Eugene Brown:

EUGENE BROWN:

Dreaming the good dream

GREGARIOUS AND BEARDED Eugene Brown put it this way: "If I had an hour head start, Lawson would catch me, but it would be close." The 41-year-old Brown qualified dead-last for the USGP, almost 12 seconds a lap off the pace. But while most riders would find being in that position discouraging, Brown was happy just to be on the track. "You have to smile when you get old," he said, "so I laugh the whole time I'm out there. I'm surprised that I still get goose bumps."

The bike that made him smile was a 1983 Suzuki RG500 Gamma Mk.7, a machine he had never ridden before he arrived at Laguna on Thursday. Brown showed up with no parts, no pistons, not even any rings. “A week ago this bike was a museum piece,” he said. He admitted that the old Gamma was down on power compared with the factory racers, and it was handling poorly. “But, hey,” he smiled, “it’s what I’ve got.” Currently the second-ranked club roadracer in the Pacific Northwest, Brown started racing in 1965 and was good enough to ride at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1967. It’s obvious that he loves racing, and he still carries the dream that a privateer racer can compete with the factory teams with a little bit of luck.

Unfortunately, Brown didn’t get the breaks he needed at the USGP.

He had to rebuild his engine twice, getting help and parts from friends and supporters in the pits, and then he crashed hard in Turn Three on the first lap of the race, ending his week at Laguna Seca. Afterwards, nursing a swollen right elbow with an ice pack, Brown was a bit down, disappointed with his showing. But when asked if he would continue to compete against riders half his age, he instantly replied, "Racing is still a lot of fun for me, and, you know, I love giving the kids

fits."

Camron E. Bussard