LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW
“The Daytona 200 taught me everything I needed to know about racing,” is high praise from Freddie Spencer, as he took a look back at the famous American race. “Managing a motorcycle. Looking after a tyre. Understanding how a race was developing. I had one of my first ever road race starts there. I had my first big crash there. I had some of the best races of my career at Daytona.”
It’s hard to find a greater race than in 1984. This was a seminal moment in motorcycle racing because it perfectly illustrated the Golden Age of American racing. Six years earlier, Kenny Roberts went to Europe and dominated the Grand Prix scene from the outset. Freddie Spencer was 10 years his junior, and the younger racer quickly established himself as the most natural rider in the world.
With Eddie Lawson on the verge of his first 500GP World Championship in 1984 and a host of young riders coming through in Randy Mamola, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz, it was clear that the American talent pipeline was healthy. The big stars all went to Daytona
