Kendall Norman Interview

Kendall Norman
Age: 20
Hometown: Santa Barbara

DR: You really rode a great race today!
Kendall Norman: Thanks, I thought the course was really good. It was one of the best courses I've ever ridden. The conditions were good and it was just really tight and technical, how I like it.

You're used to that type of terrain?
That's pretty much what I grew up riding. In the hills of Santa Barbara, [California's Central Coast] and pretty much everywhere we'd go, we'd try to find tight, technical stuff.

And yet you're so good in Baja also.
Yeah, I had a really good ride in Baja; that's nothing like this, today! My team did really good in Baja. I pretty much just carried the bike down to the next guy.

What was it like being a part of a team with Johnny Campbell and Steve Hengeveld?
It was a lot of pressure, but once I got on the bike and [started] pre-running, I knew what I had to do and I knew it wasn't going to be a problem. I had practiced enough and I was as prepared as I'd ever need to be.

How'd you get hooked up with American Honda?
Well, they've known about me. I was racing a GP and Johnny [was there]. The next week he offered to give me one of his [Honda XR] 650's to practice on to see how I liked it. Then I was on their team and now I'm riding for them.

Are you going to continue racing with Johnny Campbell and Steve Hengeveld?
Actually, they've signed another person, Robbie Bell, for off-road efforts. He's going to be my partner and Johnny and Steve are going to continue on.

What are you going to be up to in 2005?
Next year I'm going to do SCORE, Best in the Desert, the 24 Hours [of Glen Helen], probably the Big Six, maybe some Nationals and WORCS races. The main things I'm going to concentrate on are SCORE and Best in the Desert—just those two.

I'd like to thank American Honda, my family, my friends who've helped me out along the way—all those guys. I couldn't do it without them.