1983 was the last year I competed seriously... Spat the dummy at the end of 83 after a year of mechanical DNF's. Think I rode one round at the start of 84, but the heart wasn't in it.
At the start of 1983, a little birdy whispered in my ear that Honda would be watching me, and if I had a good year, I'd be on a free Honda and parts for 1984... Then had a year full of mechanical failures and breakages with only one good result for the year.... So I missed out on a full sponsorship at the same time as I discovered girls and alcohol..
You can guess the rest...
If I hadn't known about the Honda thing I probably wouldn't have been so disappointed. Maybe would have kept going at it... who knows... :'(