Bogle to Make Pro Debut at Unadilla
NEW BERLIN, N.Y. – Fresh off his victory in the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, GEICO Honda's Justin Bogle is ready to make his pro debut at the Unadilla National on August 13.
"You know your first pro race is going to be a nerve wracking experience," he said. "I've been waiting on this my whole life. I'm just going in to learn."
Bogle said he's really looking to turn in a solid ride on his GEICO Honda 250cc bike, but if he can follow the team tradition on making a big splash in his pro debut, all the better.
"I don't have too many expectations going in," Bogle said. "I think I was more nervous at the Loretta Lynns than I'll be here. There were more expectations there than ever before.
"Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia, Trey Canard and everybody on this team came out swinging when they started, but I'm going to do my thing and not worry about what everyone else has done."
After a two week break, Bogle's new teammates, Tomac and Wil Hahn are looking to end the last four races of the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championships on a high note.
"I'd love to get a win before the season ends," Tomac said. "Even getting back on the podium would be great. Obviously, we expected more this outdoor season. I think maybe Justin and I put so much into Supercross right until the end. I don't know. It's just the way it worked out."
Hahn, who has spent much of the 2011 season sidelined by injury, really just wants to get into a routine.
"Everything is coming back," Hahn said. "I'm really starting to feel at home on my bike again, and I'm making improvements. Now I just want to race a few times in a row. The races I've been in have been broken up by long breaks. I just want to get in there and race consistently."
Tomac said he's been working with the team to get his Honda in perfect condition for the final four races of the season.
"We spent some time in California last week trying different things to make the bike go faster," Tomac said. "It's not that there's something wrong with it, we're just trying to make it even better."
Barcia will be going on a little different path the rest of the season, as it was announced he'll be riding a 450cc for the American Honda Racing team for the remainder of the year.
"I raced the CRF450R to the overall win at the Bercy Supercross last year and I felt great competing on the bike, so I’m excited to now get the chance to race several rounds in the Motocross series on it," Barcia said. "I’m also really looking forward to working with the factory Honda team.
"I feel I’ve grown a lot as a professional racer over the past three years and this whole experience is only going to help me develop my skills even more.”
Practice for the Unadilla National gets under way at 8:30 a.m. EDT Saturday with opening ceremonies getting under way at 12:10 p.m. FUEL TV will show the first motos in the 450 and 250 classes live starting at 12:30 p.m. EST. NBC affiliates will pick up live coverage of the 450s starting at 3:30 p.m. SPEED TV will show the second motos of the 250s starting at 9 p.m. Saturday.
