Five Minutes with ... Mitch Cooke
JUNE 19, 2007

Suzuki OTSFF Rockstar's Mitch Cooke won his first MX1 moto.

James Lissimore photo

 

By Allison Kennedy  

With all of the chaos, confusion, rider boycotts and general mayhem in Morden, Mitch Cooke’s first career MX1 win has been  largely overshadowed. Cooke got out front early in Morden, and got out of the way of the carnage and chaos behind him. He rode smart and fast in the challenging conditions and earned something he’s been waiting for a long time: his first MX1 victory. We figured Cooke deserved some props for his win, so we called him up in Nova Scotia and caught him between buying parts for his huge truck and getting in the day’s cardio on his road bike.

First of all, congratulations on your first MX1 win. How did that feel?
Thank you. It felt awesome. It was about time.

It sounds like the weekend was anything but normal. Tell me a little about the first er … the only moto?
Nope, it was not normal. I just got a good start and that really helped, just getting out front and not having to be caught in all the mud and crap. I don’t know. I just pinned it the first couple of laps and got a huge lead and it just made life a little easier. Everyone else was battling in the back there. Basically, my start is what did it for me.

You got out front right away and pulled a huge lead by the end of the first lap despite the conditions. How?
By the end of the first lap, I was 22 seconds ahead and on the second lap it was 35. Stu wouldn’t tell me how far ahead I was on the pit board, but I could see how far ahead I was. At first, I thought the race was red-flagged, because nobody was around, I thought they all went back to the start line. (Laughs) But I looked at the gate when I went by and no one was there so I just kept on going. It was good.

 

Out front was the place to be in Morden: a relatively clean Mitch Cooke.

James Lissimore photo

 

You ran a Rekluse clutch that moto. Tell us about that?
I contacted them a couple of weeks ago about getting one of those clutches, because I was just interested in it, and it ended up getting one that’s not even for sale yet, and Larry Johnson was down to put it in my bike and test it and I liked it and it saved my butt this weekend for sure. Every time I fell, the bike didn’t stall, because it’s basically an automatic clutch. It actually stalled once, which was my fault, but I was able to start it, just put in gear and didn’t even have to pull in the clutch; it was pretty slick. They are good things, and they are built really well, not much heavier than a stock one. They are just an awesome thing to have; they suit my riding style.

You have worked really hard this year to be in the mix. Have you been happy with how you’ve been riding?
Very. It wasn’t so much that I worked hard, but basically it was getting on the big bike and on a team that I like, and having George behind me helps quite a bit too.

Obviously, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the second moto, or lack of a second moto. What is your take on what happened between the riders and the CMRC?
You know right off the bat, I was like, yeah, the track is messed up, I don’t know how we are going to do it for the second moto. They did scrape it and stuff and I don’t know. I was sticking with the riders for sure. It was crazy. It is hard to say how it would have been in the second moto. They did scrape it a lot. I don’t know what to think. It was pretty neat that all the riders stuck together though. I know that we aren’t supposed to think about costs, and people keep comparing it to how it is in the states, but the teams here aren’t running off $2 million dollar budgets a year, our team fried three motors in that moto. I don’t even know if they have a spare motor now. Stuff like that and the CMRC doesn’t care so. I don’t even know what to say, they asked that question last night on the radio show. Definitely after the first moto, I was like, ‘Call it’. 450’s were getting stuck on the hill. I can see both sides. It’s over now and I’m looking to Regina.

Do you think things will go back to normal in Regina?
I think they should. I can’t see why they shouldn’t. Neither one of us can do anything without each other, so that’s it.

Where are you sitting in the points now?
I’m in second now, Carpenter is still quite a ways ahead of me and I am eight points ahead of JSR, but you’ve got to look ahead, not back.

 

Mitch is happy on the 450 and on the Suzuki OTSFF Rockstar team.

James Lissimore photo

 

What is your goal for Regina and the rest of the series?
The same as it is every weekend; just to ride well. If you ride well, you are going to do well. That’s all I ever worry about, I take the competition out of it and just ride well. The way things are going, I know I can win another one. I just need to get a good start and not get tangled up in the first corner. As long as I ride my dirt bike well, that is all I care.

You have wanted this 450 ride for a long time. How good does it feel to finally be here?
I love it. Our team is so awesome, Allison, I think by far it is the best team. They are the nicest bikes, and the coolest people around, and I don’t’ know, it’s pretty neat. I like it, is’ more laid back. The owner, Andre, I don’t know, he’s so cool. I like it a lot.