Team Yamaha's David lIuillemin
By STEVE Cox
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
D
avid VuiJIemin has been a fixture on the U.S.
motocross scene for a long time now, and whiJe
many riders show up with high expectations that
either never or are rarely fulfilled, Vuillemin made
good right away. He won multiple 125cc supercrosses right away, and in his rookie year in 2000,
he took down mighty McGrath four times - actually
chasing down the champ from way behind in
Phoenix, which was unheard of at the time. He
backed that up with two outdoor wins that year as
well.
All this being considered, it's unfortunate that
many people who think they're experts and now
have a voice thanks to internet message boards and
chatrooms (Vuillemin has his own website,
www.DV12.com. where he corresponds with his
fans, so he spends plenty of time online) have written him off because he hasn't won a race since, oh,
last year! David Vuillemin's far from done. He led
the 250cc Supercross Series last year until hurting
his shoulder at a photo shoot for Transworld
Motocross Magazine just prior to Daytona, and he
won three supercrosses before that.
This year, he rode quietly to four solid podiums
in the first eight races - and that's while most of the
other riders were still healthy. As a proven winner
outdoors, we figured we'd give DV a ring and find
out how his return is going just prior to Glen Helen.
Cycle News: How close are you going to be to
100 percent by Glen Helen?
David Vuillemin: ['m not sure yet. I think my
speed and everything will be 100 percent; I just
48
MAY 14, 2003'
cue
I
e
nevvs
don't know about my fitness because I've been on
the bike only 10 days. I've been doing good speedwise, but we'll just figure out if I'm going to be fit for
the two motos.
David.: David Bailey Peft) ...d DavId Yulllemin (right)
have ...... WOI'Idng together for the 2003 _ .
YuIII.mln aaya they get along . . . .
CN: Glen Helen is known to be pretty gnarly.
DV: It depends. It depends on the track, and it's
always pretty hot, and everybody's pretty tense, you
know, because everybody wants to do good. It's a
new series, so everybody wants to do good, so
everybody's going to be excited. We'll see, you
know. It's only the first race, and I just want to show
some speed. [ don't care too much about fitness yet.
