INTERVIEW
AMA HARE & HOUND NATIONAL CHAMPION RICKY BRABEC
P92
championship again, but unfor-
tunately there was a crash and
mistake there, so...
This year, going into it, I knew
[2015 champion] Ivan [Ramirez]
knew he had a target on his
back. Once I started winning a
few rounds, I knew there was
a target on my back and Gary
[Sutherlin] and Jake [Argubright]
were wanting to beat me. I think
we're all equal racers. Gary,
Jake and I, I think we can go
bar-to-bar for the four hours at a
hare and hound.
It's not easy! It might seem
easy to people, but there's
rocks you have to go through;
there's ribbon you have to follow,
especially if you're opening the
course first. Each race is differ-
ent too. Some clubs mark really
well and some clubs are kind of
lazy. It's not easy!
What do you consider the
most important factor in your
success so far? Is it your
riding ability, your attitude,
physical training, your sup-
port structure, your eyesight
or what?
I would say the training is a
big part of it. Preparation, of
course, is a giant part of it. The
riding ability is a part of it as well,
but we as professional motor-
cycle racers spend a lot of time
out on the bikes so that comes
with play riding or going out and
practicing on skills that you're
not very good at.
I think the attitude is a big part
of it. When I get home and go to
dinner with my friends, we don't
talk about racing. When I'm at the
races I'll talk about racing, but
when I'm at home, I kind of want
to steer away from motorcycles.
Attitude is definitely a big part
of it. You don't want to go into a
race talking yourself up to other
people or to yourself. I just go to
the races and tell myself to be
careful and be consistent and
just do my best. I'm not going
to go around talking to people
about how good I am or that I
can win for sure, because Jake
and Taylor [Robert] and Gary
and all those guys are really
good. You don't want to jinx
yourself by being That Guy.
Since the last Dakar, how
many rallies have you done
and how have those experi-
ences helped you?
Since the [2016] Dakar, I
got a contract with HRC and
"When I'm at the races I'll talk
about racing, but when I'm at
home, I kind of want to steer away
from motorcycles."
