No more Mr Nice Guy!
Don Morley was Rothmans Honda’s photographer during the 1985 double season, and he saw at first hand the pressure on Freddie to land the title and the way he dealt with it: or not!
“Looking back on 1985, Freddie took his new GP bikes to Daytona where he won the Daytona 200 on the NSR500 and the Daytona 250 race on the new RS-W. From there it was on to Spain for a pre-season (and very private) test, as Honda had a new sponsor – Rothmans – so I had to do all the team pictures for posters, stickers and the like, as well as team portraits and action shots.
“Freddie however failed to arrive, meaning about 50 of us were just kicking our heels, wondering where the hell he was. I did all the other shots that I could and then Erv Kanemoto got a call from Freddie saying he was at the airport and to please pick him up.with the airport close by, we got the bikes out thinking Spencer would roll up, kit up and we could get the shots we needed. Not a bit of it. Instead he went straight into his motorhome and we, Erv and Honda and HRC top-brass waited outside for him to appear.
“He did eventually appear, three days later, but then refused to wear his Rothmans Hondateam uniform or leathers to be photographed in and instead wore his Honda America red/ white/blue gear and the Usteam leathers he had won Daytona in.
“Of course, that was Freddie, the most awkward personality I have ever had to work with in any sphere other than Enoch Powell (yes, I photographed him too…) not that Freddie was unpleasant, so much as he was an absolute loner and one-off: taciturn did not cover it.you could not have a conversation with him in those days and incidentally I had been trying to since he was about 15, racing a 900cc Ducati as a rookie in AMA…
“Erv was the only person who could deal with him, Freddie did not mix, not even with his fellow American riders, and Honda built an entire team of flunkies round him just to keep him happy: this included flying-in regular supplies of his favourite fizzy drinks! But, back to the double though.the first round in South Africa was a stupendous clash of the titans, no one else in it other than him and Lawson shadowing each other playing cat and mouse. Lawson won the 500 of course (just) and Freddie quite easily the 250.
“The key points from then on though in my view were the three ultra-wet events, starting from Germany where Freddie played it clever, shadowing winner Christian Sarron who was either very good in the wet or crashed out. And then the real season biggie being Holland before which Spencer held a slender lead over Lawson in the 500s and over Mang in the 250s.
“Everything went wrong though just seconds into the race when our old friend Sarron again locked his brakes mid-group and skittled almost everyone and torpedoed Spencer, taking him down, leaving Lawson to build a massive lead which would have put him back ahead of Freddie in the points table had Lawson not then stupidly thrown it all away by aquaplaning off the track himself!
“The next big event was at the French Grand Prix, because the team (or Freddie, or someone) flew in Freddie’s girlfriend for the event. Sarie Joubert was her name and she was a former Miss Louisiana. Boy, did Freddie change…he suddenly became Mr Nice Guy overnight. He was even seen mixing in the paddock and so after something like 10 years of trying I finally got shots of him not only smiling, but also without his sunglasses, something he always refused to do before!
“I honestly believe getting the girlfriend over to Europe wasthe masterstroke and turning point of the season. Hence the ‘Happy Spencer’ shot. He did the double of course and – for me at least – was always ‘Mr Nice Guy!’”