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/127655
Ezra Lusk · ~ w l e n the 1994 AMA Sup ercr oss Ser ies • . started, most people •.. expected 18-year-old .. Ezra Lu sk to be th e dominant'force in the Eastern Regional 12Scc Supercross Series. As a member of Team Suzuki, Lusk alr eady had two yea rs of p ro experience and success under his belt . The former min icycle champion from Bainbridge, Georgia, won 1993's opening round in Orlando, but several cras hes rele gated him to third in the final seri es standings. Not one to disappoin t, Ez ra started th is season wi th another Orlando win and then kept h is motorcycle upright through the next two rounds, winning again at the Houston Astrodome and at Tampa Stadium. Lusk now enters the prestigious Daytona Supercross as the undisputed favorite to win the 125cc cla ss. It's a race he expects to win . How doe s it feel to ent er the Daytona 12Scc Superc ro s s as t h e ob viou s favorite? It feels good to be tho ught of that way. "I just hope everything goes welJ down there. Last year I had some problems wit h my suspens ion and I got bea ten by Doug Henry. This year I'm hoping th at ever ything will work out fin e. I know that I'IJ be ready and th e bi ke will be read y. I hope it's a good track and I hope the weather is all right - no rain, but no real heat, either... Actually, n o ma tter w hat i t's like, I' ll b e read y. ". As a 12Scc pro you finished fourth at Daytona in 1992, and second last year. Were those your only Daytona races? I used to ride the amate ur race there a long time ago , befor e they made it so you had to be 16 yea rs old to enter. I remember winning the mini class " few a times on 60s or 80s, but now I guess they don't have th e a mateur race s there anym ore. Is Daytona the toughest round of the series? I'd say so. Dayto na is more of an outd oor tr ack than the rest of them . It takes a lot mo re stamin a to go fast down th ere because the track is so rough " and the weather can be kind of hot. We have to change a lot of things around on the bike and set it up more for an outdoor track than a stad ium. You have to be in really good shape for that race - better sha pe than the rest of the sup ercrosses - especially .since you have to go right after the Gainesvill e National. If you're not in shape, you' ll still be feeling the effect s of Sunda y when you race that next Satu rda y. Whi ch race is more important to you, the combined EastlWest series round at the Houston Ast rodome or the Daytona Supercross? Daytona is more importan t to m e . Everyone from the factory and rea lJy the whole industry is going to be there. I've always liked it because it's such a