Interview: Sean Hamblin
By Eddie Graveline
MOTOPRESS
02-03-01
Sean Hamblin is one of many fast young pros in
North American motocross. In less than two years as a pro, he has already raced
in two different countries and won a major title. I recently caught up with him
and got up to speed on his career to date and what his future plans are.
Q: Sean, you’re a guy that a lot of fans may
not have heard of yet. Why don’t you give us your basic stats.
A: I’m 18 years old. I live in Sun City,
California. This is my second year as a pro. This is basically my first time
trying Supercross and I’m having fun.
Q: Tell me a little bit about your career,
leading up to when you went pro.
A: Well you know, I hit all of the national
amateurs (races) that I could, all the major ones. Loretta’s (Lynn) was my
biggest win. That was ’99 in the 125 intermediate class. I won a national
title in Las Vegas in ’95 on 80s. I only have two amateur titles right now,
but I don’t think those things mean too much as soon as you get to the pro
ranks. I hit them all and I did really well every time I went.
Q: You’re about the same age as guys like
Ryan Morais and Bobby Bonds who were prolific amateur racers. Did you go head to
head with them a lot?
A: Yeah, we raced against each other all the
time. Me, Bobby and definitely Ryan. Those guys are going really good right now
too.
Q: Last summer you decided to race the
Canadian nationals. You joined the Blackfoot Motosports Honda team and ended up
having quite a successful experience. Tell me about it.
A: I actually ended up winning the 125 West
championship. I clinched at the last round. I had a lot of fun and it was a
really good learning experience. I matured a lot in terms of my riding and
everything else, actually. You know, I was 17 years old and living on my own,
having fun. I had a little bit of a fall-out with Honda, but I regrouped and I
went out and rode for Kawasaki and ended up winning the East/West shutout on the
Kawi, a bike that I had only ridden for maybe 30 minutes.
Q: How did you end up making the decision to
race in Canada last year?
A: Actually, Mark Peters, the track builder
went up to Canada. They had gotten rid of one of their riders and needed another
one. I went up and tried out for the team. I did Glen Helen and Hangtown (the
first two U.S. nationals) and then they called me up two days before it (the
start of the Canadian series). I flew up, missed high school graduation and
everything. I went out and raced the first round and won it. I won, actually,
four out of five rounds. I only lost one round. So, that was good. This year’s
going to be a whole different story. I want to go up and win every round, every
moto.
Q: So, you’ll be racing in Canada again this
summer?
A: Yeah, actually I signed with Ron Ashley at
Two Wheel Kawasaki. It’s going to be me, Josh Woods and Mitchell Cooke, an up
and coming Canadian rider, as teammates. Josh lives in Michigan. I’ve known
the kid forever. We raced against each other in the amateur ranks throughout the
whole time. It should be fun.
Q: So as far as this season in Supercross,
what’s the plan?
A: I’m riding in the West Coast 125 class
right now. My plan is to actually hit the podium before the West is over and
qualify for Vegas.
Q: When the series heads east and you have
some time off, what do you plan to do?
A: I’m going to do a few local (Southern CA)
races. I’m going to fly up to Utah next week for a physical fitness trainer.
I’m going to come out swinging when Houston comes around. I’m going to feel
twice as good as anybody. I know I have the speed to run with them and I know
that I can win if I really want to. It’s all about getting a lot of confidence
right now. I’m going to ride a Supercross track every day. I’m just going to
train my butt off too hard to where I can come back and actually be competitive.
Q: How did the first part of your first
Supercross season treat you?
A: It’s been all right. I’ve kind of not
really surprised myself, but had fun. Last weekend was the first time I really,
really had fun at what I was doing. It was Phoenix and the track just clicked
with me. I was riding really well. I got hurt in my heat, like in the fourth
lap. I made the main in San Diego. I was on my way in Phoenix, but had bad luck.
Q: You’ve gotten a unique opportunity to
race in two different countries so early in your career. What differences have
you seen between racing in the U.S. and in Canada?
A: Canadian motocross is not as well populated
or pressed out. It’s getting there. A lot of American riders are going up
there. It’s still not as big as the U.S. I don’t think anything ever will
be, you know. You’ve got the GPs overseas, which a lot of people go to, but
the best riders are in the U.S., period. Everybody flies over from Europe to
race here.
Q: You’re riding for IMS/Honda this year.
What’s your deal with them like?
A: Right now our contracts are only for West
Coast Supercross. They want us to do a few selected rounds with them in the
nationals. We’re going to do Glen Helen and Hangtown. Then, I might actually
fly in to do a few U.S. rounds on an IMS bike later. On the off weekends of the
Canadian stuff, I think we’re going to drive the rig down to the U.S.
nationals as well.
Q: In talking with some of the Canadian teams
and press, I get the feeling that they’re a little miffed about Americans like
you and Doug Dubach going up and winning their titles last year. Are their any
Canadian riders that you think might be a serious challenge to your title
defense?
A: Yeah. Darcey Lange. He’s racing
Arenacross right now. I think he’s doing really well. He was my biggest
competition when I went up there. Then there’s Brad Hagseth (actually and
American). Lance Rickard is going to come out swinging. That kid’s really
good. He’s got a really good riding style and he has a lot of heart. Basically
there’s a whole bunch of riders out there that none of the U.S. riders really
know about. They’re going to just kind of surprise the heck out of a lot of
people.
Q: Your career is still so young. Does
anything stand out as the highlight up to this point?
A: So far, qualifying for my first two
nationals, Glen Helen and Hangtown. I was actually running 12th at
one point at Hangtown, but I had a heat stroke. As far as it goes right now, I
think the Canadian stuff. It got my feet wet and got my confidence level really
high. That’s helped me out as far as not really giving the bigger guys as much
respect as far as racing, you know. We’re friends off the track, but as soon
as that gate drops, we’re all racers. I feel confident. I know that I can run
with them. It’s just a different country where I got noticed. I’m going to
come out swinging in the nationals as well.
Q: What do you see happening in your career in
the next few years?
A: My goals right now are to next year, be in
the title chase for Supercross. As far as the nationals this year, I want to
finish top ten in every moto that I go out. Maybe even hit a podium. As far as
future goals, of course winning championships and dominating is what I want to
make myself out to be.
Q: Sounds good, Sean. We’ll keep an eye on
you and catch up with you a little later in the year again.
A: Thanks a lot.
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