An interview with TP on the racerx website really redeemed this kid in my eyes (see my previous posts about him) I liked that he was up front and honest and basically said that he was retiring. I have included the parts of the interview I liked. :nod:
From RacerX:
Just how is your knee?
My knee … I’m crippled. It sucks. I can’t race in the shape I’m in. I hate to say it like that. I love motocross; I love motocross more than anything. But now I can play around and do what I want. I know this lifestyle won’t last. Rally is the only thing I’m taking seriously right now. Everything else is wide open for me.
A couple of weeks ago, I turned on the TV and there you were, winning the opening round of Dew Action Sports Tour. How did you come out of nowhere to win that thing?
It was the funniest thing: I was in Europe doing a TV shoot, then I went straight to Pennsylvania to do a rally. Then I went to do a TV spot for DC Shoes. Then I had an ad shoot for Nixon [watches]. Then I did some more TV work at my house. But I practiced for the Dew Tour event for one day. It was a really last-minute deal. The judging there was really strange. I guess the “flow of course” figured for a lot in the scoring. My first was run was pretty sketchy – I even slid out in one corner. It was a lame run. I thought that Twitch [Jeremy Stenberg] had me beaten, but I don’t think he played along with what the judges wanted. Sometimes you can figure the judges out. You may not be riding at your best, but if you do what the judges are looking for, you can win.
As far as the future goes, what is your ultimate goal right now?
Right now, the World Rally Championship is the main thing. Obviously, I need to get better on the road course. That’s why I’m dong Supermoto: so I can get better on asphalt.
From the information I’m getting, you are being pegged as a future World Championship-level rally driver. What has Subaru said to you?
I’ll tell you what: The top guys at Subaru and Prod rive [who oversee the Subaru World Rally Championship effort] came out for the Oregon rally to see how good the American drivers were. They wanted to know how it is. They wanted to see where the base was.
Have you been keeping a close eye on the AMA Motocross National Championship?
For sure.
What’s your take on all the grief James Stewart has been receiving?
Ricky Carmichael has never lost an outdoor championship. Last year, James’ lap times on the 125 were so good that everyone thought he was going to be faster than ever on the 250. But the 250 is not the same. It’s a different case for James now. But as far as people calling James a quitter? Jeez! This is his first year in the class. It’ll take him a little time. All this talk of James pulling off? I can relate to that. This is the first time James has ever lost. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you lose so many times that it becomes second nature. But it’s not like that for James. You know he’s thinking, Okay, I can’t be back here. He’s still the future of the sport.
You’ve had people in the sport turn on you, haven’t you?
Motocross can be tough. If you’re getting good results, it’s great. If you’re not getting good results, it can be tough. It can get old real quick. Is motocross fun? It’s not fun. Racing is not fun. What’s fun is doing well and overcoming obstacles. Look at James: He was amazing in supercross, but now he’s not doing as well as expected in the outdoors, and now everyone is giving him a hard time.
Do you like motocross websites and chat rooms?
Yes and no. The die-hard fans, the true-blue fans, are the good guys and the guys I enjoy talking to at the races. But at every race, no matter how good you may be riding, you can get second and hear things like “He’s not motivated.” It seems like those people want to make up reasons for why you may not be winning. Man, maybe the other guy is better, you know? Look at Heath Voss: He gets fifth. You know how hard it is to get fifth? And Chad Reed. You go on the websites and read “Chad Reed has given up outdoors.” Shoot, have you been to Chad’s place? He’s an animal. It’s so easy to sit on the sidelines and make things up.
You’ve always had a great relationship with the fans. In fact, Roger DeCoster has told me he has never seen a rider better with the fans. As of late, how have the motocross fans been to you?
You know, the fans have been great to me, and I haven’t really given them a reason to be. It’s funny, though. One guy will say, “Freestyle motocross loves you!” Then another person will say, “Travis is wasting his talent with that freestyle stuff.” I get that one all the time.
Will you back to supercross in 2006?
For me, at this point, injuries have made it impossible for me to achieve, at least at the moment, the things I want to achieve. If everything heals and I come back with a full range of motion in my knee, there’s no reason why I can’t achieve what I want to. Being injured, tired, sick … man, I haven’t been able to achieve what I want. It’s so frustrating. It’s heartbreaking.
Is rally as fulfilling to you as motocross?
I’m super happy with rally. I’m having so much fun. This has been the best summer of my life. I miss motocross, for sure, but until I get my body healed up, there is nothing I can do about it. But I’m happy to be doing what I am right now. I know this lifestyle won’t last, but it’s been a great summer.
Is it primarily your knee keeping you out of motocross?
Yes, just my knee. I still don’t have full range of motion in my wrist, but I can deal with that fine.
Will you be doing the Summer X Games this August?
I will be doing the Summer X Games. I’ll be doing Supermoto and Freestyle Motocross. It’s all fun stuff.
Would you go to the Motocross des Nations if the AMA invited you?
Realistically, as far as one event goes, sure. I’m like [Doug] Henry—if nobody wants to go, I’ll go. If it was a hard-pack track, I may bow out because I may not be the best candidate. But if I was picked, I could be ready with two months of training.
Before we go, is the backflip too dangerous?
Definitely not. [Brian] Deegan got hurt because he did a backflip in the wind. The backflip is so easy that people get hurt because they get lackadaisical. The backflip is dangerous, of course, but it’s not too dangerous. You just can’t have ADD when you do it.
What’s in the future for you?
I don’t want to be a showman as much as I do a racer. Rally is number one for me now, and after that, we’ll see what happens. If I’m healthy and have good reasons, I’ll come back to motocross. I love the sport more than anything. I’ll do anything I can to stay in the sport. If I can do things that keep me in motocross, I’ll do it.
From RacerX:
Just how is your knee?
My knee … I’m crippled. It sucks. I can’t race in the shape I’m in. I hate to say it like that. I love motocross; I love motocross more than anything. But now I can play around and do what I want. I know this lifestyle won’t last. Rally is the only thing I’m taking seriously right now. Everything else is wide open for me.
A couple of weeks ago, I turned on the TV and there you were, winning the opening round of Dew Action Sports Tour. How did you come out of nowhere to win that thing?
It was the funniest thing: I was in Europe doing a TV shoot, then I went straight to Pennsylvania to do a rally. Then I went to do a TV spot for DC Shoes. Then I had an ad shoot for Nixon [watches]. Then I did some more TV work at my house. But I practiced for the Dew Tour event for one day. It was a really last-minute deal. The judging there was really strange. I guess the “flow of course” figured for a lot in the scoring. My first was run was pretty sketchy – I even slid out in one corner. It was a lame run. I thought that Twitch [Jeremy Stenberg] had me beaten, but I don’t think he played along with what the judges wanted. Sometimes you can figure the judges out. You may not be riding at your best, but if you do what the judges are looking for, you can win.
As far as the future goes, what is your ultimate goal right now?
Right now, the World Rally Championship is the main thing. Obviously, I need to get better on the road course. That’s why I’m dong Supermoto: so I can get better on asphalt.
From the information I’m getting, you are being pegged as a future World Championship-level rally driver. What has Subaru said to you?
I’ll tell you what: The top guys at Subaru and Prod rive [who oversee the Subaru World Rally Championship effort] came out for the Oregon rally to see how good the American drivers were. They wanted to know how it is. They wanted to see where the base was.
Have you been keeping a close eye on the AMA Motocross National Championship?
For sure.
What’s your take on all the grief James Stewart has been receiving?
Ricky Carmichael has never lost an outdoor championship. Last year, James’ lap times on the 125 were so good that everyone thought he was going to be faster than ever on the 250. But the 250 is not the same. It’s a different case for James now. But as far as people calling James a quitter? Jeez! This is his first year in the class. It’ll take him a little time. All this talk of James pulling off? I can relate to that. This is the first time James has ever lost. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you lose so many times that it becomes second nature. But it’s not like that for James. You know he’s thinking, Okay, I can’t be back here. He’s still the future of the sport.
You’ve had people in the sport turn on you, haven’t you?
Motocross can be tough. If you’re getting good results, it’s great. If you’re not getting good results, it can be tough. It can get old real quick. Is motocross fun? It’s not fun. Racing is not fun. What’s fun is doing well and overcoming obstacles. Look at James: He was amazing in supercross, but now he’s not doing as well as expected in the outdoors, and now everyone is giving him a hard time.
Do you like motocross websites and chat rooms?
Yes and no. The die-hard fans, the true-blue fans, are the good guys and the guys I enjoy talking to at the races. But at every race, no matter how good you may be riding, you can get second and hear things like “He’s not motivated.” It seems like those people want to make up reasons for why you may not be winning. Man, maybe the other guy is better, you know? Look at Heath Voss: He gets fifth. You know how hard it is to get fifth? And Chad Reed. You go on the websites and read “Chad Reed has given up outdoors.” Shoot, have you been to Chad’s place? He’s an animal. It’s so easy to sit on the sidelines and make things up.
You’ve always had a great relationship with the fans. In fact, Roger DeCoster has told me he has never seen a rider better with the fans. As of late, how have the motocross fans been to you?
You know, the fans have been great to me, and I haven’t really given them a reason to be. It’s funny, though. One guy will say, “Freestyle motocross loves you!” Then another person will say, “Travis is wasting his talent with that freestyle stuff.” I get that one all the time.
Will you back to supercross in 2006?
For me, at this point, injuries have made it impossible for me to achieve, at least at the moment, the things I want to achieve. If everything heals and I come back with a full range of motion in my knee, there’s no reason why I can’t achieve what I want to. Being injured, tired, sick … man, I haven’t been able to achieve what I want. It’s so frustrating. It’s heartbreaking.
Is rally as fulfilling to you as motocross?
I’m super happy with rally. I’m having so much fun. This has been the best summer of my life. I miss motocross, for sure, but until I get my body healed up, there is nothing I can do about it. But I’m happy to be doing what I am right now. I know this lifestyle won’t last, but it’s been a great summer.
Is it primarily your knee keeping you out of motocross?
Yes, just my knee. I still don’t have full range of motion in my wrist, but I can deal with that fine.
Will you be doing the Summer X Games this August?
I will be doing the Summer X Games. I’ll be doing Supermoto and Freestyle Motocross. It’s all fun stuff.
Would you go to the Motocross des Nations if the AMA invited you?
Realistically, as far as one event goes, sure. I’m like [Doug] Henry—if nobody wants to go, I’ll go. If it was a hard-pack track, I may bow out because I may not be the best candidate. But if I was picked, I could be ready with two months of training.
Before we go, is the backflip too dangerous?
Definitely not. [Brian] Deegan got hurt because he did a backflip in the wind. The backflip is so easy that people get hurt because they get lackadaisical. The backflip is dangerous, of course, but it’s not too dangerous. You just can’t have ADD when you do it.
What’s in the future for you?
I don’t want to be a showman as much as I do a racer. Rally is number one for me now, and after that, we’ll see what happens. If I’m healthy and have good reasons, I’ll come back to motocross. I love the sport more than anything. I’ll do anything I can to stay in the sport. If I can do things that keep me in motocross, I’ll do it.
