Joerg Teuchert
“I have this style of bulldog, you know?” It’s not always pretty, but what matters are the results on paper. “
10:44 am Friday morning. Rochester, Minnesota comes on my cell phone.
“It’s Jeremy Martin from the Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha team calling me,” I say aloud to my dog Zoey. Returning to racing tomorrow at Pala Raceway after his entire 2021 supercross season was destroyed after landing 15 seconds away from the Orlando 2 250SX West Supercross Main Event, Martin is set to compete in what he hopes will be his third championship. AMA 250MX.
National winner of 250 cc 17 times, Martin attacks the track and the competition like no other. In excellent racing form, confident and in good spirits, Martin, who was runner-up to future Dylan Ferrandis in the 2020 250MX title battle, can’t wait to let go of the clutch tomorrow afternoon.
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Q: So you are on the Pala Raceway awaiting tomorrow’s opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. How are you?
JEREMY MARTIN: Well, I’m really excited for the opportunity to race here in Pala tomorrow. You know, I haven’t done anything this year. I won a qualifying race in Orlando, and it was awesome, but what mattered to us was the main event and I did it 15 seconds after the main event in Orlando and the game was over . For me, I’m really excited to be able to line up at Pala tomorrow. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it just because of the injuries I suffered in supercross, but I worked really hard and here I am, and we have a chance to fight to be competitive and win.
Q: Yes, the dislocated shoulder you suffered in Orlando really came at a bad time for you. You had done all the work and were really ready to roll in 2021.
JM: Yeah, it’s really frustrating. And like you said, I got the job done and I was ready. When I broke my back in 2018 at Muddy Creek, I was away for a year and a half. At the same time, at least I got to run half the year, right? I got wet feet and was able to be in this competitive environment, and I won a few races and then it was all gone. You know, I was there and I got to taste it and it was just stripped and I got nothing.
Q: Are you in good health? Do you feel good where you are?
JM: Yeah, I feel good; I feel like I’m about as good as I can get. The body is as good as it is going to be with the injuries I suffered during the supercross season. I needed surgery, but I chose to take the bet and just say, “I can either do it and then forgo another year of racing and come back at the end of the year, or I can solve this problem and participate. work and try to make that happen and we can be competitive early on and try to win the outdoor series. So that’s what I chose to do. I just couldn’t ride with the card given to me.
Q: Being part of the Monster Energy / Star Racing / Yamaha team is another chapter in your career story. What do you think of the team and your environment?
JM: Yeah, I feel good. Obviously I’ve raced for this team in the past, and one of the things I knew back then was how competitive it was, right? It was all the guys fighting week after week so for me right now getting back into that environment is a big deal. I’ll tell you what, if you don’t go in that truck every weekend and you don’t feel motivated and hungry, I don’t know what else to motivate you because ‘there’s a lot of good guys under the awning in that truck.
Q: How about the Yamaha YZ250F motorcycle you are going to ride? You like this?
JM: Yeah, the bike is really good. I mean it’s no secret that the blue machine has pretty good horsepower. Obviously we can use it on the open air starts, and the team has won many titles in recent years in supercross and outdoors. I think the chassis is also very good. The biggest thing that really impressed me was the smoothness of the feel in high speed conditions and in ground traction. When I took the gas out of a corner, I couldn’t believe the driving I would be getting out of the corners.
Q: You were right there fighting Dylan Ferrandis all the way in the 2020 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross 250cc rankings. Ferrandis finished with 390 points to your 377 points and he made it to the final in Pala in last october …
JM: Oh yeah. It was my goal. It was like, “If anyone wants to beat me, I’m going to make their life as hard as possible.” After a back injury I think some people expected me to be good and maybe win races but I don’t know if they expected this level of speed and consistency from me. as quickly and throughout the season.
Q: Have you been able to ride at Pala Raceway in the past two months?
JM: No, so I’ve been there probably a handful of times – probably about five times or whatever. I like to do my job in private, and I’ve been doing it in Minnesota and riding on different tracks now since early spring. Still, I’ve been riding a lot now and know what to expect out there, and speed is the biggest part, right? It’s a high speed track, and a lot of guys will go pretty fast because Pala is kind of a track for them. I think if we can be in there and we can be quick and we can be consistent, then we take the series to Thunder Valley, Colorado, and then east, I think we’re going to see a few people and the best of the best. the harvest increases steadily every weekend. It’ll be the guys, you know?
Q: Who do you think should be fighting each week during the 12 rounds?
JM: Dude, I’m telling you what, I see the Lawrence brothers are tough. I see a lot of the guys on my team being tough, like Justin Cooper. Nate Thrasher has come out well in supercross and he will be good. Everyone on my team is fast and we’re all on the same gear. There are some good guys in the Pro Circuit team with [Cameron] McAdoo and Austin Force and [Seth] Hammaker. Then there is RJ Hampshire at Husqvarna. It’s pretty hard to say who will be there. We’re going to have people there every weekend. There will be a guy or two that we fight with on a regular basis every weekend. Guess we’ll find this tomorrow, huh?
Q: Correct me if I’m wrong, but the way I look at it you just need the bad luck to calm down and go and you’re gonna be there, eh?
JM: Yeah, it’s been a few years, you know? When you win, life is pretty easy when you are at the top. I really had a streak of… I wouldn’t say bad luck, but some unfortunate things have happened and I think there have been some good life lessons for me. I have been in the boxing ring and have beaten a bit. and I think one thing I have learned is to expect the uncertainties of life. You have to fight them and we are ready to fight and ready to start again this year.
Q: A lot of people involved in sports that I have spoken with in the last few weeks see you winning this thing this summer. What do you think? Are you feeling well?
JM: Yes. I feel good. Like I said, the shoulder is pretty well placed now and it’s just a matter of managing everything. I might not be the fastest guy every weekend. I might not win all the races, but you better believe that when I line up, no matter what, no matter who is in front of me or who is behind me, I’m going to make it as hard as possible for everyone. Sometimes I send it pretty hard. I have this style of bulldog, you know? It’s not always pretty, but all that matters is the results on paper, you know?
