Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
With Spring fast approaching, it’s almost time to head to the track and start riding. It’s also time to sit down with Ryan Lockhart and ask him some questions about current topics in our sport. As you know, Ryan has been in this industry for over twenty years and during that time he’s been a rider, a mechanic, a riding coach, and most recently the Brand Manager over at Matrix Concepts Canada. Ryan knows a lot about a lot of things and he’s always a great guy to talk to. Here are this week’s 3 Q’s with Ryan Lockhart presented by Matrix Concepts Canada.
MXP: This week the Triple Crown Series released their 2021 schedule. As of right now, they’re planning two rounds in the west, both as double-header nationals. What are your thoughts on the schedule, as well as the riders and teams having to do back-to-back four moto days in one weekend?
RL: I think we can all agree that any schedule is better than no schedule at this point. The Jet Werx guys have a huge uphill battle when it comes to scheduling and what they do isn’t going to make everyone happy. Back-to-back days are going to be a challenge for the teams and riders no question with the pure amount of riding that is going to happen in one weekend, but it is what it is. Last year everyone got their feet wet with the three-moto format and it seemed to be well received. So adding in one more moto isn’t the end of the world. I’m glad my days of national racing are over though (laughs). I’m just happy that there is a schedule out and although there may be more changes to it, at least we all have something to look forward to.
MXP: Having been Ryder McNabb’s mechanic last summer you obviously know this talented kid very well. With the type of training he’s been doing down in Florida with Tyla Rattrey, as well as him being another year older, what are your expectations of Ryder this summer?
RL: There is no question he had some great moments last summer and with how bad his starts were, we didn’t get to see his true potential as far as results go. I love that he’s with Tyla because I think you can compare their two’s riding styles. They’re both gritty and never give up riders so it should be a good match with him training there. If he can gain a little more raw speed, put on a few pounds, and figure his starts out then he should be able to win races this summer. The best part about saying all of this is if he doesn’t make it happen this summer, he’s still so young. The future is bright for Ryder.
MXP: The track in Orlando last weekend was based on the 2007 track and Ricky Carmichael’s final SX race. You were there racing that night. What do you remember from the 2007 Orlando SX?
RL: I was loved watching on Saturday as I couldn’t believe how close the track was to 2007. Yes I know it was a replica track to 2007, but they never usually get it that close. As I was watching on Saturday night it was really bringing back some good memories from 14 years ago. I recall the obstacles were super tight in the sections which made it very technical. I also remember how bad my bike was through the whoops, but that was probably more me than the bike. I liked it though, the track was technical and by the sounds of it, they’re not making any changes for Orlando 2 since the weather has been wet and they haven’t been able to work on it. That’s okay though, with the 250SX West Series starting the racing should be good as it will be a new track for them.
