Page 6 The best Steve Saunders Interview ever 2013
Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
I lived at the school until I got married, so 20 odd years I lived there.
Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
Tell me about your practising? Were you practising every spare minute you had?
Absolutley, yes. I was incredibly lucky that we had this piece of land. It wouldn’t lend itself for preparation for World Championship events now but riding a bike anywhere is learning to ride a bike.
What was the ground make up, Soil, clay, chalk ?
It was all soil and clay. It was banking’s and tree roots and trees on banks. Nothing huge. Everything to a 125 Fantic was big in those days. A Beta 80 these days would fly up these hills but that was a big thing for a 340 Bultaco. Even Vesty and Charlie Coultard, people like that came practising there. When they came over for the British Round one year, don’t ask me what year it was, but they came over and went practising there. There was Manuel Soler, Vesty, Charlie Coultard.
Absolutley, yes. I was incredibly lucky that we had this piece of land. It wouldn’t lend itself for preparation for World Championship events now but riding a bike anywhere is learning to ride a bike.
What was the ground make up, Soil, clay, chalk ?
It was all soil and clay. It was banking’s and tree roots and trees on banks. Nothing huge. Everything to a 125 Fantic was big in those days. A Beta 80 these days would fly up these hills but that was a big thing for a 340 Bultaco. Even Vesty and Charlie Coultard, people like that came practising there. When they came over for the British Round one year, don’t ask me what year it was, but they came over and went practising there. There was Manuel Soler, Vesty, Charlie Coultard.
Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
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Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
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Did your Mum and Dad have to go with you every time?
I was out and about all the time on my own. We’ve changed a lot. Looking back it was bit irresponsible buy back then in the 70s it was the way it was.
Do you think that if that land hadn’t been there,things would have turned out very different?
Things would definately turned out different yes. Without a doubt. I’m completely obsessed with the sport of trials regardless of what rules or bike or whatever. The sport is the sport and it’s an absolutely fantastic sport. Certainly my ability to ride a bike would have been a lot lower if we hadn’t had that land. I’d hate to think where I would be now.
What do you attribute you childhood practicing to have achieved?
Literally every thing was learnt here. In the early days you only used the clutch to out the bike in gear and set off. Once you set off you left the clutch out and got on with it.
There are stories of you as a child holding the bike flat out and slipping the clutch. Is this something that you leant there?
This is a technique. I guess I started the technique there. I couldn’t do it quite accurately but you could back the throttle off and play with the throttle to do a similar thing and if you could also play with the clutch at the same time and do a similar thing. I don’t know really where I started doing that but I guess it was there.
I was out and about all the time on my own. We’ve changed a lot. Looking back it was bit irresponsible buy back then in the 70s it was the way it was.
Do you think that if that land hadn’t been there,things would have turned out very different?
Things would definately turned out different yes. Without a doubt. I’m completely obsessed with the sport of trials regardless of what rules or bike or whatever. The sport is the sport and it’s an absolutely fantastic sport. Certainly my ability to ride a bike would have been a lot lower if we hadn’t had that land. I’d hate to think where I would be now.
What do you attribute you childhood practicing to have achieved?
Literally every thing was learnt here. In the early days you only used the clutch to out the bike in gear and set off. Once you set off you left the clutch out and got on with it.
There are stories of you as a child holding the bike flat out and slipping the clutch. Is this something that you leant there?
This is a technique. I guess I started the technique there. I couldn’t do it quite accurately but you could back the throttle off and play with the throttle to do a similar thing and if you could also play with the clutch at the same time and do a similar thing. I don’t know really where I started doing that but I guess it was there.
Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
You are renowned for being good in the mud, why is this?
Well everywhere I was practising was slippery and I don’t know if it’s an illusion as a kid but it did seem to be raining every single day when I was a kid. It rarely was dry so it was always wet and always slippery and of course the tyres were rubbish relative to what they are now.The wheels were slipping and sliding all of the time so I guess it was made more difficult to find grip so I had to work for it.
In your early days did you have a different technique to other riders back then?
I think my technique was quite different to what other riders where using. I was probably the first person who came along as a kid with a motorbike. These days it’s not special but back then it was special and unusual and the people who preceeded us, I don’t think they had ridden bikes as kids so we learnt different techniques by having smaller cc engines. You had to ride these in a different manner and learnt a technique to ride that and it developed that technique to ride bigger engine bikes.
Well everywhere I was practising was slippery and I don’t know if it’s an illusion as a kid but it did seem to be raining every single day when I was a kid. It rarely was dry so it was always wet and always slippery and of course the tyres were rubbish relative to what they are now.The wheels were slipping and sliding all of the time so I guess it was made more difficult to find grip so I had to work for it.
In your early days did you have a different technique to other riders back then?
I think my technique was quite different to what other riders where using. I was probably the first person who came along as a kid with a motorbike. These days it’s not special but back then it was special and unusual and the people who preceeded us, I don’t think they had ridden bikes as kids so we learnt different techniques by having smaller cc engines. You had to ride these in a different manner and learnt a technique to ride that and it developed that technique to ride bigger engine bikes.
A great photo of Bernie during his Italjet years
Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
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Steve Saunders Interview WWW.RETROTRIALS.COM
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Who was your trials idol?
My trials idol was Bernie Schriber. No doubt about it. Later on did you get to meet him? Yes, yes. I can remember the year I think it was when he was World Champion, I can’t remember the year, was it 79. This was the year I met Bernie, which was brilliant. Where did you meet him? Down in Surrey some where. I can’t remember what the land was called but down in Surrey he was doing a training day for the Comerford’s team riders. |
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