“After the races, the crowd always flocked to the track. It took ten minutes to complete the exit lap. Nowhere else have I experienced that. I don’t know if Dutch racing fans love motorsport more than in other countries, or if there are more Schwantz fans were in other countries. But the fans are top all along the circuit.”
Schwantz is known as a spectacular driver in the late eighties and early nineties. The 500cc machines of that time have very little electronics. traction control and wheelie control, as the current MotoGP bikes know, the drivers do not know. In those days it is more difficult to control an engine in the toughest racing class. The American is a master at it, but also seeks the edge. And that doesn’t always go well.
For example, he breaks his metatarsals during training for the TT in 1988, but does drive the race. In 1994 he crashed hard again during practice and broke his wrist. Schwantz is ‘just’ there again a day later during the race. In 1992, while leading, he was hit from behind by Eddy Lawson. Schwantz falls, goes through a pile of straw bales and ends up in a ditch. No TT win, but a broken arm.
“When I drove here, it either went very well or I ended up in the hospital,” Schwantz recalls. “But it was a very important race, always in the middle of the season. Moreover, it was around my birthday, Father’s Day and my parents always came to Assen to watch. That always gave me extra motivation.”