Catching up with ... Paul Carpenter

 

           

Thanks. It’s been good so far.

 

 

It did take a few weeks. It was tough. I think the guys have stepped it up since I was up there in ’07. I was riding hard but I was getting frustrated. Little things were happening, it seemed like each moto something little would happen and mess me up. I never really got going you know. Basically this weekend it seemed like I got a decent start and was able to get up front with those guys and it just made the biggest difference in the world. Once I got up there, I was like ‘Oh, all right, I remember this now!”

 

Oh yeah, it felt really good. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been working my butt off and getting frustrated, but like I say you can only do what you can do. Those guys were riding really well. It’s a long series and I think it’s going to be tough for anybody so hopefully all three of us—the guys who are running for a championship right now—can stay healthy and I think it’s going to be a battle.

 

Yeah, for sure. The other thing is that he’s been getting every holeshot. How can you compete with the guy? I say this not in a bad way but there are only eight or nine guys that are running close to the pace up front and it’s hard when those guys are getting out front and you are starting 18^th. By the time you catch up and get around them, they are already gone. Colton’s been lucky—well I wouldn’t say lucky—he’s been on top of his game and he’s been getting every start. That makes a huge, huge difference.

 

 

Well, the first moto my goggles were broken. I had no lens in my goggles, once I got into third I just rode around. The second moto, basically I got a better start and saw where they were and then I realized that Colton was up front. I got behind him and I realized that he wasn’t actually going that fast. He wasn’t unbeatable. I just basically stayed on him and stayed on him until he made a mistake and once he made a mistake I capitalized on that, and passed him and put in a few good laps and got away on him a bit.

 

Billy just says, “We’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do and have fun.” He wants the best for everybody on the team. Of course he wants us to win, but he knows you’ve got to give it everything you can and just go day by day and see how it plays out. As long as everybody is safe and healthy and everyone has tried their hardest, that’s all you can do and I think that’s all he’s really asking for.

 

For one, both times our flights got jacked and I just went in with a really bitter attitude and we just had a lot of stuff go wrong. We flew into Kelowna and had to drive and a lot of stuff was already frustrating me before we got to the race. At the race, I did everything I could. I mean the tracks were good, the guys were riding well, and I did everything I could. I had a crash in the second moto and things just didn’t work out the way I would have liked them too. In Calgary, I got right behind Colton in the first moto right off the start. He put about three or four seconds on me right away and we stayed that way pretty much the whole race. Dusty was behind me for most of the moto, right there, and we just basically went 1-2-3. The second moto…well all year so far really, I believe it comes down to who gets out front, because all three of us are fairly close in speed. So, whoever gets out front is going to have a nice easy race, that’s the way I look at it. I don’t think it’s going to be easy for anyone. Especially when we get out East, I think it’s going to be a little tougher. The tracks get a little tougher, I think, they get a little rougher, the weather will get a little humid, and I think that there are more things that can play a factor out here, rain or whatnot, who knows what we’re looking at. I think that it’s not even close to being over, that’s my personal opinion.

 

Yeah, definitely, that is obviously key. That for me is my biggest thing. I just think I have to be smart in the motos too. I have to be a guy who maybe doesn’t necessarily win every moto. I think you are going to have to be smart throughout the year, because at some point, somewhere, I think one of us is going to make a big mistake somewhere. I think it’s going to be who can make the least amount of mistakes, along the line, and basically capitalize on the mistakes that are made.

 

I mean I don’t think he’s going to crumble…he’s fine as far as that goes, but I think that it does make a difference. If you’re Colton and you get out front and you’re used to running away with it, if you have a guy who’s on your back for two or three laps but all of a sudden he disappears and you are gone, obviously you are going to be confident that you can do that same thing at each and every race. Now, you’ve had a guy who rode behind you for two or three laps, caught you, passed you, and pulled away from you. Now you are going to start thinking, hey, that could happen again, and I think that’s the thing that not neccessarily breaks his confidence but makes him think about who else is out there …

 

 

Yeah (laughs) it was. I don’t have a clue what it will be like on a dry day. Saturday’s practice was pretty good as I remember, I honestly don’t remember very well. I think we only got a few laps before it started raining. I literally can’t even remember what it looks like, it was such a mud race, I don’t remember the jumps or anything, and so it’s kind of like going there for the first time. I hear it’s a nice track if it’s dry, so I’m looking forward to it. I didn’t think I was going to like Edmonton, everyone said it was so fast and there was nothing to it, but I actually felt it was a good track. It got rough, it got a little choppy, it had a couple of different sections where could do different things, it had a few different lines.

 

 

Definitely, it feels good. When you go to a U.S. National, you know you are going there for a 10^th or something close to a 10^th, that’s your goal and that’s kind of frustrating in itself. No one even cares about a top 10 anymore. It’s really nice to be racing in a place where you have the potential to win. It’s nice to at least have a shot at a moto win, or an overall win, or even a championship. It’s also nice to be somewhere where things are a little more laidback, a little less pressure. It’s a little more fun to ride your bike again. The races are cool, all the people seem to get along, there’s no big drama. It just seems like maybe Canada is a little bit more grown up about it.

 

Jack’s had some good and some bad races but I think for coming up and not really knowing what to expect I think he’s having a good time. Same for Bobby, he’s had some bad luck and some stuff go wrong for him and I think it’s not quite as easy as everybody expected, but they’ve been having a good time. The only thing that’s been killing us is getting messed up in the airport each weekend. It’s like we’ve been in the airport all week.

 

Well, I think the riding pace has picked up. As far as the CMRC, I think they’ve done a little bit better job listening to the riders. Each week there is a meeting and the riders can tell them if there’s a place that needs attention on the track, the CMRC is out there and they do a good job of listening and handling stuff. I think everyone has done a good job of making the series a little more professional. It runs very smoothly, so far these first three rounds, basically everything has been very close to on time, it’s been very professional. It seemed like in ’07 at the first few rounds, it could go either way, they could change the time at a drop of a hat, whereas this year I think it’s run a little more like the AMA, it’s pretty professional how it’s done. I think they’ve done a great job. The people are friendly and not everyone has such a chip on their shoulder. Everyone is happy to be there and the racing is the racing but at the end of the day, everyone shakes hands and carries on.

 

Well, I would say so. I think both Dusty and Colton are thinking it’s on. We are only three rounds in so far, and there’s a lot of racing left to do. You can say it’s on, but you’ve also got to be smart about what you do and putter along and do what you can do.

 

Well, hopefully (laughs).            

 

Yah, well we are going through Chicago again so … maybe. (Laughs)