PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
VOL. 50 ISSUE 16 APRIL 23, 2013
the Las Vegas event in May as
the official start of the season,
Destry's season starts in Brazil.
"Being part of X Games is
something most of us thought
we'd never be part of. It's definitely an honor to be a part of
ESPN and racing in front of millions of people on TV. I'm not going to go there and not put 100%
effort into it. I'm making sure I'm
P95
HATE TO SEE MYSELF
" I WOULDFROM KAWI BUT I DON'T HAVE
SEPARATE
ANY BIG TIES THERE ANYMORE.
"
going there prepared."
Putting together his own privateer ride admittedly got the
sprockets turning in Abbott's
head about putting his own race
team together – something he
could see himself doing in the future, but not this season.
"Honestly, I actually tried to do
that," Abbott said. "Maybe if the
industry or things start picking
up, I'd love to have my own team
and work with upcoming riders.
That's something I can see myself doing."
Whether or not the opportunity
will arise with Kawasaki remains
to be seen, but Abbott admits
he's ready to explore his options.
"I've been with Kawasaki for
16 years now. I would hate to see
myself separate from Kawi but I
don't have any big ties there anymore. You never know. Anything
will hopefully happen."
Abbott's new beginning is giving way to more than just a new
program; the seasoned vet has
been paying the bills by giving
riding lessons, which is currently
evolving into his own school and
training facility.
"I've been having a lot of EnduroCross riders down this way
and training them," Abbott said.
"That's basically been my income... training. With EnduroCross being the next big thing,
I'm getting a lot of people com-
ing for that."
More than just lessons, which
Destry says is for all levels of riders – beginner to advanced –
Destry is building a full training
facility to host schools and private lessons. "I'm building a 1500
square-foot gym on my facility on
my property. It's kind of like what
Ryno [Ryan Hughes] does and
stuff like that. Right now that's the
direction I'm going."
Are we going to see "Destryland" pop up in Arizona?
"Maybe Destry's militia or
something," Abbott said with a
laugh. "I have a couple of names
I'm considering but I'm trying to
figure out my domain name. I've
been working on this the last
couple months. I've got to figure
out what official name it's going
to be.
"I'm looking forward to getting
the gym done and doing schools.
Once summer is over, we'll hopefully be available all season and
be going strong into next year's
EnduroCross series."
What's next for the venerable
off-road icon? Keep up with Destry Abbott this season through his
Facebook fan page (Facebook.
com/destry.abbott). Or visit his
official website at www.destryabbott.com to see what's in store
for one of the most well-liked racers on two wheels.
CN