the point of a surprising comeback and Bradley, with his dominant nature, will be very competitive, a good team with good machines and good mechanics. In the 250cc the bike of Kalevi will be ahead. He was not well in form, he had to start from the bottom but he has found again his condition and self-confidence.

C.W.: How do you compare the classes 250cc and 500cc?
H.M.: In the 250cc you must have a machine which is very slyly. In 1973 the KTM were the fastest bike, but it wasn’t easy to ride. In that season Hakan Andersson got mono-suspension, we couldn’t follow him on the rough circuits. On this moment the suspension of the Yamaha has become out of date because it’s very heavy, we have found a pretty original solution, which besides is less complicated. Personally I doesn't have it easy on a 250cc, where an engine with less power is already immediately be passed. It’s less important who the rider is. The 250cc requires less of a rider, he is much lighter, but on certain terrain he is very difficult to ride because the engine has less power. The riders in the 250cc are very good, I think Andersson, Falta and Kalevi are very strong. In 1973, Hakan were by far the best.

C.W.: What were your experiences this winter after the first tests on your new 360?
H.M.: Kring and Lackey had already tested the model in Belgium, while I had an arm in plaster. They have helped with the development, but because they were dissatisfied they asked me to try the bike. After training a couple of hours I thought it was fantastic. Now in their session they thought it was very good also. Before doing development work, they firstly should have get used to the bike.

C.W.: How do you assess the 360 compared with the out-of-date 400?
H.M.: The 360 has less weights, has more hp's, a bit less power, but because of its six gears in proportion very fast. Rather I ride with the 360 in place of the out-of-date 400. The 360 follows the terrain good, delivers the power good to the wheel, so that the rear wheel is always maximum to the ground. On hard subsoil he achieves a bit less, but I never had a better machine than these 360.

C.W.: What do you do for training this winter?
H.M.: Because I have perished the ligaments, I undergo a infra-red treatment until the end of this year. I will hunt and spend the obtained extra time in the forest. I will visit friends, recently my old friend Teppi Länsivuori dropped by, he likes Finnish vodka "Koskenkorva" a lot. During such a moment he talks even English.....! Very strange and even exceptional. With Teppi I go trough outstanding moments. During the month of January I resume the fitness training 3 times a week. Each day of training includes 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. One time a week I go running in the forest, I have a route of 10 kilometres which I can make in 41 minutes. And concerning the motorcycle, somewhere at the beginning of coming February I will train in Belgium. On January 18th I go for training in d'Alfta, in Sweden, together with my mate Teppi. He will to let sweat Agostini, he knows the ropes.

C.W.: Who are your best friends during the championship?
H.M.: Friends for life are Kalevi, Tirinen and Teppi, further I

really doesn’t have friends among the riders. I get along well with DeCoster, Wolsink, Lackey, Kring, in fact with everyone, however.

C.W.: Which circuits have your preference?
H.M.: Hyvinkää and above all Wohlen in Switzerland, Carlsbad in the USA is very good too, although very short. Gaillefontaine I like a lot, it’s a very hard circuit to ride and it requires a maximum physical condition. I like circuits who are difficult to ride, but not this way of fast circuits like in Italy. I properly like the Belgian circuits, which are hard, on the other hand I hate Namen. It’s a dangerous circuit, more suitable for trial riders.

C.W.: What are your notes with the French riders?
H.M.: I don’t know this way much. I know Bacou a little, he does well in France. There the circuits are pretty specialist. I think Bacou is the best Frenchman, but he does not be among with the best riders of the WC-circus, he is somewhere between 20 and 30. I think the French riders have a very bad condition, they didn’t keep up the tempo a complete heat and they are not particular fast, except on their own circuits. I saw that many French riders are drinking wine before the race, which doesn’t help much for obtaining a good physical condition. I like, however, the organisation in France, which is very nice, there are always a lot of spectators and the atmosphere is very good. Except Bacou and Nowack I know nobody. The French riders do not belong to the top. But if you don’t know them very good then it’s difficult to pass judgement on them.

C.W.: At this moment who are the young talents in Finland?
H.M.: For sure there are 2 great riders in process of formation, it are Göte Liljegren and the very young Erkki Sundström, the last is just 19 years. The coming year he starts to his year of apprentice in the GP 250cc. He shall stagger humanity because he have a will strong as iron and a very good physical condition. He loves to win and that’s essential.

C.W.: What kind of man are you?
H.M.: I am a cheerful man. Kaija are appropriate at me, she understands me and let me run my career. She's frequently at home because I stay for long on the circuits. I met a very good other half in her.

C.W.: How does it come that the Finnish riders who are born in 1945, have climbed to the top of the sport, I mention Saarinen, Länsivuori, Vehkonen, Storm, why they? (it is Juha Tirinen which answer)
J.T.: After 4 years at war, in which our fathers had forced to fight against the Russians and the Germans, them aren’t seen many women. When the war was over, in Finland there came a birth bulge which was unprecedented (both burst out laughing). As a matter of fact, those who are born in 1947, or 1948 we have never seen at all in a GP far as I know (again they laughed). They has done this to let Finland survives and they wants to show that also. The proofs are there and it’s still not over yet for long. We Fins, we have "SISU" (courage, determination, endurance).

And seeing that the Fins didn’t frivolously take up those aspects, “they "joke" they still will let hear about themselves.