VOLUME 57 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2020 P95
going to be like California. It
blows my mind. There's so much
desert-type terrain over there.
It's kind of off-the-wall. We went
to Portugal and it was a lot like
Southern California. It's just
tough for me because I don't
ride in that stuff and it's hard to
get comfortable in those condi-
tions. I enjoy Six Days but it's a
tough event. I want to win. I got
another year to do it. I'm going
to race '21, going to Six Days in
Italy. It's more East Coast-type
terrain. I know those Italian guys,
there's a lot of fast riders, and
they're going to be really good,
too. That race, there's so much
that can go wrong and there's so
much time on a bike. It would be
a huge feat to do it."
Russell also has plans to ride
at least four of the Kenda Full
Gas Sprint Enduro Series, obvi-
ously to hone his skills for Six
Days. Plus, he will still be under
contract with KTM through 2021.
"I'm still a full-time racer
next year. I'm just retiring from
GNCC," said Russell. "Then,
after '21, I'll be done with racing
full-time as a professional. I've
got nothing left to prove in GNCC
and off-road. I've got some
bucket list items that I want to do.
I've always wanted to race the full
Pro Motocross Series."
At least for now, Russell feels
he will be relieved to have a year
without the demands on him that
a full season of racing requires.
NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE IN GNCC
"I'm actually more excited
about the stress being gone of
having to uphold an image that
is rather unrealistic," said Rus-
sell. "Like I said, I'm content.
I'm happy with what I've been
able to accomplish. There's
nothing left to prove. I can't say
I'm not going to wish I was out
there because at the end of the
day, I'm still more than capable
of being out there and having
good results and probably still
be the favorite to go into the next
season to win the championship,
but you can't look at it like that. I
made my decision and I'm pretty
set with what I've done. Maybe
in the next couple of years it
might be tough, like 'I can still do
this,' or whatever. You're going to
have those thoughts, but at the
end of the day, it's more relaxing
to just be hanging out and not
have the stress of having to be
the guy. I've done it for so long.
KTM rewarded Russell for his
10-plus years with the company
and his eight GNCC, three
Sprint Enduro and one Enduro
Championships with an off-road
model named after him.
