Scott Head

SCOTT HEAD

RACE WATCH

A will to win

LEN WEED

RON LAWSON

A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN 727 DAYS. Certain things you count on: Two years will pass, over 17,000 hours will tick by, and hundreds of different motorcycle races and events will take place, probably with hundreds of different winners. And in 1985 and 1986, those who watched the small world of observed trials in the U.S. came to accept another certainty: Scott Head would always win. For 16 straight events, Head was undefeated in national competition—a record unapproached in AMA competition, either amateur or professional.

The streak began on Labor Day weekend in 1984. Riding for Cosmopolitan motors, Head had been on a Cota 242 since the start of the year. Canadian Stan Bakgaard won the Wyoming round, then Head’s incredible chain of victories began as he won the final three events, becoming the first rider ever to claim the national trials championship on a sub300cc bike.

In 1985, Cosmopolitan asked Head to switch to its new import, the Italian-built Beta. He soon shattered the record of 1 1 consecutive victories first set by Marland Whaley back in the mid-Seventies and tied a few years later by Bernie Schreiber. Then came more wins for Head, all the way through 1985 and most of ’86. It was already apparent that he had no matches in U.S. competition. People soon began to wonder if he could be beaten. The inevitable end to the streak was a loss to Ryan Young on July fifth in Wisconsin.

When asked how he felt after his streak finally ended. Head answered, “It was definitely a downer. You win for so long and all of a sudden . . . second place. The bottom-line is I had a bad day and someone capitalized on it. Going into the last lap I had a chance to win it, but ... I lost by seven points. Afterward, it was like someone had died. No one knew how to approach me. They just kept looking at me.”

That, however, only postponed the inevitable. With four wins in five starts at that point, the 23-year-old Californian needed just one more victory to clinch his third straight national title. As it turned out, he won the last four events, extending his string to 21 wins in 23 starts.

Actually, the biggest threat to Head’s winning streak came years earlier, before his series of victories even started. After a couple of rough years riding an Italjet in Europe, Head decided to drop out of the trials scene and go to school. “I got a lot out of my two years in Italy. Europe developed me, matured me in a way I can’t measure. I know it made me a better person and it came at just the right time. It helped change my direction in life, my goals, what I wanted to do. I thought more about education, my whole philosophy.”

Head helped his father build a new home outside of Placerville and began studying at American River Junior College in Sacramento. Missing the prerequisite high-school courses in his chosen major, engineering, he had to play catch-up with his studies.

So back in 1983, Head figured his career, at least at the national level, might be over. “When I began school in January, I had no intention of riding. I didn't even have a bike. The first nationals and the world round in Texas went by, then Larry Wise of Cosmopolitan Motors called and asked if I wanted to ride a Montesa. By that time I was dying to ride. So I started riding for Cosmo, and I’ve been with them ever since.”

I'm consistent. Once every two years, whether I need to or not, I lose"

It’s been said that all champions are eccentrics, otherwise they wouldn't be champions. Head’s eccentricity comes in the form of an intensity with which he follows his own basic philosophy of life. When discussing it, he might strike those who don’t know him as odd, perhaps even corny. But there’s nothing insincere about Scott Head. “Just know yourself, understand yourself, be yourself. Stay in equilibrium. Don’t jump off with the fads and fast life.” He motions and says, “Watch my hand. It moves in a smooth, horizontal plane, free of jerks, stops, dips and rises.

“Stay centered. Know thy basics. Centering is the gospel of motorcycling. And life, too. If you’re not centered, you can’t do it. Centering means you’re in control. On a bike, that means using pressure rather than movement.”

Eccentric? Perhaps. But Head makes his philosophy work, both on a motorcycle and in life. Even in practice, he displays an intensity that few people can match. “I’ve always felt if I can make it, it’s not hard enough. I get the biggest rush out of trying something right on the edge. If you aren’t crashing five times out of 10 in practice, find a higher step. You have to be pounding yourself, but you have to know why you’re pounding yourself. I do it because it feels so good when I succeed.”

He also refuses to give up once he’s made a commitment. “I’m tenacious,” he says. “I stick to things. I keep a cool head most of the time and I don’t let my emotions run amok.” And then, with a laugh, “Oh, and I’m consistent. Once every two years, whether I need to or not, I lose.” Although Head finds winning any championship very satisfying, he lists his first as the most memorable. “I was still proving to myself that I could do it. I had just won my first national less than two months before, and went into the final three rounds tied with Stan Bakgaard. I’d won the first two events, and knew I had to get at least a third in the final trial. Before that last event was over, someone told me there was no way Stan could beat me. I think I just kept screaming,‘Wow, wow, wow.’ ” Head’s success has brought him personal satisfaction and recognition by his peers, but little financial reward. He rides for a bike, expenses and bonuses based on results. Basically, trials pays his way through college. “I accept the lack of money in trials. I’ve won three championships, and sometimes I think about the financial rewards I could have realized if trials were a money sport. But I just love it. I couldn’t imagine not doing it. The riding, the competiton, the practice. The solid, unpretentious people in the sport. I guess you’re pretty lucky if you find a sport that really hooks you like that.”

Heads career log now reads three American championships and 21 national victories. But he’s not caught up in trying to top Whaley’s career record of five American titles and 27 national victories. “Matching records isn't something I'm concerned about now. Right now I'm looking to finish my education, and I don’t know how riding motorcycles is going to fit in with that. I have the best of both worlds. I don’t know when will it end, but I'll worry about that . . . probably when I get a serious job.” That’s almost scary. Here’s a guy who already owns three national championships and an unparalleled AMA win streak. And he isn’t even “serious” yet.