Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126404
and I went off a jump and looped ou t. That was it. I just pulled off. "In Supercross , th e starts are really important. It ca n make th e differen ce between winn ing and losing really bad , Hannah's the only rid er who can really pass on those trac ks, t he only really aggressive ride r. "Supercross is really exciting though , 'ca use you 're always goi ng for it: you d on't h a ve an y time to re st or anything. My brother Mike bro ke his leg in a stadium ra ce . In abou t nin e or 10 places below th e kn ee . He had it in a cas t for about a ye'lr bu t it ca me out pretty good . He got m arried tho ug h and quit racing ." Being a local hero of sorts certainly has its bright momen ts , but as Scott has found out there are some problems with being th e king of th e hill. " At Saddleba ck everyone expects me to win . People th ink , 'Hey it's no problem today,' but every day is a race. There's never any day that I go out there and think it' s easy to win . That's when you sto p winning. When I go out there I'm really going to try , I'm worried about everyone . in th e race. "T here a re so many things that can go wrong, it bugs me that people think I can always win . Like last week some kid comes up to me and says, 'Get a good start and then just fly by Sta ten and cu t him off a nd do all this othe r stuff.' I'm lu cky if I ca n just be at him ! People think I d on ' t t ry bu t I'm working m y butt off e very ra ce. Winnin g isn 't easy: you hav e to work for it." Scott has a very smooth and easy ' kind of riding style a nd is usuall y fa r o ut in fr ont wh ich a d ds to the appearance of rea l style . But it is wh en he laps slower rid ers that one can really see how d eveloped his timing and savvy are . He almost looks polite! " I was taught to run into people to pass , but I think th er e's a wa y around it. I just try to set them up right a nd pass them com ing ou t of the tu rns. It doesn't m ak e sense 'to run int o peo ple 'cause you ca n really m ess yourself up . It ma y see m kinda slow , bu t it's fa ste r in th e long run . Besides, you just end up makin' everyo ne you r ene my. "Sometimes when riders come back from th e National circuit , they thi nk th ey're sooo bad . Bu t I'm not scared of those gu ys who ride ro ugh; I can do it , too , if I ha ve to. Bu t I try to ride as fai r as I can. I thi nk ra cing is whe n you have you r line and the other guy has his a nd if he go es faster th en that's fair. You d on't hav e to knock him off his bikel Nobod y local really rides tha t ro ugh , but I gu ess I'll hav e to get used to it on th e N ati on al circ uit." Scott sees Bob Han n ah as t he epi to me of the m ot ocross ri de r, but he a lso knows him as a friend and riding buddy. " I know Hannah pe rsonally, and I think he's really pretty coo l for who he is a nd wh at he's accom plished. He's certainly amazing and th e best rid er there is, no doubt about it. He's been rid ing for so many yea rs, he ha s so much ex perien ce, and he 's got a lot of , natural abil it y . Besides , he 's com p lete ly fearless!" What about the other riders? "Sm it h is really good , he had a bad yea r bu t you can' t not give him a ny cred it 'ca use he co uld win again real easy. And Tripes is on e of th e best n atural riders . I know him , and he's the only one who can beat Hannah . On hard slippery tracks no one ca n beat Tripes . Like a t Sears Point he was p u lling awa y at six seconds a lap . He's proba b ly the most natura l rider there is. I m ean , look at him . He's not even in shape. I th ink his trainin g is ea ting . " I used to weigh 20 5 , and then I lost ...... .... I-< 0.. < Though Gillma n prefers outdoor MX. he gives stad ium events a go , 45 pou nds a nd it helped me so m uch . I mea n , it doesn't slow you down but you get tired . I don 't see how Tripes does it . 'J enn ings, I' ve see n him go faster at Sad dl eb a ck than anyone. And m y friend J im Gibson is reall y good . It bo thers me ' to ri de against him . W e always try to rid e different classes 'ca use we're such good friends. Bu t I'd sti ll beat him if I co u ld an d he'd do the sa me to m e . " I enjoy raci ng , the exci tement a nd st uff', I don't need the mo ney , I j ust reall y enjoy racing . Motocross is the • biggest thing in t he wo rld' to me!" . 25 ',;