Lange went 1-1-1-2 in his first weekend of the BooKoo series.

By Allison Kennedy
Photos by Tony Scavo/Courtesy of BooKoo AX Series
 

Two-time U.S. arenacross champ Darcy Lange is at it again. After taking a year off from the tight confines of arenacross to race the AMA Western Region Lites Supercross series, Lange signed a deal to return to arenacross with Babbitt’s Kawasaki for the BooKoo AX series. In his first race back on the AX circuit, Lange grabbed three wins and a second place finish to become the early points leader. It’s just the beginning though and Lange knows that the road to his third AX title will have to be paved with consistency and podium finishes. We caught up with Lange in California to see how he feels about being back at the front of the AX pack.

It sounds like your weekend went pretty well?
Yeah, luckily. It felt actually pretty good. I was just trying to get through the weekend healthy.

Did you think it would go that well?
No, I didn’t think I’d get three wins [laughs], but I was sure happy when I did though.

How did the races actually go? It wasn’t like you got out front and ran away, was it?
No, I had horrible starts all weekend. I think I started eighth or something in the first 125 and everyone was just going banzai, killing each other and then a couple of people crashed. I got into second and I was starting to catch Blose and then on the last lap, he threw it away in the whoops so I won that one. Then in the 250, the same thing, I got a crappy start and was behind Blose the whole race in third, he was in second and another kid was way out front. Then I just couldn’t get by Blose, as soon as I got by him, the guy out front was seven or eight seconds ahead and I just started charging and he was fading a bit so with two laps to go, I really started catching him and then on the last lap I got by him. Saturday, in the 125, I got a crappy start again, got into second before the halfway and me and that Dungey kid stayed in the same positions the whole race. Then in the 450 class, I holeshotted, and Ian [Woods] said I was ahead by half a lap or three quarters at the end.

Rumour has it the series is really fast this year?
Yes, there are a whole bunch of riders, probably like half the field, that could win it.

What’s the new team like?
It’s super good. It’s pretty much the same as Richmond. All the sponsors are pretty similar.

Who’s your teammate?
Jeff Northrop.

Lange is back in familiar territory on the top step of the podium.

He’s always fun to have around.
He sure is.  [Laughs]

Do you know if you’ll be coming home to race World Supercross?
I doubt it. If I’m home I’ll come and watch it but I don’t think we’ll race it.

Do you know if you’ll race any U.S. supercross when arenacross is over?
There’s been talk about it so…

Do you want to?
I don’t know.

How come?
I’d like to make it through another year healthy.  [Laughs] If we do, Ian and I talked about it, and we would probably ride the big bike. I ride it way better indoors.

Lange dropped the zero from his Canadian National number.

It must feel pretty good to come in and dominate right away.
I know, Ian and I were talking and I got the exact same finishes I did at the opener the last time I did arenacross: three firsts and a second.

What’s it going to take to earn another AX championship?
Just consistency. I have to stay on the box. The first round is always hectic. Everyone is just trying to win it on the first couple of laps.

Well, Congratulations and good luck this weekend.
Thanks, hopefully we’ll have another good one this weekend.