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/127695
Team Y amaha's K Windham evin WITH THE ยท By Nate Rauba he teen ag e ye ars are fill l,'d with fun, hope and anxiety. Fo r a 16-yea r-o ld lik e Ke vin Windham it is n ot on ly all of th e a bove bu t cou quite pro fitable, as well. Having recently signed on with Team Yamaha after a stella r a ma te u r career a n d s tro ng showi ngs in h is first few 125cc Natio nals, h is future certainly seems bright. But the factory ride an d past success can also bring a lot of pressure. He's the latest tee nage sensation to come out of the amateur ranks, where he won numerous championships. His past record mea ns that more attention will be focused on the youngster as he enters his first full year on the professional circuit. The amicable teenager from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, seems unaffected by his sudden celebrity status. Windham is just out to have fu n racing motocross. Success, he believes, will come:as long as he enjoys wha t he's doi ng . We chatted with Windha m as he prepared to make his competition deb ut on his new Yama ha at what turned out to be the fina l roun d of the AMA Fall Classic Series in Tennessee. How are you adapting to the Yamahas? It's go ing goo d. I've been doing a lot of testin g ou t in California. They're letting me go at my ow n pace. I've go t a lot of time to work wit h it. I' m kind of new to s u perc ross, so Yam aha is n' t re all y puttin g a lot of p ressu re on me. Th at makes it a lot easier. Are you trying to get used to the bike, more than anything else? Ac tua lly the bike isn' t any p ro blem. I go t used to that pretty fast. Now I'm jus t trying to get used to the jumps and whoops. We've been testi ng, so it's all starting to fall in place. How did the Yamaha deal come about? Did Keith McCarty or an y other Yamaha people approach you? We were basically talki ng wi th everybody. Yamaha's te a m is rea l strong. They pu lle d together...i t' s just a good team . I like everybody on the team. I feIt a t this point it would be in my best interest to go wit h Yamaha. . Wh y not stay with Kawasaki? You've been with them throughout you r ama- 11 '<:t' 0\ 0\ ...... o ('f) I-< III S III > o z 16 { teur career. Tha t was a problem. I was planning to stay wit h Kawasaki. For some reason - I guess budget, I'm n ot sure, it' s hard for me to say - it d idn' t wo rk ou t between u s . Th r ou gh ou t m y a ma te u r ca ree r that's where I thou ght I was go ing. Th ere' s no h ard fee lings, th ou gh. I still talk to all of them ; we're still good frie nds. It's not by choice that I had to leave. The team was fu ll an d Yam ah a d idn't h a ve a 125 ri der . Wh o kn ow s wha t may happen in the future. What race series will you compete in next year? { 1 ~ " I