Starting Line Tasks with Karl Gunderson - Dirt Rider Magazine

If you've ever watched a national motocross, you know that the mechanics do not simply stand around looking bored while their riders are scoping out the track on the parade lap. Back at the gate, each mechanic is preoccupied with a flurry of important tasks that must be carried out from the time the rider leaves for the parade lap until the 30-second board comes out. We recently spoke to DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing/Yamaha's Karl Gunderson, mechanic of young gun Gannon Audette, to see what his job consists of just prior to the start of an AMA outdoor national. Here's what he revealed:

1. "Gannon does a start after the gate drops on the parade lap, so it's my job to prep the gate before he comes back in. I try to move all the loose stuff out and make the line as flat as I possibly can in a really wide patch. If you start with a rut that's four inches wide, you want to make it at least eight inches wide. Obviously the bike is going to kick left to right a little bit, but I try to make him come out as straight as he possibly can."

2. "I always clean the gate mechanism by hand so that it will go all the way down. Also, there's typically a gap in between the metal bar and the actual gate itself, so I fill that in with as much dirt as possible to try to make it level. This makes a big difference."
3. "When Gannon gets back from the parade lap and rolls into his prepped gate, the first thing I'll do is set the holeshot button on the bike and then give Gannon fresh Scott goggles, both of which are critical things that I like to get done right away."
4. "While Gannon is getting his goggles adjusted, I'll start to fill the bike up with gas from a small container that I carry on me. His first moto at Hangtown was 38 minutes long, so you can see why it's important to top the bike off completely before he goes out."
5. "From there, the big thing for me to do is try to keep Gannon's head in the race and not forget what we came here to do. I'll tell him things like, 'Remember all the stuff that we did to prepare during the week,' 'Get your ass up in the first turn' and 'Make sure everything goes good and just get a good start. And if you have a bad start, make sure you push on the first lap because all those guys are really close.' I pretty much just keep him mentally calm while he's up there and remind him he's here to do a job."