Mike "Majic" Sullivan
By Shawn McDonald
Background
Born: Butte, Montana
Height: 5’9"
Racing weight: 154 pounds
Sister/Brother: Dan, Mark, Joy
Married: Valerie
Business: City of Centralia, Street Department
Championships: 10th San Jose Mile Junior 1976, Boise TT 1982 Expert Main Event, Showdown 1985 Shortrack Kingdome, Main Event 1989 Portland Coliseum Shorttrack, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2004 for a record 5 times WMRRA and 1997, 1998 OMRRA #1 overall Championship, 4th AMA 250 GP Championship 1990, 1995, 3rd Daytona F-USA 1996, 2nd F-USA Portland 1998, 1999 F-USA National Championship, 2nd place 1991 New Zealand National Championships 250 GP.
Major sponsors in your career: Gene Olson, Greg Olson, Jim McKee, Zlock Racing, Brothers Honda-Yamaha, Insulate Industries, Dunlop Tires, Bellevue Suzuki-Ducati, Enumclaw Suzuki-Kawasaki, EBC Brakes, Silkolene Oil, Cliff Garrett, A/Champion Drywall, Central Sales and Supplies, Screwy Designs, Dick Wall, Skagit Skate, Frohs Garage, Chow Down Catering, Power Sports NW, Enbody and Dugaw attys, Lou Kinish, George Adams.
"Sully" can be described as the local boy who did good. He can be as friendly to everyone in the pits and on the racetrack. Mike enjoys good laughter. He can come up with jokes like "Bongo Bongo" that you will remember for the rest of your life. Professionalism and dedication are the hallmarks to Mike’s career. He is also a scrapper who had to fight his way to the top on learned riding skills and not because he had the best bike. Most of the time he did not have the best bike. That made him even greater. Mike loves motorcycle racing. Under the name "motorcycle Racer" in the dictionary you would find his name. 30 years ago he would have been in the movie "On Any Sunday." I am glad to call him a friend.
Bench Racer: What got you started in motorcycles in the first place?
Mike: When I was a kid my dad Steve raced. I would go the races with him. He made it up to the AMA Junior ranks in flat track racing. He stopped racing full time in 1970. My dad and mom owned a motorcycle shop called "Sully’s" which had Harley’s, BSA, Suzuki, AJS, BMW and Triumph. My dad had a job as a meat cutter and my mom ran the motorcycle shop during the day.
BR: How many sets of leathers have you owned?
Mike: I have probably gone through ten sets of leathers so far. I prefer not to have what everybody else is wearing so I have had a lot of custom leathers made for me. Syed and Vanson leathers have made me suits with flames and lightening bolts that stand out from a distance. Screwy Designs from Olympia has done some cool designs on my helmets over the past few years. Every year I like to have something a little bit different on my helmets and leathers. I have been sponsored by Shoei Helmets for the last 10 years. This year because of the F-USA title I have a sponsorship with Bell Helmets.
BR: What role did your family have in supporting your early riding?
Mike: My dad’s shop also sold Hodaka’s. That was my first race bike. In 1970 they didn’t have minibikes so you started out in the 100cc class. My dad promised my brother and I that whoever did the best would get the trick hop up parts. I won my first trophy on a Hodaka at Woodland summer Track, which was, then next to the freeway.
BR: How long after you started riding did you start to race?
Mike: I started riding when I was ten years old in 1966 and first raced in 1969. I had a 65cc step through Harley Davidson and I abused that up in the trails and that was how I cut my teeth on riding motorcycles.
BR: Were you successful when you first started?
Mike: Not really. It took me a long time to win my first trophy. I would always go to the "A" main where they would give out three trophies and I would always finish in fourth place. I won the Trophy Dash down at the Woodland Track and that was great. The 100cc Kawasaki Green Streaks were the hottest bikes around at the time. I had a Hodaka with all the hop-up parts on it and I beat three Green Streaks in the Trophy Dash and that was a pretty big deal to me then. Eventually if you hang with it long enough you get better and the trophies follow. Years ago at Graham Speedway they let the first 12 kids on 100cc bikes ride in the Pro event in an exhibition race. My brother and I would show up on our Hodaka’s and Buck Murphy was there on a Van Tech Bridgestone. That was the era we grew up in and it was neat to race in front of the big crowds as a young kid.
BR: What was your first race that made you stand out from the rest of the crowd?
Mike: As a novice Class C AMA flat track racer the goal was to make it to the main event at the Castle Rock National. I did that as a novice and finished 9th. In 1976 I finished 3rd at the regional event at Boise Idaho. I beat Mickey Fay and some of the top northwest guys at that race. A few weeks later, I finished 2nd at the regional championship in Colorado on a ½ mile event. So in 1976 I would say that I became a quality rider that people started looking at.
BR: What was your biggest disappointment?
Mike: I’ve raced so many times over the years. To be honest with you, if I didn’t race anymore tomorrow I wouldn’t be disappointed with my career. I got a lot further than I ever expected. I guess that the 1995 AMA Road race National in St Louis stands out. I was in 3rd place with an eight second cushion. I wore out the front tire and ended up crashing, that was a very disappointing day. Living in the northwest it’s hard to sign a good sponsorship contract to race the nationals. Not getting a factory ride or a major league sponsorship was disappointing. Now I’m too old to be getting a factory ride. I always took great satisfaction in taking my stock 250 GP bike as a grass roots level effort and race against the factory riders with all the trick forks, shocks, pipes and engines and beating them. I don’t have any complaints about my career.
BR: What was your biggest regret?
Mike: If I had a regret it would be that I didn’t get into road racing before I did. I didn’t start road racing until I was 23 years old. I was deep into flat tracking then and it was hard to come up with the finances to road race. Road racing was expensive, and it still is. It was hard to try to do both types of racing financially. I regret that I wasn’t born into a rich family.
BR: Do you think it hurt your racing career being from the northwest instead of California or Florida?
Mike: Absolutely! When I decided to taper off dirt track riding in 1986 and concentrate on road racing I bought a new Honda RS 250 GP bike. I went down to northern California, with my wife and my mom, to race at the deadly Sears Point racetrack without ever having started the bike or raced there before. I missed the practice day and still won the local AFM 250 GP race. The Californians were in shock. They said that I was the only non-Californian to ever win there. They had never really heard about Washington racers. There is really no race coverage of the local races in national publications. A lot of people on the national circuit are surprised that there are any racetracks up here. If the racers don’t know that we exist, then you can be assured that the sponsors absolutely have no idea.
BR: If you were in your racing prime and riding the same equipment as today’s racers, how do you think you would do?
Mike: It’s so hard to compare different eras of racing. If I had the equipment, I think that I would have won some nationals. On the stock equipment that I had, I finished 2nd and 3rd in national races. In the AMA race at Pomona I was the closest that anybody had gotten to three time 250 GP champion Rich Oliver that year. I had 100th the budget that Oliver had by getting every mile out of the tires, not changing piston and rings every second and depending upon the help from friends. I didn’t hit my road-racing prime until I was 30 years old. IF I HAD everything in life I could have won the national championship. I could have won the Lotto also.
BR: What is the most interesting question you’ve never been asked?
Mike: That’s the hardest question I’ve been asked. My mother-in-law who is 80 years old has friends that ask me "You do wear a helmet when you race motorcycles?"
BR: How do you think flat track racing has helped your road racing style?
Mike: The sliding aspect of it definitely, although I believe that if your sliding around to much your not going anywhere whether in flat track or road racing. It makes you more comfortable when the bike does funny stuff underneath you. Finding traction with throttle control is a big thing that transfers over from flat track. You also can’t argue with the success of former flat track racers like Doug Chandler, Bubba Shobert, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson or Wayne Rainey.
BR: Throughout your racing career who was your greatest rival?
Mike: There was one guy that came up with me through flat tracking that I always wanted to beat. He is one of the most talented riders and I always try to measure myself against him, Mickey Fay. I can honestly say that I beat him 9 or 10 times in my career. It was always at a local race though; I never beat him in a national. Mickey can ride a motorcycle like nobody I ever rode against. He was one of my contemporaries that I raced against all the time. If you could beat Mickey you were doing something really right.
BR: Who was your greatest NW racing rival?
Mike: In road racing it would be Joe Pittman, Shawn Roberti and Keith Pinkstaff. They’re all retired or semi-retired now. Except for Keith who is as old as I am, they are all younger than me. Dave Cook has improved lately and is a really good rider.
BR: Who was the best racer you saw or raced against?
Mike: In 1979 I saw Brad Hurst at the Castle Rock National fall down and get back on the bike and reel in and pass Jay Springsteen, Steve Eklund and won the race. That race stands out as being the most incredible that I ever saw. Hurst was on a mission. Watching and racing against Jimmy Filice and Rich Oliver on their 250 GP bikes was fantastic.
BR: What do you think made you different from all the other racers and made you a champion?
Mike: Ever since I was a kid this is what I wanted to do. I didn’t have any natural talent when I started out. I used to knock motorcycles over in my dad’s shop sitting on them and pushing them in and out of the shop. I was really dedicated to racing motorcycles. My dad asked his kids what they wanted to do when they grew up and I always answered that I wanted to race motorcycles. When I was a kid I memorized all the national numbers and racers. I didn’t have hot rods as a teenager because I was always focused on going racing. That’s the main thing I wanted to do with my life. I think any success that I have had is due to that focus.
BR: If you were to start motorcycle racing today, what type of racing would you do?
Mike: I think that to be a good road racer you have to ride dirt bikes of some type. I would be a road racer though because of the factory support and the growing popularity makes it possible to make a living at it. I wish that I could make a living at it! For guys starting out I don’t think that it is important that you race flat track, but you should learn to flick it sideways on the dirt. I tell guys to get an XR100 or XR80 and make a little oval and slide the bike in and out of corners. That is how Kenny Roberts trains upcoming world GP stars. He must know something. I think a guy should get an MX’er and a XR 100 and do a lot of repetition on corners, strength and power control and then ease into a road-racing program.
BR: What was your favorite track?
Mike: My favorite flat track racetrack was the Ascot TT in California because it had a huge right hand corner and a huge jump. I always did well there and the fans were great. I really like the technical aspect of the road racecourse at Mid-Ohio. It was a real riders track in going over hills and turning everywhere. Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and Laguna Seca are also some great tracks.
BR: Do you still play ride today?
Mike: I don’t anymore because I have a pretty worn out left hip joint. I can’t have it kicking around anymore because it causes a lot of pain. I try to save it to go roadracing. I ride stationary bicycles and work out a lot in preparation for the upcoming season.
BR: How do you still get it up to go racing after all these years?
Mike: The seasons get longer every year. You start off in Daytona in March and end up finishing off at a local race in October. I don’t mind seeing the season coming to an end at all. Realistically, I think that this will be my last season racing.
BR: Favorite drink?
Mike: It would have to be without a doubt coffee. That is probably one of my vices is that I drink to much coffee. I don’t think that I can live without it. I hardly ever drink alcohol. A glass of wine or a V-8 with a beer once in a while is about as far as I go.
BR: You really shined on roadrace tracks that valued rider skill vs. horsepower. Why is that?
Mike: One of my strengths is getting on the brakes hard that I think came from riding slow motorcycles. You had to make it up somewhere. I have had real good finishes on dangerous racetracks, which doesn’t say much for my brainpower. A real scrappers track like Pomona where it was a real twisty track and no long straight-aways brought out the dirt tracker in me. I did really well on riders’ tracks like Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca, which is probably why there my favorite tracks also.
BR: Best party?
Mike: Hanging around with Bruce Lind in New Zealand a few years ago we went to a pretty big piss up. The five riders from Team America pooled $500 US of their own money for whoever finished the best in the national championships. You got paralyzed at the last race so Bruce and the rest of the Team America shouted the bar for all the money on the bet to buy Tequila for all the Kiwi’s to drink, if they visited you in the hospital. There were about 300 New Zealanders who will remember that party for the rest of their lives. Most of them came to visit you if they remembered that night.
BR: Most memorable moment as a racer?
Mike: The happiest day of my life was getting on the podium at the Mid-Ohio national. I had finished 4th six times in the nationals to that point. It was almost like when I first started racing and just missed getting a trophy. It was such a monkey to get off my back. That was the most memorable.
BR: How did you feel in winning the Formula USA title?
Mike: It felt really good! They put up a lot of money for the title and that was real important for me to pay the racing bills. This year with PACE Motorsports running the show it will be a much bigger deal having the #1 plate.
BR: What rider from another era do you wish you had a chance to race against in your top form?
Mike: I’ve raced against Gene Romero, Mert Lawill and Kenny Roberts, but probably Bart Markel who was one of my childhood heroes. Bart and Gary Nixon were a little ahead of my time so I would have loved to race against them.
BR: What has kept you involved with motorcycles for over 30 years?
Mike: I get a certain satisfaction in finally being able to get enough money to do something that I love doing. Over the years I have been real fortunate not to get hurt very badly. I have an understanding wife who doesn’t fight me on racing. This is a woman I told that I wouldn’t race past 30 years old. It’s just what I enjoy and I like to do it.
BR: You have seen friends who are racers die or become seriously injured in your career. Did this ever want to make you stop?
Mike: You think about it a lot at the time. It can happen to anyone at anytime. There was a 16-year-old phenom rider named Darrel Davis who was killed in a 1987 national that really affected me a lot. Toby Jorgenson getting killed this year also makes you think. If you don’t live your life like you want to what’s the point to it. I have had a lot of friends die but never enough to make me stop what I love doing.
BR: What was your worst crash?
Mike: I crashed at turn 10 at Sears Point racetrack in 1986, which is a real high-speed corner. I hit the hay bales at about 90 m.p.h. That was real bad.
BR: Which racers did you hang with in your career?
Mike: In my dirt track days my friend Bernie Larson was a load of fun to travel with. He would make you laugh non-stop from here to Houston and back. My best buddy who lives in Japan now is 250 GP racer Ed Sadvar. I enjoy people who crack me up. I enjoy traveling with him the most.
BR: Which northwest racers did you look up to?
Mike: A lot of the guys I looked up to were dirt trackers like Chuck Joyner and Mickey Fay. Chuck won 4 nationals including three wins at Castle Rock TT nationals. Randy Skiver won only one national but he was a racing force in the northwest. The roadracers I admired were Steve Baker world champion and Canadian Steve Crevier. Dale Franklin also accomplished a lot in roadracing nationally on his TZ750 and TZ250.
BR: Do you race differently at national races vs. local races?
Mike: You bet! There is more to be gained at a national. It’s a different mindset altogether. There are a lot of times I would ride my 250 GP bike at local club races and ride at 90 to 95% effort, but it is different intensity at a national. You have to ride at a different level. You ride at 110% or more at a national. If your going to run anywhere near the front at a national you have to beat the best in the nation. You have to be letting it hang! The depth of field at a national is different. Locally you may have 5 fast guys where at a national you have 30 fast guys. One slip and your in the back of the pack.
BR: Your 43 years old now. (Now he is 53, I really need to update these interviews!)Will there be another national champion road racer from the northwest?
Mike: The rider who has been the most consistent top rider over the last few years in the nationals has been Jimmy Moore. That kid has come a long way. He is the real deal. He has a good program together with Ricci Motorsports and Bardahl Oil in the national 750 Supersport class. He barely missed winning the Daytona 750 Supersport class this year and finished 3rd in the championship last year. Karl Schenk is a good rider, but he doesn’t want to travel and ride the nationals and that’s what it takes to get better. It’s one thing to be fast at your home track, but it’s completely different to go to tracks around the country and be competitive. The only way to do that is be like Jimmy Moore and pay your dues for a year or two and then it will all click together.
BR: Why do local road racers now come from street bikes instead of flat tracking?
Mike:If you are a young person today and you want to go road racing you have to have a dad that is interested in it, because it is so expensive. Nicky Hayden to me is going to be world champion, no question. That kid is the most talented rider I have ever seen come around. At the Del Mar Mile last year he passed Scott Parker around the outside and he won a national later in the season. I mean the kid can do it all. He missed winning the Daytona 200 this year by .011 of a second. The local people don’t have that opportunity to ride in the dirt and race. They come from the high tech neighborhood of Redmond and ride street bikes with their buddies. The next thing you know is that they are talking and taking a race class. That’s where the majority of people come from today. They are a little older and have enough money to buy the latest equipment. I think that its part of the high-tech society today.
BR: In one word what would you say about your racing career?
Mike: Satisfying.
Background
Born: Butte, Montana
Height: 5’9"
Racing weight: 154 pounds
Sister/Brother: Dan, Mark, Joy
Married: Valerie
Business: City of Centralia, Street Department
Championships: 10th San Jose Mile Junior 1976, Boise TT 1982 Expert Main Event, Showdown 1985 Shortrack Kingdome, Main Event 1989 Portland Coliseum Shorttrack, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2004 for a record 5 times WMRRA and 1997, 1998 OMRRA #1 overall Championship, 4th AMA 250 GP Championship 1990, 1995, 3rd Daytona F-USA 1996, 2nd F-USA Portland 1998, 1999 F-USA National Championship, 2nd place 1991 New Zealand National Championships 250 GP.
Major sponsors in your career: Gene Olson, Greg Olson, Jim McKee, Zlock Racing, Brothers Honda-Yamaha, Insulate Industries, Dunlop Tires, Bellevue Suzuki-Ducati, Enumclaw Suzuki-Kawasaki, EBC Brakes, Silkolene Oil, Cliff Garrett, A/Champion Drywall, Central Sales and Supplies, Screwy Designs, Dick Wall, Skagit Skate, Frohs Garage, Chow Down Catering, Power Sports NW, Enbody and Dugaw attys, Lou Kinish, George Adams.
"Sully" can be described as the local boy who did good. He can be as friendly to everyone in the pits and on the racetrack. Mike enjoys good laughter. He can come up with jokes like "Bongo Bongo" that you will remember for the rest of your life. Professionalism and dedication are the hallmarks to Mike’s career. He is also a scrapper who had to fight his way to the top on learned riding skills and not because he had the best bike. Most of the time he did not have the best bike. That made him even greater. Mike loves motorcycle racing. Under the name "motorcycle Racer" in the dictionary you would find his name. 30 years ago he would have been in the movie "On Any Sunday." I am glad to call him a friend.
Bench Racer: What got you started in motorcycles in the first place?
Mike: When I was a kid my dad Steve raced. I would go the races with him. He made it up to the AMA Junior ranks in flat track racing. He stopped racing full time in 1970. My dad and mom owned a motorcycle shop called "Sully’s" which had Harley’s, BSA, Suzuki, AJS, BMW and Triumph. My dad had a job as a meat cutter and my mom ran the motorcycle shop during the day.
BR: How many sets of leathers have you owned?
Mike: I have probably gone through ten sets of leathers so far. I prefer not to have what everybody else is wearing so I have had a lot of custom leathers made for me. Syed and Vanson leathers have made me suits with flames and lightening bolts that stand out from a distance. Screwy Designs from Olympia has done some cool designs on my helmets over the past few years. Every year I like to have something a little bit different on my helmets and leathers. I have been sponsored by Shoei Helmets for the last 10 years. This year because of the F-USA title I have a sponsorship with Bell Helmets.
BR: What role did your family have in supporting your early riding?
Mike: My dad’s shop also sold Hodaka’s. That was my first race bike. In 1970 they didn’t have minibikes so you started out in the 100cc class. My dad promised my brother and I that whoever did the best would get the trick hop up parts. I won my first trophy on a Hodaka at Woodland summer Track, which was, then next to the freeway.
BR: How long after you started riding did you start to race?
Mike: I started riding when I was ten years old in 1966 and first raced in 1969. I had a 65cc step through Harley Davidson and I abused that up in the trails and that was how I cut my teeth on riding motorcycles.
BR: Were you successful when you first started?
Mike: Not really. It took me a long time to win my first trophy. I would always go to the "A" main where they would give out three trophies and I would always finish in fourth place. I won the Trophy Dash down at the Woodland Track and that was great. The 100cc Kawasaki Green Streaks were the hottest bikes around at the time. I had a Hodaka with all the hop-up parts on it and I beat three Green Streaks in the Trophy Dash and that was a pretty big deal to me then. Eventually if you hang with it long enough you get better and the trophies follow. Years ago at Graham Speedway they let the first 12 kids on 100cc bikes ride in the Pro event in an exhibition race. My brother and I would show up on our Hodaka’s and Buck Murphy was there on a Van Tech Bridgestone. That was the era we grew up in and it was neat to race in front of the big crowds as a young kid.
BR: What was your first race that made you stand out from the rest of the crowd?
Mike: As a novice Class C AMA flat track racer the goal was to make it to the main event at the Castle Rock National. I did that as a novice and finished 9th. In 1976 I finished 3rd at the regional event at Boise Idaho. I beat Mickey Fay and some of the top northwest guys at that race. A few weeks later, I finished 2nd at the regional championship in Colorado on a ½ mile event. So in 1976 I would say that I became a quality rider that people started looking at.
BR: What was your biggest disappointment?
Mike: I’ve raced so many times over the years. To be honest with you, if I didn’t race anymore tomorrow I wouldn’t be disappointed with my career. I got a lot further than I ever expected. I guess that the 1995 AMA Road race National in St Louis stands out. I was in 3rd place with an eight second cushion. I wore out the front tire and ended up crashing, that was a very disappointing day. Living in the northwest it’s hard to sign a good sponsorship contract to race the nationals. Not getting a factory ride or a major league sponsorship was disappointing. Now I’m too old to be getting a factory ride. I always took great satisfaction in taking my stock 250 GP bike as a grass roots level effort and race against the factory riders with all the trick forks, shocks, pipes and engines and beating them. I don’t have any complaints about my career.
BR: What was your biggest regret?
Mike: If I had a regret it would be that I didn’t get into road racing before I did. I didn’t start road racing until I was 23 years old. I was deep into flat tracking then and it was hard to come up with the finances to road race. Road racing was expensive, and it still is. It was hard to try to do both types of racing financially. I regret that I wasn’t born into a rich family.
BR: Do you think it hurt your racing career being from the northwest instead of California or Florida?
Mike: Absolutely! When I decided to taper off dirt track riding in 1986 and concentrate on road racing I bought a new Honda RS 250 GP bike. I went down to northern California, with my wife and my mom, to race at the deadly Sears Point racetrack without ever having started the bike or raced there before. I missed the practice day and still won the local AFM 250 GP race. The Californians were in shock. They said that I was the only non-Californian to ever win there. They had never really heard about Washington racers. There is really no race coverage of the local races in national publications. A lot of people on the national circuit are surprised that there are any racetracks up here. If the racers don’t know that we exist, then you can be assured that the sponsors absolutely have no idea.
BR: If you were in your racing prime and riding the same equipment as today’s racers, how do you think you would do?
Mike: It’s so hard to compare different eras of racing. If I had the equipment, I think that I would have won some nationals. On the stock equipment that I had, I finished 2nd and 3rd in national races. In the AMA race at Pomona I was the closest that anybody had gotten to three time 250 GP champion Rich Oliver that year. I had 100th the budget that Oliver had by getting every mile out of the tires, not changing piston and rings every second and depending upon the help from friends. I didn’t hit my road-racing prime until I was 30 years old. IF I HAD everything in life I could have won the national championship. I could have won the Lotto also.
BR: What is the most interesting question you’ve never been asked?
Mike: That’s the hardest question I’ve been asked. My mother-in-law who is 80 years old has friends that ask me "You do wear a helmet when you race motorcycles?"
BR: How do you think flat track racing has helped your road racing style?
Mike: The sliding aspect of it definitely, although I believe that if your sliding around to much your not going anywhere whether in flat track or road racing. It makes you more comfortable when the bike does funny stuff underneath you. Finding traction with throttle control is a big thing that transfers over from flat track. You also can’t argue with the success of former flat track racers like Doug Chandler, Bubba Shobert, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson or Wayne Rainey.
BR: Throughout your racing career who was your greatest rival?
Mike: There was one guy that came up with me through flat tracking that I always wanted to beat. He is one of the most talented riders and I always try to measure myself against him, Mickey Fay. I can honestly say that I beat him 9 or 10 times in my career. It was always at a local race though; I never beat him in a national. Mickey can ride a motorcycle like nobody I ever rode against. He was one of my contemporaries that I raced against all the time. If you could beat Mickey you were doing something really right.
BR: Who was your greatest NW racing rival?
Mike: In road racing it would be Joe Pittman, Shawn Roberti and Keith Pinkstaff. They’re all retired or semi-retired now. Except for Keith who is as old as I am, they are all younger than me. Dave Cook has improved lately and is a really good rider.
BR: Who was the best racer you saw or raced against?
Mike: In 1979 I saw Brad Hurst at the Castle Rock National fall down and get back on the bike and reel in and pass Jay Springsteen, Steve Eklund and won the race. That race stands out as being the most incredible that I ever saw. Hurst was on a mission. Watching and racing against Jimmy Filice and Rich Oliver on their 250 GP bikes was fantastic.
BR: What do you think made you different from all the other racers and made you a champion?
Mike: Ever since I was a kid this is what I wanted to do. I didn’t have any natural talent when I started out. I used to knock motorcycles over in my dad’s shop sitting on them and pushing them in and out of the shop. I was really dedicated to racing motorcycles. My dad asked his kids what they wanted to do when they grew up and I always answered that I wanted to race motorcycles. When I was a kid I memorized all the national numbers and racers. I didn’t have hot rods as a teenager because I was always focused on going racing. That’s the main thing I wanted to do with my life. I think any success that I have had is due to that focus.
BR: If you were to start motorcycle racing today, what type of racing would you do?
Mike: I think that to be a good road racer you have to ride dirt bikes of some type. I would be a road racer though because of the factory support and the growing popularity makes it possible to make a living at it. I wish that I could make a living at it! For guys starting out I don’t think that it is important that you race flat track, but you should learn to flick it sideways on the dirt. I tell guys to get an XR100 or XR80 and make a little oval and slide the bike in and out of corners. That is how Kenny Roberts trains upcoming world GP stars. He must know something. I think a guy should get an MX’er and a XR 100 and do a lot of repetition on corners, strength and power control and then ease into a road-racing program.
BR: What was your favorite track?
Mike: My favorite flat track racetrack was the Ascot TT in California because it had a huge right hand corner and a huge jump. I always did well there and the fans were great. I really like the technical aspect of the road racecourse at Mid-Ohio. It was a real riders track in going over hills and turning everywhere. Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin and Laguna Seca are also some great tracks.
BR: Do you still play ride today?
Mike: I don’t anymore because I have a pretty worn out left hip joint. I can’t have it kicking around anymore because it causes a lot of pain. I try to save it to go roadracing. I ride stationary bicycles and work out a lot in preparation for the upcoming season.
BR: How do you still get it up to go racing after all these years?
Mike: The seasons get longer every year. You start off in Daytona in March and end up finishing off at a local race in October. I don’t mind seeing the season coming to an end at all. Realistically, I think that this will be my last season racing.
BR: Favorite drink?
Mike: It would have to be without a doubt coffee. That is probably one of my vices is that I drink to much coffee. I don’t think that I can live without it. I hardly ever drink alcohol. A glass of wine or a V-8 with a beer once in a while is about as far as I go.
BR: You really shined on roadrace tracks that valued rider skill vs. horsepower. Why is that?
Mike: One of my strengths is getting on the brakes hard that I think came from riding slow motorcycles. You had to make it up somewhere. I have had real good finishes on dangerous racetracks, which doesn’t say much for my brainpower. A real scrappers track like Pomona where it was a real twisty track and no long straight-aways brought out the dirt tracker in me. I did really well on riders’ tracks like Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca, which is probably why there my favorite tracks also.
BR: Best party?
Mike: Hanging around with Bruce Lind in New Zealand a few years ago we went to a pretty big piss up. The five riders from Team America pooled $500 US of their own money for whoever finished the best in the national championships. You got paralyzed at the last race so Bruce and the rest of the Team America shouted the bar for all the money on the bet to buy Tequila for all the Kiwi’s to drink, if they visited you in the hospital. There were about 300 New Zealanders who will remember that party for the rest of their lives. Most of them came to visit you if they remembered that night.
BR: Most memorable moment as a racer?
Mike: The happiest day of my life was getting on the podium at the Mid-Ohio national. I had finished 4th six times in the nationals to that point. It was almost like when I first started racing and just missed getting a trophy. It was such a monkey to get off my back. That was the most memorable.
BR: How did you feel in winning the Formula USA title?
Mike: It felt really good! They put up a lot of money for the title and that was real important for me to pay the racing bills. This year with PACE Motorsports running the show it will be a much bigger deal having the #1 plate.
BR: What rider from another era do you wish you had a chance to race against in your top form?
Mike: I’ve raced against Gene Romero, Mert Lawill and Kenny Roberts, but probably Bart Markel who was one of my childhood heroes. Bart and Gary Nixon were a little ahead of my time so I would have loved to race against them.
BR: What has kept you involved with motorcycles for over 30 years?
Mike: I get a certain satisfaction in finally being able to get enough money to do something that I love doing. Over the years I have been real fortunate not to get hurt very badly. I have an understanding wife who doesn’t fight me on racing. This is a woman I told that I wouldn’t race past 30 years old. It’s just what I enjoy and I like to do it.
BR: You have seen friends who are racers die or become seriously injured in your career. Did this ever want to make you stop?
Mike: You think about it a lot at the time. It can happen to anyone at anytime. There was a 16-year-old phenom rider named Darrel Davis who was killed in a 1987 national that really affected me a lot. Toby Jorgenson getting killed this year also makes you think. If you don’t live your life like you want to what’s the point to it. I have had a lot of friends die but never enough to make me stop what I love doing.
BR: What was your worst crash?
Mike: I crashed at turn 10 at Sears Point racetrack in 1986, which is a real high-speed corner. I hit the hay bales at about 90 m.p.h. That was real bad.
BR: Which racers did you hang with in your career?
Mike: In my dirt track days my friend Bernie Larson was a load of fun to travel with. He would make you laugh non-stop from here to Houston and back. My best buddy who lives in Japan now is 250 GP racer Ed Sadvar. I enjoy people who crack me up. I enjoy traveling with him the most.
BR: Which northwest racers did you look up to?
Mike: A lot of the guys I looked up to were dirt trackers like Chuck Joyner and Mickey Fay. Chuck won 4 nationals including three wins at Castle Rock TT nationals. Randy Skiver won only one national but he was a racing force in the northwest. The roadracers I admired were Steve Baker world champion and Canadian Steve Crevier. Dale Franklin also accomplished a lot in roadracing nationally on his TZ750 and TZ250.
BR: Do you race differently at national races vs. local races?
Mike: You bet! There is more to be gained at a national. It’s a different mindset altogether. There are a lot of times I would ride my 250 GP bike at local club races and ride at 90 to 95% effort, but it is different intensity at a national. You have to ride at a different level. You ride at 110% or more at a national. If your going to run anywhere near the front at a national you have to beat the best in the nation. You have to be letting it hang! The depth of field at a national is different. Locally you may have 5 fast guys where at a national you have 30 fast guys. One slip and your in the back of the pack.
BR: Your 43 years old now. (Now he is 53, I really need to update these interviews!)Will there be another national champion road racer from the northwest?
Mike: The rider who has been the most consistent top rider over the last few years in the nationals has been Jimmy Moore. That kid has come a long way. He is the real deal. He has a good program together with Ricci Motorsports and Bardahl Oil in the national 750 Supersport class. He barely missed winning the Daytona 750 Supersport class this year and finished 3rd in the championship last year. Karl Schenk is a good rider, but he doesn’t want to travel and ride the nationals and that’s what it takes to get better. It’s one thing to be fast at your home track, but it’s completely different to go to tracks around the country and be competitive. The only way to do that is be like Jimmy Moore and pay your dues for a year or two and then it will all click together.
BR: Why do local road racers now come from street bikes instead of flat tracking?
Mike:If you are a young person today and you want to go road racing you have to have a dad that is interested in it, because it is so expensive. Nicky Hayden to me is going to be world champion, no question. That kid is the most talented rider I have ever seen come around. At the Del Mar Mile last year he passed Scott Parker around the outside and he won a national later in the season. I mean the kid can do it all. He missed winning the Daytona 200 this year by .011 of a second. The local people don’t have that opportunity to ride in the dirt and race. They come from the high tech neighborhood of Redmond and ride street bikes with their buddies. The next thing you know is that they are talking and taking a race class. That’s where the majority of people come from today. They are a little older and have enough money to buy the latest equipment. I think that its part of the high-tech society today.
BR: In one word what would you say about your racing career?
Mike: Satisfying.
