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I guess they don’t want to associate SevenMX with hating racing and hating the compound.
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Love him or hate him, he is a LEGEND!
SX only deal in 2009? -He had Chad Reed handled outdoors no problem.
2010 and 2011 I think the Yamaha slowed him up a bit.
2012 outdoors he crashed at Thunder valley. Prob should of had that C’ship..
Ideally he should of retired around this point.
Also if he hated the sport so much why come back after suspension ?? Was it forced by Suzuki?
He is one of the greats of the sport for sure. I wish he was happier. Hope to see him at Loretta’s one day!
One thing I thought interesting: video 1 he says, “I don’t know why Tomac isn’t winning everything”. Video 2 he says he hated that people thought he should win every time, and they were asking him ‘what happened?’ If he finished second.
Paraphrasing a bit, but it appeared that he attributed his negative feelings and resentment of the sport to that pressure in the long run. Then he says he expects Tomac to do the same thing.
Like others mentioned, you can see and hear the internal struggles the guy has. He goes from hating racing and the smell of the gas and dirt.. to the ‘I’m fat now’ bit and then immediately back to “I might race Loretta’s or start riding once this video comes out”. I hope he figures it out and lives a happy life, he deserves it for all of the joy he’s brought me in my life (and I assume millions of others).
I did get the impression that he will let his kids make the decisions on their own if they want to ride or race ever. Hard to tell if he has any external pressures helping him make the decision to not ride or race at all anymore.
His take on Malcolm’s situation shed so much light, answered many questions and confirmed or denied many inferences I have seen people make on his little brother.
I still hope this interview series ends with a badass documentary flick kinda like the first teaser on James’s instagram insinuated! Legend of the sport, I wish everyone could have experienced the sport when James raced.
He beat RC on powdered donuts? When was that? RC beat him 4 out of 4 and was also beating him in the 5th series before he retired.
Also a bit sad he is still blaming the 2 stroke. He raced RC on a 4 stroke plenty of times and still came up short. Also got beat by RV and RD on a 4 stroke. The 2005 rmz450 was a bit of a turd but RC made it work.
I appreciate the part about pressure. That must have been tough and you can hear the emotion in his voice even now. It's a shame he couldn't embrace that pressure and thrive on it in the way guys like Tiger Woods have done. It seems he let it destroy him and he is still not over it.
The interview was strange. Humility and humour mixed with a sprinkling of arrogance and denial. Interesting though.
It's between motos, at the Stewart motor home. Big James is holding court with a slew of mini dads, telling them how they made it. The crowd hanging around is all buzzing, high on just what they had witnessed. Like they were part of it or something. The announcer is going on and on over the loudspeaker on what a great exhibition of riding skill we just witnessed blah blah blah.
Its like a mini festival or something.
And then there's James.
He's sitting on the step of the motor home, in the doorway. Still in dirt caked gear. Head almost between his knees, staring at the ground.
Half heartedly I raise the Nikon. Just as I take the shot he looks up, directly into the camera.
I tell u guys, what came thru the viewfinder when I checked it later on confirmed the feeling I had when I took the shot. The look on his face...... I dunno.
It was that forlorn animal caged at the zoo, mixed with the guy disgusted with his crappy job at work.
I remember thinking, that's success?
Still feel guilty for taking that shot. Never downloaded it. Left it on a SIM card that's sitting in a drawer somewhere, where it belongs.
"I'm not sure I ever had any fun racing"
It was always a grind and I didnt really ride anything other than tracks.
Seems like Florida isn't a good area for just riding and having fun like the California guys have in the hills in winter.
If only there was a repeat button so we could be treated to the 2002/3/4 seasons over and over again.
Pit Row
As for James, who knows but I suspect one day he’ll get back o his bike with no pressure and enjoy riding again. Lots of former factory pros stopped riding for long periods after they stopped racing.
Kind of amusing: The other night on instagram, I went down a rabbit hole watching wheelie boyz/12 oclock videos, and there was this kid, he's in movies or something.. Anyway, I was scrolling through the comments, and one of the first ones, a guy says "the best to ever on a dirt bike" First reply was something along the lines of "ummm, Bubba stewart, nobody compares" And the following comments were guys trying to argue how supercross doesn't even compare to "stuntin, or doing wheelies down the road" and James could never do what this kid does.. The level of ignorance toward James on the internet is unreal.
If you didn't watch Bubba ride in person when he was racing a 2 stroke, you'll never understand.
Thank you James, for all the times you made my jaw drop, or jump out of my seat, and just plain stretching that cable as long as you could. It was truly a pleasure watching you ride kid..
Apparently all the same dude.
https://m.vitalmx.com/forums/Non-Moto,21/Old-topic-question-Premix-vs-w…
All I know is that he's not well liked around this place and for good reasons.
You think any of the current racers are learning from the retired guys like Villo, RC, and stew? hearing them talk about how much they hated things has to help bring some perspective in regards to burn out. Makes me appreciate Roczens attitude even more especially with the injuries he’s had
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