Travis (RacerX):
Travis: Send me to the des Nations!
The following is a letter that Travis Pastrana sent to DC and EJ, and we thought we’d share it with our Racer X Online readers.
Eric,
As far as the MXDN goes, I fully realize that I haven't done anything as of late to inspire a lot of confidence in anyone that I can finish a race, let alone win one. I'm not sure if the U.S. already has a team picked, or if we are even going, but I truly believe I would be an asset to the team. I can ride sand till the cows come home, and I can do it well. I only lost one moto in my life at Southwick and it was a second place after a tangle up in the first turn ... and it was to Mike Brown, who I hear would also give his right arm for a shot at the des Nations.
There are four Americans that can beat Stefan Everts, and three have already said no. I want a shot at Everts, and now that I am healthy and already training for next season ... I truly believe that I have a shot. I talked to Roger [DeCoster] a little, and he didn't feel it would be right for me to go over without enough testing on the ‘04 race spec bikes. Well, I will clear my schedule, and as I see it, two months of testing should be plenty.
As far as not sending a team, that's ridiculous. People don't think we can win without our heavy hitters, but have you never seen an underdog team that wants to win with every fiber of their body, go against the best in the world? My money's on the underdog. Whoever they end up selecting for the des Nations (if they even do) will give everything they have for a team that they will no doubt believe in. Look at the last year we won - a reckless sixteen-year-old and a rider who had to go to Europe to find a ride and had a bad year anyway, made up 2/3rds of the team. Ryno kicked everyone’s ass that year - people that kicked his all year long, he blew out of the water. I think he was still nursing an injury and was out of shape as could be, but he wanted to win so badly he pulled our team to victory.
I want to be like Ryno. Let me know if you hear anything.
Travis
Bubba und K-Dub:
On Sunday at the track, we walked in on Steve Whitelock as he was doing payroll for the AMA employees, and he gave us our weekly MXdN update as he signed checks and sealed envelopes. “We have a plan and I’ve had my chit-chat with Ricky Carmichael this morning, and we have basically decided what we’re going to do, and I’ve confirmed it,” Whitelock said. “Roger’s going to act as our team manager, because he fits that role really well. All we need now is the final acceptance by the other two riders, and I think we’re going to the Motocross des Nations. I don’t want to tell you who they are until I get a yes, because whoever I ask to go, I don't want them to believe they’re a B choice. I want anybody that goes to think that they’re our choice and they’re our choice for good reason. But I can tell you that it won’t be Bubba (Stewart) and it won’t be Kevin (Windham). That was our dream team that we really wanted to send, but unfortunately there are issues, and we weren’t able to arrive at a dream team. I’m quite confident that within the next week, we’ll announce our team, and we’ll be going.”
RC's always down with signing up for the MXdN. You can't boo that. credit: Steve Cox
Whitelock says the only thing that may stop the U.S. team from attending at this point is the possibility of terrorist attacks between now and then. “The thing that I don’t want to have happen, and I’m afraid it might happen, is that there’s going to be some terrorist action, and not necessarily the riders, but usually their families or something will be concerned about travel to a foreign country, and I hope that doesn’t happen,” he said. “It’s happened before, with 9/11, so it’s a concern. For me, I’ve traveled so much all over the world that I don’t see it, but I can understand when a family says, ‘We’d really prefer you not go.’ I can accept that. I just pray that there is not action by terrorists at the Olympics, or anytime.”
