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/127537
~ INTERVIEW Damon Bradshaw m omn 0 a e By Nate R au ba Photo s by Kinney Jones Iter three years of waiting, Damon Bradsh aw's time has arrived. And the teenager has left little doubt that he 's com e of age. The 19-year-old No r th Carolina rnotocrosser has dominated the first leg of the Camel Supercross Series. He fin ished fourth in the opening round and th en won the next four event s. Brads haw 's win streak gave him a 20point lead go ing in to the past weekend's Atlanta Supercross. It's the best seaso n-o pe ni ng pe rforma nce since two-time Supercross Cha mpion Rick j ohnson won five straight at the stan of the 1989 season . I T ha t was the year Bradshaw began racing full -time with factor y superstars like j ohnson. After a highly successfu l ama teu r run , pi u s a vi ctory ov er j ohnson in a 1988 post-season supercross in Osaka , japan, many people were expec ting a lot from the Ifi-year- ' old kid. Although Brad shaw cap tured the '89 l 25cc Eastern Region a l Supercross Championship, he lo st th e 125cc Nati onal titl e in th e clos ing ro unds. T wo years la ter, he had won many races but still hadn't don e wh at man y expec ted of him, and th at was win a maj or cha m p ionsh ip . Peopl e were talking abou t Dam on Brad sh aw. "I heard through the grapevine, and the mag azines and peo p le were saying ' that Dam on Brad shaw could win races ' but not a cha mpions hip," said Bradshaw. " I know I can." He's o ut to prove it to everyone thi s year, and with hi s blazin g stan he's established himself as th e favorite to cap ture th e Ca mel Supercross titl e. Bradshaw a ttributes hi s earlv seaso n I success to several different factor s, bu t I feels that prep arati on is wha t mad e the differen ce. " T he bike was prep ared for the start of th e seaso n a nd I was rea dy," Brad shaw said. " We were wai ting for th e season to begi n in stead of wishing we had one more week to prepare." Brad shaw ,also started the season well in 1990 whe n he won th e first two supercross events . H e was leading the th ir d ro und when he cras hed and inj ured his foot. Thi ngs were a lot differe nt then . " My goa l then was to show everyo ne I could win races," says Bradshaw. " I was go ing over the edge to do what it took to win a race. If 1 cou ld 've wo n th e cha mpions hip, sure, I would've tried to win i t. But 1 didn ' t know if ' I ~o u l d do that. I o nly knew that I could A win races . 4 " I was younger and not quite as wise. as I am now. A lot of things come with ' th e years. I cou ld win races, but it was goi ng to take a lo t more experience to win the titl e." Only New Englander j im Ell is has won the Supercross Ch am p ionshi p I before turning 20. Ell is was 92 da ys t shy of hi s 20th birthday when he I bec a me cha m pi o n i n 1975. Most supe rcross cha m ps were a t least 21 before they earne d the titl e. incl uding three-time cha m p Bob Hannah. Yam ah a MX T eam Man ager Keit h McCarty, who at on e tim e served as Hannah 's mech anic, feels th at Bradshaw has gained the experience necessary to be champ io n. " It 's a cu lmi na tio n of hi s ma turing," said McCarty. " T here's not a lot of gu ys wh o can come on the scene I and beat the top riders. Some take/ longer to mature, but Dam on came to l the su percrosses believing he was as r good as R ick j oh nso n . " Rig h t now , he's the sma rtes t he's ever been in hi s ca reer ," McCarty added.