askapro Difference between good and great By Lee Parks #162125
Q: I’m always amazed at the skills
and abilities of world champion riders. While watch- ing Moto GP or even Supercross, I cannot even imag-
ine how those guys can go so fast and not crash, let alone what makes one even better than another. Given that fact, it begs the question of what do you think separates the merely great riders from the true champions?
A: This is a great question that has puzzled many an expert in different disciplines for years. In today’s hyper competitive racing atmosphere, it’s tough to gain an advantage. Those who manage to keep one become our modern legends. In an effort to unlock the secrets of human achieve- ment, I have often interviewed cham- pion riders for both personal and professional reasons. It’s fascinating to see what makes them tick and, of course, who doesn’t want the recipe of the Go-Fast Secret Sauce? Three-time world GP Champion
Kenny Roberts used to walk barefoot on the track to get the best “feel” of the traction conditions. World Super- bike and 250 GP World Champion John Kocinski used to make sure every part of his racing program from his pits to his bike to his gear was per- fectly ordered and maintained. There are many stories of him spending hours in his RV at the track meticu- lously cleaning every bug splat off his helmet and leathers. Even years later his OCD now helps him earn a living restoring and flipping French Coun- try-style homes. Another three-time 500 GP
82 BMW OWNERS NEWS March 2017
champion, Wayne Rainey, had learned to have faith that his tires would stick, giving him the confidence needed to, if I may bor- row one of Ron Popeil’s catchphrases, “Set it and forget it.” In the dirt world, other champions have
credited everything from diet to divine intervention as the secret ingredient. The winning streaks of guys like McGrath and Carmichael are well known, but an equally impressive champion you may not be aware of is Mike Lafferty. His reasons for success were by far the most interesting and illumi- nating I ever received. Lafferty won the AMA’s National Enduro
series an incredible six times in seven years. Equally noteworthy is that he has achieved all of his triumphs on the same brand (KTM) and virtually all of his sponsors have been with him for the entire ride. This kind of loyalty is part of what makes Laf- ferty such a unique champion, as well as one hell of a nice guy. What makes Lafferty so seemingly
unstoppable? In a word, “balance.” Lafferty attributes his success to cultivating the right balance of what he considers to be the five key attributes of a motorcycle racing cham- pion. They are: 1) Natural talent, 2) Riding ability, 3) Training, 4) Determination and 5) Personal life. “I’ve got a lot of natural talent, but I’m not
the most naturally talented,” says Lafferty. “I’m one of the better riders ability-wise, but I’m not the best. I’m pretty fit, but there are fitter riders. And I’ve got a lot of deter- mination, but some of the guys are surely more determined. And I have a decent per- sonal life. While some racers have no per- sonal life, there are plenty who make that much more of a priority than me. “I think it’s much more important to have
a balanced amount of all these things as opposed to just concentrating on being the best at one. The purpose of the balance is to keep ‘hungry’ for racing and winning. If
you overdose in one area, you get burned out and lose the drive to compete. For instance, if you ride every day, you’re not always hungry for it. When you take a little time off and watch a race or two, you get real hungry to get back out there.” So what’s the secret to keeping the hun-
ger? “You gotta mix stuff up to keep it fresh,” says Lafferty. “For example, I’m switching back to the two-strokes for this year [that was 2004] even though I’ve had a lot of suc- cess on the fours. It will make every course brand new again, which is very exciting for me.” Behind every great champion is an
equally great mechanic, and Lafferty is quick to credit his mechanic and close friend Alan Randt with keeping his KTMs in top form. “The bikes are totally dialed in,” says Rafferty. “My mechanic makes the bikes work so well, it makes me want to ride more.” While there is no single thing that makes
riders into champions, it’s clear that they all figured out what specifically was needed to get the most out of their individual perfor- mances. Perhaps Zen master Basho said it best: “Seek not to follow in the footsteps of the men of old. Seek what they sought.”
Lee Parks (#162125) has been riding and rac- ing motorcycles for well over 33 years. He has been the editor of both consumer and trade motorcycle magazines, manufacturers his own line of motorcycle gloves and is a WERA national endurance champion. His riding skills book Total Control has sold over 100,000 copies in five languages around the world. Lee’s Total Control Training company manages—and is the curriculum vendor for—the California Motorcyclist Safety Pro- gram as well as several large military con- tracts. If you have a question you’d like to him to answer in this column, send him an email at
lee@totalcontroltraining.net.
skills
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116