MOTORCYCLES / UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX : Shobert On the Road to Recovery

Bubba Shobert never thought racing a high-performance motorcycle at speeds up to 160 m.p.h. was dangerous.

Shobert never thought he could get hurt maneuvering a lightweight, 500cc road racing bike on a twisting course like Laguna Seca’s 2.18-mile track, where the United States Grand Prix is staged each year.

In a way, Shobert was right. He didn’t suffer a career-threatening injury while racing. He didn’t lie unconscious for five days in a San Jose-area hospital because he lost control on a hairpin turn.

Instead, Shobert walks along the course at Laguna Seca with a limp and a cruel reminder that racing is a life-threating sport because of a freak accident that happened here last year after the end of the race.

Shobert, a former national dirt track champion from Carmel Valley, slammed into the rear of Australian Kevin Magee’s motorcycle while congratulating another rider on a cool-off lap.

Magee, who lost third place to Eddie Lawson on the race’s final lap, was almost out of fuel and moving very slowly when he started up the hill at Turn 5 during the cool-off lap. Shobert was trailing Magee.

As Lawson came alongside, Shobert turned to congratulate him and failed to notice that Magee had slowed and slammed into the back of him. It was a violent collision and footage of the crash was shown across the nation.

Shobert, a rookie competing in his second world championship road race, suffered severe head injuries and was airlifted to San Jose Medical Center in Santa Clara. He remained unconscious for five days and was finally released after a three-week stay to begin rehabilitation at his parents’ home in Lubbock, Tex.

A year later, Shobert stops to sign autographs at Laguna Seca and ponders his future. He rides a dirt bike three or four times a week near his home, plays golf and has done some testing for Kenny Roberts’ Yamaha team.

Today, Shobert will ride a parade lap as the race’s grand marshal and wonders if he’ll ever race again.

“I feel like I’m really missing something,” he said. “I was kind of depressed for this race. I’d like to race again whenever I’m ready.”

Shobert’s voice trails off as he stops to think about a comeback. He admits the reflexes in his right hand, which controls the front brakes, are only 85%.

Shobert said he “had to think about more things than usual” while testing for Roberts’ in December and that riding “was a lot more work than fun.” But his desire to race hasn’t diminished.

“I’ve tried to find something else to do, but nothing else interests me,” he said. “If somebody offered me something, I’d be willing to try. I’m starting to enjoy riding around my home, but I still get tired real easy.

“Every day, I feel I’m getting better physically. The coordination in my right side gets better every day. Mentally, I want to come back. But I’m seeing some of the cruel reminders in this sport that I never saw before.”

Shobert watched four-time world champion Eddie Lawson of Upland crash during practice on Friday and said he considered himself lucky to be alive.

“There’s two months of my life in which I don’t remember anything,” he said. “Maybe somebody was trying to tell me something. But all the time that I was in the hospital and going through rehab, I tried to be positive.

“I found out I have a lot more fans than I thought. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have had the desire to make it back. I think it’s just a matter of time.”

Race Notes

Wayne Gardner, riding a Honda, established a track record Saturday of 125.908 m.p.h. and then crashed into the hay bales with eight minutes remaining in a qualifying session. Afterward, Gardner said, “I had done my times and was tired of being in traffic. I think that mentally I let go.” . . . Eddie Lawson remained in Community Hospital in Monterey with a fractured right heel and left ankle after a crash on Turn 2 Friday. Lawson was racing at 140 m.p.h. when he failed to slow down for the sharp left turn and crashed. He will attempt to return in six weeks for a circuit race in Italy. “Now my job is to come back and help (teammate) Wayne Rainey win the world championship,” Lawson said. . . . Promoters expect a crowd of 60,000 for today’s race.