Bangin' it out with "Banger"
By: Ryan Webb

R450: So is it pretty hard on your personal life at home being gone almost every weekend?
Banger: That's probably the only drawback to this job. It is hard to have a relationship with your girlfriend or wife, not both, one or the other. Laughs. I'm just joking. It's really tough at home. My nieces and nephews will have birthdays and I can't be there because I'm gone to a race. Because I do the Winter National Olympics, I've only been home on Thanksgiving twice in the last eleven years. It does take a lot of time and like you said, it does cause some hardships at home.

R450: What do you see coming up for the circuit and this series for the next few years?
Banger: I think that I see more factory involvement. We have Tim Farr with the factory Honda, but you know we don't see Honda out there on anything. Of course Mark Baldwin is there, but him and Tim have been together for many years. I think that we are going to see Yamaha and Jones join up. Also we are going to see more factory names out there. Next year we are going to see a lot of changes. We've seen a lot this year with the factory backing Doug Gust like they do. I think the other factories will take notice and think that they need to step it up a little bit. Plus I think Suzuki will probably come out next year with a four-fifty based machine. That will make some changes. If you look out here you see lots of Yamahas. Probably nine out of ten quads out here are Yamaha and I think that will make Yamaha step it up as well.

R450: Doug is definitely an outstanding rider, but do you think that the support that he has made a big difference in his domination of the series this year?
Banger: It definitely does, there are things as a rider that are on your mind, but with a big support group like that, you can focus more on the race and not the bike.

R450: Do you have any advise for any of the guys that are wanting to get into racing or even move up from some of the lower classes?
Banger: I think that a lot of riders want to win. Winning is a great thing, but consistency is where it counts. If you are consistent, you will win the national championship. You don't have to win every race. If you are consistent and get on the podium, you will move up in points. It is a national points chase. I say just shoot for the podium. A lot of the riders get out here and don't realize that a DNF (did not finish) will drop you way down in the points. You could lose your championship just by riding a little over your head or too aggressive. Also when you ride that hard it is hard on your equipment as well. So my advise is to focus on consistency, ride on the edge and not over it, and keep your spirits up.

/ Well Mark, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate the job that you do. Good luck with everything, and we'll see you at the next race. /