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Interview With a Winner
Rob Cook Interview
What is your routine the week before a race?
What is my routine the week before a race, well, for some reason or another it is generally full of problems from work so I don't usually get to prepping the bikes until late Thursday and Friday nights. Monday through Thursday, I try to drink at least a gallon of water a day. On Friday, I up it to at least a gallon and a half so I guess you could say my agenda is not much sleep and a lot of hours logged in the bathrooms around DFW.
What do you eat the night before a race?
The night before a race I generally eat whatever my wife fixes for me. It's about the only time she ever cooks anymore. The meal usually consists of chicken breasts, rice or pasta, veggies (generally green) and some sort of fruit. When it is really hot out, we'll make ice cream for dessert but not often. I drink plenty of water and a little Gatorade to keep up my electrolytes.
What do you think about during the race?
During the race I mostly think about my technique. On the first lap I am just telling myself to relax and bide my time and get into a rhythm or flow. After that I am constantly telling myself to clutch, brake, accelerate and ride as mistake free as possible. This year I have spent more time on riding technique than riding WFO trying to win. I have only laid the bike over 3 or 4 times this season and definitely no hard crashes this year. This is a good thing since last year I missed more than I raced.
What is your favorite TCCRA track and why?
This one is tricky, it depends on if you want to know my all-time favorite race or my favorite this year. If you want my all-time favorite it would have to be Gholson in 1995. If you want this year's it would be Red River. The reason for Red River is that I got my first ever first place trophy there this year - the fourth race this season. The transmission blew up in the truck and we had to go home and I didn't even get to pre-ride the track until Sunday morning. Seems all our races this year involve some sort of mechanical failure prior to the race. I'll explain Gholson in a minute…
What it the best place you have ever ridden and why?
The best place I have ever ridden would have to be Lucerne Valley, CA. My racing buddy, Pat, convinced me to go to CA for a desert race with him and we were practicing a day or two before the race at Red Mountain. We took off riding down into the Valley and it was like "On Any Sunday" - you know, we were just full out riding through the desert. We were cutting in and out of the desert brush and there were no other tracks out there but ours. We rode for a long distance until Pat noticed his bar clamps were coming loose on his Applied Triple Clamp. We found a Volkswagen desert racer and he lent us a couple of tools so we could tighten them back up then we followed the only two trails in the sand back to where we were parked. It was sooo cool knowing that we were the only ones out there and we were following our own trail back.
When did you start motorcycle racing?
I raced a few races when I was a kid - around ten or eleven. Then I took up BMX racing in the late 70's and early 80's. I raced a few TCCRA races in 1995 and that is pretty much when I got hooked on the idea of racing this series.
What was the first motorcycle you ever owned?
It was a Bridgestone 60 and it was built like a Sherman Tank! My Dad thought it was the most awesome bike and I rode it until the engine would stop running. I would stop, let the engine cool off and then hammer on it some more. After a couple years we couldn't get parts for it anymore so I started buying Yamaha 60 parts and modifying them to fit it. It is funny now thinking that the bike even ran, I would buy a Yamaha 60 piston and the skirt would hit the bottom of the crank so I just cut it off evenly about 3/8" so it wouldn't hit and then sanded it with some emery cloth. I had no idea that this was some engineer's worse nightmare - I just knew it made my bike run!
Talk about your first TCCRA race…
My first TCCRA race was Gholson in 1995. It was great! It is the fondest, by far, of all my TCCRA memories. I went out there with Maher Maso and Gerald and Keith Carlton. Maher and I were the only ones to race as Gerald and Keith didn't have bikes yet. It was wet, it was muddy, and it was a blast! We showed up without any cover, it was pouring. All we had was a regular cab pick-up and a tarp full of holes. We ran it up to a tree with tie downs and stuck the other side in the truck door. We tried to stand underneath it but the rain was just pouring through. It rained all morning and right up to the start of the afternoon race but it was just us "guys" and we had the best time. I must have crashed 10 - 15 times and actually pulled a "Keystone Cop" by getting caught on a vine and pulling myself off the bike. I think I finished around 26th and Maher around 30th but we talk about this race and how much fun it was whenever, and wherever, we get together.
What do you like most about TCCRA?
I think that it is pretty well organized considering how large of a group we are. I like the high level of competition. I've raced some TCHSS races and the competition is nowhere near as tough as TCCRA. I've also met a lot of really great people out there, including some of my best friends.
What do you like least about TCCRA?
The thing I dislike the most about TCCRA is the inconsistency when enforcing the rules. A good example would be this year at Bulcher, Scott (X623) was docked a whole lap for missing the first corner ribbon even though there were at least 5 other guys in our class that missed it. Scott was the only one penalized. At the same race, Jerry (Y2) was only black-flagged for 1 minute for the same infraction. Scott was lucky he was the only one to complete the last lap. Because of that last lap, Scott managed to get first. If he hadn't finished that lap, however, he wouldn't have trophied. Also, I don't really care for the system we use to award promoters a race. It allows bad promoters to continue to promote races. I consider a bad promoter one that puts less effort into it than the club deserves. I know promoters can't dictate the weather, dust or mud but they can try their best to lay out a good track and mark it well. They can change up the tracks from year to year, even if they do use the same land space. They could look at the number of people expected and make better "porta-potty" arrangements too (says my wife!)
What was your best TCCRA race ever?
My best TCCRA race was this year at Bonita. Scott (X623) and I were locked in a battle for first and we just pulled away from the rest of the pack as we were going after each other. It was fun to be in such a competitive race. I finally got around Scott on the 3rd lap when he blew a mud hole section that allowed me to get by him. This track was well suited to my riding style. Another big plus was that my Mom was at this race. She usually only makes one a year and this year she saw me get a 1st place!
Would you like TCCRA to hold a team race?
Yes. I raced one in Oklahoma earlier this year, before the TCCRA season started. It was a blast. We wore a pink garter belt on our arms and had to change off whenever you changed riders. The best part of the race was actually after it - Maher Maso (who was my teammate) took the garter belt home. When his wife found it in his race bag all hell broke loose!
What is it like to lead your class in points?
It is really a great feeling! I told my wife when I was racing the '98 season that all I really wanted was for the guys in the class to have an idea of who I was. I wanted them to think when I pulled up on the line, that I was one of those guys that really had a chance to trophy. That didn't happen in '98, I spent most of my time watching those guys instead of riding with them. This year, I think that I have managed to finish consistently enough that most of the guys in my class at least acknowledge that they know who I am. All those yellow graphics and being on a 125 doesn't hurt either. It is actually kind of funny - a few guys in my class told my wife to get me drunk and lock me in the trailer a few races ago!
How does it feel to be a "marked" man on the starting line?
I never felt like a marked man until Jacksboro. There were a couple of guys on the line asking me when I was going to transfer to another class. The uttered "oh, you are heres" are kind of funny too. I think sometimes that they are just joking around. Guys like Mike (X610) and Todd (X625) just do it for the shock value; at least I hope that's why they do it! I am not really any faster than the rest of the class, most of the races; I am no where close to the front of the pack at the end of the first lap. I think I might have a little better endurance and that allows me to still have a little kick left at the end.
Who's your favorite motorcycle racer of all time?
Bob "Hurricane" Hannah because he was on top when I was young and he was the guy I wanted most to be like when I rode.
Do you like racing in the morning or afternoon and why.
I want to say in the morning but the truth is, I do better in the afternoon races. I think I hold up in the heat a little better than most of the rest of the guys and that allows me to get a better finish. Both of my firsts this year have been in afternoon races.
List your racing injuries…
Oh boy, my wife is getting tired of typing and it would take at least two pages to list them all so I will just give you the highlights, okay? My first injury was when I was young and the foot peg sheared off and went into my left leg about a half-inch. Back then, foot pegs weren't any bigger than lawn darts. I rode home and my mom was a real trooper about getting it out of my leg… In 1980, I broke my wrist - twice in one year, same wrist. In 1995 I broke my collarbone and still have a bump. In 1996, I shattered my right wrist, cracked the ball in my left elbow, collapsed my right lung, and broke my lowest vertebrae on my back and had several cracked ribs - not all at one time! In 1997, a good year for non-injuries, I only cracked a few ribs at Terral. 1998 was a record year for surgery, not necessarily injury. I broke my thumb first and had it surgically repaired, during the off season I had surgery on my nose and then the first time I rode my 1999 YZ125, the week before Gholson and just hours before it was stolen, I broke the ball off my left shoulder. Thanks to me, there were an extraordinary amount of danger markings on that drop off to keep the rest of you from doing the same thing. I've made it this far in 1999 without an injury, knock on wood. This has really helped us financially; we almost have the medical bills from 1997 paid off!
Thank you, Mr. Burroughs and Good Night!
