5 Minutes With... Dan Reardon
November 12, 2009 12:44pm
By Jason Macalpine
www.mxdaily.com.au
Daniel Reardon didn't have the weekend he was hoping for at the Canberra round of the Australasian Super X Championship, though he still came out with the series points lead. We spoke to Dan on Monday after to get his thoughts on the weekend and to talk about his plans for next year...
Dan Reardon: Well, if you look at it like that, no. [Laughs] I was confident that this series was going to go better than the last one. I believe I made a few mistakes last year and my head was in the wrong place. I think I learned from that and I think the U.S. Open helped me as well; you know, carrying that momentum through to this series.
You’re a rider who has experienced a fair bit of ups and downs when it comes to that. How big of a role does momentum and confidence play?
Confidence is something that you can't buy and you know you need to have it in your back pocket. I definitely did come to Tasmania with some confidence, but I was quietly confident, you know? There was a lot of hype around some of the other riders, obviously Chad and everyone, but that doesn't bother me and I enjoy being outside the limelight or whatever you want to call it. That's the way the series started and I was confident in riding in the first round, even though it took a little bit to get the bike set up. But you know, now it feels like my bike and I can put my best foot forward when it's time to race on the weekend.
This year there has been a bit of drama between some of the guys out there and it has really added to the entertainment aspect, but you have pretty much stayed clear of it. Is that all just part of the game plan?
Yeah, definitely. I don't like to get involved in that because it affects you as you ride and train and then you just have to worry about it during the week. I don't forget if someone makes a bad move on me, but there is a time and a place for all the rest of it. I like to leave the majority of that on the track and only worry about it then. There has been a bit of controversy around the pits, but I tend to stay way, way clear of that and I've always been like that.
The Perth win has obviously huge for you. You were out in front and put on what was pretty much a textbook performance.
Yeah, Perth was good. At first when the series started I was good and healthy and the next round was Geelong and I was beat down and run down, and then by Perth I'd cleaned all that out. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride because Chad was struggling with bikes at the first round and then at the next round came out swinging. He definitely did it at Geelong and then in Perth it was kind of like Chad had his thing sorted out and I had my thing sorted out, and you know, let’s go and do some racing. The track was kind of small and I think my starts helped me out all night, but it was definitely a good race and a memorable moment for me to be able to lead from start to finish.
People can see in videos that Chad is catching me towards the end. On the second-to-last lap I was like, Yeah, I'm getting close, I can do this. And then I started making mistakes and my arms and legs were hanging off of the bike. On thelast lap I composed myself again and put it all together. Yeah, it was definitely good to come out with a win.
So that's obviously a big learning experience that you can use for the rest of you career. You know you can get a win in that sort of fashion and beat the guy you did.
Yeah, and I'm always telling people that I wish I knew what I know now four years ago. You can't buy experience and you can't buy confidence, but if you have both of those you are nearly unstoppable.
Alright, let's talk about Canberra and your starts. We've seen you holeshot pretty much every heat and every main up until Canberra. What was going on there?
Well, how can I say this; there was a change that had to be made and whether I liked it or not, I had to do it. So that definitely affected me because people can see that I am a good starter and like you said, I couldn't buy a start that weekend. Everything will be sorted out by the next round and let’s hope that I can start off where I finished in Perth.
What would you take away from Canberra? You did still get on the podium.
From Canberra, what I would take away would be the old saying, take the best out of a bad situation. I got to keep my series lead and I even extended that lead and every little bit helps. We've still got three rounds left so it's definitely far from over. I've just got to stay consistent and stay up front.
Has the thought ever crossed your mind that James Stewart could play a big, big part in the championship with the overall? Your seven points ahead now and there are three rounds to go. Now if Bubba does win that's going to make the points interesting if Chad gets second or worse.
To tell you the truth I haven't even looked at it like that. I'm just excited to come out and race with James again. The U.S. Open was the first time I'd ever raced with James and I'm just excited to do it again. There may be a bit of rivalry between him and Chad and I think that will be exciting to see on the track. I would love to be in the mix of it, like getting good starts and getting to race with those guys for at least a couple of laps. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Championship-wise it’s always going to be out of my control. I don't have a crystal ball and all I can do is be consistent and get good results in the next few rounds, and if that happens, well, at the end of the day I should still be on top. Like I said, I don't really like to worry about that stuff; it’s out of your hands and you can't really control it.
Well you've just secured your fate for 2010 so obviously you have impressed some people with the way you've been riding.
Yeah, I already have a deal for next year and I think that was already on the internet about a week ago. I’ll be riding with MotoConcepts. I'm sure people will take note as to what has happened over here, it can only help me. I think the deal with MotoConcepts is going to be a great thing. Steve Lamson is going to be the team manager and that guy has tons of experience and we are going to be on good products. We have great suspension and tires and all the rest of it. I'm really looking forward to the supercross season. It’s going to be a long season for me because it’s going to be the first one wjere I’ve done every round. That will be exciting and I can’t wait to get out there and do some racing.
Check Dan Reardon online at www.danreardon.com.