You ripped off three wins in the last four. You really kind of came alive. Early in the season, you won round one, but then were you sick? What was going on around the middle of the series?
Round one I went out, I got second in the first moto and ended up coming from 35th or something and then winning the round. Then Monday after, I got really sick. I could barely move. I laid in my bed all day just for five days straight. Super sick, throwing up. Just gnarly. Then with the second round, same thing. I had no energy. I was struggling to breathe and everything. I went 4-3-4 for fourth overall, or something. Then going into the third round, I was still a little bit sick. Then I ended up hurting my tailbone on the seat or the sub-frame. I couldn’t sit down on it, so that was pretty sore. I was struggling with that and still with the breathing and it was 42 degrees Celsius. Probably almost a hundred in Fahrenheit. Just still struggling with the breathing. Got back to Ontario. Went to Walton, and going into Walton it was just stop the bleeding for points. We did that. I lost one point, but I wasn’t the points leader at the time. Then going to Gopher, I went 2-2. Starting to feel better. Starting to feel like myself again on the bike. Then went to Sand Del Lee and ended up crashing doing starts. I hit this big boulder in the grass that I didn’t see.

I did not hear this.
I ended up crashing and hurting my shoulder going in. Didn’t think I was going to line up after practice. Didn’t think I was going to race, and ended up going 1-1 on the day. Getting a little bit of luck in that second moto with Harrison going down and Racine getting hung up with that lapper on the last lap. It ended up working out in my favor, so that helped. Then going to River Glade, that whole day at River Glade I felt really good at the bike. I started feeling like I did at the start of the year. I started feeling good again. I ended up going 2-1 battling with Natzke there. Then going to Deschambault, I went 2-2 on the day for the overall. I struggled there with tear-offs. I didn’t get the best start and I ran out of tear-offs five, ten minutes into the first moto. So, that was a rough second moto there with no tear-offs, because the sand is so sticky. There were puddles on the track from the sprinklers. The sprinklers broke. I ended up leaving there with a 23-point lead.

A lot of ups and downs. At different points were you like, “I got this thing?” “This title is gone?”
Yeah, so after Pilot Mound, after I hurt my tailbone and after I was sick and all that, I was 22 points back and I was in third. Then we just turned it around and got on a roll and kept it going.

When you were sick and all that, were you able to practice or was it just nothing going on?
I didn’t ride once while I was in BC and Alberta and Manitoba. I didn’t ride once.

In a way, you got help from [Josiah] Natzke showing up. He’s taking points away when you weren’t 100 percent. So, that helped you out a little bit because he had missed the first three rounds. So, in a way, you’re like, thanks for showing up, man.
Yeah, for sure. He definitely took some points away from him [Harrison] and probably helped me out a little bit.

Last year, your weakness was starts. Did your starts seem better? Not great, but they were better?
The first couple rounds they weren't great. They were pretty bad, and then we went back to Ontario. We practiced them. We put a couple clutches in the bike just doing starts and we practiced them. Got me more comfortable with them. Then turned it around. We got way better at our starts. For me, it’s more of a confidence thing. At the start of the year, I didn’t feel super confident in my starts so I would let off early compared to some other people. So, we practiced them, got better and got more confident in them.

It’s a tricky thing, the starts. Mike Alessi could holeshot anything because he just had confidence in his starts. I think you’re right. I think it’s a mental thing.
For sure. You let off a quarter of a second early, you’re getting a tenth-place start. You have to be able to hold it on just that little bit more on the start. For me, it was like, if they were just an inch of front of me, I would let off. But, I got more comfortable and then I realized I could still hold it on more, even if they are a little bit in front of me and get in front of them. Definitely still got some work to do on them, but they were better. I got a holeshot.

How much did you winning this year and not winning last year have to do with [ex-mechanic] “Newf” [Ryan Lockhart] not being your mechanic this year. Let’s be honest here.
I don't know. Honestly, last year, it was just kind of a couple things, a couple bad rounds.

I heard your starts were horrific last year. Like, horrific.
Yeah. I would come from probably 30th place every moto.

So, what’s your plans now? Are you going to do the Canadian supercross stuff in the fall?
I don't think so. I’m not really sure what the deal is there. I think the thing is we’re just going to keep training on moto and getting ready for Des Nations and then just not worry about the supercross. Not try and practice on it for two weeks, and then ride half arenacross, half supercross kind of tracks and end up getting hurt like Dylan did last year, or whatever. Just try and stay healthy for Des Nations.

Dylan, your teammate, won the title for Gopher Dunes Honda. A perfect season. Do you get along with him well? Does he help you out?
For sure. Me and Dylan, he’s honestly like my big brother. He’s really close with me. I’m really close with him. We talk about everything together. He definitely helps me out a bunch with coming up to the ground, helping me being nervous or whatever. He talks to me and helps me figure stuff out.

How much of a bummer was it for your hometown Manitoba race you weren't 100 percent? That had to suck.
Yeah, definitely sucked. I would have liked to have gone and won there, but it is what it is. I was sick and hurt. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Sixteen years old and a national champion. Your future is certainly pretty bright. You tried some U.S. stuff before, like Mini O’s and stuff. Do you want to get down here and race again? Is that the plan?
Yeah, definitely that’s the end goal. That’s the place I want to be. I definitely want to race down there at some point. We’re trying to figure that out right now. Seeing if I can do it. Seeing if I can get some help and stuff. So, we’re trying to.