13 4 http://www.racerxonline.com
around the whole track because
it was three feet deep in mud. I
got the holeshot, and I literally
did two laps with the bike in
fi rst gear. I revved the thing out
until it just grenaded. Pieces
were literally just blowing out
of the motor! So I laid the bike
down and I walked off the track.
I walked through the spectator
area to get back to the pits and
on every other step I would liter-
ally throw a piece of clothing to
the crowd. I was in my boxers
when I got to the truck. I was
like, “I’m done. That’s the last
race I’m doing for you guys.”KIEDROWSKI: Kawasaki
planned for me to go over toJapan. I’d been there the year
before on the 125, so I kind of
knew the track a little bit. I also
knew it would be real hot. It
was a hard-pack, blue-groove
track, and it just kind of seemed
like my practice track at home. I
won, and it was good to do well
for Kawasaki, and they were
really happy about all that.HEALEY: Later, I was in my hotel
room with my mom and getting
ready to go to the ceremony
deal, and I get a call from Ge-
boers, and I just started laughing.
My mom said, “You know he’s
going to fi re you.” I said, “I’ve
been fi red from day one. I know
it’s coming. It’s no big deal.”MOORE: I loved it. I mean,
I wouldn’t give up a second
of the time that I was able to
spend over there. I didn’t re-
ally get to go back to America
much at all. You had to live it,
and if you wanted to be suc-
cessful, you had to work really
hard for it.DYMOND: You know, Mike
Healey, Bob Moore, Bader
Manneh—all those guys were
really talented, fast guys, and
they just didn’t get their breaks
in America. When they went
over to Europe and they were
on the same equipment that
you were, they were hard to
beat. They didn’t get their due
in America.In January of 1996, Donny
Schmit was diagnosed with
aplastic anemia and was told
he would need a bone marrow
transplant. He died only days
later, on January 19, 1996.STANTON: Donny Schmit left
a great legacy. He had a factory
ride [in America with Suzuki]
and lost it, so he and his wife,
Carrie, did a year as a privateer
and traveled around in a van. It
didn’t work out here, so he went
to Europe and became a World
Champion. To do that as an
American was quite a feat. I don’t
even know if I could have done
that. There was a lot to overcome
there. He would have done a lot
of great, great things, but the way
he passed was tragic. XIt didn’t
work out
here, so
Donny
Schmit
went to
Europe and
became
a World
Champion.”JEFF STANTONAfter a slow start on
the Chesterfi eld Ya-
maha, Donny Schmit
soon caught fi re. By
the end of summer,
he and his wife,
Carrie, were cel-
ebrating his second
world title in three
years. No American
rider has won the
premier-class title in
Grand Prix moto-
cross since Schmit
did it in 1992.PACINIURASHIMA