VOL. 55 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 18, 2018 P123
L
ots of top racers become
so entrenched in their
specialty that they rarely, if
ever, venture outside that bubble.
There are, of course, many
reasons for this. In order to suc-
cessfully chase championships,
many feel it necessary to focus
entirely on the task at hand, con-
centrating all efforts towards that
singular goal.
Then there's the less men-
tioned area of ego. Champions
don't like to lose and stepping
out of one's normal world ex-
poses them, makes them vulner-
able and stacks the odds against
them. In other words, they lose
the advantage, increasing the
likelihood of losing. That's both
embarrassing and confidence
shaking, and the ego rattling that
results can negatively affect near-
future success in their chosen
field, possibly costing income as
well until results return to normal.
So it's unusual—and a refresh-
ing change—when a successful
racer steps out of that comfort
zone they enjoy and strike out in
new directions.
Giacomo Redondi is one ex-
ample. Not only did he leave his
native Italy to race in the United
States this year, he did so on
different machinery than he was
contracted to race in Europe and
did so as a privateer.
But against many odds, he suc-
ceeded, winning the 2018 Rocky
Mountain ATV-MC World Off-Road
Championship Series (WORCS)
crown in his first attempt—while
still competing in Europe during
breaks in his U.S. schedule.
What prompted him to try a
new style of racing in a place far
from home where very few spoke
his native Italian and where he
had minimal support, meaning
he'd be starting almost from
scratch? We posed that and
other questions just days before
he lined up to represent Italy
on its World Trophy team at the
93rd FIM International Six Days
Enduro (ISDE) in Chile where his
successful year culminated in
third place for the team and third
for him personally in E3.
Dream
Italy's Giacomo Redondi took a chance, packed his bags, left
the comforts of home, and headed to America. He'll go home
with a WORCS number-one trophy.
BY MARK KARIYA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK KARIYA AND HARLEN FOLEY
C O M E S T R U E
