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/128335
A Both. It's fitness, beca use I'm training harder than -""'ever, but it's de te rm ination, too . I see it this year. Last year I didn't have it. I got off to a bad start , and things didn't go my way, and then you say, "Oh we ll." It's just what I was trying to say to Barry when he got hurt . Last year I realized that I didn't need to train and practice like I was still in it for the champio nship. I needed to take time off and go boating with my wife. This way I wouldn't get burned out , and I would be able to come back focused this year. But I can do that . Oth er guys are fighting for their job. They nee d to get results and put in a good ride . Me, I know Suzuki is going to back me and support me. So last year, I didn't need to train quite as hard, and I did win the Ironman last year anyway, w hich was grea t, but my main goal last season was to have fun and do things I usually don't get to do . And it had probably been years since you were able t o do t hat, Right. I never got to go boat ing or camping, o r go to A the movies with my wife. I was always racing and racing. Then I knew at the start of this winte r I wou ld have to sta rt trai ning again, and I knew Suzuki wo uld still be behind me. Some ot her guys can't always do that. So that's what I tried to explain to Barry. I called him and said, "Dude, if you're out of the champions hip, enjoy the rest of this year and be rea dy for next year. Don't wear yourself out now." You need to enjoy life a little bit. Q Fo r a lot of riders, having a tough season might hurt their confidence. But you turned it into a situation where you knew you would co me into this ye ar eve n be t ter. A Right. I wasn't worried about where I ended up in H the standi ngs last year. The on ly number I worry about is number one. Idon't even run the other number. I run 31. That' s been my number forever; just like Carmichael runs number four. So 3 I has bee n my number, and if I win the cham pionship, I'll take number one. Q So you hav e this big battle going on with Jason, and eve ryo ne t ries to figure ou t who is going t o do well on what t rack. Last race was a sa nd t rack, This one w as a rocky t rack. But it seems like now, whatever the conditions, yo u're just goi ng to end up battling Jason for it a nywa y. Yeah. Last race was my hump, and so was Loretta A Lynn's. And I woun d up winning Loretta's, and I almost won the last o ne. I usually don't ride well in sand because I sit down a lot. The rest of the tracks are all good tracks for me. The only other thing to worry about , though, is that Freddy [Andrews ] and Chucky [Woodford] usually start to do well now because these next tracks are in their backyard. So they might act ually throw a twist in there. But then again, I don't know whe re the ir confidence of their fitness is. Jason and I may just end up following them and wearing them ou t. Q I Q They're bo th ride rs who ca n nip the sw itc h. A Right, I've seen them do that befo re . But it doesn't see m to me like the t rack matters for you. Even at a place like Loretta's, where your styl e doesn 't really help, you won. Is that confidence? O h yeah. And I know for the rest of the season, I A think Jason and me will be up ther e at every race . Q W hat about Wisp, the last race you won? You had another killer battle, and your mechanic, Q Rodney [Harris], and your wife, Lori , were saying t hey wish it wasn't always th is close. T hey just wanted someone to pull ahead so they could relieve their stress! I tried to pull ahead, but so me lappers were holding me up, and he caught up to me. Then he got around me in the lappers, and I tho ught, "That's okay, I will just work a stra tegy." I started putt ing pressure on, and he started going off the trail and hitting rocks . He almost went off the tra il in a way that wou ld have ended his day. Then I snuck by him and ran it through to the finish. It worked out in my favor. tc: w e ll, you r crew was having ca rd iac arrest during this battle. What's it like for you out there? lt's more fun. I'm having more fun with it. I don't A know if Jason is, but anytime there is goo d, close racing, I think it's great. Q lt seems like it comes down to whoeve r m akes the last mistake, O h yeah. At one race, I was having some pro blems with my goggles,and we got into an open section, and I reached up and tried to clear my vision.Jason [Raines] got around me. Late r that night, I was asleep on the plane, and I woke up and realized "Hey, why did I do that?" I should have just charged thro ugh and taken my goggles off in the woods. He wo uldn't have been able to get by me, and then I wo uld have gotten into the dust in the next section in the lead. I should have just raced into the woods . Q A w ell, Jason always says you're tough t o beat be cause you have so much ex pe rie nce, but how m uch thinking are you a ble to do in t hat sit ua tio n? A Oh , it all happened so quickly. It was n't until that I'4night when I realized what I sho uld have done . I wo uld have wo n the race. Q Yo u've had big battles in t he pas t with guys like Andrews, Summers and Watt s. But now you 're battling with a guy who is 15 ye ars younger than you, Is that different? A No, it's not. But I like riding with him. He stands up I-'a lot, and I sit down . We're two to tally different riders. I've actually been riding wit h so me yo ung motocrossers at home. Some of the fastes t Northern California motocrossers , and they school me. O ne of Q www.cyclenews.com them , Nick Davis, I could hold my own with him last year, but now I can't. He's a fast young kid, and I've been helping him tra in. That has given me some motivation. So now I'm te lling him, if he kee ps working on it, I'll support him at Anaheim for the supercross next year. I'll bring my box van, walk the track with him, be his mechanic, whate ver. Riding w ith younger guys, it helps me o ut, too. ThiS sounds like a ch ange for you . For years you have been saying you only train and ride when you want to so you don't get burned out. Now it sounds like you 're t raining hard a ll the time, A No , rea lly I do n't. I still don't feel like I have to do l-'anything I don't want to . My wife, Lori, teaches classes like pilates. So on Monday night we do some classes, and sometimes they will ask her to sub for another class, so we'll have two workouts. And this is the Monday afte r a race. But it all just happens . I'm not do ing it because I have to do it. Q IS championship you Q youthe battling hard w itonJason?r mind 're h when Not rea lly. A few weeks ago in Pennsylvania, I A crashed, and Barry got by me for second. That 's about it. I don't think about not gett ing hurt o ut there . If Jason and I have a big lead, I know I can crash and stillget secon d. So then I'll push it. HOW much do you think getting a win over Jason helps co nfide ncew ise? A O h, I think it's good. It was kindof a turning point. He Mhad won the last two races, and I needed to stop him. Now he's thinking, "Man, that guy just won't go away." Q lf you do wind up ing nship, Q will it be the mostwsainnisfyingthis cham piotitles? t of all your A Yes. Winning at 40 would be coo l. That's a mile "",""arker I didn't think I would ever pass. I remem ber thinking winning one race at 40 wou ld be tough. But now I've been able to keep on rolling. eN CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 4, 2004 67