A bit complacency had crept in?
Mmm, Yes. I just tried to repeat what I had done before and I also had assumed that as Bernie had been a bit volatile he wouldn't be so consistent, but Bernie became more consistent. The biggest nail in my coffin was the fact that I didn't manage to win in Finland. I have banked on that and if I had won in Finland, that would have clinched the championship, but I didn't, it was Manuel Soler who won and that was the biggest sensation of the time, because Manuel was the first ever Spanish rider to win a world round. People still talk about that today. What Manuel did on that day, yeah, it's still a mystery. I still can't understand how he managed to do what he did.
What do you mean by that?
He was riding most of the sections in bottom gear, well let me tell you, it was not possible to ride those sections in bottom gear. Everybody else was in second or third. I talked about this with Manuel tens of times, I still don't understand how you manage to ride like that and get up these slippery hills in bottom. Most of the time, when I see Manuel, we touch this subject. He just smiles at me in that knowing way.
So coming to the end of 1979, Bernie won and you moved over to Montesa. Throughout your career, did you have offers from other manufactures?
Yes yes. I'll get you a couple of letters which I promise to show you. You are the first person to have seen this. This is the telegraph I receive from Honda. They are very keen on signing me. At the time I read these letters and then put them away in a file and it's only now that I discovered them. I love the stamp on the letter with the word president.
Mmm, Yes. I just tried to repeat what I had done before and I also had assumed that as Bernie had been a bit volatile he wouldn't be so consistent, but Bernie became more consistent. The biggest nail in my coffin was the fact that I didn't manage to win in Finland. I have banked on that and if I had won in Finland, that would have clinched the championship, but I didn't, it was Manuel Soler who won and that was the biggest sensation of the time, because Manuel was the first ever Spanish rider to win a world round. People still talk about that today. What Manuel did on that day, yeah, it's still a mystery. I still can't understand how he managed to do what he did.
What do you mean by that?
He was riding most of the sections in bottom gear, well let me tell you, it was not possible to ride those sections in bottom gear. Everybody else was in second or third. I talked about this with Manuel tens of times, I still don't understand how you manage to ride like that and get up these slippery hills in bottom. Most of the time, when I see Manuel, we touch this subject. He just smiles at me in that knowing way.
So coming to the end of 1979, Bernie won and you moved over to Montesa. Throughout your career, did you have offers from other manufactures?
Yes yes. I'll get you a couple of letters which I promise to show you. You are the first person to have seen this. This is the telegraph I receive from Honda. They are very keen on signing me. At the time I read these letters and then put them away in a file and it's only now that I discovered them. I love the stamp on the letter with the word president.
Honda wanted to sign Yrjo.
So it looks as though you got 2 contracts from them asking you to sign with them.
Yes. I had some approaches from Ossa as well, here are some letters from Ossa. I didn't have any contact with Yamaha. I had some discussions with Montesa and that's about it.
Yes. I had some approaches from Ossa as well, here are some letters from Ossa. I didn't have any contact with Yamaha. I had some discussions with Montesa and that's about it.
Another letter from Sammy Miller regarding Honda's proposal.
What are you going to do with all this stuff, you have got so much gear and memorabilia . You're in the same situation as other people I've visited, for instance Jordi Tarres, who has got a whole floor full of trials memorabilia, bikes, paperwork, magazines, clothing, everything, he's got everything and you have. I asked Jordi what he was going to do with his and he joked by saying that he was going to make a Jordi Tarres Museum, but he was only joking, but the simple fact is that no one ever will do it, it just won't be economically viable. The only way that it could work would be if a group of riders got together and created something, but then again you're still facing the constant costs. Museums in monetary terms are just one big black hole, you just never make a profit or even break even. The Ossa Museum in Zaragoza which is very uncompromisingly Ossa, this only opens on special occasions by request and that cost millions to establish.
What I have from my time in trials is not the basis for a museum, it's just a personal collection of things with the bikes I've restored and the bikes I've acquired. That in itself is nothing to do with money or trying to make a profit, it's like a type of mental illness. Once you hit it you get the bug and it's very difficult to say no more. It's just a question of can you afford it or not. It's not a question of will you be able to generate any money out of it, that doesn’t enter my mind.
What I have from my time in trials is not the basis for a museum, it's just a personal collection of things with the bikes I've restored and the bikes I've acquired. That in itself is nothing to do with money or trying to make a profit, it's like a type of mental illness. Once you hit it you get the bug and it's very difficult to say no more. It's just a question of can you afford it or not. It's not a question of will you be able to generate any money out of it, that doesn’t enter my mind.