Dave Gowland Reflects on Cole Thompson’s Anaheim 2 Race

Saturday night in Anaheim was an interesting race for our team, for sure. Once again, Jason Anderson was really fast. If it wasn’t for the start he got in the main event, he would’ve won. After the race we found out about his penalty so that was unfortunate, but we’ll be back in Oakland and we’re really happy with how he’s riding. I can also say the same for Ivan Tedesco. While he’s not going to be a top five guy, he keeps getting stronger each weekend and his confidence is growing. Considering Ivan has been away from racing for two years, we’re very happy with how he’s riding.

I don’t think Cole or the team was happy with how Saturday night went. We know it’s only his second race in the SX class, but with his speed he’s definitely a main event guy. I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing at the moment, but when you watch Cole ride at the races, it’s completely different than how he’s riding during the week. I think that it’s still early, obviously, so Cole is only going to improve, but he needs to realize that the riders that he’s battling with to make the main events are ruthless and hungry. He needs to get more aggressive if he wants to get in front of them. Sometimes it’s just a case of committing to the track and trusting your skills.

The good thing is that Cole is fit, young and he has a lot of skill. In the next month, if he can get a little mean and start believing more in himself, he will do fine and everyone will be happy. We’ll see how Oakland goes this weekend.