WHAT THEY SAID
06 January 2006 - Clear Channel Entertainment

Anaheim 1 Pre-Race Press Conference Quotes

McGrath

On returning to racing:

I would not call it a come back. I miss racing. The things that I am doing with Honda now are to help the other riders. I still want to race but I am here for other reasons as well. Last year was difficult and I didn’t come in as ready as I could have been.

On having a baby:

Having a baby was a life changing experience for me, and I am really happy to be in Anaheim.

On fitness:

Nothing stays the same for too long and the fitness levels are up with everyone. I could not compete and treat it as a hobby, so I have been working hard.

On his results:

I would be a fool to say they (results) were not important to me. It would be nice to race up front with these guys and be safe. Whatever I can do to help the younger guys, I will do. I am more than happy to help them because it’s not all about me, it’s about the team.

Obviously it is harder to train when you are 34. When you are young, you feel so fresh. It takes a lot longer to recover when you get old.

On his role with Honda:

As I said last year, I have done all of the winning that I have to do. There is a number where I want to finish but you guys are not going to know that. I will race the first six races and build some momentum. When Davey (Millsaps) starts racing on the east coast, I will step back and visit the races. I go home every year after supercross and wonder when I will be a spectator but I always end up racing. I like the way the sport is going. The TV package is awesome and that is going to help us all. I decided to race the six races and Honda decided that with me, and no matter what happens, I will be watching after the first six races.

On his favorite moment from last year:

My racing highlight last year was leading round 1, but then I crashed. It felt great to be in front of the fans again. To get out there and race in front of so many fans is awesome.

Reed

On his performance in Canada:

I did a lot of work since Canada. It is common knowledge that Canada was a pretty pathetic performance for me. I hurt my knee out there, so I rested that and worked on where I could get better. I didn’t perform well up there in Canada and that is part of racing. It is fixed now. Last year was a tough season for me, and I am motivated to race this year.

On being consistent:

I think I learned last year that you can’t win the championship at the first race but you can lose it. I just want to have fun and get good starts and be consistent.

On his health:

Everything is good with me now. I am 100% healthy and the knee is better. I was a little behind in Canada, and this will be a good weekend for me. It sucks to lose but you have to take the good and the bad. I knew where I was at, so I knew what I needed to do.

On racing in Anaheim:

Anaheim is a fun place. I grew up watching Jeremy, and it was called Jeremy’s house. To see the people here get so into it in this stadium is awesome. It is a special place to get a win. All of the teams and industry are here, so it makes it really special. The goal is to win the title. It is going to be a long season and you have to be consistent and win when you can. Personally to win a title is a huge achievement. Your first one is special but they are all special. Every year we put so much effort into it, so it’s what you work for.

Kevin Windham

How did you injure arm …

It was a little crash. Testing was going well and I was excited about my bike. I was motivated and riding well and it just kind of happened. I was coming out of a whoop section and I kind of lost my front over a little double, probably 10 or 15 feet. I came down on my arm. Broke both bones, compound fracture and got two plates, 11 screws. Things were going awesome and then one day that little double got you.

Time table for his return …

I don’t know and it’s too early to say right now. I will say that I’m motivated to be back and you’ll be seeing my face a lot around the races. I hope to have more of a behind the scenes role. I’ll be at most of all the races up to the point when the doctors release me to start riding. I go to the doctor tomorrow. It’s been three weeks since the surgery and I’ll have a better idea of how things will be shaping up for my return. This isn’t an opportunity for me to go into hiding like I did with my femur. I hate that it happened and I love the sport. But although I wish I was out on the track, I’ll be there soon enough. Until then I’ll take an active role in another part of the sport.

James Stewart

Proving people wrong …

I’m really more motivated to do it for myself. I’m not out here trying to prove things to anybody. I know I have the talent to do it. It’s just putting all the pieces in the puzzle and getting it done. I think that’s the main thing I worked on this year was to make sure that I was ready to go the whole season. I did win some races last year so I did accomplish some of my goals.

On being consistent …

I’m trying to stay consistent. I actually see this race as the third race not the first one. Going to those world rounds really helped me a lot. If I get a bad start I’ll just try and finish the best I can. It’s a 16 race season and not a one race shoot out. I think that’s the way I looked at it last year. I was just trying to win every race. This year’s I’m trying to win the race to Vegas and win the title.

On finally being able to compete with Ricky …

I was always a step behind him coming up. I was a little younger. It seemed every time I was moving up he was moving on. He started racing pros in ’96 and I was still racing 60s. I was really looking up to him and trying to do whatever he did. He won so many races as an amateur and then trying to break his records. Now we get a chance to meet, we met last year, and now I’m really looking forward to racing him again this year.

Carmichael

On winning the championships last season …

2005 was an amazing year for me. I felt that being on a new bike, a new team and sitting out ''04 spectating the whole supercross season, I felt that I had a lot to prove to everyone and myself. I definitely didn’t expect it to go as well as it did. I had every intention of having it go as well as it did in the past. I put my head down and I was really prepared. I had some great races and I was very consistent. 2005 was a very special year for and one that I’ll never forget.

What another championship would mean …

Hopefully all of us can stay healthy. I’d love for it all to go down to the last race and may the best man win. I want there to be great racing down to the wire like myself and James had in Toronto. I think that’s what the sport needs and it would be great for television. I would love to win, but it’s always hard to beat that first one (championship).

Talk a little about the history with James …

There’s a lot of history there. The guy used to come to my house when he was on 60s. He’s an amazing rider and does things on a bike that a lot of people can’t do. He definitely has a new style and new way of riding. I’m here to try to see if I can beat him. He had a great two rounds at the Canadian races. He gave us a lot of motivation and we’re here to do our best. It’s great to see a rider evolve as much as he has. I’ve seen him since he was on peewees and its great to see people come up through the ranks and evolve as far as he has.

On training program and timing of season …

I never planned to be peaking for Canada. I’m not sitting up here making excuses. I definitely had work to do, but I now feel rested and ready. I’ve had a few weeks off now and I’m just maintaining my program for the rest of the year. It’s easy for me now and its fun. I enjoy going to the track everyday and not tired from training. Aldon Baker and I took on the commitment five years ago to take on Jeremy (McGrath) and it’s been great ever since. I feel that we’ve definitely set the standard for all the young guys coming up. I think that’s where the sport needs to go. There are a lot of people spending a lot of time and money on this sport.

On knowing James’ weaknesses …

I know where James is good and I know where he’s not as good. The number one thing is that I have to be in position to capitalize on if he makes a mistake. But it’s not going to happen if he’s eight seconds ahead after three laps. All of us up here are too good of riders and too talented. If you give us some breathing room, and unless something detrimental happens, the game is pretty much over.

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