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/127607
UINTERVIEW e Camel Su ercrossC ion Jerem McGrath ham • By Chri s Jonnum Photos by Kinney Jones "I think I can break the record again for most supercross wins in a season. I want to do it, and I really think it's possible." Th os e are th e wo rd s of Team Honda's Jeremy McGrath. With a statement like that, it's obvious the defending champion is co nfident abou t the fast-ap p roaching season. And judg ing by his success this season, Jeremy has good reason for his boldness. In early '93, the likab le Californian took the stadium circuit by sto rm, winning twice as many main events as his competi tion comb in ed , and clinching the title wit h tw o roun d s remaining . It was the first tim e the crown had been taken by a rookie. But McGrath, now 22, isn't satisfied w ith 10 w ins on a 15-stop circuit, and w o n't be happy with "j ust" a nother championship. If McGrath is wearing a smile come the final round of the series in Las Vegas this June, you can be sure he' s wo n 11 or more supercross features and broken his own record. It won't be easy. With the seasonopener just weeks away, many riders seem to be "peaking," and most of the line-up is healthy and hungry. As usual, a ll a re intent on gunn ing down the cham p. Is McGra th worried? " Ther e's only a fe w g uys th at I'd ev e n concern m yself w it h," he sa ys . "M ike Kied row ski's one of th em . He's s trong a nd he ' s s t ro ng a ll the w ay through . ~ ik e) LaRo cco ' s go od too , especially when he rides like he can. Jeff (Stant on) is really strong an d I think he's turned himself around and started having fun again, which is pretty important. I think that a lot of people counted him out after la st year, and they really shouldn't have. I think Doug (Henry) is gonna be a good rider, but maybe he's gonna crash a few times. "It's not so important for me to be so strong for the beginning of the season. I usually am strong, but everyone else trains their guts out to get ready for the first race. Then when it comes time for the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth races, that's when they're burned out. And that's when I'm levin' it. I think that has something to do with it. Everyone may jud ge me if I finish bad here or there like, 'Oh, he's not gonna be fast an ymore: but tha t's no t true. The more that people judge me bad, the more I want to win so bad. I don't know, people just don't understand me. They think that if I lose a race, that's it. But if I lose a race, I don't care. I can blow stuff off so easily. I can do bad at a race and go back the next weekend and it's a totally different story. It's noi like I dwell on my last race, or it hurts my confidence." Fortunately for McGrath, he hasn't had many races that he's needed to "blow off: ' especially in stadiums. He recently completed a brief (but hectic) stint of Japanese ancl Fnrnpp= ~up"r crosses, most of which he won. One such victory came in Fukuoka City, J