christian Sarron, who hadn't won a race. I won six races. How does that happen?"
By his own admission, Schwantz came close to quitting on several occasions. "Motorcycle grand-prix racing is a condensed version of life," he said somberly. "One minute you're at the top, the next minute you can be at the bottom. It's a real trying experience, especially because you put so much pressure on yourself."
L11U~di1 till During the GP weekend at Eastern Creek, though, Schwantz's bygone slip-ups and frustrations were forgotten. Fans rushed for his signature, poking their programs at him through the chain-link fencing. Upon hearing of Schwantz's one-off ride for Cycle World, the international moto-press descended in droves, television cameras and tape recorders on overdrive.
Post-test, Schwantz found himself surrounded by a sea of journalists, cameras feverishly clicking at his every move ment. Close-cropped blond curls matted with perspiration, Schwantz calmly answered one question after another, trademark grin in full bloom. "Maybe I'll ride the Suzuki," he commented. "Maybe I'll do a little work with them, see if I can't at least get to a pace where I can help them with development. But the racing part is a closed book." Buy you a beer, Kevin?
Matthew Miles
