VOL. 51 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 25, 2014 P59
I want to do."
"I turned pro really fast," added
Davalos. "I never got the whole
amateur experience all these
kids were born to do. I was put
in the pro scene really soon and
I was always fast, I was just never
able to close the deal, and to-
night I was able to do that."
At last week's East Regional
250 SX opener in Texas, Davalos
was, once again, in the situation
of leading a race, only
to throw away an almost
certain win. It was like
DejaVu all over again and
again.
"Last weekend I felt
so good, my momen-
tum through the track
was really good, but I
threw it away all by my-
self," said Davalos. "I
felt I was consistent, but
I'm human and I make
mistakes. It sucks that
I've been in this division
a long time and threw it
away again." But not this
time.
"I was just thinking
about putting in perfect
laps and staying on two
wheels," said Davalos.
"Tonight the track was
really tough. I just told
myself to make 15 per-
fect laps, be the best in
the whoops and make it
consistent.
"I'm happy I made
it happen early in the
season and I'm looking
forward to going to Indy
next week and do the best I can.
It's a long season and I want to
be there in the end."
Davalos said that near the end
of the Atlanta race that he could'nt
help let his mind wander a bit.
"A lot of stuff was going through
my mind," said Davalos. "I didn't
want to let anybody down. I've
been in that position, led a lot of
laps and never closed the deal.
I think I got the monkey off my
back, I know what it takes now,
but this is a long season and I'm
glad I came out of here safe and
with a win. I'm just going to take
it race by race and do my best."
Davalos credited a major
change in attitude for his suc-
cess in 2014, and also credited
his riding coach Broc Sellards.
"I think before I was too wor-
ried about my surroundings, but
now I'm just worrying about my-
self, my lap times," said Davalos.
"I have such a good group of
people around me, my trainer
Broc Sellards, and I think that's
made a big difference. They have
pushed me so hard on and off
the bike, and I think that's made a
big difference."
Of course, Davalos has also
been training with Kawasaki
teammates Cianciarulo and
Blake Baggett, which can't hurt.
"We've been pushing each
other on the test track, and the
guys work so hard on the bike,
just trying to make me comfort-
able," said Davalos. "I feel like
we're in a really good spot, and
I can't worry about the long-term
deal, I just need to focus on be-
ing my best every weekend and
being consistent."
Now that the monkey is off his
back, Davalos expects wins to
come more easily now.
"That was a huge relief, to get
that out of the way," said Davalos.
"I'm glad it happened in Atlanta,
because my whole family came
from Ecuador. This was also my
first podium, so this place is spe-
cial to me." CN
Martin Davalos savors his
first career Supercross win.
Martin Davalos talks about
his long-awaited first career
250 Supercross victory
