By Allison Kennedy

Apparently, a full-time 450 ride for the Canadian Nationals was at the top of Mitch Cooke’s holiday wish list. And, luckily for both the Nova Scotia native and the OTSFF Suzuki squad, a deal has been signed that will see Cooke join an ever-expanding roster under the OTSFF Suzuki awning this summer. After a frustrating ’06 season, Cooke is ready to put his head down and train for his first full-time factory season on the big bikes. We caught up with Mitch as he was packing his bags to head to GPF.

RXC: Hey, Mitchell. What have you been up to?
Mitch Cooke: Absolutely nothing. Sitting on my butt for the last two months doing nothing; going crazy, actually.

There’s been a lot of buzz about your new deal on the forums. Can you confirm anything?
I’m sure nobody is fussing about that. [Laughs] It's signed.

How much of a relief is it to have this wrapped up?
It’s a really big relief.

So how did the OTSFF deal come about?
I was just looking around for something for 2007, calling around and they were interested so we started talking.

Is part of that to do with Ron Ashley? You have stayed pretty close with him since your Two Wheel days.
It kind of went back and forth between Ron and Andre [Laurin]. Ron is the one that sent me the contract. I started talking to them a month and a half or two months ago.

So what have you been doing to pass the time then?
Playing hockey and skateboarding a bit. Really, nothing. I had hoped to have a deal signed by mid-October and be down south by November, but that just didn’t work out.

The good news is that you have a 450-only deal. You’ve been waiting a long time for that.
Man, I am so pumped—so pumped. I am so happy; I can’t wait to just concentrate on one bike that I love and just ride. I don’t care how strong of a 250F I’m on; I’m not going to like it. It’s just not for me. I’ve been waiting for this deal for a long time. The last two years, I just feel like I’ve been going backwards. I’ve been riding the 250F and not having fun. The only time I had fun was when I was on a 450. I dreaded getting on that 250F every time. I originally turned down the Blackfoot deal two years ago because I didn’t want to ride a 250F. They said I’d be able to ride 450s and that never ended up happening.

Well, with those struggles and now a few months without riding, you must be dying to get on the bike?
Honestly, I can’t wait.

Have you ever ridden a Suzuki?
No … well, I rode one at the first of this year, for about two seconds. Arthur Smith got a new bike and wanted me to test out his suspension, but I didn’t get a really good idea of what it was like. I’m sure they are good; all the 450s are good these days. The Suzuki’s perform really well out on the track and they just look good.

So are you heading back to the Georgia Practice Facility then?
I am actually going to be staying right back in the house I stayed in last year [with Blackfoot]. I’ll have my van with me this time; that will be better cause I’ll have my own wheels and I can do my own thing.

Do they have a mechanic there for you?
I think Steve Simms is down there with Tyler Medaglia. I don’t care much; I just want to go down and do my own thing. I don’t need a mechanic for practicing. I just want to do my own thing, get down there, put my head down and train my butt off. I can’t wait until the Canadian Nationals start.

You’ve got the speed to be on the podium in the MX1 class. Do you think this is your year?
I just have to bring my lap times down a couple of seconds and then I’ll be all right. As long as I am on a 450 all the time, I think I can do it.

Sounds like OTSFF is going to be a strong team this year.
Yep. I don’t know how many people are going to be under the tent, for sure, but it looks like a good team.

Well thanks, Mitch, and good luck in Georgia.
Thanks.