Motocross the R.J. Way
Motocross the R.J Way
If you can't pass 'em, maybe you can knock 'em down!
IF EVER THERE WERE AN UNLIKELY headmaster, Rick Johnson would be it. Throughout the 1980s, the "Bad Boy" of motocross won races any way he could, which to hear him tell it today sometimes meant taking out his opponent. Crude, yes, but effec-
tive: R.J. won seven national championships and legions of fans before a wrist injury forced his retirement in 1991. After that, Johnson turned his attention to stadiumtruck racing and, more recently, to the lower
rungs of NASCAR. Stock-car racing is a tough business to break into, though, and when Johnson rode a bike in the 1997 Baja 1000 just for fun, his enthusiasm for two-wheelers was rekindled.
Johnson had taught a motocross school with Yamaha in 1993-94, and decided that the time was ripe to try again. This time, however, he'd do it right. Having spent considerable time and money taking various car-racing schools, he knew what worked and what didn't. He also knew he'd need help, so he hired Mark Claussner from the Richard Petty School and Marc Burnett of SMP freestyle-jumping fame and formed Rick Johnson's School of Champions (P.O. Box 519, Cornelius, NC 28031; 888/663-6113). Two versions of the school are offered-the $200, one-day Track Techniques course and $500, two-day Total Racer course-with dates to coincide with the AMA Nationals.
Recently, Johnson invited the media to Southern California's Glen Helen Raceway to take part in an abbreviated introductory session, in which he riffled through all 28 pages of his handbook in rapid-fire fashion. The theme of the school is "The Race," and indeed, the curriculum takes students from pre-race preparations such as diet and training, through walking the track and practice, onto starts, braking, cornering, jumps and passingthough takeout moves thankfully are omitted. Subsequent
on-track demonstrations by Pro motocrosser Doug Dubach hammered home the lessons to the point that I was actually able to use some of what I'd learned the following weekend.
Lining up at the starting gate for an AMA District 37 Grand Prix at Hungry Valley, I chose the slot adjacent to the starter, just as Johnson had instructed. This allowed some extra breathing room while positioning me well for the first series of left/right comers. Moreover, having heard Dubach discuss unlevel starting pads, I aimed my bike slightly downhill, so that when the rear tire slithered that way, the bike would be pointed in the right direction.
The strategy worked, and I got an awesome start! From there, though, my race went downhill in a hurry.
Too bad I only took R.J.'s "crash course." -Brian Catterson
