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/128355
INTERVIEW WORCS Champion Nathan Woods For the most part, you stuck w ith the four-stroke all year, even in ra ces that a p peared t o benefit the 250cc two-stroke , Why was that? The YZ450 is just awesome. It's a great machine. I rode the '04 throug hout the whole year; the last three S, rounds I rode the 'O and it's an awesome bike. I can't S wait for next year to be on the 'O all year. The bike wo rks really we ll, has plenty of power, and I've got it set up and feel it's the best bike out there. I'm a four-stro ke guy; I'm more comfortable on the four-stroke, and I like to get good starts. Even in two-hour races, where it doe sn't matter about your start - to a certa in point - and if you're in the to p five, you're pretty set, but I like to get a good start , and I basically like to lead. Most of the races, I'd say six out of the 13 rou nds, I'd holeshot and lead the first couple of laps, and I think that's why I won some of the races. Ifyou get out in front early, you get out of the carnage, you can take the good lines, and I'd just ride my race, instead of being around guys who might be a litt le bit slowe r or risk having them knock you down or making you have to do another pit stop or something. What path do you see your career taking? Down the road, I want to ride motorcycles as long as I can. I enjoy being o n a dirt bike, or on two wheels, anything with a throttle and two wheels, I'm happy. I want to do Six Days. There's bee n a couple of Americans that have gone over there and done very well, but they 've never won; I want to be one of the fi rst to win the Six Days. I know it's a huge accom plishment to do some thing like that, and it's going to be really tough to do , but with Ty Davis' help and Kenny Parry, I think I have the opportunity to do someth ing like that. So, Six Days is defini te ly in my boo k. I'm going to do othe r types of racing, like the EnduroCross. I mean, if that kicks off, I wou ld be openminded to ride that - I had a blast riding that. Pretty much anything off-road I'm up for it, but definitelythe Six Days, I want to go for it the next couple of years. And I would like to do some GNCC s. I think next year I'm going to do selective GNCCs , maybe two or three, just to get my feet wet and see how it is back there. Everybody says it's really to ugh, and I don't doubt 'em. A lot of guys from the West Coast go there and they have a tough time, but the East Coast guys come to the West Coast and they have a tough time, so I wa nt to be an all-around rider. Whe n someone says Nathan Woods, I want them to know who I am and what kind of rider I am. Can someone, such as you rself, m ak e a decent living ra cing off-road? Yes, at this point, I'm doing fai rly well. I'm not making to ns of money, but I'm taking care of my family, I own a house, I have a little bit of money in the bank, so I can go 94 JANUARY 5,2005 • CYCLE NEWS out and do what I need to do. It's not like Supercross you're not making six figures. It wou ld nice to be able to do that, because we' re just like them . We're putting our liveson the line every time we get on that dirt bike; when you're going through a rock pile at 45 mph, just skimming thr ough the rocks, it's no different from those guys going through 5upercross whoops . I hope to see myself making more money in the future . Does someone like Rodney Smith, at 40 years of age , still winning and making a good living give you more confidence about being able to make a long a nd prosperous career ou t of off-ro ad racing? To see those guys at that age doing what they' re do ing is a good thing. I think there are a few peo ple that can do that , though, and I don't know I'm going to be one of those few, but I'm definite ly going to work towards that. There's not going to be a gate of 40-yearo ld men out there racing, so there's always going to be the up-and-com ing talent, and you figure you're going to w ork three time s as hard as he is just because you are o lder. I know Ty does. He doesn't ride as much anymore because of his business , but he definitely tra ins harder than me . We go out and pedal bicycles , and he st ill kicks my butt. But it definitely opens your eyes that you can do this at that age. Do you know Rodney very well? Not very well. He's a Northern Cal guy and that's whe re I'm fro m, also. Whe n I was yo ung, I was riding 80s and stu ff, and he was out there riding the Pro class and whoo ping them up. He's definite ly a talented rider, a very nice guy, and at 40 years is still putting it to them. He won his fifth title, which is just remarkable, and if I cou ld be put in the same category as him and Ty, then I have nothing else to accomplish. You jus t finished riding the EnduroCross in Las Vegas, What was your opinion of that? It's what we're hoping for, that's the reason why I wen t to do it. A lot of peo ple said, "Youshouldn't ride it. It' ll be really scary, you might get hurt and there 's on ly six weeks left before our off-road seaso n starts up again." But I was thinking for the future : I want to be able to race in the future and be able to make six digits, and to do that this is w hat we nee d to do - to have an indoor off-road series. If that happens, it's going to be grea t for the off-road sport ; it'll be good for fans. I think everybody enjoyed the race ; I mean , afte r the EnduroC ross, I haven't talked to anybody that said it wasn't enjoyable to watc h. I mean, I enjoy watc hing Supercross and it's great, but there 're a cou ple guys who are going to w in the race, and you know those guys are go ing to win the race. You com e to this, and it's a crap shoo t. There were so many diff erent lead changes, you go around and you go to hit the rock sectio n and you fall down - you had a half-lap lead on them , and that just dwindles to nothing - and then by the last lap, the guy is on you and they're block passing. It' s tight arenacross enduro racing. It was definitely exiting, definitely adren aline pumping for the riders . I've never had so much arm pump in my life. I thought going 60 mph do wn a whoop section gets you arm pump, but nothing like that. It was very intense." What is your deal with Yamaha, Mon tclair Yamaha and Zip-Ty Racing? How does all that work? I'm not employed by Yamaha, but I have a contract through them for bonuses and stuff, and that's about it . Yamaha has given me a great opportunity to ride a goo d motorcycle and so me fi nancial backing; w ithout them, I wou ldn't be whe re I'm at. Montclair is the off-road de part me nt , so to speak. All of the Yamaha guys go through Montclair; ifyou need parts or anything, you go thro ugh Bill Maddo x there. Ty Davis fits the bill with t he diesel truck and gets us there . He handles our sponsors and stuff like that, and the media stuff, and Kenny Parry doe s that also, and this open s me up to just go o ut and ride and trai n. Before, I was calling people to get spon sors and tried to hussle some money here and there just to get to the races . Now, I just worry about getting o n my dirt bike and going fast and winning races, and that 's what they want - they wa nt yo u to win races. And that's eN w hat I want to do, too.