Any of the others would have done the same if they thought of it?
I don't know, maybe I think they would have done it differently. They would have gone to the first section and sat down there which is the typical English way of doing it. I think if I just gone to the first section and sat there that you would have got bigger and bigger and bigger as no one would have wanted to go. The fact that I disappeared was a new trick, wish I hadn't heard of anyone doing before I disappeared from the scene all together and people automatically assumed I had gone through. At the end of 1978, did you feel as though Bernie was very much on the horizon? Oh yes yes. But Bernie was wild crazy, is not a nice word to say but in a nice way he was crazy but he was really wild. He was completely care free as well, you know, we don't have too many worries in life and was just enjoying life. So a contrast to you in this respect? |
Yes, but there was a difference. Bernie was a natural talent, he was a born rider and he must've been extremely talented to be able to develop and hone skills when he came to Europe. We had never seen anybody starting to move the front wheel round or hop the back end over or make pivot turns, that was completely alien to us with the benefit of hindsight you realise that he comes from Southern California, where it's extremely grippy and you could do that sort of thing, where me and my generation, we were brought up with back tyres that weren't gripping and we were forever trying to fight for grip so it's an alien idea for us to stop somewhere and trying to balance somewhere and in England even more so we're stopping. I'm standing on the pegs would give you a five.
Did you hear that Bultaco were having problems prior to 1979?
Yes yes yes, I was hearing rumours, but I was not a businessman and I was completely unable to evaluate the scale of their problems and to understand what it may lead to. I always assume that the family of Bultaco had a lot of money.
Do you feel information was kept from you?
I never even asked. I don't know if the information would of been offered to me. If I had asked what is going on, as far as I was concerned it was none of my business and I wasn't interested in some ways. I felt a bit of guilt for earning so much more than the people at the factory. My share of the proceeds took on an unfair level in some ways. I did feel sorry for some of the employees but the conditions were pretty poor and I don't know exactly how much they were earning but I can only assume that it wasn't a nice living, you could tell by their cars and vehicles. Using that they didn't have much money in 1976-1978. I was driving a red Mercedes 300d, 5 cylinder diesel which I bought new from Germany. In Spain you have to be a multi- millionaire to drive a car like that because the cars are that expensive there.
Yes yes yes, I was hearing rumours, but I was not a businessman and I was completely unable to evaluate the scale of their problems and to understand what it may lead to. I always assume that the family of Bultaco had a lot of money.
Do you feel information was kept from you?
I never even asked. I don't know if the information would of been offered to me. If I had asked what is going on, as far as I was concerned it was none of my business and I wasn't interested in some ways. I felt a bit of guilt for earning so much more than the people at the factory. My share of the proceeds took on an unfair level in some ways. I did feel sorry for some of the employees but the conditions were pretty poor and I don't know exactly how much they were earning but I can only assume that it wasn't a nice living, you could tell by their cars and vehicles. Using that they didn't have much money in 1976-1978. I was driving a red Mercedes 300d, 5 cylinder diesel which I bought new from Germany. In Spain you have to be a multi- millionaire to drive a car like that because the cars are that expensive there.
At that point, had you already bought a place as well to live in?
In 1976 I bought a flat in Finland then I sold that. I bought another flat in 1978 which I then subsequently sold and we bought a house in England in 1983, when we got married.
I know it was a very close win by Bernie over you in 1979, what can you remember about that? Can you remember if you tried anything new to win that year or what your thought process was?
In fairness, I didn't deserve to win. If I had won it would have been unfair to Bernie because he was a better rider and I'd only won 1 round that year. You cannot expect to win the World Championship by winning one round, having said that, that's exactly what Ulf Karlson did the following year. He only won one round. Bernie won about 4 or 5 and still didn't win. I should also say that I think at this time my eyes were slightly off the ball as I had a new girlfriend and I was spending a bit more time with her.
In 1976 I bought a flat in Finland then I sold that. I bought another flat in 1978 which I then subsequently sold and we bought a house in England in 1983, when we got married.
I know it was a very close win by Bernie over you in 1979, what can you remember about that? Can you remember if you tried anything new to win that year or what your thought process was?
In fairness, I didn't deserve to win. If I had won it would have been unfair to Bernie because he was a better rider and I'd only won 1 round that year. You cannot expect to win the World Championship by winning one round, having said that, that's exactly what Ulf Karlson did the following year. He only won one round. Bernie won about 4 or 5 and still didn't win. I should also say that I think at this time my eyes were slightly off the ball as I had a new girlfriend and I was spending a bit more time with her.