Interview:
Kory Ellis - 2007 Yamaha / ITP Quadcross Champion
- Continued
So it’s not that hard on you when you’re
at the track and the gate drops and you’re
not racing?
The only time it’s kind of frustrating
for me is when I see something on the track
that everyone is struggling with and I know
that I could do it. That’s the only time
I get frustrated. I don’t really miss
it though because I’m still there. If
I couldn’t go, I think I would miss it
more because the people are what I would miss
the most. I would definitely miss all the people
more than the racing itself.
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Kory's
only ride for the WPSA Powersports ATV
Tour was a Suzuki LT90 until the the
final round when Kory finally had a
chance to race his Suzuki / Yoshimura
LT-R450
|
How big of a surprise
was it for you to come out this season and
win on a brand new bike?
It really wasn’t a huge surprise. I
ran a few Quadcrosses last year and I did
really good. I finished in the top ten and
only ran half the races. I pretty much knew
in my heart I could win if I came out and
raced.
To step away from
it now, will you miss it?
I’ll miss it, but I also ride a dirtbikes
and it’s kind of fun for me to go out
and ride that. I’ll probably go out
and ride it more now. When I go to the track
it’s kind of in cognito when I show
up and just ride and have fun. Now that I’m
30, I can ride the vet class also. It’s
kind of stress free so it’s fin for
me to do that.
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Is there a lot of
difference for you between riding a quad and
a bike?
It’s different. I’ve been to Loretta’s
and a couple other places on a bike, but I
always enjoyed riding quads more, but I can
still go out on the bike and have fun and
not feel any pressure. I can go to a Vet (class)
race on a bike and have a blast. It’s
like a whole new thing for me. When I come
out to Quadcross, I basically have to win
because I should win, but with working so
much I don’t get a chance to train like
I should and be in shape like I need to be
and it’s really been a struggle for
me lately.
Was it pretty stressful
for you this year with working all the time,
racing and traveling with the team?
Yeah, it was pretty stressful. At the beginning
of this year I was probably in the best shape
I’ve been in, in 4 or 5 years, which
kind of sucked because the bike was also running
good and I knew I could come out and do good
this year if I would have went back east,
but I just couldn’t find the help this
year.
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| In
2008, we will see Kory Ellis in the
pits in his new role as Team Manager |
Getting back to the
race team…for 2008 there’s a lot
of changes, can you give us a little detail
about that?
We’ll have a press announcement soon once
we get everything finalized. The factory is
still behind us 100% as well as MSR and Protaper…those
guys are great. Rockstar will still be on board
and we’ll be picking up a new race team
sponsor as well.
Congratulations
on your championship! We wish you the best
with your new career and the race team. We’ll
see you at the track next year!
Thanks! I’ll be there!
