INTERVIEW
2014 AMA ENDURO NATIONAL CHAMPION ANDREW DELONG
P180
"I felt pretty comfortable on the
old bikes, to be honest, but now
that I have a full year on the new
bike I feel I ride a lot better on the
new bike. I have a lot more test-
ing tools at my fingertips and it
makes my life a whole lot easier."
New team manager Andy Jef-
ferson was one of those tools
DeLong was referring to.
"Andy is a former motocross
racer and he's very knowledge-
able, and it was good to have him
at my side," says DeLong. "There
were times I was struggling and,
since he was a former racer, he
was able to give me advice to
help get through the rough parts.
I'm glad he was there, because
without him and my mechanic
Joey Mauer, and suspension guy
Bart Hayes, I don't think I'd be
where I'm at today."
After finishing seventh at the
opener, DeLong rebounded with
a third at round two of the series
in Texas, the exact same venue
where DeLong took his first-ever
national win in 2013. That was
followed by a sixth in Tennessee
and a third in Missouri.
Through those first four rounds,
defending series champ Charlie
DeLong says that he's
learned to control his often
times wild riding style.
