R450: What did you think of the conditions of the track with all of the rain and weather we had this weekend.
Tim: They really did a great job for what they had to work with. I mean, at any time this weekend we could have had a storm and at some times we did. I think they did a great job by using the roller to pack the track. I’ve never seen a roller like that before at a track, don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen a roller before, but I’d never seen them use a roller to pack the track the night before. Most people disc the track the night before, but with the conditions they rolled the track the night before which kept a lot of the water from soaking in. If they had disc it up the rain would’ve disc it up the rain would have soaked in and then it would have been a real mess. So they’d roll it of a night and come in the morning if the weather was good and disc it.

R450: So what do you think of the circuit this year?
Tim: It’s a good series with a lot of races. I’m doing the stadium series, all twelve motocross events, and the seven Tourist Trophy races.

R450: Speaking of the TT, I know you won at Orville, how was that?
Tim: It was great; we took past knowledge from so many years and gave it our best shot. We had never raced the TRX 450R before this year, so it was a lot of work and Mark (Mark Baldwin) did a great job. Wayne (Wayne Meridian) made sure the shocks worked well. I really can’t complain about anything. We can tune it right at the track. I mean it worked probably better than any TT bike I have had in the past.

R450: You’ve had some good luck and some bad luck. I know down at Gatorback you broke an axle in the second moto. What is your goal for the season?
Tim: The first race of the year was terrible. We weren’t set up very well. I think I finished like seventh or eighth in the first moto, which I was not at all happy with. Second moto we DNF’d because of a throttle cable failure. And like you said we had a broken axle at Gatorback in the second moto, so things weren’t looking good. I was way back in the pack in points, probably fifteenth. From that point it has been pretty much go out and ride. Do the best that I can and try to move up. I never really thought after the first two races that I would get close to top three, but actually I think I might have made it after today. Gust is way out in front. There is a strategy to be had on the track with a first and second moto finish. I knew that the goal for me today was to try to finish the best that I could. Doug has a great lead, and I don’t see anyone, unless something crazy happens, catching him. My objective now is to podium for the year. I’d like to be second, of course I’d like to be first, but that’s going to be a pretty far stretch now.

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