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/128409
_ _ _ _.........~-----G-N-C-C-C-h-a-m---Jpion Juha Salminen sometimes, when I'm thinking of things like "what went wrong?" and then the next time I do better. You seem like you're having fun all the time. But are you more competitive than you look? It almost appears that you don't care that much. The riding is my job, so the thing is that I have to win. It doesn't matter if it's a small race or a big race, I want to win. I feel that if you're okay in second or third, you are not trying to go fast, and then you don't ride the bike, you are just traveling with the bike. So you can easily make mistakes and crash. So if you are first or last, you have to go as fast as you can all the time so you can concentrate and not make mistakes. Jack Penton said that when you go into the KTM factory in Austria, they show you lots of respect from winning the WEe titles, How does KTM feel about this accomplishment? I'm just one employee in KTM. Of course, they sell more bikes if we get good results in the races. It's difficult to say, but, of course, they respect what we do. The thing is, I won the six titles in Europe in seven years, and in the U.S. I won in my first year. So if I finish second or third, it's not good. My standard is really too high, and people ask if I have pressure and I do, because people expect you to win every time. It's a lot of pressure, and I hope the KTM people and everyone else understands that. 50 JANUARY 4,2006 • CYCLE NEWS What have the people been like in the United States? Did any towns, cities, things or people surprise you? Was it a lot different being here than in Europe? People in Europe, and in the U.S., is different. They have to be different because the countries are so different. But there are no countries where I don't feel comfortable. Everyplace where I have been, I have felt comfortable. What kind of training do you do? It depends. Right now Idon't do any riding at all. Ido different sports. I will start riding the bike in January. How hard is it to not be too confident coming into next season? Have you ever lost the desire, either here or in Europe, since you have been winning so much? You are never too fast or too good. I try to make myself better. It may look like I didn't have to try, but every race I had to try, really. There are no races that are the same, especially in GNCC when you go to different tracks. This year, when you look at the podium, there are always different guys up there. So you never know, there are always different guys who are fast, and there are always guys behind you trying to eat you up. It's not easy. I have to put in long working days to get that kind of speed and confidence. eN