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25 - A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen |
A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
How things have changed to today, when they turn up at trials now a week before the event?
I was going to explain to you that regarding the 1975 season, I very much believe that if you just practice more and more and harder and harder sections, eventually you become that much better and even if you make the odd mistake you are still able to win, but what I didn't really appreciate enough was that trials is not only about ability it is about learning to compete and learning to compete is a completely different thing to practicing, because you cannot learn to compete if you don't compete and I wasn't riding enough trials. You see, the English riders were very good at competing because that's what they did week in week out, competition after competition. With a high level of competition where as my competition would vary from riding a local trial in Finland and winning relatively easily, to riding in a World Championship which was a struggle. The riders in England were competing against each other all of the time and their understanding of how to compete was extremely good. What I'm talking about, is for instance, how long to sit on the grassy bank until you make your attempt and who do you team up with because typically you ride with somebody. Do you try and manipulate the situation somehow with for instance your entry because you can get a better entry in terms of your riding number. How many rocks are you able to kick out of the way before you get in trouble, there are a number of things that relate to the competition situation that don't relate it all to practicing. I was getting better and better practicing but I wasn't getting better at competing.
I was going to explain to you that regarding the 1975 season, I very much believe that if you just practice more and more and harder and harder sections, eventually you become that much better and even if you make the odd mistake you are still able to win, but what I didn't really appreciate enough was that trials is not only about ability it is about learning to compete and learning to compete is a completely different thing to practicing, because you cannot learn to compete if you don't compete and I wasn't riding enough trials. You see, the English riders were very good at competing because that's what they did week in week out, competition after competition. With a high level of competition where as my competition would vary from riding a local trial in Finland and winning relatively easily, to riding in a World Championship which was a struggle. The riders in England were competing against each other all of the time and their understanding of how to compete was extremely good. What I'm talking about, is for instance, how long to sit on the grassy bank until you make your attempt and who do you team up with because typically you ride with somebody. Do you try and manipulate the situation somehow with for instance your entry because you can get a better entry in terms of your riding number. How many rocks are you able to kick out of the way before you get in trouble, there are a number of things that relate to the competition situation that don't relate it all to practicing. I was getting better and better practicing but I wasn't getting better at competing.
A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
Were you a little bit naïve?
Well inexperienced, so how do I compensate for the situation given the fact that the English riders have this benefit over me and I'm not allowed to compete in the English championship. There was only one other event that I could ride in England apart from the world round and that was the Six Days. There was nothing else all the rest were national events and the FIM wouldn't allow that, they wouldn't allow you to ride so I had to change this. The next decision I made, was that I would have to go and ride with Charlie Coultard and I would go and ride against Manuel Soler, but I had to travel very very far. I had to make a much bigger effort to compete on a higher level. English guys needed to ride with the same guys in England and were riding against each other in different places week in and week out. As a result of this they became stone hard competitors. They became very hard nosed and made very few mistakes, they were shrewd characters. I'm sure Martin Lampkin benefited a great deal from Sid riding next to him all of the time, never use benefits from them riding around together and sticking with each other at all times. Tough hard-nosed characters, ultimately there was one thing that I thought of, if I can't be better than them then I have to be smarter than them and I started looking at another angle that they had overlooked and that was a relatively easy one in fact. It was physical fitness. I started improving my fitness day in and day out and I became so fit that when the English riders were getting tired and was starting to make mistakes and I was still fresh. That made a huge difference. I had a personal trainer through the federation and he was pushing and pushing me all the way. He would sometimes phone me in the morning and say are you up yet, you should be in the gym. I have this trainer in 1975 and before he gave me a program to keep to and to do all sorts of things.
Well inexperienced, so how do I compensate for the situation given the fact that the English riders have this benefit over me and I'm not allowed to compete in the English championship. There was only one other event that I could ride in England apart from the world round and that was the Six Days. There was nothing else all the rest were national events and the FIM wouldn't allow that, they wouldn't allow you to ride so I had to change this. The next decision I made, was that I would have to go and ride with Charlie Coultard and I would go and ride against Manuel Soler, but I had to travel very very far. I had to make a much bigger effort to compete on a higher level. English guys needed to ride with the same guys in England and were riding against each other in different places week in and week out. As a result of this they became stone hard competitors. They became very hard nosed and made very few mistakes, they were shrewd characters. I'm sure Martin Lampkin benefited a great deal from Sid riding next to him all of the time, never use benefits from them riding around together and sticking with each other at all times. Tough hard-nosed characters, ultimately there was one thing that I thought of, if I can't be better than them then I have to be smarter than them and I started looking at another angle that they had overlooked and that was a relatively easy one in fact. It was physical fitness. I started improving my fitness day in and day out and I became so fit that when the English riders were getting tired and was starting to make mistakes and I was still fresh. That made a huge difference. I had a personal trainer through the federation and he was pushing and pushing me all the way. He would sometimes phone me in the morning and say are you up yet, you should be in the gym. I have this trainer in 1975 and before he gave me a program to keep to and to do all sorts of things.
A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
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A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
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This is the actual moment i had blown my first chance at becoming World champion. Mick Andrew won the trial and i came 2nd.
A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
These 2 photos are from the same trial.
A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
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A detailed career interview with 3 x World motorcycle Trials Champion Yrjö Vesterinen
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And at this time did you enjoy a drink and a smoke?
I always enjoyed a drink, but I've never ever smoked. I've been a party smoker but not smoked actively ever. In actual fact, if I haven't had a drink, cigarettes make me ill. Back then, none of the riders were heavy drinkers and the only person who smoked was Mick Andrews.
I always enjoyed a drink, but I've never ever smoked. I've been a party smoker but not smoked actively ever. In actual fact, if I haven't had a drink, cigarettes make me ill. Back then, none of the riders were heavy drinkers and the only person who smoked was Mick Andrews.