ALAN CARTER Light in the Darkness PART ONE
Overnight sensation
If our Kenny couldn’t pull it off in LA due to being robbed, bad luck, his own poor judgement or whatever else you want to call it, I was about to shock the world of road racing.
The 1982 season had been getting increasingly better and it was about to get a whole lot better still when (dad) Mal bought me one of Kawasaki’s factory vans. It had everything and was so good, you wanted to live in it. The awning alone was massive, half the size of any race paddock.
To my shock, dad also got me a second-hand, but looking good as new, bike to race – the British-made Armstrong-CCM 250cc fitted with an Austrian Rotax engine. It was the sweetest thing I ever rode. And to top that, he recruited a young, hungry GP spannerman called Doug Holtom, who worked for the CCM factory in Bolton. We would become lifelong friends.
After several impressive showings at national level, the season was coming to a close. The world championships had finished and there was a new 250cc world champion in France’s Jean-Louis Tournadre. He and all the other Grand Prix stars were coming to England for the last big international of the year, the Jody Scheckter World Cup at Donington Park. All the big names were there... Kenny Roberts, Barry Sheene, Randy Mamola, the lot, plus all the top 250cc GP riders.
Dad agreed my start money with Donington owner Tom Wheatcroft. My starting price in 1982 was £2500, plus prize money, and dad footed the bill for everything. Boy, I was a high-flyer now. I’d hit the big-time – Vegas here we come!
Oh, by the way, caravans were supplied by Mal with a bit of a
