Mike is the driving force behind the MotoConcepts squad, and we chatted with him early in the day in Seattle, where he was hosting everyone from his companies, Leisure Concepts, and MotoConcepts.
Q: You were that close to the podium in New Orleans. That would have been the first one on the big bike?
A: That would have been Moto Concepts’ first podium, at least in Supercross. We’ve had some in Motocross. But yeah, it was kind of disheartening. We were really close. But the good news is that Mike was running close to that top three spot there. But he’s actually been there a couple different weeks. Mike has actually been running in the three to five range and just some bad choices, mishaps, and lack of luck has caused us to not finish well. The good news to that is maybe it’s our turn. I don’t know. You never know. Nothing is deserved and is everything is earned.
Q: You’ve got to be feeling pretty good going towards the Outdoor season, though…
A: We as a team feel very excited and good about Mike and really all of our guys. Jeff’s actually coming into his own a little bit. (Though he did have a crash and ride in the Asterisk Mobile Medical Mule in Seattle.) Everybody knows that Mike and Jeff are more Motocross guys than Supercross guys. With Mike, we honestly believe that he feels more comfortable on his bike - and he says so - than any other bike he has ridden really, even his Factory Suzuki bike. He likes this one better. He’s motivated, he’s loose, he’s confident. He’s actually more mature than maybe ever before, on and off the bike. Of course, everybody knows Mike’s in good shape and all that kind of stuff. So, we really do believe that Mike, with some luck, can be way up there and vying for the championship. Villopoto is fast, but so is Mike. Racing’s racing and anything can happen. We’ve got a horse that can be up there in the front, so we’re hoping and thinking that might happen.
Q: You’re having a little fun in Seattle, too, with your extra bike under the tent.
A: Yeah. We’re kind of just trying to send a message that we’re trying hard and thinking hard and doing things to always be moving forward. So, we are always trying to move forward, and that’s what we’re doing. You’ll see the number 7 bike there. That’s a bit of a message that says a lot of things. You can read whatever you want into it. As we all know, James is probably not going to be riding with JGR, so he’s got to ride somewhere.
We’re pretty guys straight-forward guys at Moto Concepts, so if we’ve got something that we can say to really hang your hat on, we’ll say it. We just don’t have anything to really hang your hat on at this point. But we’re working towards trying to find something to hang your hat on.
Q: You do quite a bit of extra hospitality in Seattle, right?
A: We do. Seattle is, if you will, our local race. We’re from Spokane which is 275 miles away. We’ve got a lot of our friends and employees. Andy James, my friend, and somewhat sponsor partner on the team has got his employees and we’ve got ours. We’ve got 200 people to celebrate the Seattle Supercross. Everybody is looking forward to it.
Q: We see a little more Seahawks stuff on the bike this year. You’ve always done some, but a little more this year?
A: Yeah. We put some more emphasis on the Seahawks and we’ve actually reached out to the Seahawks Organization. It’s pretty cool; they’ve been very hospitable and open to come and visit their facility. We got to check that out. It was really cool. Talking about high-level stuff, wow. So, they as an organization are using us an opportunity for their players to be involved in the community and also to be involved in things they like to do. So, we’ve got six Seahawks that are going to be in our tent for a couple hours signing autographs and meeting and greeting the fans. We’ve got an effort with the Seahawks. It’s cool. The bikes, again, as always we kind of try to put a little spice into it and keep things moving forward. We’re just trying to be different and have some fun.
Q: You were that close to the podium in New Orleans. That would have been the first one on the big bike?
A: That would have been Moto Concepts’ first podium, at least in Supercross. We’ve had some in Motocross. But yeah, it was kind of disheartening. We were really close. But the good news is that Mike was running close to that top three spot there. But he’s actually been there a couple different weeks. Mike has actually been running in the three to five range and just some bad choices, mishaps, and lack of luck has caused us to not finish well. The good news to that is maybe it’s our turn. I don’t know. You never know. Nothing is deserved and is everything is earned.
Q: You’ve got to be feeling pretty good going towards the Outdoor season, though…
A: We as a team feel very excited and good about Mike and really all of our guys. Jeff’s actually coming into his own a little bit. (Though he did have a crash and ride in the Asterisk Mobile Medical Mule in Seattle.) Everybody knows that Mike and Jeff are more Motocross guys than Supercross guys. With Mike, we honestly believe that he feels more comfortable on his bike - and he says so - than any other bike he has ridden really, even his Factory Suzuki bike. He likes this one better. He’s motivated, he’s loose, he’s confident. He’s actually more mature than maybe ever before, on and off the bike. Of course, everybody knows Mike’s in good shape and all that kind of stuff. So, we really do believe that Mike, with some luck, can be way up there and vying for the championship. Villopoto is fast, but so is Mike. Racing’s racing and anything can happen. We’ve got a horse that can be up there in the front, so we’re hoping and thinking that might happen.
Q: You’re having a little fun in Seattle, too, with your extra bike under the tent.
A: Yeah. We’re kind of just trying to send a message that we’re trying hard and thinking hard and doing things to always be moving forward. So, we are always trying to move forward, and that’s what we’re doing. You’ll see the number 7 bike there. That’s a bit of a message that says a lot of things. You can read whatever you want into it. As we all know, James is probably not going to be riding with JGR, so he’s got to ride somewhere.
We’re pretty guys straight-forward guys at Moto Concepts, so if we’ve got something that we can say to really hang your hat on, we’ll say it. We just don’t have anything to really hang your hat on at this point. But we’re working towards trying to find something to hang your hat on.
Q: You do quite a bit of extra hospitality in Seattle, right?
A: We do. Seattle is, if you will, our local race. We’re from Spokane which is 275 miles away. We’ve got a lot of our friends and employees. Andy James, my friend, and somewhat sponsor partner on the team has got his employees and we’ve got ours. We’ve got 200 people to celebrate the Seattle Supercross. Everybody is looking forward to it.
Q: We see a little more Seahawks stuff on the bike this year. You’ve always done some, but a little more this year?
A: Yeah. We put some more emphasis on the Seahawks and we’ve actually reached out to the Seahawks Organization. It’s pretty cool; they’ve been very hospitable and open to come and visit their facility. We got to check that out. It was really cool. Talking about high-level stuff, wow. So, they as an organization are using us an opportunity for their players to be involved in the community and also to be involved in things they like to do. So, we’ve got six Seahawks that are going to be in our tent for a couple hours signing autographs and meeting and greeting the fans. We’ve got an effort with the Seahawks. It’s cool. The bikes, again, as always we kind of try to put a little spice into it and keep things moving forward. We’re just trying to be different and have some fun.
4/28/2012 2:25am
View replies to: Chatter Box: Mike Genova
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