INTERVIEW
N-FAB/AMPRO YAMAHA TEAM OWNER RANDY HAWKINS
P72
me and these guys. We are a
team and we function as a team
and we're better as a team than
we are individuals. So we really
work hard on that.
"I can see it in the mechanics,
they're enjoying their jobs better.
I'm enjoying it better because
I'm not dealing with any kind of
dramas. The racers are enjoy-
ing themselves, they're working
hard, and it's true that chemistry
in a program like that is huge."
It's a stark contrast to what
some might expect from a fac-
tory team, where riders live and
work their own training programs
during the week, but Hawkins
sees far greater benefit from the
cohesiveness from a team that
works and trains together, even
if it doesn't appear as "factory"
as his competitors' teams.
"We're a little bit looser,"
Hawkins explained. "Can I make
our guys wear certain t-shirt
on Friday and wear warm-ups
on Saturday and you got to
wear this hat on Sunday? Not a
problem. We could make that
happen, but we approach things
a little different. I wouldn't have
it any other way. And I think
sometimes people see us at
the race, and they're saying this
group looks a little shabby or not
as inline as the others, but what
they're not seeing is behind the
scenes, what else are we doing.
"Here's a good example. We
don't go to the track and spend
two days building our race bikes.
The other two teams, that's how
they set up. You can look at
them and say, 'Oh wow, that's
a factory team. They're build-
ing their bike right there.' To
me, what's factory about that?
We build our bikes in our race
shop. Only thing is when we
come to the track, our bikes are
race-ready. Our guys are sitting
Hawkins was more than happy
to snatch up young gun Ricky
Russell who finished fifth in the
XC1 class in 2016. He's currently
fourth in the championship.
