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Wednesday, February 7
Champ enjoying exciting season
By Jeremy McGrath
Special to ESPN.com
The 2001 Supercross series has been exciting for everyone involved, from the
fans to the teams to the racers. I feel that the excitement of the first
five races is going to make the sport of Supercross grow more into the
mainstream than it already has.
The stadiums have been full, with 60,000
spectators standing and screaming for 20 to 25 minutes during the main
event. I can hear the screaming from the track while the race is going on.
It is insane!
|  | | Jeremy McGrath airborne in front of the Great Western Forum. |
Last weekend's race at Edison Field did not turn out the way I wanted it,
but the competition has been awesome. I led for 17 of the 20 laps before I
made a stupid mistake on a triple and handed the lead to Ricky Carmichael.
I took the lead back on the next corner but lost it again when I slipped.
RC was going pretty fast, and I know that I have to eliminate those
mistakes to stay on top.
This coming race is going to be in Indiana and it is going to be cold.
Thank God the race will be inside the RCA Dome so I won't have to ride in
that weather. The track should be pretty good – maybe a little soft and
rutty (sloppy). I sure hope they (Dirt Works, the track builders) have
started building the track so the dirt will have time to dry out a little.
RC should provide some pretty stiff competition again this weekend. He has been
almost perfect all season, but I love the competition. The series is going
to the East Coast and that's where he's from. The fans will probably be
with him, but that is not going to stop me from giving it my all! No matter
where I am I have my family, friends and Mazda (Team Mazda Yamaha) behind
me all the way. Since he is trying to race me for the championship he had
better be ready for a battle no matter where we race.
I'm not going to change anything. It's not panic time. I just need to
continue to get good starts and ride hard – there is no secret to that.
Just put my head down and keep working hard. If I continue to do that, no
matter what happens, I know that Mazda Yamaha, my family, fans and sponsors
will be proud to be associated with me, and the victories will continue to
come.
This is a special year considering that I have taken control of my own race
team. This gives me control of my own destiny. I can
work with who I feel is the right person for the job and not just be hired
up by a team and have to do things their way. Skip Norfolk (team mechanic) and
Larry Brooks (team manager) are doing a
great job and making it easy for me. I have a few more
responsibilities this year, but for the most part everything is running very smoothly. I
guess if you put the right people in the right places everything should work
out, right?
I hope we can win one this weekend for Team Mazda Yamaha. We are giving it our
all in the pit area. With all this hard work, things should run smoothly in
Indy.
Seven-time Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath will be providing a weekly diary for ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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