Five Minutes with ... Ryan Gauld
JANUARY 22, 2008

MX Mechanics/ Yamaha Canada's Ryan Gauld takes a break between motos at the River Glade national.

By Danny Brault
Photos by Brett Dailey

Even though the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series is underway, and has been our saving grace during this cold and uneventful winter (especially now that James Stewart has pulled out), things are still relatively quiet in Canada. It’s never easy finding someone who has a lot to say, so I rang up one guy who’s never short of breath: Ryan Gauld. I actually bumped into Gauldy two weeks ago at the CMRC Ontario Provincial, where I was surprised to see that he has some skills on the ice during the Riders vs. Industry Hockey Game. Keep reading to find out Gauld’s thoughts on the AMA title chase, Canadians racing supercross, and his first late night experience around the Walton campfire many moons ago.

RXC: G-Unit, Golden, Gauldy, whatever the heck they’re calling you these days, what’s going on?
Ryan Gauld: Not too much. I went to school for a heavy equipment operator and did all of that, but there’s not a stitch of work anywhere. It’s not starting off so well. I could probably go out west and work, but I can’t make that commitment yet because I’m still working with the AMA Arenacross Series. I’ve been trying to keep busy helping buddies; I was in a machine shop doing some grinding the other day, doing some odds and ends. I have three arenacross races left and then the big season starts up here.

Who’s going to win the Toyota AMA Arenacross title?
I don’t know. [Brock] Sellards is strong towards the end of the season. He just seems to get better and better, but Chad [Johnson] is ridiculously consistent. The only thing that bites him in the butt is that he gets bad starts. He always comes from behind. As far as being on the podium, he only had one bad round. It looks like it’s going to come down to the wire, and we have a couple more “combination” weekends so we’ll see who takes advantage of those.

You were at the Grand Rapids AX two weeks ago and watched Kyle Keast race. How did the “Dozer” look?
You know what? From watching his last minute ride at the Toronto supercross last year—there he definitely looked out of place—he looked like he belonged [at Grand Rapids]. He got good starts in his day qualifiers, which is weird [laughs], and he was banging bars. He looked all right. I think he did a good job for how people thought he would have ridden down there.

Are you surprised there aren’t more Canadians racing the AMA AX series, or at least a few rounds?
No, man, like Hammertime says, Canadians are scared.

Is it difficult for you to sit back at the arenacross races and commentate rather than race?
Sometimes. When I first got the job, and thought I was still fast  … or no, the first year was when Darcy Lange was racing. But the second year when Chad Johnson won it, I was thinking, ‘Man, I beat this guy like three years ago; this doesn’t look hard!’ The more I watch the guys, however, I give them more respect and understand they’re not just winging it. Those guys up front are putting a lot of effort into it. As far as speed, I think I could do it, but conditioning wise and being motivated and going as deep as those guys go, I don’t think I’m at that level anymore.

It was fun playing hockey with you at the Provincial banquet two weeks ago. I will admit, though, I didn’t realize you had any skills on the ice!
You didn’t think I had any skill?

[Laughs] I thought all you knew was how to ride a dirt bike.
Well, Danny, I’m one of those guys who is pretty good at everything, except water sports. I can’t wakeboard or waterski and I hate swimming, but I’ve been playing hockey since I was five-years-old. I went through rep, summer hockey, AAA, but when I was 14 years old, I had to make a choice financial-wise and I chose racing.

Gauld went 13-14 for 13th overall in MX2 at his one and only national appearance last summer. Well, he qualified for Sand Del Lee, too, but a first corner crash in the first moto put him out for the day.

Last year definitely didn’t go well for you after you broke your wrist down in Georgia in the spring. I know it was pretty frustrating, as your wrist just didn’t want to heal.
I was helping out with the MX Mechanics’ school down there, and since I had a cast on, I figured I couldn’t hurt it anymore. I wasn’t sitting on the couch waiting for it to heal. I was moving around, working on bikes, and helping out kids. It wasn’t healing properly, we had to rebreak it, and I had to wait another couple of months. The first time I rode, it felt okay, and then I went to Grand Bend and won, which was the worst thing for me. I didn’t do anything all summer, I was just working with MX Mechanics, drinking beers and having fun, so I was like, ‘Oh, look at me, I don’t have to do anything and I still win!’ Of course, I’m feeling good, so I went to Moncton. I did okay. My wrist was sore from jumping and pounding around the track. I think I got 13th overall. At Sand Del Lee, I went down hard and jacked my wrist up again. I got all pissed off at myself and was wondering what I was doing; I qualified like 36th at Sand Del Lee, it was so embarrassing. I rode at Walton, which was fun, but I haven’t ridden since. My wrist still aches and hurts all the time and it’s still not 100 percent.

What exactly did you break?
I broke my radius, right where it meets my wrist, where that big ball is and it basically exploded into bits. I probably should have had surgery, but no one offered me that option.

Are we going to see you contesting the new nine-round MX2 series?
No, you’re not going to see me on an MX2 bike. I’ve come to the conclusion that I won’t lose enough weight to compete against those kids.

You’ve tried qualifying for supercross events. Do you recall which ones or how you did?
I never made a main. My closest was Daytona in `98, the year I lined up beside McGrath [laughs]. That year they took a few more guys, and I think they took the top three from the LCQ and I got sixth. I made pretty much every night show, but I never made a main event.

How different is it now for Canadians racing supercross? Do they need a solid bike and support before even thinking of lining up? Can they get away with just showing up in a pick up truck?
They need everything. That’s why supercross is going in the direction like it is in Europe. It’s the main guys staying in it, and that’s why they’re developing this new points system to weed out the guys who are sort of good but not that good. It’s funny you ask me that question. I’ve been talking to Dave Gowland about helping out the Canadians and getting a format together where we build a team atmosphere, keep tabs on riders who are doing well, and try to find places to put them to race in the States. He’s telling me that Dean Wilson is slotted for a PC ride if everything goes according to plan, and I truly believe that there are more Canadians who can get to that level, but obviously money is a huge thing and time off school and being able to go to the races is too. You need to go down there, race all of those big amateur nationals, and get your name in the mix. Kids down there are probably riding supercross at 12-years-old. You can’t just go there and race out of your van. Some guys still do that, like Joe Oehlof, but he’s been there before. Now it’s designed for the absolute best of the best.

Listening to Steve Matthes’ podcast interview with Ron “The Dogger” Lechien, I can’t help but think of the comparisons made between him and you. Do you have any late night campfire stories that you can share?
Well, none of mine would be like Lechien’s, where it’s a supercross or something. Pretty much every single provincial in 2005 and 2006, I was at every campfire with the Jack’s, the Grey’s or Randy Stephens, drinking beers, laughing, and then getting up and winning two or three provincial motos. I think at the nationals, the one that sticks out was Walton in `98. I had just a write-off year; I was being a pussy and had everything handed to me and didn’t take anything serious. I never had any good rounds leading into Walton. On Saturday night, I had some beers with my dad, running around having a good time and then on Sunday morning, I woke up and went 4-4 behind JSR, Dary [Lange], and Blair [Morgan]. That’s when I started thinking: maybe I don’t need to be so serious?

Up to that point, I was hanging with [Jason] Thorne out west and I was like, ‘No I’m not into drinking; I don’t want to go out.’ I was being Mr. Serious and it wasn’t working and then I do it that way, and it worked. So I was like, hmmm…. Then in `99, there was a lot of that. Not a lot of the night before stuff. Saturday and Sunday we’d be racing, and then Monday to Friday, we’d be out having fun, playing golf and trying to pick up girls, but we never wrecked anything or hurt anyone. We were just living from race cheque to race cheque. The nationals then were almost like provincials now: a semi-serious atmosphere and you knew where you were going to finish. In those years, not everyone was racing the nationals, but it wasn’t like getting a legit top five compared to these days. I don’t think I’m quite up to the Lechien standards [laughs].

What would you tell a kid who possessed a great amount of natural talent like yourself and wasn’t putting the time in?
A kid that sort of took my route? Well, I would say you have to make a decision. When I was 17 to 19 and Yamaha was giving me money and bikes and I was winning races, it just wasn’t as serious. It was more fun; it wasn’t a business. Now, if you look at it from an American standpoint, they’re groomed from eight-years-old going up. It’s starting a lot earlier. It’s funny, I see kids now on Sunday night at Walton, who are having some beers and partying that I didn’t think were into that. I’m like, ‘Wow, man, you don’t want to be doing that!’ I know I sound like a hypocrite, but if you want to be like a JSR or a Colton Facciotti, it’s a 24-hour a day job.

If you want to make a living at this, you need to look at it like it’s your job. You have to get up in the morning, go to the gym, work on your bikes, but you also need to have backing. If you have the financial backing and don’t take advantage of it, you should just give up right now. I was the guy who was always looked after and never took advantage of it and it never worked out how I would of liked. But I would say go to the States; get that new aggressive riding style, learn from it, and bring it home. My best advice would be, if you have talent, some desire and backing, take advantage of it because it can slip away quickly. If you don’t want to do that, find a career and just race for fun.