On The Pegs April 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 4 | Page 79

On The Pegs
VOL. 5 ISSUE 4 - APRIL 2020
79
You’ve had an amazing season so far. How do you feel about it? Do you
feel like you’re on a roll, or is it a struggle every week, or is everything just
coming easy for you?
I’d say that I’m kind of somewhere in-between. I’m feeling really good on the
bike and I’m feeling very fast. I feel comfortable. I feel like I can go fast. I know
that I am going faster, so part of that for me is also kind of getting used to that
speed. I’ve had a couple crashes in the last couple rounds, and wins have defi-
nitely not come easy. I would definitely not say that. I just think with a little more
time obviously getting the bike more dialed will help me even more tremen-
dously. In a way, I do feel like I’m on a roll. I’m just ready to go.
You are on a roll. That’s for sure. How much do you think is maybe the
Yamaha fits your style? How much do you think that plays into it?
It’s definitely a major part of it. I rode Yamaha’s for eight years before. I rode
KTM for three short years. They felt like a long time, but I had to kind of really
learn and adapt my riding in order to ride that KTM. So when I got back on the
Yamaha I felt like it was going to take me a minute because the KTM’s were so
different for me. But once I got on the Yamaha, it was like, I just feel like I’m at
home on this bike.
Did you do anything different as far as training or practice during the off-
season that might have helped as well?
Not really anything different specifically. I usually spend time at South of the
Border for the last three winters. I did that this year and then I made my way
down to Florida and rode some sand before the Florida race. That’s kind of what
I always do. I’m definitely changing a couple things up and putting more focus in
different places of my training. So I think that’s something that’s helping me. I’m
not really changing what I’m doing. I’m just changing the focus on certain things.
Are those certain things top secret?
Yeah, of course.
Tell me if I’m wrong, but I think you look like you ride like you’re in the
best shape you’ve ever been. Is that how you feel?
Yeah. Last year was a tough year for me. The last couple years, actually, since I
broke my jaw in 2018. That really set my health back in some crazy ways. I kind