Here's most of the interview that top link was pointed at ... Came from the link at the bottom of the page and had to be translated so expect a few odd words or sentences ...
We got another ~10 days or so till the race on the 29th ... Dirt bike racing is dirt bike racing but I gotta say, I knew about nothing on the EU racing scene but after this 1st month, I gotta say, looking at it from an entire season of racing, it's not really even comparable to what the PRO racing is in the states ... As different as the racing is between the 2 continents, RV2 has already won a overall. Then gets a 3 week rest? Rest is good as it should ensure all riders are not tired I guess and it certainly stretches the season out and you gotta keep in shape without racing so much or something ... RV does not address how you stay in shape and not race but know you are gonna race someday ...
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Ryan, what is it, around 10:30 in the evening there now in Europe?
We're actually in the last hour of a six-hour drive from the north of France. We did some testing down there yesterday. It's been a haul.
You have not even Been home from Thailand for a week yet, but I've been Told That You guys have basically Been testing around the clock.
Yeah, we're working on getting stuff set up. After doing the first two GPs, we're figuring out what we're going to change and what we need to work on. We're just setting the bike up for conditions over here.
You're two rounds into the 2015 World Championship and have a few weeks off until the Grand Prix Patagonia Argentina. In other words, you're basically in one place for a while where you can assess things. To That end, what do you think about this adventure you're on so far?
I mean it's been good. With the first three rounds Involving pretty long travel I mean this one coming up in Argentina is going to be the farthest; once we get that out of the way then we're here amongst Europe for pretty much all the other rounds, I know we're just trying to get These races out of the way and then the long travel is over, basically, until the end of the season.
I would think by getting back to your home base in Belgium That at least you would be Able to settle in and have a place to call home, huh?
Yeah, it's been good. We did the first two right away and now we have a break and that's good Because We're Able to figure out what we need to do on the bike and find out where we were lacking.
Throughout the last two weeks there Has Been quite of bit of talk about the motorcycle you've been racing. Was the bike far off from where you thought it was going to be?
The tracks were a lot farther off than what I was expecting. They were much slower than I was expecting so ultimately cheesy to soften up my suspension a fair amount. Not Necessarily for the texture of the dirt. Not Because the dirt was hard pack or anything like that. No, the tracks were at a much slower speed. After Qatar we went back and we adjusted things and then a when we raced Thailand it was much better. After Thailand, we've been Able to do what I call fine tuning. After Qatar we did A LOT of work. We made some changes in a really short amount of time, cheesy. We had, like, two days back here in Belgium to ride and cheesy to ride in sand; we did not even get to ride hard pack. It was really hard to test, but we really wanted to test. We Were Able to do it and even fatto che short amount of time we went to Thailand and the bike was much better. Now In These two weeks we have, we'll really be Able to work on it.
That period of time between Qatar and Thailand Had to have just been a whirlwind for you. I added it all up and you did over 8,500 air miles Within just a few days. Intense, huh?
Yeah, it was. I mean, the time at home was short, but being on the road, That was definitely a much longer feeling. The Qatar race was the first one and we got that over with and then it was on to
Thailand. That was just a crazy, bizarre place in That was pretty cool to see. Yep, the experiences sono stati pretty cool so far.
New bike, new team, new world, new everything. When you arrived in Qatar and it was time to go out and begin the racing process, did reality TV sets? I mean You Had not raced in a year and a half.
Yes and no. We were just getting out there and kind of seeing where we were. I think the biggest thing we found out was just how far off we were with having everything set up with the bike, you know? I was Able to do some decent times at first and then Throughout the whole weekend it was pretty much terrible. From some little bike issues, to the crashes, to the bad start's. Nothing, nothing, went as planned. Every time we did go out on the track, though, we did do better.
The whole ritual of a Grand Prix race, the free practice, the timed practice, qualifying race, riding all day on Saturday. How different was all of That for you?
It's a lot different. There's a lot of riding on Saturday. There are two 20-minute practices and a 20-minute-plus two lap race. So yeah, there's a lot of riding on Saturday and there's a strategy in making sure you get a good lap in for gate pick. And also for the race on Sunday gate pick, you have to do well in the qualifying moto. You want to win That bike or you want do really well and get a good gate pick, but you do not want to push too hard or laugh too much. For me, I'm just still learning all this stuff and still trying to figure it out. The American style is much different than the European style. In America, it seems like every time we go out on the track we attack it or hammer it. Here I'm finding out that's good, but That You also you kind of need to be smart about it and how much you actually ride and how hard you ride.
You have to peace yourself over the course of a race weekend a bit?
Yeah, a little bit.
How did you feel and what were you thinking after the two motos in Qatar? Were you bewildered?
No, to be honest, nothing went as planned. We had bike issues in Both motos and I ended up crashing in Both motos. It's hard to go into it and explain it. Yes, I rode terrible, but look, the whole weekend was terrible. You could not pinpoint anything. You could just scratch that one off the list and move to the next one. Obviously, the crashes in Qatar, Those Were my fault and riding from pushing too hard, but in That was happening from Little Things That cheesy go wrong and put us in Those positions where I had to override. After the race we could see, like; 'Okay, yeah, we had a problem here and we had a problem there'. And I fell three times. It's pretty easy to pick through what went wrong and where we were no good.
And then came the triumph at Thailand. It was profound longer available to bounce back to being on form again.
Yeah, I ended up with the overall, Which Was obviously good. Going from a weekend like cheesy in Qatar to winning the first moto and then ending up third in the second in Thailand - That was a much, much, much better weekend. It was good to have That win, you know?
Have you seen all the chatter on the message boards and websites? Good, bad and ugly, this journey you are on is generating an amazing amount of input and feedback from fans and industry members all over the world.
(Slight laughter) No, I have not seen any of it. You know, I think that's the way it is. It's definitely a big change to come over here and go racing. I'd like to see any one of These Europeans go to the US and go straight into supercross and motocross, you know? They'd end up in the first ambulance ride to the hospital. You know, that's just the way it is. You're always going to have people talking about it, but basically that's why they have a bumper sticker That says, 'shit happens'. After Qatar, it was not good and I Knew that. Everybody Knew that. We'll just try to build on it slowly and get better each weekend and each week and I think we still have quite a bit of room to improve.
I have to ask this question: Do you feel like you're carrying the weight of American motocross on your back? There's a pretty good grudge match going on between the American and European fans right now.
Yeah, I mean I think that's pretty cool to have everybody Following and watching. I definitely feel like I have, and I do not want to say enemies, over here, but there are a lot of people are thinking That That I thought I was going to come over here and just clean up. Never one time did I ever say That this was going to be easy or That the Europeans were not good or anything along Those lines. However, I get the feeling, like you said, there are people thinking and saying, 'welcome to the GPs!' As for me, I never said anything about these guys being no good or anything like that.
How about the riders That You compete against? Do you talk with them or get any sort of vibe of them?
No, it's pretty much to ourselves right now. Especially at These overseas races where we fly in and the bikes get flown in and we do not have our trucks. We do not have anything, so it's like a when we come over for the Motocross of Nations where we borrow a truck from over here. We have our fly boxes and we just fly in with our bags and post up wherever we can.
As to the track as in Thailand, there was talk from blackberries than a few riders who Claimed the track was suited to you or That it resembled a supercross test track. What's your take on all that?
You know, we all Had to race the same thing. If they think That track was tough or whatever, do not ever get on the plane to the States and ever try to ride anything or go over there Because it will end very, very, badly. There were definitely some jump-oriented sections on the track, but they were all very mellow. They were all rollers. There was not anything even remotely close to a supercross track. You know, a when I Walked the track it actually Reminded me of Loretta Lynn's. I've heard some comments like that, like, 'Oh, this is a supercross track'. Well, if you think it is, do not get on the plane to America Because It will end in a ball of flames.
It was remarkably hot in Thailand. So much So THAT a few riders could not even answer the bell for the second moto. Moreover, blackberries than a few riders who Looked very worked over after race one, came out noticeably refreshed and strong During moto two. Thoughts on all of that?
(Long pause) It was hot. It was definitely warm Especially coming from the low temperatures where we were riding back in Europe. It was like 42 degrees there. When we arrived here, I think the heat index was around 110 or something. It was warm, but we all Had to ride in it and it was a shock for all of us. I do not know if you can say if anything was suspect. The top guys rode good the second moto. Like I said before, That part strategy comes into play and maybe I did a little bit too much on Saturday During That qualifying race or whatever the case may be. There are a lot of things That I could be better at right now.
All right, RV. You're two races in 2015 to this MXGP World Championship and you have 15 ahead of you. You have your first two Grands Prix behind you and you've Already Won Grand Prix and are getting attuned to things. All Things Considered, are you feeling pretty good?
Yeah, I feel pretty good. We're working on the bike and getting better That. That was my main concern right now, the bike and we're working on it. And once we get done with Argentina we'll be on a regular schedule and a regular plan know That will be nice. I'm looking at all this from a different angle. This is not a season That I'm used to. You know, it's like I'm trying to learn something over again. I learn something new each day.
Read more at
http://blog.mxbars.net/2015/03/19/r...n-me-exclusive-interview/#el0I1IrBAqkik3MK.99
-- Thailand, crazy and bizarre? Never been there but I have a clue ...
