INTERVIEW
P58
250 EAST ATLANTA SUPERCROSS WINNER MARTIN DAVALOS
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
SHAN MOORE
T
he last time Martin Davalos
saw his mother, it was well
over a year ago. The next
time he saw her it was basically
from the top step of the 250 Su-
percross podium, a victory that's
been six years in the making. But,
in reality, a lot longer than that.
Six years ago, Davalos com-
peted in his first 250 Supercross
race after leaving his family in
Ecuador at the age of 17 to be
a full-time Supercross racer in
the United States. Finally, after
all these years, Davalos claimed
his first victory, which came as a
huge relief for the 27 year old.
"It's been a long road for me,"
said Davalos moments after his
Atlanta win. "It's been a lot of
frustration, a lot of time. I don't
know what to say. People don't
really understand, I come from
a country that has nothing, and
it's taken me a long time to get to
where I needed to be."
So many times, Davalos has
been close to success on the
track - close to getting that first
win, close to winning a champi-
onship. But for one reason or an-
other – never for a lack of trying,
however - it just never came to
be. At times, it became frustrat-
ing enough that the Monster En-
ergy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team
rider considered throwing in the
towel and moving back home.
"A lot of people have talked
so bad about me and it's tough
hearing that," said Davalos. "A lot
of people didn't believe, a lot of
people questioned my abilities. I
was always fast but didn't deliver,
so I just want to really thank the
people that stuck with me, the
people that believed. People
thought I only won heat races,
but it's tough winning heat races.
If it was so easy everybody would
do it. But for me to put together
a main-event win is a different
achievement and I'm glad I was
able to do it.
"I came here when I was 17 years
old," said Davalos. "It's been tough
on my family and it's been tough
on me. I left my family, so I haven't
had that support. I put so much on
my shoulders, trying to take care of
my house, trying to do everything
by myself. Now I think I've let go of
everything and I'm just concentrat-
ing on my career. I'm having fun on
a motorcycle now, and that's what
RELIEF
Martin Davalos talks about
his long-awaited first career
250 Supercross victory
