In 1975 you really seem to click up a gear and you started winning, what made that difference?
No no no, in actual fact in 1974, I have made one major miscalculation and that related to a conversation I had with Heiki Mikkola. Heiki, at the end of 1973 had been riding a Husqvarna that was a very special bike. It had one of the first composite frames that were glued together. It was fiberglass, all carbon fibre bits like that and it fell to pieces straight away. Heiki said to me that you thought the best thing to do was just to ride the old bike and to learn to ride it really well and not to worry too much about modifying the bike. This was a clear message to me from a World Champion, telling me to just get on with it whatever your tools are just work with those tools to the best effect. In 1974, I started with the old frame bike. It was model 125. I was riding this bike when I came 4th in Saddleback Park and 3rd in Ireland and leading the World Championship through to 4th place. Then it came to me, the new bike, and the model 133. Rathmall was riding, he had been riding this before the Spanish European round and so had Lampkin and I didn't get it and then when I did get the bike I was very excited about the bike, but the frame was completely different. The front was very low, the riding position was different. It was a very twitchy bike with steering very quick and it was very difficult to keep in a straight line. I know this with the benefit of hindsight. Lampkin was the first person to abandon this bike saying I can't ride this bike and he went for the model 159 frame, which is somewhat similar to the previous 125 frame. I don't mean 125cc, so I thought I’m going to persevere with this bike because Rathmell has won the European Championship on this bike. With hindsight he was the only rider who was able to ride that bike as it suited his style and I continue riding this bike with this frame all the way through to the Scottish 6 days in May 1975. The bike appeared in different guises, but it was the same frame and same forks and same configuration, it just had different clothes so to speak. In hindsight, now I know that bike doesn't suit my riding style at all. I compromise myself as soon as I took on that bike and the 1974 season didn't go particularly well. The 1975 season started quite badly and then when I change to the same frame that Lampkin already had, which Coultard had already changed to before me, Manuel had also changed previously as well. I was the last one with the old frame. Immediately when I change to the new frame I started winning. I won in Canada and was 2nd in the USA. I was 2nd in Sweden, I won in Finland and won in Switzerland. I won in Germany and there was one round to go. When I was already with more gross points in anybody else, the reason why I lost the 1975 Championship was because earlier in the year I had a few 4th places. If this had possibly been a 3rd place, I would have won the championship already in 1975. For me, another lesson, this was not to be stubborn, whatever someone else might say, might be partially the truth. Given the right circumstances, but don't ever look at something and think it is like this or this like that and always you need to look at the bigger picture and try and understand and that you need to have a much more open mind. We don't have the same problem as Mikkola, our bikes don't fall to bits but yet I listen to him and I really felt that I understand what he was telling me. By this time of me working out what happens, I had already compromised two seasons and it was too late the second half of the 1974 season and the first part of the 1975 season.
No no no, in actual fact in 1974, I have made one major miscalculation and that related to a conversation I had with Heiki Mikkola. Heiki, at the end of 1973 had been riding a Husqvarna that was a very special bike. It had one of the first composite frames that were glued together. It was fiberglass, all carbon fibre bits like that and it fell to pieces straight away. Heiki said to me that you thought the best thing to do was just to ride the old bike and to learn to ride it really well and not to worry too much about modifying the bike. This was a clear message to me from a World Champion, telling me to just get on with it whatever your tools are just work with those tools to the best effect. In 1974, I started with the old frame bike. It was model 125. I was riding this bike when I came 4th in Saddleback Park and 3rd in Ireland and leading the World Championship through to 4th place. Then it came to me, the new bike, and the model 133. Rathmall was riding, he had been riding this before the Spanish European round and so had Lampkin and I didn't get it and then when I did get the bike I was very excited about the bike, but the frame was completely different. The front was very low, the riding position was different. It was a very twitchy bike with steering very quick and it was very difficult to keep in a straight line. I know this with the benefit of hindsight. Lampkin was the first person to abandon this bike saying I can't ride this bike and he went for the model 159 frame, which is somewhat similar to the previous 125 frame. I don't mean 125cc, so I thought I’m going to persevere with this bike because Rathmell has won the European Championship on this bike. With hindsight he was the only rider who was able to ride that bike as it suited his style and I continue riding this bike with this frame all the way through to the Scottish 6 days in May 1975. The bike appeared in different guises, but it was the same frame and same forks and same configuration, it just had different clothes so to speak. In hindsight, now I know that bike doesn't suit my riding style at all. I compromise myself as soon as I took on that bike and the 1974 season didn't go particularly well. The 1975 season started quite badly and then when I change to the same frame that Lampkin already had, which Coultard had already changed to before me, Manuel had also changed previously as well. I was the last one with the old frame. Immediately when I change to the new frame I started winning. I won in Canada and was 2nd in the USA. I was 2nd in Sweden, I won in Finland and won in Switzerland. I won in Germany and there was one round to go. When I was already with more gross points in anybody else, the reason why I lost the 1975 Championship was because earlier in the year I had a few 4th places. If this had possibly been a 3rd place, I would have won the championship already in 1975. For me, another lesson, this was not to be stubborn, whatever someone else might say, might be partially the truth. Given the right circumstances, but don't ever look at something and think it is like this or this like that and always you need to look at the bigger picture and try and understand and that you need to have a much more open mind. We don't have the same problem as Mikkola, our bikes don't fall to bits but yet I listen to him and I really felt that I understand what he was telling me. By this time of me working out what happens, I had already compromised two seasons and it was too late the second half of the 1974 season and the first part of the 1975 season.
SSDT photos - 1991 Ben Nevis and 1981 Lagnaha
Are you superstitious at all and do you carry any Lucky Charms?
No, nothing. I was very conscious of things that irritated me. I tried to make sure that all the major distraction and irritants were out of the way for instance. Example, if I'd had a shave in the morning the strap on the helmet would irritate my skin, so I started to go to the trials in the morning unshaven and I think some of the other riders followed suit and it became a bit of a fashion but I don't think they understood the reason why I did it ha ha ha I did it for a reason.
Do you think that you took trials a lot more seriously than everybody else?.
I don't know, but I can assure you I did take it very seriously and I try to promote myself as a professional and I also try to gain outside sponsors. As a matter of fact, it became a bit of a game for me. I wanted to get enough outside sponsors so that the outside sponsors would bring enough money for me to pay all of the bills so that the money from the factory would be money that I would be able to retain.
No, nothing. I was very conscious of things that irritated me. I tried to make sure that all the major distraction and irritants were out of the way for instance. Example, if I'd had a shave in the morning the strap on the helmet would irritate my skin, so I started to go to the trials in the morning unshaven and I think some of the other riders followed suit and it became a bit of a fashion but I don't think they understood the reason why I did it ha ha ha I did it for a reason.
Do you think that you took trials a lot more seriously than everybody else?.
I don't know, but I can assure you I did take it very seriously and I try to promote myself as a professional and I also try to gain outside sponsors. As a matter of fact, it became a bit of a game for me. I wanted to get enough outside sponsors so that the outside sponsors would bring enough money for me to pay all of the bills so that the money from the factory would be money that I would be able to retain.
Did you ever reach that point?
Oh yes oh yes very easily actually.
Do you think that your aim to be a good catch for sponsors made you more attractive to them?
Yes, because if you don't have any sponsors, when any potential sponsors start thinking why hasn't he got any sponsors, is it because he is not promotable or he doesn't present himself very well. You have to understand that a typical sponsor is often not an enthusiast. They often don't even go to the events. They don't really know what we are doing. If you get some mainstream sponsors it is like some business card to hand over. I've already got these sponsors and they trust me and they trust me for a good reason, because I do a good job for them. I possibly only see the sponsors once a year, if that. They don't know what you are doing, they are trusting you with their money and for you to promote their brand and for trials rider and any sponsored rider actually. I think a lot of the riders didn't understand that it was much more than just accepting the contract and taking the money. You also need to keep in touch with the sponsors and report to them and tell them what you are doing so that they understand the boy that they are spending their money on, is being spent wisely. I think that I brought a new angle to sponsors that didn't exist before.
Oh yes oh yes very easily actually.
Do you think that your aim to be a good catch for sponsors made you more attractive to them?
Yes, because if you don't have any sponsors, when any potential sponsors start thinking why hasn't he got any sponsors, is it because he is not promotable or he doesn't present himself very well. You have to understand that a typical sponsor is often not an enthusiast. They often don't even go to the events. They don't really know what we are doing. If you get some mainstream sponsors it is like some business card to hand over. I've already got these sponsors and they trust me and they trust me for a good reason, because I do a good job for them. I possibly only see the sponsors once a year, if that. They don't know what you are doing, they are trusting you with their money and for you to promote their brand and for trials rider and any sponsored rider actually. I think a lot of the riders didn't understand that it was much more than just accepting the contract and taking the money. You also need to keep in touch with the sponsors and report to them and tell them what you are doing so that they understand the boy that they are spending their money on, is being spent wisely. I think that I brought a new angle to sponsors that didn't exist before.