The_Prospect_September2002

"The Prospect"
September 2002

By: Travis Pastrana

     When I wrote in my last Racer X column that my season had to get better, I should have knocked on wood. Now, sitting at home with a broken wrist and watching the races yet again on TV is even more heartbreaking than before. I truly want to be out there, and it seems that everyone is still wondering why I’m not. As one race enthusiast told me at the SoBe High Point Nationals, "It's just a broken wrist, get out there and ride."

      To be honest, I would have a better chance of doing will with a cast on my wrist than earlier this season with mono and chronic sinusitis. Suzuki has the best bike on the track, and of course I would like to help justify the work they put into research and testing, but, unfortunately, I can't at the moment. The top riders are all running amazingly strong right now, and to run in the top five, I would have to be at 100%.

     Sports in general are games of calculated risk; a race consists of constant series of calculated risks. If you're the fastest racer ion the track, you can afford to take fewer chances. If you're satisfied with the position you're running you will also take fewer chances. I realize that with any hindrance I will need to take greater chances to stay competitive.

     If I even had a remote chance at the championship, I would have more than likely taken the risk and at least tried to continue on with the series. The last thing I want is a fused wrist -- which is what cut Rick Johnson's career short -- before I turn 19.

     Last week I had the opportunity to do a car comparison/competition with some of the best drivers in the world. We were given two Corvette ZO6es and two Porsche Boxters. The object was to keep the car in a full slid on a skid pad while staying as close as possible to a line that went around a circle.

      My new hero has to be Robby Gordon. He can and does drive anything better than anyone. If you ever watch an of the Crusty Demons videos, he is the one launching the desert truck over the 200-foot sand dunes. He has won the Baja 1000 and a NASCAR race just last fall. He has also finished well at the Indy 500. He is good on motorcycles, tests F1 carts, and finished eighth in a NASCAR race less than 24 hours before our Corvette competition.

      When we arrived, Robby and a guy named Thomas Scheckter (the driver that was leading the Indy 500 when he hit the wall with only a few laps remaining) jumped into a BMW belonging to heaven-only-knows-who and hit the skid pad at about 100mph. No one really knew what to do, so everyone broke out their cameras as Robby went to school on the skid pad. E-breaking at 180 degrees into the parking area, they jumped out of he BMW and into the brand new Corvettes. They started racing side by side in full slides around the skid pad within a few feet of each other, until one of the test-guys finally flipped out and pulled the plug on the race.

      The result of this competition will be posted in this month's issue of Automobile Magazine. With everyone from Robby and Thomas to National Rally Car Champion Mark Lovell, Sprint Car Champion Bobby East, Lotus car tester Gavin Kershaw and more don't expect to see my name at the top of the list, but what a fun day nonetheless!

      With Kevin and myself out for Suzuki, they have found surprises in both Sean Hamblin and Daryl Hurley. Sean wasn't even going to race this year, but when Suzuki called him to help test for the injured team, he turned some very impressive laps. Sean has always been fast, but to go from not racing to a factory ride and consistent top-ten finishes is something that just doesn't happen in our sport.

      Daryl, whom I raced with in Australia, comes over my house for a week to train and ride. He puts in his motos and we did the training, but after that, it was time to see what he was really of. Daryl jumped all the ramp jumps with no problem, was surprisingly good at paintball, and was up for trying flips into the foam pit. That's when I got interesting. After coming up almost an entire bike length short on the 90-foot step-up, he chickened out on two of the jumps that Davi Millsaps heel-clicked over on his RM 80! Oh yeah, the backflips that Daryl was willing to try into the foam pit, I have never seen anyone land directly upside down so many times in my life.

      My goal for returning to action is Unadilla, but Suzuki has the last say. If I can't run two 40-minute motos at 100%, they wont let me race. Until my cast comes off, I will be training on my road bike and at the gym. See you at the races-- I hope!