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/127801
Did you have any idea where McGrath even was in the second moto? Of course! I could kind of see. red back there in spots. Maybe I was even looking for him. You know, Albertyn rode a good race in that second moto and kept me real honest - both he and McGrath did that, actually. It seemed like Albertyn closed up that five-second gap a little bit on you after 15 minutes and it looked like things might get even more interesting, but then you put in one of your best laps of the day and got away again. Yeah, I turned a 2:42, I think, and that was about the fastest anyone did all day. I wasn't going to let Albee get any closer than he already was. On the last lap your mechanic Jeremy wrote, "I want that bus." What did that mean? . (Laughs) That's just kind of a little joke that we got going where if I won the title I would buy him a VW bus as a bonus. It started out as a Ferrari, but as I gQt closer and closer in the points it went down to the VW bus. One of those VWs cruises around my neighborhood all the time, and it has one of those license-plate frames on it that says, "It's not a car, it's a bus!" I just always thought that was really funny. Is he really going to get the bus? Well, he might, but I'm working on getting myself a car first. After the checkered flag finally fell in that second moto, there were a lot of people who surrounded you in the winner's circle, including your dad. How much more special did it make it to have your father there? It made it all really good, really special I was real nervous about having a lot of people around me all weekend, because I tend to ride best when everyone is acting real normal and I can approach i~ like it's not such a special race. But my dad and my girlfriend, Launi, really wanted to be there and I couldn't say no. My roommate Denny (Stephenson), too. I figured it meant a lot for them to be there, also, and I just accepted that and I was all for it. All of that support could only help. Did you buy dinner Sunday night? Nope, Kawasaki did. And we let them off easy, too. Did you speak with Jeremy McGrath after the race? We never really spoke that much but he . . did come up and shake my hand after the moto and congratulated me. He was real gracious and said, "Good job." Were you surprised at the huge amount of support that you had in the crowd, all of the signs and banners and afros and all that? That was definitely the most amount of 'fros I've seen since VHl reviewed the '70s. . It has been getting kind of bigger, hasn't it? It's really cool because those guys are all really funny and it's easy to notice. them. Jeremy Albrecht's brother Joel was one of them and he and his fiancee Carli flew in from California on Saturday, and he waited until Sunday to surprise me. I was out in front of the truck signing autographs and this guy with the 'fro walks up and I'm like, "Hey, what's up?" And then I realize it was Joel Albrecht. It was really, really cool and that extra effort meant a lot to me. ~You said Kawasaki bought you dinner, but what else have they got lined up for you? A couple more years, it looks like. We haven't actually signed the deal· yet, but I'm more than happy with Kawasaki, and I'm sure that we are going to work something good out for both parties. I went there on Tuesday (September 3) and the whole company, everybody that I passed by in the hallways, people I knew and people I didn't, they were all really pumped for me to get the championship. And you're really satisfied with J-Bone as your mechanic? Oh yeah, he's the mechanic for me. Do you guys have any big trips coming up here in the next few weeks? Just Joel Albrecht's bachelor party here in a couple of weeks, then maybe go out to the river or something. I'm going to do a little bit of R&R for a while, maybe go up to San Jose for my friend Todd Hicks' (Fox Racing) birthday. That's it? I'm real happy to say that my next really big trip is to go to the Motocross des Nations. So that's a done deal? Sure is. I rode the 500 for the first time in my life Wednesday. It's a big pig, but it's a lot of fun, too. Are you thrilled to be going back to the MX des Nations as a member of Team USA for the fifth straight time, which ties David Bailey's Team USA record for consecutive appearances? I'm very happy. I'm a really patriotic person and I've always loved doing this race. I was there when we won it a couple of times and I was there when we lost it, too. It's real important to me to be on the team that gets that title back. Which race was a bigger win for you this year: the St. Louis Supercross or the Steel City Nationals? Steel City for sure. St. "Louis was a good night, but winning at Steel City topped off a great year. I'm pretty satisfied with my season. I had a couple of things change in my head, like the fact that I gave it 100 percent and tried to focus on being happy with that effort whether I won or lost. I did the best that I could do and I lived with it, rather than really get hard on myself and get super-frustrated. I didn't always go crazy after I lost, thinking that iliere was something that I had to change, something that I was doing wrong. Now I know that sometimes you just don't win. I go home now and work on the things that are right and then give it another shot the next weekend. That's made me more consistent and a better rider, and that.paid off. - Jeremy won a lot of Nationals - a lot of motos - but I won the championship with consistency. My bikes were awesome all year long and I never had one mechanical breakdown all year long. (Laughs) Just that one little disqualification for fueL Otherwise, it was a good 1 year. c:Il rl!llilllrledld ........ 111 "'" IRANOS.