NOVEMBER 24, 2005
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Richmond Racing Kawasaki's Darcy Lange and mechanic, Ian Woods, earned their third arenacross title together in three years. Lange won all four motos in Nanoose, BC to claim the Canadian Arenacross Championship. |
By Allison Kennedy
Photos: James Lissimore
When the two-time U.S. National Arenacross champ Darcy Lange announced that he would race the Future West Canadian Arenacross Championships, most people were sure that he was a shoe-in for the title. After taking the summer off from racing, the Future West series was just the perfect fine-tuning and reintroduction to racing that Lange needed. At the first round in Toronto, Lange was kept out of the winner’s circle, but by the final round in Nanaimo, he was back into race form and swept all four main events. We caught up with Lange [who was stuck in California traffic] as he prepares for his next challenge—The Amp’d Mobile Supercross Series.
RXC: Congrats on a dominant weekend at the Canadian AX series. Are you excited to add a Canadian Arenacross Championship to your resume?
Darcy Lange: Yeah, it was kind of good. I started off pretty crappy in the series. And I think a lot of people were thinking Colton [Facciotti] and those guys were better than me now; that I was washed up. Then about half way through, I felt a bit better. Then this last weekend in Nanoose, they built a more technical track with some whoops. It was a lot easier for me, just because those guys were struggling in the whoops and I won every race there. It was a good way to end the series.
How did it feel to be racing at home in front of all your friends and family again?
It was definitely good. I haven’t been home for a while. I got to stay home for the week after Chilliwack and ride the Nanoose track. I just got to relax with my family.
Did you enjoy racing the Future West series as a warm up for SX?
Yeah for sure, it was good to get back into race mode. I had to get used to the starts and everything. It’s hard to jump back in when you haven’t been racing in a while. I’m glad I decided to do it.
How did you find the competition?
It was good. The tracks were never really technical. In the U.S., it’s a pro only race but these tracks had to be a bit more tame since the amateurs rode with us on Friday and Saturday, so they couldn’t really build anything too technical. Colton was riding really well, same with Kyle Beaton and Ryan Lockhart. I was glad to win it. It would have looked pretty bad if I’d won two American championships, but couldn’t win the Canadian series.
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Lange will race the Supercross Lites West Series for Richmond, with teammate Teddy Maier. |
Were you surprised at how well Colton was riding?
Yeah he was riding really well.
What does it take to translate that arena success into success in front of a stadium full of fans and a gate full of really fast riders?
I don’t know what it would take. I’m not sure if it’s confidence or if he gets discouraged easily, but if he rode in the U.S. like he does at home, he’d be really fast. I think he knows when he’s in Canada that he can win; when he goes to the states he gets a little discouraged. He was riding really well in the U.S. Arenacross Series last year before he got hurt. I think he got a third. He definitely has the speed to do it.
You grew up racing the Future West events in BC. How has that access to indoor tracks and competition shaped you as a rider?
Racing the local stuff is really good. When you are brought up on that stuff you adapt to it a lot easier than if you get to the pro level and then have to try it. I’ve ridden indoor events since I was on 80s. John Hellam is a super nice guy and he puts on a good series.
You’ve been mostly flying back and forth from California each week. How seriously are you taking testing and training for WSXGP and SX right now?
It’s kind of on hold right now because they are re-doing the test track. So it’s on hold for about a week. December is when it will start getting really serious. Right now it’s just about building a good starting point for that.
Now that the AX series is over, how will your program change?
Yeah now it will be nice. I’m not just here for three days at a time. I’m here [in California] until the Vancouver Supercross, so I will have lots of time on the bike.
Did you ever have plans to race the Toronto Round?
I didn’t know. I thought we might, but we are just going to focus on Vancouver. It costs a lot of money for the team to go to Toronto and then all the way back to Vancouver. We are just going to spend the time here in California getting ready instead.
What goals have you set for the upcoming SX season?
I have had a couple of top 10 finishes in Supercross before, so I’d like to get top fives. That’s what I’m shooting for. I figure if I train hard enough, I should be able to break the top five.
And what are you shooting for in Vancouver?
I have no idea. There are a lot of people signed up for it. It’s probably going to be harder than the actual West Coast Series because there are riders from both regions.
The entire country is pretty excited about having you to cheer for in the AMA Supercross series this year. How does that feel?
I feel good. It’s cool. I am glad I’m going to supercross; it’s kind of where my heart has been since I started racing. It would be really nice to make it.
Thanks Darcy and we’ll see you in Vancouver.
Thanks.
