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/327084
VOL. 51 ISSUE 23 JUNE 10, 2014 P87 the Isle of Man, then after Bar- celona we'll stay on and watch World Superbike. Like a gypsy, I guess, keep traveling. Q: Any particular aspects of riding you've been working on? A: On a Supermoto bike I've been trying to improve my right- hand corners. I don't really stick my elbow out to the right – so trying to improve with that. I feel so comfortable to the left, to the right I'm just awkward. I've been dragging my elbow to the left since around 2007, but to the right, never. In the AMA, I was like 17, so if I dragged my elbow I was excited, because it was something cool. Now on a Moto2 bike the lean angle is insane, so it automatically hits all the time. It's a weird thing to me that over here you have pucks on your elbows. You do it without even trying. Q: How is the level, com- pared with the AMA? A: The tires are the same, mo- tors in AMA are a bit quicker, but we have to run stock wheels, stock brakes, internal suspen- sion – we can't run full forks, no carbon bodywork. So these bikes are a lot lighter, but motors are a bit better in AMA. Q: Moto2 is considered over-tired and underpowered. A: They are underpowered. It was weird coming to Moto2, and it's a slow bike. But it's a neat system they have. Everybody's evenly matched. Q: Do you have a favorite track? A: I liked Qatar a lot. I didn't get to race at Jerez, but I like that a lot too from testing. This track [Mugello] is really neat: definitely will be one of my favorites. La- guna Seca and Barber and Miller Motorsports Parks have always been the highest for me, with the memories I have there. I really wish we were racing at Laguna. That would be awesome. The North American rounds this year I've never raced at. I like quick tracks – I'm more of a wide-open guy. Q: As a U.S. rider, do you feel some sort of burden to do well? A: There's a lot of pressure, for sure. People back home want to see an American succeed. Even for me, watching Colin [Ed- wards] and Nicky [Hayden], it was like that. I got tired of seeing Nicky on a bike that wasn't com- petitive; I wanted to see him do well. I am on a competitive bike and I'm not doing well, so that's probably frustrating for people. That makes me want to do good, especially for the fans who race at my house. We run races at home, me and my mom, and just the support I get from the guys every time I come home is really awesome, so it makes me want to do well, for them. Q: What sort of races do you run at home? A: Supermoto – mini road-race stuff. We don't get big crowds, but riders come from all over the U.S. We have people drive down from 15 hours away. It's once a month: Saturday practice then Sunday is race day. That's usu- ally why I try to make it home, to be there for the races. We do 12 a year, or sometimes one or two more. It pays the bills for my mom, that's the main thing. But for me it's something I enjoy. It sounds bad. But there's nothing I've ever done that I enjoy more than running the races. I don't know why but it's cool: little kids come and I get to know them and we become friends, and I watch them grow and progress. Some- thing special to see. I do all the advertising for them, all the scor- ing, I set up banners round the track, and help get the property ready. I'm kinda anal, so I like all my paperwork to be right. CN