Q&A With Monster
Energy Kawasaki's ATV Rider Josh Creamer
|
Josh
Creamer turned the quickest laptime of 2:29
on his Kawasaki KFX450 |
Irvine, CA (8/29/2007) - After finishing
with an impressive fourth in the invitation-only
AMA Pro ATV Open at Steel City, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s
Josh Creamer sat down to discuss everything from
the inaugural race to working with team manager
and former Kawasaki ATV champion Jimmy White.
Q: First off, congrats on your race
this weekend at the AMA Pro ATV Open. Tell me
about this weekend. What was a highlight for you?
J.C.: Thank you. Well, other than racing,
I would have to say watching the dirt bike races
on Sunday. I had a good time watching those guys,
especially the Motocross Lites class. Those guys
are just nuts. They race the whole, entire race
and there isn’t one guy who isn’t
trying to make a pass until they finish the race.
They just go all out.
Q: So what was it like racing on the
same track that those MX guys race?
J.C.: I would have loved to maybe mix it
up a little. Maybe have the bikes out before the
quads rode because we went out on a fresh track
and no one had ridden on it. So we were the ones
that were breaking in the track, which was a little
difficult because of the rain.
Q: Onto your season in the World PowerSports
Association ATV tour. The start of the season
didn’t seem to take off like you wanted.
How has it been being on a whole new quad and
developing the Kawasaki KFX450R?
J.C.: Last year, I kind of did the same thing.
I got on a new quad and it probably took me a
good half of a season to get comfortable. By the
end of the season I was feeling good and turning
out some good results. With the Kawasaki, it’s
a whole new bike for the team as well, so it took
a little bit longer. Though, from where we started
at the beginning of the season, we’ve come
a long way. I think I have and the quad has with
things like suspension. The last four or five
rounds I’ve been able to be in the top five
and I know we can get our first podium.
I’m looking forward to next year because
I’ll be used to the bike and we can make
the quad better in the off-season.
Q: What’s been the most unique
feature on the KFX450R?
J.C.: The fuel injection feature is probably
the most unique or different feature that the
quad has that I’ve not ridden with before.
It probably makes it a whole lot easier as well
not having to deal with setting problems. Fuel
injection takes a lot of the hassle out of it.
Q: This is Kawasaki’s first season
in some time to have full factory support for
an ATV team. What has Kawasaki done that’s
stood out to you?
J.C.: Well, it’s pretty much how professional
they want everyone to look and how they want everything
be run. Everything looks great and the people
help to make it run really well. I think Kawasaki
takes a lot of pride in how their stuff is portrayed
and it shows when you go to a race.
Q: How has Jimmy White (former Kawasaki
ATV racer) helped you this year?
J.C.: Jimmy has a drive. He wants to see
the bike on top. Since he is a former racer he’s
been able to give me encouragement. The past few
races, there have been a couple of jumps that
no one had done yet. I had it in my own mind that
I could do it. Jimmy would watch me during practice
and would tell me ‘I think you can make
it’ and I would go out there and make it.
So things like that. He knows the sport so it
all works out really well.
Q: Lastly, there is always going to be
races where you didn’t do as well as you
wanted. How do you get through tough weekends
like that?
J.C.: It’s easy to beat yourself up,
and I do to a certain degree. But I use it in
my training and I use it as my motivation to do
better. That’s the only way to walk away
from bad weekends and end up on top the next.
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC)
markets and distributes Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs,
personal watercraft and utility vehicles through a network
of more than 1,500 independent retailers, with an additional
7,700 retailers specializing in power products and general
purpose engines. KMC and its affiliates employ nearly
2,400 people in the United States, with 400 of them
located at the Irvine, California headquarters.
Kawasaki’s tagline, “Let
the good times roll.™”, is recognized worldwide
and the brand has become synonymous with powerful, stylish
motorcycles for over four decades. Information about
Kawasaki’s complete line of recreational products
and Kawasaki affiliates can be found on the Internet
at www.kawasaki.com.
|