Jason Anderson talked to the media about not talking to the AMA, not testing his bike and having good speed but not great starts after yet another great comeback ride to fourth in Atlanta.
Racer X: You look like you’ve got that fire back mentally. Is this the best you’ve been in quite some time in supercross?
Yeah, I feel like I care a little bit more right now. I’ve been enjoying myself riding and just trying to better myself week in and week out. Honestly, during the week I’ve been enjoying my practicing. I think as far as riding, it’s been getting better at the races, but I still don’t think my results show how good I’m riding. I need to get my starts and get up front. It’s hard because there’s so many guys that are good right now. You go to that first corner and the top ten on the inside of the box are all factory guys, and there’s more on the outside. So, it’s just crazy.
You’ve been very vocal about how you are happy in your own program and your own friends and your own way you’re training. Is it just your own internal discipline that you’re able to make that happen on your own essentially?
When you get to the point in our career, the level we’re at, we all work hard and we all pretty much know a program. Everyone that I line up against is a past champion. We all know what we need to do to get the job done. Sometimes I think if you’re training where you want to and kind of making it work around your schedule and stuff like that, it keeps you happy. It allows you to go to the race in a nice mental head space. I think the least amount of stress you can have during the week while working hard is very important.
In comparison to your 2018 season when you won the championship, how do you feel you’re riding compared?
I think when I won my championship obviously the top five were very fast, especially in the beginning of that year. I think that year it kind of weeded out because I think Roczen got hurt, and then most of the rest of the other guys were still in there. Yesterday I felt like I was riding pretty freaking good. I think as far as a start, I think would definitely put me on the podium a lot more times this year than not. I think in Orlando I was riding really good, and a start would have put me on the podium. Dallas one of the rounds, I could have got on the podium. As far as speed goes, I think I’m as fast as I was back then.
Since you came back from your injury this season, you seem to have upped the pace or at least upped the intensity with your passing and aggression. Did you make any bike changes or was that an attitude change? What made the switch?
To be honest, I haven’t tested once this year. I’ve kind of just ran the same shock, same everything. I’ve maybe messed with the sag a little bit here and there and gearing, and that’s about it.
Going back to your riding this year and your aggressiveness. Fans love it. There was a mention on the broadcast at one point that the AMA had maybe come to you and talked to you about some of this. Have you had any conversations with the AMA about any passes this season?
Honestly, I don’t really have that good of a relationship with the AMA, so I don’t talk to them at all.
Sometimes you have to.
I just have my team deal with it for the most part, and it’s COVID so they’ve got to stay six feet away from me, right?
Did you ever talk to Malcolm [Stewart] about that crazy pass last month?
No, I didn’t. At the same time, I’ve heard that he didn’t mean to do it intentionally. But to be honest, I slammed him pretty hard in the one corner before. Knowing Malcolm, we’ve had similar instances like that and no bad blood or anything, even if I got cleaned out or whatever. I was just trying to get to the front and it’s aggressive riding. That’s how it goes sometimes. We raced each other pretty good this weekend, so hopefully that’s over.
With the incident in the first corner there, did you end up racing the entire main event in fourth gear and with half a foot peg on the one side?
Yeah. So, in the first corner I was right next to Joey and then I got hit and I was about to go up to that double and I had no shift lever. But to be honest, I did race the whole thing with it but it wasn’t too terrible. I think I was stuck in third, just down the sand straightaway and by the mechanics area I was just so revved out. It was insane. The whoops section was a little bit tough because usually I would like to click fourth to be able to have a little bit more traction, so I’d have to go into them really fast and try and not over-rev. But it wasn’t terrible. I was stuck without a shift lever, but it actually wasn’t too terrible. Just may have almost floated the valves a couple times, but we’re good.
Images: Husqvarna