Racer X: Tyla, great ride today here at Budds. In that second moto, (Justin) Barcia was all over you for most of the time.
Tyla Rattray: Thanks, yeah Barcia was riding really well and heads up to him, I was setting a good pace and had some good lap times and he was right there the whole way. By the end, I managed to get away from him a bit. Overall, it was a good day, I went 2-1 and got the win. So I still have the red plate but it’s a long ways to go and you don’t want to get too confident. Obviously, Deans (Wilson) right there behind me. Earlier in my career, I might have been that way (too confident) but I’m older now and I’ve got a lot of experience from that. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and going for the win. If I can’t win, I want to be on the podium at least and we’ll see what happens.
Rattray went 2-1 for the overall at Budds Creek.
Photo: Simon Cudby
In that second moto, Barcia was on you and it was like the first moto only you were the pursuer and were all over Wilson. Was it a matter of him having you beat, you not finding a way around him or what?
That first moto, I didn’t feel too well to be honest. I’m not going to lie, after the race I had a headache and had to lay down, but no excuses, Dean rode really well. I couldn’t catch him, couldn’t put a pass on him. I think he rode great and I knew that if I won the second moto, I’d get the overall. I wasn’t worried about that, I know my fitness is good and I’m in great shape. I knew it was going to be good and I managed to get the win and the overall.
Since the start of the nationals, have you done anything different in your program as far as ramping it up or backing it down now that we’re in the full swing of it?
I’m still training pretty hard with Aldon (Baker) and not really changing much other than I’m going down to Florida to ride with Ryan (Villopoto) and Jake (Weimer) and that should be good. It’s definitely going to be good for me to be there with it being so hot and humid. I can focus on different parts of a track, things that are my weak points and make them my strong points. My starts have been great, I’ve been getting out of the gate awesome. We’ll have a good week here and then go to Colorado and go for the win.
Rattray still holds the red plate, but has teammate Dean Wilson breathing down his neck.
Photo: Simon Cudby
How long are you going to Florida for, the rest of the summer?
No, I’ll be there for two weeks maybe a bit longer. After RedBud, I’ll go back there for a few days and then head back to California after that.
When you’re riding with RV, I imagine he’s gapping you a bit on the 450 and that has to be great practice for you. You can chase him down and get the intensity up right?
Oh definitely, obviously he’s fast- he’s winning nationals and is one of the fastest guys in the world, especially outdoors. It’s great for me and for Jake as well to have that. It’s hard work and when we get to a race, it’s a little different but it still helps. I’ve been enjoying training with those guys, like in supercross when they were out in California. It’s a lot of fun.
