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/127711
·IN R IE Jeff Emig TE V W a - a a By Donn Maeda 14 it h the 1995 seas on upon us, p e rh a p s the most pon dered qu estion amongst su percross fans is, "Who will win? " Wi ll defending Supercross Champion Jerem y McGrath continue to roost everyone, or will Mik e LaRocco finally rid himself of the bad luck tha t has kept him from winning the indoor title? Or what a bout Mike Kie drow ski? A hard-charg e r, Kiedrowski may lack the styl e an d finesse that the other two have, bu t he definite ly h a s th e speed. But while most fa ns ' predictions are cen tered arou nd these th ree riders, they may b e forge tting abo u t one more key p layer - Te am Ya ma ha 's Jeff Em ig . A t 24 .yea rs of age, Emig carries up on h is shoul ders th e h op es a n d as pira tio ns of th e e ntire Yama ha facto ry . Pressu re? Perhaps, bu t s uc h th in g s do n't rea ll y see m to faze Emi g . The 20- yea r veteran racer repo rts tha t h e' s s till having fun, and feels that his chances of indoor success are better than ever in '95. Wit h the O rlando Supercross Seri es op ener rapid l y ap proachi ng, how do you feel about the 1995 seas on? Well , I feel good . I think I'm s tro nger this yea r. than I e ver have been in the past. I've just been ridin g a wh o le lot, and having a lot of fun on my motorcycle. That's important. Have you done anyth ing in th is past off- sea son that you haven't done in the past? I guess that would be riding a lot more. There was a point last year whe n ridi ng so much did get old, but I like w ha t I'm doi ng now . How do you p repare for the new season? You wa nna make sure that you ' re confident in yo ur mo torcy cle. You def initel y need to show up a t th e track feeling like yo u have the best . mot o rcycle there . I th ink this year the Yamaha gu ys have do ne a rea lly good job getting th e bike read y for this season. This past fall at the first off-season race I was a little iffy abo ut the bik e, but since then we've really go t it dialed in . We 've improved the bike, and I feel that it's one th at I can w in on. This year you race a 250 full time (in SX and Nationals). Do you feel that this will help y o u r indoor performance s? . [ can't help but think th at being on a 250 full time will help us develop the motorcycle better. It will also help me with my overall str en gth. Riding a 250 a t th e Nationa ls is d efinitely mo re p hysicall y d emand in g th an a 125, and besides that, the roost hurts like a son of a bitch. How d ifferent is th e bike s et u p between supercros s and outdoors? Not that different, actually. I just raced a local race - the GFI Supercross at Perris, and I rod e my supercross setup. I'm sure that we'll softe n t he s us p e ns io n up for th e n atio n a ls, but that's probably about it. How about the motor? Do you run a different motor at the two types of races? I don ' t think so . I really like our s upercross motor for o utdoo r races. As a matter of fact, I think I like it better for outdoors than I do for su percross. Do you consider yourself a better outdoor rider? Uh, well, the re's a few guys w ho rid e s u percr oss reall y, really well, so everybody com pares you to them . So in that sense, I g uess I'm a b ette r mo tocross racer. I'm still try - I ing to get that first supe rcross wi n, though. You seem to ha ve the speed to w i n a s u p e rcr oss, but many times, little mistakes or mi shaps ha ve kept you off the winner's step of the po d iu m . Wh a t w i ll y o u need to do to finally get a win? I think that I'v e definitely had s o me b ad breaks . There were a few times last yea r where I felt I cou ld win , but got landed on or taken ou t. I thi nk a lot of m e n ot winning in th e pa st may have been due to my lack of confidence . Once you win a SX, do you think more will come easier? Was that how it wa s after winning your first 125cc National? Yeah. It' s one of th ose deals where I was talking w ith Yama ha , trying to get my new contr a ct s e t u p . They a s k e d m e, " Do you thi nk yo u can wi n a s u p e r cross ?" I to ld them yeah, but if I win one, I'm go nna win more than one, you know ? It's not gonna be a one-time deal. Once yo u get the form ula, you ' re bound to w in a t will