Chad Wienen Interview: 2008 AMA Pro ATV Open Motocross Champion
::Continued::

You did have a tough time this season and spent a good part of it injured, did that have a negative impact on you personally?
Not really. I knew that it was going to be a lot of hard work, and I know what it takes to win. I didn’t really feel a lot of pressure from being out because I’m willing to work hard to win.

For 2008, Theo Lusardi took over for Ryan Cox as Chad Wienen's mechanic with Ryan dedicated to building Yoshimura race engines for the entire race team

Your shoulder fracture had slowed you down for several rounds mid season, but you came back really strong in the last couple rounds of AMA Pro ATV Motocross rounds, but are you at 100% yet?
I’m feeling pretty close to 100% and I plan to continue training and working hard to stay in top shape.

Now that the season is over are you planning on taking some time off to relax?
No, I’m not going o take any time off. I’m still going to be working out and training. I’ll be doing a couple of private riding schools and riding at least three days a week. There really is no off-season for me.

Where do you plan to do most of your training this year?
I’ll be doing a lot of it in Florida again. I’ll be pretty much spending the winter down there.

With the rising level of competition in the pro class, Chad Wienen takes his training between races seriously and especially over the winter months. He rides nearly every day in Florida at Tommy Tantillo's practice track, and his training goes well beyond the track as he visits a local gym regularly to stay in the top physical shape

Your two year contract with Suzuki is now up, so what are your plans for 2009?
I’m actually in negotiations with them right now for next year, so depending on the program; we’ll see what happens.

What do you think about the level of competition this year as opposed to previous years?
Everyone is really stepping it up. If you miss a day of riding, it really shows. Every part of training is really vital to being on top. You have to keep working at it. You have to keep improving. I like to work hard and see my improvements from week to week.

How does that level of competition affect your relationship with Dustin and Doug? Is there some tension there?
We all want to win, and it’s so vital that we win. We’re all pretty close competitively when it comes down to the rider so sometimes things can be a little tense. We all go above and beyond out on the track, but when we aren’t in race mode, we all get a long pretty good.

The Techicnal Steel City track proved to be perfect for Chad Wienen as he worked his way past Doug Gust and into the lead early in the race, but in the end, it would be Dustin Wimmer charging his way into the 2nd spot, but he was unable to challenge Wienen for the win, and the win by Chad Wienen was a collective 9th win for the Suzuki ATV Race team in 2008 out of 12 races. Dustin Wimmer earned 5 wins with both Chad Wienen & Doug Gust each claimining 2 wins, which shows how competitive the Suzuki race team was in 2008