SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
By Danny Brault
Blackfoot Honda Fox Racing's Jean-Sébastien Roy on the podium in Ste-Julie, Quebec.
Photo: Allison Kennedy
There have been a few posts on the internet, stating that Blackfoot's Jean-Sébastien Roy was injured last Friday and he will be unable to race the NAPA Montreal Supercross this weekend. Well, we just spoke to The King, and the news is true: JSR will not race this Saturday night at Olympic Stadium. It’s been a tough go this summer for Roy, racing through injuries and losing the MX1 championship to his teammate Dusty Klatt after five years of carrying the #1 plate. We caught up with JSR this morning to find out the details on his injury, and during our conversation, we also learned that his injury will prevent him from racing a few other indoor events.
RXC: JSR, we heard some bad news, that you won’t be racing Montreal. Can you tell us what happened?
JSR: It was just a bad crash, a really bad crash. It was a scary crash; I was knocked out. I have a dislocated shoulder, ribs, and my arm is all scratched, my finger is bent over. Just a pretty bad accident and I’m out for … a while.
Wow, JSR, you’ve had a rough go on your body these past few months!
Yes, ’06 has been the worst in a long time.
Was this at your place or a local track?
My place; my practice supercross track. The motor stopped in the air—I’m not sure if it’s my fault or a mechanical fault—but the bike stalled and the front end dove straight down and I jumped off. It was a pretty steep and big air double jump, not too far, like a 60-foot double, but super, super steep.
Were you out there all by yourself?
No, I’m always with someone. Simon Homans was there and another kid who lives next door. He was pulling in after school to do a couple of laps and my Dad was there and it was him who brought me to the hospital—not my Dad, he had just left—but the other guy who came over. But, no, I never ride by myself.
So, I guess since then, you’ve been just resting up?
Actually, today, I’ve been most of the day icing it and taking some pills. I’ve been on the phone, too, helping out with the event [Montreal SX]. I’m involved quite a bit with this race, so I have some things to do and projects at my home. I’m busy, but not busy the way I wanted…. I was 100 percent ready for that race and I was feeling good speed, fitness and my back felt better. The end of the season has been better for me than the beginning. I took off a week or two after Walton. I was riding really good, putting in 20 good laps. But, I guess, it happens and I just have to deal with it.
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Having not raced supercross in some time, it sure would have been interesting to watch JSR at the McGrath Invitational or the U.S. Open of SX in Las Vegas. Photo: Allison Kennedy |
You were riding with injuries through the Canadian Nationals this summer, so it must have felt nice to have some time off to recuperate.
Yeah, and then I started to feel good. The last few weeks of the championships, I started to feel less pain. And then two weeks after Walton was great. I got back on the bike, I built my supercross track—I was all pumped. I had races lined up for October and November, so I was all pumped to train and ride those races. Then that thing happened and it hit really hard.
Yes, I saw your name on entry lists for some races overseas.
Yeah, and the biggest deal was the weekend after the Montreal SX, the McGrath Invitational and the U.S. Open.
Oh, really. You were going to race both the McGrath event and the U.S. Open?
Yeah, I had a personal invitation from Jeremy for that race. I already had my ticket—I have my ticket here on my desk that I need to cancel. I had a bike and everything from American Honda for that race and then the U.S. Open. It was three big weekends right in a row. So, those weekends would have been great.
You had a lot of supercross racing planned. Were you planning on taking on RC and Stewart in the supercross series next year?
No, no. It was still just those three races. I was not planning to race U.S. supercross. It was just … Montreal is Montreal, it’s never a dangerous track; U.S. Open is small track and there is a lot of gambling there, if you get a good start … the only big obstacle there is the whoops. So, the U.S. Open I wasn’t too worried about. And the McGrath Invitational, he was doing his own track and the track will be quite different than a U.S. supercross track, I think. People will be surprised; it will be a different track. He’s looking to do something quite different and I was looking forward to that race, big time.
So, who would have been helping you out for those U.S. races?
Well, for McGrath, since it’s sponsored by American Honda, they would let me use a test bike. The guy in charge of testing was going to help me out that weekend, and all of the other sponsors—Fox, Michelin—those guys would have helped me out, for sure.
And what about the U.S. Open?
Probably the same thing, or I was talking with my mechanic, Andrew [MacLean], and he was going to maybe let me use my race bike and someone from Calgary was going down to the U.S. Open and I would have pitted with American Honda or something.
Since you’ve turned pro, have you ever missed a Montreal SX?
No, I have never missed one in 16 years, so that is kind of … if you look at it, it’s not that bad, only missing one.
Obviously, you’re a huge part of the race, what does that event mean to you?
It’s always been the biggest race of the year. For us, especially French Canadians, because it’s in our backyard. For Canadians overall, it’s a big race, but for us, it’s quite different. In Quebec, race fans are really, really race fans. So, having people in the stands and people just going crazy, it’s quite different. Even, a local rider that signs up for that race, if he is from a little village, half of the village will go and watch him race. Every French Canadian rider has, 100 people in the stands. We have it on Pay Per View, it’s on the morning news—it’s really big on TV. It’s a good event, a really spectacular event. For me, I’ve been there since ’90, so I’ve raced against Ross [Pederson], [Carl] Vaillancourt, Al Dyck, it’s been around for years and for me it’s been a great event and the fans are very loyal. I feel part of that event and help out the promoter with the city and I’m really part of this event.
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JSR has been the cornerstone of the Montreal SX since he started racing the event 16 years ago. But, nevertheless, the show must go on and we're sure it will still be a great race with Lange, Klatt, Dubé, and Homans in the mix. Photo: JTG |
Like you said, every rider has a few hundred fans behind them, but when the camera rests on you or you make a pass, you have all 60,000 fans right there behind you!
Yes, the fans have been very loyal and I’m looking forward to racing that event for another two or three years.
Last year was a spectacular race, with you coming from behind….
Yeah, last year was great. I finished second, but like I said, I was pumped. I did really good, passing four or five guys. There were like 10 guys within the same second in qualifying, so passing four or five guys in the main was really good. It was a good race for the fans and everyone left the stadium pumped.
Will you be at the race this weekend to watch?
I will be there in the afternoon, but I’m not going to spend the whole day there because my shoulder is pretty painful. I’ve said it before in the past, if I’m not racing, if I’m not involved with someone at the race, I don’t really feel like watching. It’s a big change for me. It’s going to be different.
With the favourite out of the picture now, do you have any predictions for the 250 or 125 class?
Not yet. I have to watch qualifiers or practice before I do that.
Great. Well, thanks, JSR. We’re going to miss you at Montreal this year.
No problem, talk to you later.
