VOL. 51 ISSUE 23 JUNE 10, 2014 P85
been pretty challenging for me
at the beginning of the season,
but I know I can run with those
guys. It's just getting confidence
and getting used to the bike and
learning the tracks. It's going to
take a little time, and if Caterham
sticks behind me then next year
I should start getting the results.
Q: With AMA in its current
state, I guess there wasn't
much point in staying on.
A: We could have stayed there
and made some money, but it
seems like it is going in the wrong
direction. Hopefully they will turn
it around, because we really need
more Americans over here, for
sure. There is a good bit of Amer-
icans in Europe now in World
Championships: two Americans
in BSB, two in World Superbike,
and three in MotoGP, but we defi-
nitely need some more.
Q: What were your first im-
pressions?
A: It was an eye-opener, that's
for sure. I was expecting to be
closer to the times they were do-
ing. It's a lot more challenging
than I thought it was going to be.
But just the atmosphere and ev-
erything in this paddock is amaz-
ing. I've been wanting to race in
this paddock since I was 12 years
old, so it's neat to finally be here.
We don't really get the opportu-
nities in America like the kids in
Europe do, riding Moto3 when
you're really young. For me I rode
125s for only one year in 2004,
and then straight to a 600 when
I was 14. It's a lot different here.
Q: When you were 12, was
there any particular rider you
saw as a role model?
A: Nicky Hayden at that time
was just getting into MotoGP, and
I'd watched him in AMA, because
my dad raced AMA. My parents
were huge Schwantz and Rainey
fans. So that was neat as I pro-
gressed through the ranks, es-
pecially with Lawson and Rainey,
to be able to hang out with them
because of the Yamaha relation-
ship.
Q: How do you go about
learning all-new tracks?
A: I just try to get out there
