FEBRUARY 13, 2008
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Carson City, Nevada's Aron Harvey |
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photo courtesy of Harvey |
By Danny Brault
With Jimmy Nelson moving up to MX1, Team Toyota Yamaha/BlackfootDirect.com/Fox Racing was left searching for a new MX2 contender. A few riders were on their list, and Nevada’s Aron Harvey was one of them after a strong recommendation from Nelson. Following a try-out in Calgary, where Harvey set the fastest times and clicked with the BF team right away, he was signed for 2008. I will be honest: I’ve never heard of Aron Harvey. But after surfing the net, I found he’s posted some notable results in the amateur nationals in the U.S., including a top five in the Motocross A class at Loretta Lynn’s last year. I also saw that Harvey qualified for the night show in the Lites class at Anaheim 2. With that, we figured it was time to learn more about Blackfoot’s newest addition.
RXC: Hey, Aron. So the word is out that you’ve signed on with Blackfoot for the MX2 series. Tell us a little bit about yourself; where you’re from, who you race against, and how you got into racing.
Aron Harvey: I’m from Carson City, Nevada. It’s not really near Vegas; people usually think I’m from Vegas. It’s more near Reno and Lake Tahoe. I started racing about six and a half years ago. I started racing when I was 14 and I’m 20 now. I always wanted to race, but my parents wouldn’t let me. I always played sports, but the politics became too much so I just said ‘I want to go race, dad!’ and he finally let me. It’s turned out to be my life.
What’s the racing scene like in Nevada?
We do a few local races, but we’re usually gone to the amateur nationals. The past two years, we’ve been to Florida for the Mini O’s, the two Texas nationals, the World Minis, Ponca City, and Loretta’s. I’ve been in the top five everywhere. This year, I was right with Izzi and all of those guys.
Do you have any races or results that stick out from the amateur nationals?
Yeah, in Lake Whitney in Texas, I won the Open class championship. The year before that I won Ponca in the intermediate class. This year, as a pro, I almost won one at Oak Hill but I fell down. Ponca, I got all fourths, fifths and thirds. At the World Minis, it was the same thing; I just missed the podium.
Were you on Yamahas last year?
Yeah, I’ve been on Yamahas since I started.
So they’ve treated you pretty well then?
[Laughs] No. We rode Yamahas because they’re really dependable. I got a ride through the A class from Yamaha, just a discount on bikes and that helped out a lot. This year, they pretty much told us that they couldn’t help us out. I was pretty bummed out, and then I said to my dad ‘Let’s go race some supercrosses and see how that goes.’ We’ve been doing that and it’s been a good experience.
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Harvey unveiled his Blackfoot Yamaha at Anaheim 2, where he qualified for the night show. |
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photo: James Lissimore |
Dean Thompson says that it was a reference from Jimmy Nelson that helped you get a foot in the door with Blackfoot.
Yeah, they were having a try-out in Calgary and they had a few kids there; it was pretty much a done deal. But he [Jimmy] said ‘Why don’t you give Aron a chance, he’s pretty fast.’ So Dean called me up and asked me to try-out. I went up there and I had the fastest lap times and we all clicked so I got the deal.
You must be excited. Blackfoot is a powerhouse in Canada.
Yeah, I am! I didn’t have anything for this year, and it’s a full deal, under the semi and all of that. I’m ecstatic. I’ve been to their shop and have seen everything. They have everything needed to be a great team in the U.S.
Do you know who your mechanic is yet?
Yep. My mechanic is Ken Thiessen.
Oh, cool. I know Ken; he’s from Ontario and used to wrench for Gavin Gracyk on OTSFF.
Yeah, he did. We hung out a little bit and he seems like a really cool guy. I’m sure we’re going to get along well.
Do you follow the Canadian series much or watch it on television?
Yeah, I’ve been watching it and seeing how it all goes.
I hate asking this question, but I’m going to anyways: what are your expectations or goals in Canada?
I just want to be on the podium and I think I can, but we’ll see how it goes.
Not a lot of people are familiar with Aron Harvey. Do you think that works in your favour, coming in as an unknown entity?
Yes, absolutely. That’s the way it’s been everywhere I’ve gone. No one knows who I am and then all of a sudden I’m up there. That’s fine with me; I don’t carry a big hype thing with me anyways.
You’re not a rockstar then [laughs]?
[Laughs] Nope. I’m just a humble kid who wants to do well.
