Interview and photos by Allison Kennedy

After watching Courtenay, BC’s Darcy Lange win back-to-back U.S. arenacross titles, Canadians were already pretty darn proud. But after Lange’s amazing performance at Anaheim 1 this weekend, Canadian moto fans are even prouder. Lange got a great start in the Lites main, even leading for a few laps. He ran a pace that was competitive with the leaders and held on to finish fifth, just behind Grant Langston. The really good news is that Lange says he’s got even more speed in reserve for Phoenix. After taking Sunday off to hit Universal Studios with his family and friends, we caught up with Lange on his way home from the test track.

RXC: First of all, congratulations. That was a pretty amazing fifth place finish.
Darcy Lange: Yeah it was a pretty good weekend. I rode pretty tight though, I was pretty nervous for the first round. I’m just glad the first week is over.

How did it feel to holeshot and lead the Lites main?
They gave Villopoto the actual holeshot award but I led for the first two laps and then he got by me. Short got by me, then Laninovich got by me and then about half way through, Langston passed me and then I just stayed ahead of Carpenter for fifth. It was cool, you know. I didn’t expect to get the holeshot. I usually start on the inside but I had to go right beside the box because I didn’t do very well in my qualifier, I just got a good start and hung on. By the end of it, my arms were so pumped up. The whoops there were really big and really hard to get through.

We looked back through the history books, and we’re pretty sure that a fifth place in a U.S. Supercross Lites main is a new Canadian record. How does that feel?
[Laughs] Well … it would be nice to get on the box.

But are you happy with a fifth for week one?
Yeah for sure, I figured I would be anywhere from 8th to 12th, but I just got a good start and hung on.

You’ve been waiting for this for a really long time, how were you feeling on Saturday?
I was pretty nervous, really. It’s the first time I’ve started a series like this, and there is so much hype about Anaheim 1. It’s kind of good to get it out of the way and I’m pumped to come out with a top five, that’s kind of where I wanted to be in the series. The first round, I just always like to get through it healthy.

Is everyone at Kawasaki pretty happy with your finish?
Everyone at Kawi is really pumped. Villopoto got second, Langston got fourth and I got fifth, so that’s three Kawi’s in the top five.

You’ve been saying since the fall, that with the right preparation, a top five finish was realistic. Did you expect to realize that goal right away?
No, not at the first round, especially since that class is really stacked right now. It seems like everyone is riding the west. There’s Ramsey, Short, Langston, Villopoto … there are a whole handful of people that are in contention.

Having seen the pace of the riders in the Western region, what’s it going to take to earn a win?
I don’t know about a win but to get on the podium, I just need a good start, and to ride a little more loose. Now that the first weekend is out of the way, I shouldn’t ride as tight. I didn’t ride well at all, not to my potential, but I still managed to hold on for fifth. That’s kind of encouraging for me, because I know I can still ride better than that.

Were you happy with your sixth place in Vancouver?
No, not really. I wasn’t 100 percent prepared. We hadn’t really ridden our race bikes. It was a jump going from our practice bikes to our race bikes. There was a little bit of work left to do after Vancouver.

Did you change your training program after Vancouver?
We pretty much just rode every day since Vancouver, other than the three days that I went home for Christmas. Ian [Woods] has been coming up to the track with me, just pushing me and we’ve been doing sprints. It’s usually in the first few laps that I make a whole bunch of mistakes, so we’ve just been doing short sprints and then motos, just putting laps in.

Is there a game plan for Phoenix?
Nope, no plan, just to go out there and hopefully get good starts and a good finish again.

You have a big crew of supporters, including your family, Ian Woods, Mike Eyre, Billy Whitley and everyone at Kawasaki. How does that help you?
It helps a lot. Those guys come to every race and they are always positive and looking out for what’s best for me. It helps out a lot. Especially at the track—when you have that much support, it just gives you that much more confidence.

Your mechanic Ian Woods has been putting in a lot of time. How has that been?
He’s been working his butt off. He’s actually pulling my race bike apart right now and making sure it’s all ready to go for next weekend. It’s been really busy during the week for him, especially when he comes riding with me, and doesn’t have much time at the shop. He has to go back and work until midnight.

You two are really close. It seems like he’s wanted this almost as much as you?
Yep, we both wanted it really badly. I’ve always wanted to go to supercross. It’s nice to be here and to get the first round out of the way and actually do well.

Ross Pederson had a few sixth place finishes in the 250 class but your fifth in the Lites class tops that in terms of a class finish. How does that feel?
Really? Holy? Maybe we’ll do even better this weekend…

Thanks Darcy and have fun in Phoenix.
You bet.