P100
Interview
FLAT TRACK RACER DALTON GAUTHIER
After winning the Atlanta Short Track
Singles main, mechanic and team
owner Rob Mclendon gives Gauthier
a congratulatory hug on the podium.
ning on a DTX bike against a bunch of
framers. So that was pretty cool. I fig-
ured if I can beat those guys at such a
young age, I can probably do this for
a living. I just worked really hard after
that. I started getting better, and ever
since then, it's been pretty good.
Where do you think your
natural talent comes from? You
obviously have a feel for the bike
many people don't have. What do
you attribute that to?
Just riding on different tracks, like
I was saying, I think really helped me.
Traveling, doing different races, rac-
ing against different people.
What happened between you
and your dad?
Just a whole lot of stuff ever since
I got suspended. Just a lot of family
problems. I really don't like to talk
about it, honestly. Try and keep it
blocked out.
When did you realize that
you had a lot of natural talent?
When did you first really recog-
nize that you might be able to
do this on a pro level?
When I was 15, I just got on my
brand-new Yamahas that my dad
built for me, and we went down to
Savannah, Georgia for the first race
of the season. I was still fifteen.
Didn't even have my pro card and I
ended up winning the super singles
class. There was Jared Mees in it.
Chris Carr was riding a Rotax. Bran-
don Robinson, JD Beach, all the top
guys were in it, and I ended up win-
