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Florida that much but over<br />
time I have learned to embrace<br />
it and be more involved<br />
over there. For me California<br />
is my home and when I retire<br />
I’ll be back there. I’ve become<br />
pretty good at managing the<br />
balance between going back<br />
and forth lately. I think Bobby<br />
will also get a base in Florida<br />
because when we are altogether<br />
there he’s usually on<br />
the other side of the country.<br />
It’s probably also the biggest<br />
difference to a European<br />
MXGP programme because<br />
we have two working bases.<br />
In Europe you can just be in<br />
Lommel! We have to juggle<br />
and it’s a six-hour flight. It<br />
can be a bit wild. Most of my<br />
friends and family and on the<br />
west coast. I grew up in New<br />
Mexico. California is just an<br />
hour flight away.<br />
“IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE IT<br />
IS SUDDENLY TWO YEARS<br />
LATER AND YOU ARE<br />
LOOKING BACK THINKING<br />
‘MAN, I SHOULD HAVE<br />
ENJOYED THAT MOMENT<br />
WHEN I HAD IT’ .”<br />
You mentioned Bobby might<br />
ask you where you are in life<br />
at the moment. So where are<br />
you? Did 2018 set you up?<br />
Did it create even more freedom<br />
away from dirt bikes?<br />
I think, compared to most racers,<br />
I have more of a life away<br />
from motocross and sometimes<br />
it gets tough to juggle<br />
both of them. I have friends<br />
who don’t have anything to do<br />
with moto at all. Sometimes<br />
I would like to hang out with<br />
them…but I also really enjoy<br />
what I do. I try to embrace<br />
both sides. I feel I have a part<br />
of my life that is not just motocross<br />
based. Although I will<br />
say there are people on my<br />
team, and even teammates,<br />
that feel like family to me.<br />
We’re together every weekend<br />
and also ‘in the trenches’<br />
whether it is through those<br />
hot summer days or being<br />
sat there waiting for delayed<br />
flights. [thinks] It can be difficult<br />
to switch off but I have<br />
a group around me that helps<br />
turn off the motocross button<br />
and we enjoy ourselves being<br />
normal, sometimes dorky kids<br />
playing video games or whatever.<br />
I like to keep things as<br />
‘normal’ as possible. If I keep<br />
things fun then progression<br />
professionally is easier and<br />
the motivation is easier to find<br />
and longevity comes with that.<br />
I’d like to race a lot of years. I<br />
know it will be hard to go for<br />
that number one spot for a<br />
long time but I feel like I can<br />
do a top three pace for many<br />
years to come.<br />
The reality is that the window<br />
for ‘title contention’ is<br />
so short for anyone lucky to<br />
make it to that level…<br />
Definitely. And I don’t take<br />
it for granted. When you get<br />
stressed then you can [take<br />
it for granted] but you know<br />
deep-down that in the blink of<br />
an eye it is suddenly two years<br />
later and you are looking back<br />
thinking ‘man, I should have<br />
enjoyed that moment when I<br />
had it’. I’ve learned that but it<br />
still hard. You want to win, you<br />
want to be good but you also<br />
don’t want to be mad every<br />
day because things are not<br />
going your way. You try to find<br />
the balance between joy, being<br />
successful and having that<br />
hunger to win.<br />
<strong>No</strong> danger of you joining that<br />
Carmichael/Villopoto/Dungey<br />
‘27’ club of calling it a day?<br />
Oh no. Sometimes you look at<br />
JASON ANDERSON
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