Ryan Lockhart is heading to Germany for the winter.

Story and photos by Allison Kennedy  

Ryan Lockhart checked in from California with some news this week about his plans for the winter so we decided to give him a call. We caught up with the Newf while he was getting dolled up for long-time friend Sean Hamblin’s wedding down in SoCal. Lockhart is ready to get back to action in Montreal and will pack his bags a few weeks after to head to Germany.

Hey Ryan. What’s up?
I’m actually sitting here in California with Sean Hamblin, he’s getting married.
We’re just out for lunch, going back to get ready for pictures in a few hours.
I’m in the wedding party so I have responsibilities. I’ve just been down here for a  week and a half doing some training down here. I was in Vancouver two weekends ago because Joey Sutherland got married and I was in that wedding party too. I fly back Sunday and am going to Pomeroy’s house to get ready for Montreal. I’m not going to have much time to get ready but I was pretty burnt out after the nationals. I’m feeling better now, not sore anymore and kind of regenerated.

Are you riding a 450 at Montreal?
I was going to ride the small bike but I didn’t have time to get ready for it and I haven’t ridden that bike all year. That class is going to be just as tough anyway. There are lots of good guys riding it.

So I hear you have something different lined up for the winter?
I am going to Germany for the winter to race. It’s a long story. My buddy back home talked to a Suzuki team over there and we almost had a done deal. It’s super hard talking back and forth because they don’t speak the greatest English. Then Jeff Northrop called me and he asked if I still wanted to go, cause he was going to go.  The EBS Kawasaki team wanted him to go and the money was a lot better, bikes seemed like a good team. So I just went with that. It’s a done deal. First race is the 8/9 of November. Jeff isn’t going I took Jeff’s spot. It’s the team Evan Laughridge rode for last year and Casey Johnson rode for them. They are a pretty well known team.

Lockhart hopes to back on the Suzuki squad next summer.

Have you heard much from Doug DeHaan about racing over there?
No, I had a chance to go last year with Doug  but it didn’t work out. Really all I know is that there is quite a bit of money, I like that. If I do half decent over there I will make about four times as much as I made at the Canadian Nationals this summer for half the amount of races.

Have you spent any time overseas before?
I went to England once for a race and I’ve been to the Czech Republic for a race too.
But not for any long period of time.  I am going to be there from early November to mid December and then I have to go back after Christmas. So I’ll be there for quite a while.

Are you looking forward to it?
Yes, but I'm kind of a little bummed to miss the World Supercross and I will miss three rounds of Supercross. But I need to make some money so.

Then will you be going south for supercross again?
That’s the plan. I will probably come back down and stay with Sean again. Hopefully I’ll have some money so I won’t be struggling round to round. We’ll see how it goes over there; maybe I’ll wait until the eastern rounds start.

You ended up with a pretty sweet number, #6, for next year. Were you happy with your outdoor season?
I was pretty happy. I saw so many people getting hurt and I think I was being cautious and I didn’t hang it out at all really. Moncton was my best round and I rode as hard as I could there, but I got tired, I guess because I wasn’t in good enough shape. I was in good enough shape to run 8th or 9th but not to lead and to be in the top three is a different pace.

Do you feel like getting a full healthy year and a good number under your belt will let you hang it out a bit more next year?
Definitely, it’s not like I had another season like the last few years. I have a good number so I shouldn’t  be begging for a ride, but we’ll see.  I’ve got nothing to lose next year so hopefully I can improve. Number 6 was good for Homans, he moved up to 4 so hopefully I can do the same. I don’t think there was any real problem this year; I just didn’t really hang it out. I just didn’t want to get hurt. That was the bottom line. I got pretty lucky as far as my number went, but I stuck it out all year, and I’ve been in that position many times, where the riders behind you benefit because you get hurt. Finally, I benefited from other people’s bad luck. And I only had one DNF this year, I was pretty happy about that since last year I had like 50. 

The Suzuki crew cheers on Lockhart in Moncton.

Do you know if you’ll be back with OTSFF yet?
To be honest, I don’t know yet. I hope so. That’s where I want to stay so.

Who would you like to thank for their help this season?
Everyone on the team and Suzuki for all the support throughout the whole season, Andre and his wife, Serge my mechanic, Jimmy the truck driver, Dave our engine builder and the rest of the mechanics. My teammates, Jeff, Keith, Pico, Gavin, Broc, my trainer Chris Pomeroy and his wife Bern, Kyle Patton, Ron Ashley, Dave Hewitson, my Mom, Dad and brother, my girlfriend Susan and the rest of the sponsors that made it possible for us to have a team. Thanks.


Thanks Ryan and we’ll see you in Montreal.
Thanks.