French import Christophe Pourcel, with minimal U.S. experience, took command early of the 2009 East Coast Lites supercross series and rode to his first US championship. His attack on the US racing scene continues for the outdoors. We caught up with him at Glen Helen the day before the first round of the 2009 motocross season, right before he got a few laps on an abbreviated version of the national track.
Pete Peterson: How long have you been testing and training for the outdoors?
Christophe Pourcel: Not a lot, you know. We have supercross and then when it's finished you get on the bike and try what you like. Find out if you like something more, or not that much.
PP: What's harder to set up the bike for, supercross or motocross?
CP: Outdoor motocross. Nationals are not easy. You've got all the big bumps, the track is never the same so you have to figure out what you want on what kind of track.
PP: Until the Vegas supercross East / West Shootout, you'd only raced half of your competition. How important was that race to see where you stand?
CP: That was a pretty exciting race to get everyone on the track and get a good race, like I got. And that's why I was really happy to win that race, because you've got all the top guys, not just the East coast or the West coast.
PP: Which tracks in the U.S. series have you raced before?
CP: None. I haven't raced any.
PP: You've seen them on television?
PP: Can you tell anything from that?
CP: They look pretty rough. I think it's better than Europe, anyway, good traction and everything's pretty good on the track. It should be good.
PP: Do you think you're a stronger supercross or motocross rider?
PP: What are your goals for the season?
CP: Try to be on the podium every race, be consistent and race for the championship. I'm not the man who's going to tell someone that I'm going to win the championship. You never know what's going to happen. I'm just going to try to put the bike on the podium.
PP: Is there any one guy you want to be sure you beat in the series?
CP: No, not really. You have to beat everybody on the track.