“The Contender”
Interview with Travis
Pastrana
Story & Photos by Eddie
Graveline
www.motopress.net
 Travis
Pastrana has been a large blip on the American Motocross radar screen since
before he got into high school. A regular in jump videos since he was
13-years-old, Travis’ talent has never been questioned. With an undefeated
record in Freestyle Motocross plus 125cc National and Supercross championships
to his name, he’s about as diverse as they come. Diversity, though, is what some
people feel to be Travis’ biggest flaw. A not-so-silent group of critics and
journalists have argued that if Travis would just focus on racing, he would be
even more successful than he already is. They point to examples like him jumping
and doing a back flip into the Grand
Canyon for a video and going to Europe
to drive a rally car this fall as deterrents from success on the track. The more
you talk to the 18-year-old from
Maryland, though, the more you begin to understand him. Racing is his life. All
of the other stuff is just fun. Like any teenager should, Travis spends a fair
amount of time having fun. Unlike a lot of other young pros, Travis doesn’t take
himself or life so seriously that he can’t enjoy what he’s doing. When you think
about it, that may be what makes Travis such a refreshing presence in the pits.
No matter how you view his time management philosophy, there’s no arguing his
progression as a rider. Once considered wild and too aggressive, Pastrana has
matured as a rider and established himself as a legitimate contender wherever he
races. His first few performances of the 2002 Supercross season back that
statement up. I talked to Travis just before Round 3 of the series, where he led
a good portion of the 250cc main and eventually finished third. I got some
insight from him on all of the above subjects.
Q: Travis, I know that the
2001 racing season didn’t end the way you wanted it to. I also know that you did
some really cool stuff during the off-season. Was that an effort to sort of
relax, clear your mind and re-motivate yourself?
A: “No, motivation was
never really lost. Heck, by the last outdoor national, I was back training 100%.
I really didn’t take too much time off. I took two weeks off to learn how to
skydive and then the next week, so three weeks was all of the time off I had
this off-season. This last month I’ve done nothing but eat, sleep, ride and
train. That’s it and I mean nothing, no nothing. I know I’m in good shape. I had
some bad luck in the first race, but hopefully I’ll be able to turn it around.”
Q: So actually it might
have been more of a focused off-season than you’ve had in the past?
A: “Definitely, it’s
probably the most focused off-season I’ve had. You see a lot of the stuff in the
magazines and it seems like I just mess around, but heck, in San Diego, the
fastest lap anyone turned the whole week was my 20th lap in the main
event. I feel like that shows that I can run the pace the whole time.”
Q: What’s more fun,
driving a rally car or skydiving?
A: “Driving a rally car
is more fun than skydiving, but jumping a motorcycle into the Grand Canyon, base
jumping and doing a back flip, that was a quick rush, but it was the best thing
in the world.”
Q: Now, there’s this guy
named Andy Bell (Travis starts laughing) that keeps whining on the Internet
about you getting him hurt all of the time. What’s up with that? (Note: Andy
Bell is a fellow FMX rider and a riding buddy of Travis. He’s recently been
complaining that Travis is to blame for many of his injuries.)
A: “Let’s stop these
rumors. Andy, he can never be outdone. So whether it’s paintball or whatever, he
always sets himself up to get hurt. You can’t lay down when someone’s got a
paintball gun, shooting at you. So he just lays down and calls it quits, but
anyway. Going through the desert, we’re going wide
open, we’ve never seen any of this stuff and he passes me. Two corners later, he
wads up and blows out his leg. Hey, I was leading and he had to pass me, so I
had nothing to do with it.”
Q: Do you have any idea
why he goes by the name
“Nakedman” on the Internet?
A: “Unfortunately, yes.
I think everybody does. We’ll be randomly doing this big 150-foot jump in the
middle of the desert and he’ll just go around the dunes and everybody’s like,
‘where’s Andy?’ The next thing you know, he comes out fully nude with boots and
a helmet, just launches the jump and does heel clickers and superman seat grabs.
That’s got to hurt if you miss the pegs or something, I don’t know.”
Q: Okay, back to the
important stuff. I’ve heard you admit in the past that you’ve tended to ride a
little bit wild and overly aggressive and it’s caused some crashes. After last
year and your decision to pull out of the Nationals, do you think you’ve taken
some big steps toward riding for championships and not risking so much just to
get to the front of the pack in one lap?
A: “I’m definitely
hoping I’m going more that way, but at the same time, like in San Diego, I made
a lot of mistakes in the first half of the race. In the second half, I was
following Vuillemin. He’s a phenomenal rider and he was just schooling me out
there and was just perfect. With five laps to go, I still felt really strong and
I know I could have charged a little sooner and a little harder, but I said,
‘you know what? This is the best I’ve ever done. I’m in second place in a 250.
I’ve never done this well, so let’s try to get the result.’ Whereas, maybe last
year or the year before, I would have just gone for the win and maybe crashed
myself out. At the same time, you have to win races to win a championship. If
you win races, the championship will come. I’m not thinking championship yet.
I’m thinking about winning races.”
Q: Compared to the first
few rounds last year where you rode a 250, there has been an obvious change in
your riding and comfort on the bike. Have you made changes other than the mental
stuff to get to that point?
A: “No, I still have a
long way to go. Second place is far from winning. I really hope to do that this
weekend. Really, I’ve been riding a lot, but everybody always criticizes me for
doing too much other stuff and not focusing. But if you lived my life, you’d
understand that this (racing) is my life. That’s all I do. I eat, breathe and
sleep motocross. If I have the opportunity to do something else when I’m not
training, or after training, then I’ll go ahead and do that, but this is all I
do. I live for this.”
Q: Did the fact that
Carmichael and McGrath got off to slow starts create an opening for you and some
other guys like Vuillemin that you didn’t expect to get?
 A: “Yeah, coming into
the season, I was hoping for top three. I thought that Jeremy and Ricky were
going to be really hard to beat just in consistency and speed. I still think
that they are going to be, but I’m ahead of both of them in the points. You
know, Carmichael had a concussion in the first round. We have to capitalize on
this right now while those guys aren’t doing things to 100% of their potential.
Until they get their confidence up, now is the time when we have to go. I think
this is going to be a year for guys like LaRocco, who are consistently up on the
podium every weekend. Also, if I can get up there and mix it up a little bit, I
think I have a shot at it.”
Q:
Based on the start you got off to, what result will you be happy with for the
season?
A: “You can never be
happy with anything but first, but I’ll be satisfied with top-three in any
particular race. If I get second in a series, though, I’m not going to go home
and go, ‘yeah, I just won second in the series. It’s like, ‘alright, I was the
first loser this year. Let’s see what we have to work on for next year’. It’s
good, and I’ll accept anything I get, but at the same time, I don’t want to do
anything but win.”
Q: Finally, if it was
guaranteed to get you a win, would you have No Fear whip up some pink gear for
you?
A: “Heck, it’s working
for James (Stewart).”
Q: Alright, good luck this
season.
A: “Hey, thanks.”
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