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Heading into his first-ever Monster Energy Supercross race this past weekend in Minneapolis, Tanner Ward was both nervous as well as excited. After switching to the Thor Kawasaki Pro Circuit Team last month Tanner has been training hard in Florida and when he arrived in Minneapolis on Friday he felt ready to race. As you will read in this interview Tanner felt comfortable all day long on the challenging Minneapolis track and if it wasn’t for one massive crash during qualifying, he would’ve classified his weekend as a complete success. Thankfully Tanner was okay after his crash and although he missed the main event by a few spots, his speed was good and he’s looking forward to this weekend in Arlington. We caught up with Tanner as he was making the long drive from Minnesota to Texas.
MXP: Hey Tanner, how are things going?
TW: Hey Palms! Things are good. My drive to Arlington is almost over as we’re just pulling into Texas now.
How long of a drive it is from Minneapolis to Texas?
It’s about 15 hours so not too bad. The drive last week from Florida to Minneapolis was a long one. So this one felt short.
So we’re about 48 hours since your first-ever Monster Energy Supercross race concluded, how are you feeling?
Well, I’ll be honest I’m feeling pretty sore from my crash during qualifying but nothing is broken so I’ll be okay.
That was a spectacular crash for sure. I don’t want to focus on that because you had so many other highlights during the day. But I have to ask what the heck happened?
Well, it was a couple of things that added up I guess. For one, the dirt had a lot of traction so it was easy to just hook up and go. Also, the triple that I crashed on was pretty big so on a 250 you had to try and get through the whoops as quick as possible and then commit and go wide open to clear the triple. During the day there were a lot of guys that cased the triple and even crashed on it. Anyway, I came through the whoops and right at the end my back wheel must have clipped the last whoop sideways, and when I got on the gas it just instantly threw me off the face of the triple on a bad angle. It happened so quickly that I honestly had no chance to react.
It sounds a little like the famous Chad Reed crash from Millville when he was just instantly thrown sideways. That must have been scary?
For sure, as I left the face of the triple I thought I was headed into the stands so at that point I just tried to stay on my bike and ride it out. Thankfully I was okay and I was able to pick myself up and continue. As I said, I’m pretty sore and I also have some burns on my body from the camera wire that runs along the side of the track. It was ugly but thankfully everyone was okay.
I think everyone has a big crash or two during the SX season so hopefully, you just got yours over with. You mentioned the track being tacky and having a lot of traction. Did you like the track overall and how did it compare to the tracks you’ve been training on back in Florida?
The Minneapolis track was good and it held up a lot better than I thought it would. I don’t know how they did with it being so cold outside but the dirt was pretty good and it didn’t rut up too badly. There was a ton of traction which made it a little tricky, but it got better as the day went on. As far as how it was compared to the SX tracks I’ve been riding on. I think the biggest adjustment was how steep the jumps were in Minneapolis, especially in the first practice and qualifying session. Back in Florida, the tracks get knocked down with all of the people riding on them so the jumps lose their steepness. So it was a little different but I was happy with how I adapted to it.
You must have been happy with your times during qualifying as they were pretty solid.
Yes, I felt more comfortable as the day went on and my times got better. I made it into the night show which was obviously a goal of mine. It was cool to line up for the heat race and LCQ at my first ever SX race. As I said, my goal coming in was to make the night show, ride solid in the heat and LCQ, and also make it through the day in one piece. It was close, but overall I’m happy with everything.
Overall Tanner was happy with his performance in Minneapolis and now he’s focused on this weekend in Arlington. Photo by Matt Wellumson
You definitely rode well all day long. I’m assuming that during the long drive from Minneapolis to Texas you reflected on everything that you learned on Saturday?
Yes, I had a lot of time to think about everything that’s for sure. I think this weekend I just need to be a little more aggressive in the early laps of the heat race and LCQ if I end up there. I got worked pretty good this past weekend on the opening laps and I need to be better. I actually got a good start in the LCQ from the inside gate but I got jammed up in the second corner and then I had to slow up in the following rhythm section to miss a few riders. But I knew Saturday would be one big learning experience and I know this weekend I’ll feel a lot more comfortable and confident.
Yes, the first one is always the hardest and most stressful and there are just so many unknowns. So Minneapolis is now in the rearview mirror. What is the plan for this week?
The weather doesn’t look great for later in the week so I will most likely try and ride on Tuesday. From there, I will take it easy and try and feel better for the weekend. As I said, I’m pretty sore from Saturday so I do need a little rest before Saturday.
Well Tanner, congratulations on the weekend and thank you for taking my call. Good luck this weekend and enjoy racing inside one of the coolest stadiums in the USA.
Thanks Palms! I’m looking forward to it as I know I’m going to feel a lot more comfortable.