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/128345
TERVIEW Ricky Carmi chael is my last co ntr act, so there is no mo re negotiat ing, and I'm kind of glad about that because, as big as the sport gets , it's not much fun. This is a business, and as the money gets up there, there is so much tensio n that it's not like it's used to be . That 's not the part I like - I like the racing part of it. Aside fr o m Suz u ki, what other teams did you co nside r? A I thought Yamaha, just because of the bike, but for .Mme, the money isn't that big of a de al because I've made great mo ney. I don't have to kee p racing, you know. I wa nt to be on a good bike now, and I want to be on the best eq uipment and win the supercros s title next year, because if I do that, I've done the ultimate - I beat Jeremy. I beat Reed . I beat Bubba, and I wo uld be a bad dude. How important w as Roger De Coster in your whole Suzuki deal? Ve ry important . We come from the same mold. We bot h work hard, and he' s been a rider, so as far as testing and gettin g the bike dialed in, he knows what it takes to have a competitive bike, and that is nice. When did you ride the S uz u ki for the firs t ti me? A September 20. The first day was all testing, #-\and the second day was mostly a photo shoot. I feel pretty good on it. I neve r even toyed on a Suzuki throughou t all of my years, so this was good. They wa nted me to ride the bike, but I really couldn't because of my Honda contrac t and my knee. I neve r really got to ride the bike, and I heard that Chad [Reed] had ridden it and loved it, and that was good enough for me. What a re a few things that you wo uld like to do, bu t never had t he time? A Like how Jere my [McGrath] can do spo~d ic things like the X Games or supe rmo to. If an event co mes up, and he wants to do that , I think it's grea t . But I'm not in a positio n to do that right now. That's the bummer for me right now. I get offers and I'm li ke, "Oh , I wo uld love to do that," but it's like I can't do that beca use I'm just focused on one vision , and that is winning races . I also rea lly like NASCAR, and I wou ld really like to do that some day. What do you t hink a bo ut Je remy McGrath co m ing out of re ti re m e nt for a few races? A I think it is awesome. I think everyone .foo'should em brace him and make him feel welco me . Howeve r he do es , is however he does. I totally support it and I would love to do that later on in my caree r. If I wa nt to go out to Daytona and race, then let me go out there and race . If I get sixt h o r eighth , that's what I get, but I had fun. Are you su r p rise d McGra th will be on t he CRF450R? A I am surprised that McGrath will be racing a four.foo'stroke, but that four-stro ke is way bett er than the tw o -stroke that Honda has. The best chance he has is to do good o n a 450. Q that the four-stroke w ill shine, but in a 16-race se ries this year, the two-stroke will be better. What do you think of all the hype su r ro unding James St ew a rt? A When my time is go ne, he is the next guy. But until ~ ' m don e, I'm still the guy. Do you think anyone w ill ever beat McG rath's record of 72 supercross wins? I don't know. I think I could have come close if I wouldn't have wasted my first two years and I wou ld have gotten my st uff together. I think I cou ld have come close, but if there is going to be anybody who has a chance it wo uld have to be Bubba. For me to beat it, I Q Q A .. Q A Q Q Q A Will you ever race a 450 in su percross? 't's possible. Those bikes are ge tt ing really good, but I think in a 16-race series that a two-s troke is still the best. I think there are going to be tra cks this year 44 oaOBER 13, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS Q A Q A Q Q Q thought, "I'm going for it ." I think kids now get paid too much and they haven't eve n proven themselves. I feel bad for the factor ies because they spend so much money and effort on these kids, and they come out and they just don't pan out. What is the one thing you would like to do if you had time? There are so many things that I wo uld love to do. I wou ld love to ride a Moto GP bike , but if there is anything that I wou ld love to do and be successful at it, and really devote my time and think that I would have fun, it wo uld be NASCAR. I would love to do MotoGp, but that frightens me. That is way too fast on two wheels. Are you a nd Ursula planning t o start a family in the future? We go thro ugh pe riods where we want to have kids. We both know that it's not the right thing for my career right now. No matt er w hat happens, when you have a kid, your kids are num ber one , and you r job or ho bby is num ber two. That' s the way it goes, and that's o nly fair to the little one. As much as I'm ready, I'm selfish wit h my career. I don' t want to raise my kid on the road. I wa nt to be home every single weekend w ith my kid. We have dogs, and Ursula has raised our dogs and they love he r to death . When I come home they are like, "Whateve r, who are you?" I don't want it to be that way with kids. We' re still you ng, and we enjoy our lives. T he last time you race d supercross you had you r hands full w it h Chad Reed, and yet you wo n the title. Can you beat Reed in 2005 ? A I'm still really bitte r abo ut that whole .foo'six-race thing, you know. I guess I won the first five races, and I was the most co nsistent guy and won the title. I think if Reed would have won the first six races and I would have won the last six races , the n I'd still be the guy. But that is not the way it happened , and I have my reason s w hy I believe I didn't win. I'm not here to make excuses . If I get beat, I have no prob le m admitting that I got beat. I wa nted to go out and try to win, but Chad's bike was better. We won a lot of races at the beginning, and I think we started to get too big headed. We had a 25-point lead, and everythi ng was coo l, and then I started changing some things on my bike to try to make it bett er. And w he n I did that, I just went to St. Louis and fell down . I was right on Chad, trying to pass him through a rhythm section, and he kind of didn't jump this jump, and I did, and I made a mistake and fell down . From that point on it was gone. We have split times, and the only place he was bette r than me was the w hoop sectio ns. It was frustrating knowing that you are doing you r job , and even the guys at Honda are trying hard, but they just can't get it done. I still think that I am the best and have the most solid program right now. I st ill believe that. I know that my day is going to come, but it' s not yet . I'm almost positive I can do it again. If I'm on the best equipme nt or at least the same equipme nt as every one else, than I can be the guy! eN wou ld have to win at eve ry single supercros s in the next three years, and that's not going to happen . Actually, I don't think Bubba will race that long to win 72 supe rcrosses. He's making so much dough, and he' s so into other things. I think he's going to have so many other opportunities that w ill pull him away from this spo rt . Wha t do you think of the money t ha t kid s a re making nowadays? I made 30 grand my first year and I was pump ed . I thought , "Damn, I'm on top of the world ," and I Q A 40th Annivers ary