VOL. 51 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 16, 2014 P149
the best he could do to try and
get a ride and get good results. I
think I just learned from Alex and
watched him go through mistakes
and stuff like that. And he'd tell
me and give me advice. So when
it came time to make the transi-
tion and everything, it was easier
because he was already kind of
helping me get there."
PRO DEBUT
The transition from amateur to pro
is often quite a step for a young
racer. In the amateurs, there are
usually three to four guys who
have the pace, and the races are
five laps long. In the pros, there
are 15 to 20 guys within a couple
seconds of one another, and the
races are 35 minutes long.
"Oh yeah. I think my [pro]
rookie debut was a prime ex-
ample of how I was unprepared,"
Martin says. "Unfortunately I was
hurt going into it, so I didn't do
as good as I wanted to, but you
definitely learn. You learn how
the pros are at a different level.
You've got to get a good start,
but you've also got to realize that
you're racing guys that have been
in the pro ranks for three or four
years that know the tracks and
are mature and know how to han-
dle situations that when you're a
rookie, you're like the greenhorn.
You don't know how to deal with
the situation the best."
And that's not the only thing,
because if you're a highly touted
amateur like Jeremy Martin, you
also have a change of environ-
ment because now you're on a
factory team.
"The transition from amateurs to
pros is a lot different," Martin says.
"Normally, at an amateur race or
whatever you do, it's your mom
and dad traveling to the race. You
might have a mechanic that you
hire, but otherwise, it's dad tak-
ing you to the line and dad telling
you what you're doing wrong. And
when you get a ride with a factory
team, or a team of any such, your
dad's not quite there anymore.
The golden rule in motocross: races are won
in the corners. Martin is a perfect example of
that. He takes pride in his cornering prowess.
When other people are out practicing jumping,
he's working on his cornering speed. No doubt
a lesson learned from his dad, former National
Hare Scrambles champ Johnny Martin.
