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/127180
"I know they probably think they are going to push me around because I'm a young and inexp~enced (on the National circuit) rider," Bradshaw continued, "but I've been around for 12 years and I'm pretty smart as far as passing and stuff like that. They're not go ing to push me around. " Bradshaw admits that he's still got a lot to learn on the track from the other riders, but he doesn't want to tak e too , much tim e doing it. He wants to win races and take championships in all three displacem ent classes, pl us earn the su percross title. At the beginning of the season Bradshaw was hoping to ride th e 250cc class for th e entire Camel Supercross Series, but his crash at Anaheim effectively removed him from the points cha se and forces him to pursue the l25cc Eastern Regional Supercross title in stead. Bradshaw is aggressive a nd he won 't back down from anybody on the track, no matter how famous they are, as he's a lready proved. His style h a s eve n impressed johnson , wh o recen tly said that Bradshaw reminds h im of how the he was wh en he was younge r, and it has even been predicted that Bradshaw will be the next Rick johnson. That's a distincti on Bradshaw doesn 't want. "People say that I'm the next R ick johnson, " he adm its. " But I want to be the next Damon Bradshaw, I don 't want to be the next any other rider. And I don't want to get the reputation as a big head because I have too many friends to lose and I enjoy talking to peo p le, meetin g people and seein g the coun try. I'm a laid back person and can flow with just about any environ men t," Althou gh Bradshaw has loo ked up to johnson in the past, especially wh en johnson rode for the Yamaha team several years ago and stayed at Brad sha w's ho use, David Bailey has been his biggest in fluence. The two live fairly close together, and Bradsha w says that he often goes and rides at Bailey's track in rela tively nearby Axton, Virginia, where Bailey keeps an eye on him and gives the youngster advi ce. Bradshaw al so cre dits Ba il ey for making h is transitio n from amateur to pro a smooth one, providi ng him with advice on wha t to expect ou t on the circuit and how to deal with things. Since he 's go ne on the National circuit, Bradshaw hasn 't been too close to his Charlotte home m uch , but when he is there he likes to relax , go o ut with frie nds and have a good time. H e hu nts with h is fath er Randy wh en he has the time and likes to spend time with his mother Marsha and .bro ther Zachary. He al so finds tim e for his girlfriend, Tiffany T en ch. Since so much of his life , invo lves racin l;' Brad shaw says he tries to get away from It whe n he's at home. T here're no motocross pictures in his room, he says, just car and rock pos ters a nd a Fox Racin g banner. He keeps the Osak a tro phy in his room, and a tro phy from a win a t a Ca nadia n supercross sits on the mant el. " If I have all that stuff on my wal ls the n when I' m at home I' ll think about it," Bradshaw says. "When I'm at home I like to kind of veer off from that and not thin k abo u t it all the time because I thi nk that helps me. " Another thi ng tha t Bradshaw hasn 't had time for is school , and he's sacri ficin g hi s fina l two years of high school for a racing career . " I fin ished off the lOth grade," he expla ins.' "Towards the end of the year I star ted tra velli ng a lot and go t to where I didn 't care tha t m uch about school. I cared more abo u t raci ng. Down deep I didn 't wan t 10 com pletely forget about school becau se I knew that if I go t hurt I wouldn't have anything to fall back on. " Bradshaw plans to get his Graduate Equivalency Diploma, and after taking a preliminary test is currently studying up on literature so that he can pass the GED test. "I do miss school, going and being with my friends , cutting up and having a good time," he says. "But I would rather sacrifice school than racing because racing is my profession - it's what I care about. " If Bradshaw continues to improve upon his already successful racing career, he shouldn't hav e anything to worry about. • SOLUTIONS, OTPROBLE PJ1.S. The Outside Story from PROBLEM: " Rubber, PROBLEM: "Dings Vinyl or Leather Cracking" SOLUTION: Renew & Protect from PJl. Don't trust your bike to socalled "big namebrands" that leave greasy films " actually accelerate and dryingas_ evaporate. they Look for PJl 's Renew & Protect, a silicone based spray that conditions and moisturizes rubber, plastic, vinyl-s-even leather boots! and Scratches" SOLUTION: PJl's Fast Black paints! Choose 1400 0 High Temp Flat Black for exhaust systems; 5000 Satin Finish casepaint; 5000 Wrinkle Finish texture coat; or high wear, High Gloss black porcelain hard epoxy paint. 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