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: Going back to Saturday night in Arlington, what were you thinking during the opening laps of the 450SX main event when all the top guys were upfront. Who did think was going to pull off the win?
RL: It was awesome that’s for sure. Best track of the year in my opinion. Kenny showing some aggression in the heat where Webb looked to be a little off his game. The main event was a great race and it was almost like we all knew Webb was going to find a way by Roczen. This is a better Webb than we saw two years ago when he won. Something really crazy is going to need to happen to knock him off the top. To answer your question though, I honestly thought that Kenny was going to be able to hold on for the win.
MXP: Casey Keast’s SX experience didn’t end the way he wanted it to, especially with the horrendous highway accident while driving back to California. However, he texted me and said that he now has the ‘Supercross bug’ and he wants to do more. Is the sky the limit for Keast?
RL: I’m a bit of a believer that you create your own luck and in my opinion, this whole Keast supercross experience has been plain bad luck. I mean, honestly, he was a little better than I expected. Overall he looked comfortable and now that he’s more educated on how tough the tracks can be and how aggressive everyone is, he should be able to come in more prepared next time. It’s not easy to jump into SX mid-series and do well, especially when it’s your first time ever racing in the Monster Energy Supercross Series. I’m happy for the kid and I hope he gives it a go in 2022! Also, I’m even happier that everyone was okay after their accident.
MXP: Your son Meston is now riding and looks to be loving every moment of it. How cool it is to watch him ride and progress through the early stages of this sport?
RL: It’s been awesome! Randi will kill me for saying this but sitting in the back of your truck early morning getting your gear on together is one of the coolest feelings ever. It’s weird because at the same time it’s also scary. Meston is only five but we have been having fun with it. Trust me, I have my moments where I get frustrated because he’s not doing something right which I know he knows how to do, but kids these days march to the beat to their own drum. Meston is a very conservative kid which in the riding world can be good and bad. However, at his age, I think this is a good thing as he’s very smooth and rides within his limits. Even before I had kids I always said that I would support them to ride as long as they know how to do it properly and we have fun. So far it’s been going great and I cannot wait for this season.