“Private Ping”
Interview: David Pingree
Story & Photos by Eddie Graveline
www.motopress.net
 David Pingree’s career has been an up-and-down affair. From the
highs of winning 125cc supercross races to the lows of losing a championship
by a couple of points, the native of Montana has kept a good sense of humor.
At the end of the 2002 supercross series, it looked like he was going to
need it. The Red Bull KTM team that he rode supercross for made it clear
that they had no room for David during the upcoming outdoor season. He
originally had no intentions of racing the nationals anyway, but ended up
wanting to at least race Glen Helen. The KTM bosses said ‘no’. In a last
minute brainstorm, David, with some help from Renthal’s Shawn Norfolk, put
together a privateer program for Glen Helen. I played with David and Shawn
in the Glen Helen Charity Golf Tournament just
three days before the race and they spent a lot of the day going over the
details of how things would work. On Saturday afternoon, KTM realized just
how much press Ping’s little effort was getting and decided to let him ride
out of their second semi. After the golf tournament and before his move back
to the big rig, I talked to David about the whole situation, how he felt
about racing as a privateer and his thoughts on the future. At the time of
our conversation, he had no idea that he would land a Plano Honda ride for
the second half of the outdoor season and was pondering having a summer
vacation for the first time in years.
Q: David, let’s start off with the supercross
season. I know that nothing short of a championship would meet your goals,
but you did win a race and I don’t think you could call it a bad season.
A: “To me
it was kind of roller coaster. I got a decent start, improved, won a race,
was second in points only ten behind Bubba. I was real confident heading
into Phoenix and I was leading my heat race there when I had the accident
with my piston blowing up. Between that DNF and the following weekend at
Anaheim, where I was running third before falling on the shoulder I hurt in
Phoenix, those two races really killed me as far as points go. Then it took
me a little while to build my confidence and speed back up. It was a little
disappointing, but not horrible. Anytime you get a win is good.”
Q: One would think that a factory as new to
American podiums as KTM, who doesn’t have wins coming every weekend yet,
would be stoked with your season. After all, their first supercross win in
America was just last year, and then you and Brock Sellards gave them two
more this year. Despite your success, you’re finding yourself without a ride
for the outdoor season.
A: “You
know, from my point of view, I was doing my job. I won a round, I was moving
up in the point standings and they (KTM) let me down. That’s the way I saw
it. You know, I never bashed them, never said anything bad about them. I
stuck with them and we did a lot of testing to figure out what our problems
were and moved forward. Actually, Sellards is in the same position I was in.
They told him that if he doesn’t get it together in the nationals, he’s
done, gone. This sport is always that way, where there’s just no loyalty.
People get mad at Ricky (Carmichael) for leaving Kawasaki, but at the same
time, all of the factories, if they can better-deal you, you’re done. So
it’s disappointing for me. I wish I could have stayed. I really enjoyed
riding for them. I think everyone on the team’s really cool so it’s going to
be a disappointment to leave there, but I’ll find something.”
 Q:
You’ve been humorously critical of Europe in your Racer X column and some
people feel that that may not have gone over real well with KTM’s home
office in Austria. Do you think that played a part in their decision to let
you go?
A: I think
that for sure it had an effect. It’s unfortunate that they can’t understand
or relate to our humor. Sarcasm is a type of humor that the French invented.
The fact that they can’t just laugh at it, I don’t know what that says about
them. It’s just disappointing to me because I thought I had done a good job
of representing them over the past couple years and helping their team come
as far as it has. I mean, when we first started that first year, their
supercross setup was terrible. Over the last couple of seasons, I’ve done a
lot of testing and work with them to get that bike where it’s at. They’ve
worked hard as well. I’m not trying to take all of the credit, but I’ve had
a big hand in it. But whether or not that had a hand in it, I can’t say for
sure. It just seems like it did.”
Q: If your comments did have something to do
with it, do you have any regrets?
A: “No I
don’t. I enjoy writing that column. When I get done with it, it makes me
laugh. I go back and read it. It’s funny. It’s not meant to prove any
points. It’s just for fun and a good time so I don’t have any regrets.”
Q: Since we’re on the topic of your column,
you wrote one a while back that was less than flattering to Chad Reed. I
think that a lot of the time, you’re just trying to stir people up. Was
there something to that one, though? Is there some negative stuff between
you and Chad?
A: “Well,
it’s a couple of things. First of all, I really do think Chad’s a little
arrogant in his interviews. I’m not saying that as a person he’s that way,
but it’s his interviews. I don’t know if he’s just not used to coming off
the track after a race and having a microphone shoved right in his face, but
if you’re a guy who’s riding that well, you don’t need to sit there and pump
yourself up. Be humble. If you say, ‘There’s a lot of good guys here tonight
and I’m glad I came out ahead of them’, you make yourself look better. He
keeps verbally trying to convince everybody that he’s good, but we don’t
need to hear it. We see you winning races. You don’t need to tell us you’re
good. But I think he’s a really nice guy. Friends of mine that are friends
of his say he’s a really good guy. It’s nothing against his character, just
his interviews. That was one part of it. The other part is that he mentioned
some things about me to my trainer and kind of ran his mouth a little bit.
He said some things about me that I didn’t appreciate. Maybe it (the column)
was a little slap in the face, touché. People need to realize before they
open their mouth about me that I’ve got a pretty big forum to come back in.”
Q: The 125 class is getting better every
year. This year I think it’s gotten to
the point that most fans are more interested in the 125 nationals than they
are the 250s. The 125 West featured a lot of different race winners and some
very aggressive riding by James Stewart among others. Some riders that I’ve
talked to don’t appreciate James and some of his passes. What’s your
feeling? Does all of that benefit the class in the long run?
A: “The 125
class is so much more competitive than it ever was. The reason for that is
that there are so many more rides. There’s so many good jobs available that
the level of competition has jumped up. As far as guys riding too
aggressive, that class is mostly made up of young kids. Stewart’s made a
couple of bad passes that were just over aggressive rookie stuff. I don’t
think he’s a dirty rider. I think he’s maybe a little impatient and young,
that’s all. If he would just stop and realize that he’s four seconds a lap
faster than most of us, he wouldn’t need to force a pass. It’s sad to say,
but he’ll go right by us. I’m disappointed that there aren’t more good 250
rides. The 250 class is supposed to be the premier class, but so many times
it’s boring. Ricky checks out and maybe one or two guys are gone. There’s
not that many factory jobs, so you’ve got a bunch of privateers that maybe
you don’t know. But the 125 class is full of talent. I wish it was the other
way around. I wish there were fewer 125 jobs and more 250 rides. It seems
like it’s a little flip-flopped.”
Q: So you’re going to ride Glen Helen as a
privateer?
A: “My deal
with KTM was for supercross only by both of our choice. As (Billy)
Laninovich got hurt toward the end of the season and had surgery done, there
was a little bit of talk about me riding at least the first national for the
team. As it got closer, Ron Heben, the team manager said something to me
like, ‘If you get on the podium at one of the last two Supercrosses, you can
ride for us at Glen Helen’. I was like, okay, whatever. I didn’t think I
really wanted to race it. As it got closer, I didn’t get on the podium and
they said, ‘no, you can’t come in the truck with us’. I decided that I
wanted to race. I just grabbed my practice bike and with the help of
Renthal, Shawn Norfolk over there, Dragon goggles and a few other sponsors
I’m just going racing on my practice bike. It’s just privateer style, with a
pickup truck and an EZ-Up. I think it’s going to be fun. It will be
interesting to see a race from that perspective. Since my first season I’ve
never had to deal with that, so it’s been a while. I’ll step back to where I
started and just check it out.”
Q: Would you like to make any predictions in
regard to the series before it starts?
A: “Well, I
think Ricky (Carmichael) is gone in the 250 class. I don’t think anyone can
run with him right now. I just don’t see it right now. Ricky’s so confident.
There are just no dents in his armor right now. In the 125 class, again,
like we were just saying, I think it’s going to be really interesting. James
Stewart is so fast that if he can just keep it on two wheels, he’ll win.
That’s really going to be the test. Can he keep it on two wheels and when he
does crash, can he keep the damage to a minimum. He can win this
championship, easily. Langston’s not 100%. Reed’s going to be solid, but I
don’t think he’s nearly as fast as James. I mean, we saw that in Vegas where
he (Stewart) was a couple of seconds a lap faster flat out. But Reed won’t
make big mistakes. He’ll be solid every weekend. Oh, if I have to pick a
guy, it would be hard to bet against Bubba.”
 Q: As far as
next year for you goes, what are you thinking? Anything yet?
A: “You
know what? I’d been holding out because I really wanted to stay with KTM. I
really enjoyed the company and the team. I just found out recently that
they’re not going to be interested for next year. I just want to get on a
competitive team where I can win more races.”
Q: Answer a hypothetical question for me. If
you had your choice between a factory supported 125 team like
MotoworldRacing.com or Plano Honda or a solid privateer team in the 250
class like Moto XXX, which way would you lean at this point in your career?
A: “That’s
something I’ve really been talking about a lot with friends and family. I
want to move up, but the unfortunate thing about the 250 class is that there
are so few rides. To move up and do well without the factory help,
especially outdoors, is tough. I mean, look at Nick Wey. He’s a great rider
and he’s been in the top ten pretty much every weekend, but really, he’s
just got to hope that he can slide into a factory spot when they get an
opening. You can’t really aspire to do better than he’s doing on the
equipment that he’s got. It’s a tough decision. Do you take a ride that’s
not as good equipment, you ride 250s, you go to twice as many races and you
get paid half as much as in the 125s. Or, you get paid twice as much and
race half as much and you’re a contender to win races and a championship.
It’s a hard decision. Yeah, you want to move up, but you’re giving up a lot.
You’re really taking a leap of faith and a big risk by doing that. To answer
your question, if I can get a ride that I can go out and be competitive in
the 250 class on, I’d love to do it. Otherwise I’ll stay in the 125 class.”
Q: As far as this summer goes, do you have
any plans?
A: “Um,
after Glen Helen I’ve got a few small local races, maybe Mammoth that I’m
going to do. I’ve got a few motocross schools that I’m going to do to bring
in a little money. I’m going to do a lot of surfing, hanging out with my
wife and doing stuff around the house. I’m just going to stay low key. I’ve
never not done the nationals before, so we’ll see how it goes. Who knows?
Maybe halfway through the summer someone will get hurt and some team will
need a filler guy. Maybe I’ll miss it. But for me I just need a break from
it to see if I miss it or I if I don’t. I love supercross, love it. But I’ve
never had as much fun or success at the nationals.”
Q: Is there anyone you want to thank for
helping you out and sticking with you this year?
A: “Yeah,
I want to thank KTM/Red Bull for a couple of really good seasons. Also
Dragon Goggles has stuck with me and been real big. Intense Mountain Bikes,
Quicksilver, Etnies, Champion Nutrition. For this Glen Helen round I want to
thank Renthal and N-Style for helping me put some things together.”
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