Five Minutes with ... Paul Carpenter
MAY 29, 2007

New York's Paul Carpenter went 2-1 for his first overall win of the series at Ste-Julie.

Allison Kennedy photo

By Allison Kennedy

Heading to the first national at Ste-Julie, the MX1 class was a big question mark. While those familiar with Canadian motocross know better than to bet against Jean-Sébastien Roy, there was a long list of new faces waiting to challenge him at Round 1. One of those new faces was Monster Energy/Cernics Kawasaki’s Paul Carpenter. While Roy took the first moto win after a great battle with Carpenter, Carpenter took the second moto, for his first overall of the season. The pair head to Gopher Dunes with 47 points each and, as Carpenter says, no one is going to walk away with this one.

What was your first impression when you rolled in to the track on Friday?
Actually, the track was really, really dry and dusty and I walked over to the peewee track by accident (laughs) and I was looking at it and I was like, ‘Boy, I hope we’re not racing this.” Long story short, I can't say enough about how it went in the end. This place had a really, really great track for us to ride and it was a great day. Some of the things are a lot different than what I’m used to, as far as qualifying, and some of the staging procedures, but it was an excellent weekend and I had a great time up here.

Were you surprised with JSR’s speed overall?
You know what? No, I knew he was going to come prepared and both of us did our homework. I definitely didn’t underestimate him. Everybody said that he or Morgan would be the guy. I knew JSR was fast, I had raced him years ago in the states. He’d come up for Unadilla and stuff and I would always find myself trying to battle with him. It always seemed like he had a little more than me, he was ready to go. I can’t say enough about that guy; he’s a great competitor and I knew he was going to be strong and I prepared myself and put myself in a position to be ready to battle with him and I think it’s a long series and this race really means nothing. We got one out of the way, but it really means nothing. There are eight more races and I think Jean is going to be a tough guy so I will definitely keep working hard and not slack off, that’s for sure.

Despite slick track conditions, Carpenter didn't make any mistakes in the second moto.

James Lissimore photo

Take us through the first moto.
After the red flag and all that, I actually switched goggles on the line, we had a problem with one of the lenses, during the moto I was following JSR and he was obviously roosting me really badly and a rock had caught the fishing line that I had run for the rain on the rolloffs. He actually caught a rock right there, it actually hit my eye pretty good and it busted the fishing line so all my roll-offs were gone. Fortunately, he made a little mistake going up the hill and I got around him. As soon as I got around him, I pulled my goggles, thinking I wouldn’t have to deal with anything, and I actually made a little mistake in a corner, I came down on the outside and tipped over in that rut and JSR went back by me. From there, there was nothing I could really do. He rode really solid and it was really slick and it was a tough race so I was happy to come in second that moto, for sure. Really, I would have been happy leaving with a top three or four this weekend, I didn’t come up here expecting to win, I just came up here expecting to be strong and fit and ride my race.

And the second moto?
Fortunately, the second moto I got a good start and I got a little bit aggressive to get myself up front and fortunately it worked out. I pushed pretty hard for the first half of the moto to get ahead and actually, I didn’t even know that JSR was around. I was keeping pace with Mason Phillips who was in second and then he kind of surprised me on that last lap when I heard a bike coming and then I saw the fans clapping and I was like, ‘Uh oh.’ So I had to gas it a little bit at the end there. It all worked out great, it was just a great day.

Do you think you'll be battling every weekend?
He’s definitely a good competitor, no one is doubting that. If this race is any indication, it’s going to be me, him, and a few guys week in and week out who are going to be battling and I think it’s going to be a good series. I don’t think it’s going to be easy at all … for him or for me … or for anybody. Mitch Cooke rode really well, he kept us both honest the first moto, he rode awesome and Mason Phillips, I’ve never heard of him before, but he rode really well .. and this track wasn’t easy. It was rough and slick; it was a tough track.

Have you heard much about Gopher Dunes?
I’ve heard it’s sand and I’ve heard it’s deep sand. So, I’m preparing for that. I do all right in sand. If I said it was my best, I’d be lying, but I hold my own.

It’s obviously pretty early to be talking about winning a title here in Canada, but what would it mean to you?
It would be awesome, I think it would mean a lot, not only for me, but also for our team. But like you said, that is a long way down the road and it’s going to be a tough series. No one is going to walk away with this championship, I don’t think. I think it’s going to go right down to the wire. I’d love to win it; don’t get me wrong, I would love to win it, but I am also going to try and focus on taking it week by week and putting in good races.