Exclusive Jason Anderson interview: OTOR #191

FEATURE

“I’M NOT REAL

LY THE NORM”

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by S.Cudby/Husqvarna

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By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM

FEATURE

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Team Manager

Bobby Hewitt recently featured in OTOR and the Texan chatted at length about his enduring career-long relationship with the mercurial Jason Anderson – 2018 450 Supercross Champion – and how the racer from New Mexico had to cope with the wave of obligation and expectation after winning one of the sport’s biggest prizes.

After years of domination by the likes of Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey (athletes almost conditioned to success and all the responsibility that brings) it was refreshing and ‘humanising’ to hear of Anderson’s struggles: it was a reminder that for all the unbelievable discipline and commitment and the energy that a 29-30 race calendar dictates that this elite athletes are not infallible or indestructible.

Part of Anderson’s European ‘immersion’ and acclimatisation to sand riding ahead of his role for Team USA at the 73rd Motocross of Nations at Assen was a visit to the recent San Marino MotoGP, and it presented the perfect chance to ask the 26 year old to open up about a 2019 where he experienced and endured life as a #1 target.

Firstly, you’ve travelled before and have kept open minded about racing overseas but when it came to the Nations this year was there a part of you that thought ‘this is a big risk…’ Yeah, I felt that I really had to come over and prepare for it because of the sand. As far as being a ‘risk’ then I feel any time you ride the bike it can be risky. At the same time I love racing and I want to do as much as I can. There are points in the season where you get burnt out but you take a week

off and then you are ready to go again. I wanted to keep racing this summer. I wasn’t able to have a full Supercross season. The MXoN will be a difficult one due to the sand and it will be a tall task to be competitive but we’ll try our butts off.

Talk a bit about this year because Bobby mentioned that you were perhaps not prepared for the full set of obligations that went with being a defending Supercross Champion. How was it to achieve a lifetime goal and then have to readjust?

“I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS AS ‘NORMAL’ AS POSSIBLE. IF I KEEP THINGS FUN THEN PROGRESSION PROFESSION- ALLY IS EASIER AND THE MO- TIVATION IS EASIER TO FIND AND LONGEVITY COMES WITH THAT.”

Obviously you reach your goal and your lifelong dream and you get excited but then all the stuff and the BS that goes with it is not always fun. I understand that it is our job and obligation to our sponsors to market the #1 plate as much as possible but at one point I did not feel there was such good communication so they understood all of what I had to do to be ready for another season. I think at some point that got overlooked with the whole ‘that’s your job’.

There was a bit of them pushing me and me pushing back! The championship was awesome and I was happy to win it but as soon as it was over it was non-stop stuff to deal with. I like doing my own thing. The attention is cool but I like to hang out with my own friends, my team and go race. But there is a little more to it at the level we are at now.

In the past did you find that people asked you to do stuff but that converted into people almost demanding… 100%. There was a lot of demands and talk of marketing, selling more bikes and this-and-that. I understood, but I needed some more middle ground and I don’t think we reached that. Once we got into the season they saw how much it had taken a toll on me. You only learn by trial and error. Hopefully we can get into that position again soon and handle it better.

Fans and followers of supercross and motocross know you race a lot but they don’t always see the hours of travel, training and promo that can make for some very short weeks… Yeah. I understand we have to give the fans and the people in the sport the attention that they want and I enjoy doing that. But at some point it does take a toll and puts out a lot of energy.

JASON ANDERSON

FEATURE

Sometimes on a Friday before the race you just want to relax but you can’t. You land, gotta eat, gotta get to the dealer signing, do media, get dinner and get to bed. It’s a full schedule. It’s not like you are just hanging out. I don’t think people see all the other side of it and sometimes we get crap for not being outgoing or something like that but sometimes we are just worn out. At the same time I have learned from this experience in the last year and as the seasons go on I’ll be able to manage it better and have more communication with my team to do that.

Do race-winning contenders in your position need more of a breather? And I don’t mean just physically… Yeah, definitely mentally but when you get to November and December you cannot really have one because you need to keep training and looking ahead to Anaheim 1. If you cannot do it there then you are going to feel it! I was stressed out dealing with that around the time in 2018 but you cannot let-up. If you do that it will affect your results. One way or another something has to give. I think my riding took a bit of a hit. It was a tough year for me but valuable in another way and going into next season I feel happy and I feel motivated. I don’t feel the pressure is on

me that much; not that it was the pressure that got to me… more all the stuff I had to deal with. I’m 26 years old and I feel I still have a few more chances at making a title run. That’s my goal right now and to be best prepared to do that. The Outdoor season was good for me and I wasn’t expecting very much. I just wanted to enjoy it and bring myself back-around and I think I accomplished that.

Do you feel like warning training-mate Cooper [Webb] of the mantle of being a champion?

Yeah, I think he will have to deal with it. I really like doing off-season races whereas he doesn’t. So I think I put a little too much on my plate last year. I like to do two offseason races and I did that and followed it with the FIM Awards. Then there was a load of other stuff. I think his schedule is lighter so it might be easier. For me, I know what I have to do now. I think he will be good next season and there are quite a few that will be good. It’s interesting to see how it will play out. Supercross is unreal in terms of how close it is and how it

will be in ’20. It will take the whole package to go for the championship again.

What about you and Bobby? That relationship is very long and has been through a lot. Is it similar to a Dungey/De Coster thing? I was going to sign for him as an amateur but it didn’t end-up working out and we waited until I went Pro and we’ve been through everything since then! First and foremost I think the difference between a ‘Ryan-Roger’ is that it’s more about a human connection rather than being about

JASON ANDERSON

ON TRYING MXGP: “THE LOGISTICS SIDE WOULD HAVE TO BE A LITTLE BIT LAID-OUT FOR ME IN TERMS OF HAVING A HOME AND DEALING WITH THE CULTURE DIFFERENCES. I DON’T MIND THE CHANGE BUT I’D JUST NEED A PROPER PLAN. AS FAR AS RACING THEN I DON’T MIND AT ALL AND ENJOY COMING OVERSEAS.”

results or business. If I have bad nights then it is not like he’ll just ask about my riding or my training or anything like that, sometimes he’ll just ask me where I am at with life in general. He’s been a great help to me because I’m not really ‘the norm’. The way I go about things is maybe not the way other people would like me to, in terms of the corporate world. But the good thing about Bobby is that he accepts each person for who they are and then to achieve the best they can. I think that’s why he’s been able to have riders that maybe haven’t succeeded

in other places enjoy success on our team. I think you can see that with Zach [Osborne]. He had a hard time with Geico, bided his time and look how he is performing now. Bobby helped with that and even if it takes time and our programme can sometimes seem like we are ‘winging it’ we’re always trying hard. As long as the heart is in it and the effort is made then we’re happy.

How do you manage life on two coasts after all these years? I’ve had a home in Florida for five years now. I don’t like

Florida that much but over time I have learned to embrace it and be more involved over there. For me California is my home and when I retire I’ll be back there. I’ve become pretty good at managing the balance between going back and forth lately. I think Bobby will also get a base in Florida because when we are altogether there he’s usually on the other side of the country. It’s probably also the biggest difference to a European MXGP programme because we have two working bases. In Europe you can just be in Lommel! We have to juggle and it’s a six-hour flight. It can be a bit wild. Most of my friends and family and on the west coast. I grew up in New Mexico. California is just an hour flight away.

“IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE IT IS SUDDENLY TWO YEARS LATER AND YOU ARE LOOKING BACK THINKING ‘MAN, I SHOULD HAVE ENJOYED THAT MOMENT WHEN I HAD IT’ .”

You mentioned Bobby might ask you where you are in life at the moment. So where are you? Did 2018 set you up? Did it create even more freedom away from dirt bikes? I think, compared to most racers, I have more of a life away

from motocross and sometimes it gets tough to juggle both of them. I have friends who don’t have anything to do with moto at all. Sometimes I would like to hang out with them…but I also really enjoy what I do. I try to embrace both sides. I feel I have a part of my life that is not just motocross based. Although I will say there are people on my team, and even teammates, that feel like family to me. We’re together every weekend and also ‘in the trenches’ whether it is through those hot summer days or being sat there waiting for delayed flights. [thinks] It can be difficult to switch off but I have a group around me that helps turn off the motocross button and we enjoy ourselves being normal, sometimes dorky kids playing video games or whatever. I like to keep things as ‘normal’ as possible. If I keep things fun then progression professionally is easier and the motivation is easier to find and longevity comes with that. I’d like to race a lot of years. I know it will be hard to go for that number one spot for a long time but I feel like I can do a top three pace for many years to come.

The reality is that the window for ‘title contention’ is so short for anyone lucky to make it to that level… Definitely. And I don’t take it for granted. When you get

stressed then you can [take it for granted] but you know deep-down that in the blink of an eye it is suddenly two years later and you are looking back thinking ‘man, I should have enjoyed that moment when I had it’. I’ve learned that but it still hard. You want to win, you want to be good but you also don’t want to be mad every day because things are not going your way. You try to find the balance between joy, being successful and having that hunger to win.

No danger of you joining that Carmichael/Villopoto/Dungey ‘27’ club of calling it a day? Oh no. Sometimes you look at

“IT IS TOUGH BECAUSE WITH OUR CONTRACTS THE HEAVIER SIDE LEANS TOWARDS SX. AT THE SAME TIME YOU JUST WANT TO RACE AND OUTDOORS IS THE ORIGINAL GROUND, IT IS OLD-SCHOOL & WHERE WE CAME FROM...”

the numbers and see there has never been a supercross champion past the age of 29. I feel I have a good couple of runs left in me. I’d like to break that record and consider being an older champion. If not then I’ll take it for what it’s worth and at the end of the day if you are on the podium or in the top five of your sport then that’s very awesome. I think people like RV and Dungey had a hard time because they had to win all the time. At some point

people add to the pressure because if they were not winning then something must be wrong with them. But they’re human, you know? I think if they could have coped or been ready for those kinds of questions then they might have had a longer career. It’s [the pressure of] being in that group of ‘needing to win’. It’s not like I de-classify myself from that… but I am well aware that eventually I’ll be a bit further back and still hoping that some race

wins can come. As long as I can stay in the top three or be competitive then that’s the goal. If I can keep that into my 30s then that would be really cool.

Are people getting more dismissive of motocross again now compared to supercross? What’s your view? It is tough because with our contracts the heavier side leans towards supercross. At the same time you just want to race and you want to be competitive and Outdoors is the original ground, it is oldschool and where we came from. It has a culture. I want to be good at both but sometimes it’s hard because of the amount of races. You’ll get done with the supercross season and you’ll feel mentally drained and you’ve got two weeks to get ready and feel fully refreshed for an Outdoor season. To do two solid seasons in a row is one of the hardest parts of the job.

Not wanting to push you in a corner or ask for a blithe quote but would you consider the idea of MXGP? An attempt at the world championship? I always tell them [Husqvarna] that I’d be completely open to it. The logistics side would have to be a little bit laid-out for me in terms of having a home and dealing with the culture differences. I don’t mind the change but I’d just need a proper plan. As far as racing then I don’t mind at all and enjoy coming overseas. I’ve been in Europe for more than two weeks now and have a couple more weeks ahead. I’ve enjoyed it! There are little bits of home that I miss – mainly foodwise! – but the people are really helpful and

Firstly I have two more years left in the U.S. then we’ll see!

Thoughts on MotoGP? I’ve been to a couple of Formula 1’s and this feels similar. I’ve always wanted to go to the Austin MotoGP but it’s at a weird time for us in Supercross. It is amazing and a different level to dirtbikes. It’s funny because I’m a fan of many of these guys and I go to say hello and find out they’re a fan of me! It goes back and forth. This is another level of racing. It’s cool and fun to check out.

JASON ANDERSON

There is a lot of pressure on supercross…but I think if you can be good at motocross then you are bad-ass and that’s a cool thing.

[Rockstar Energy Husqvarna] IceOne have a good thing around them. I have good group of sponsors around me that would help make that transition easier. I’d be openminded about it.