Five Minutes with … Mitch Cooke
APRIL 14, 2008

Mitch Cooke and JSR stop to catch their breath in the hot Dubai sun. The two had a friendly battle at a race when JSR and Felix Trepanier flew in for footage for JSR's upcoming DVD.

photo: Felix Trepanier

By Danny Brault


Mitch Cooke is back in Canada. The Suzuki/OTSFF/Rockstar rider has been living the rockstar life in Dubai for the last six months, but now it’s back to the bakery, monster trucks, and working on their family’s track, Pleasant Valley. And Cooke’s fine with that. He was starting to miss home and his loyal Atlantic family, friends and fans. It’s been one of those out of sight, out of mind things with Cooke since he hasn’t been around in six months. He’s working hard, however, and even had a little test four weeks ago when JSR stopped in for a local race. Keep reading to find out who Cooke says is faster….



RXC: Hey, Mitch, what’s going on?
Mitch Cooke: Just getting back into the swing of things at home here.

So you’re working on your monster truck?
I actually just went out and picked up my motor! That was the first thing I did.

Did you blow it up already?
No, I blew it up last year before my mud bog. I gave it to the motor shop for six months and said have it ready for when I return.

Have you been out on your family’s track yet?
Yep. I’m actually going to ride it on Wednesday. They rode it last Wednesday and said it was wicked. The snow’s gone and everyone’s been riding here everywhere.

How was Dubai this time around?
Dubai … this time around was wicked. It was hot, so bloody hot. The only problem I had with it this time was that I didn’t come home for six months. Other than that, it was great.

Did you get a little homesick?
Yep, big time. About two months to go, I started counting down the days. Once your mind goes home, it never comes back.

Were you staying with the same people from last year?
I stayed with a woman named Shirley Morrison. She has a 14-year-old son that rides.

Give us an idea of what your routine was like while in Dubai.
Basically, wake up, get some gear ready and go riding. The bad part was that I rode by myself a lot. I wore a pouch thing around my waist, so if crashed, I could call someone to come get me. I had a track in the desert about a kilometre or two from the road. I would ride in there with my bike and do my motos. The funny thing is, once I started riding, I forgot that I was alone. Once, it was funny, on the furthest part of the track I ran out of gas. I had to walk in 40 degree heat in my dirt bike gear to the truck and back. It took me over an hour, walking over the dunes and stuff [laughs].

So you just find a place off the road that looks nice for riding and build a track? No one says anything?
Yeah, exactly. You basically drive around, find a spot with dunes and jumps and you build what ever you want. They are the best tracks. You map out a track, start riding and then it gets nice and rough. There was a camel farm next to it and camels got in my way all of the time. They wouldn’t move for me [laughs]; I had to just swerve around them.

Wow! I really need to see this place for myself.
Next year, if I go back there, Suzuki is going to get me my own place and the door is wide open. Anyone who wants to come, they are more than welcome. We have tons and tons of bikes.

Cooke's now back in Canada after six months overseas. The first thing on his to do list: pick up a new motor for his big truck.

photo: Danny Brault

What keeps you busy when you’re not riding or training?
I was lucky because I had the best friend you could ask for there. It’s a guy named Sheikh Marwan. He’s like your hieness-type guy. He’s a Maktoum and that’s the ruling family of Dubai. He’s really into riding and bicycling. I mostly just hung out with him. He has a huge place with a gym, trampolines, monkeys hanging around, cheetahs, and all of this stuff. I would just over there, eat and hang out. Everything you need is right there; he built a hockey arena size building for his hangout area.

Why do these royalty figures like Mitch Cooke so much?
[Laughs] The main thing is that he rides, and he wants someone fast and different to ride with. He’s actually a really good rider too. I like Marwan; he’s a nice guy. I treat him like I would treat you or anyone else. It doesn’t matter about the money and stuff to me. If he were a goof I wouldn’t go over and hang out with him.

Are you the fastest rider over there?
When I ride with Mawon, it’s only in the desert; he doesn’t ride on tracks too much. At the races, I’m the fastest guy. There’s a guy named Shawn Gaugin; he’s a South African rider. He’s getting older, but he goes well for a couple laps.

What is it about Dubai that you feel is beneficial for you?
The things that benefit me are the heat and tracks. Everyday, for the last month or so, when I’m riding it’s 40 degrees. And the tracks—the last one JSR rode on is a new one so it wasn’t rough—are so rough, choppy, crappy, and dusty, that it’s just good training. The only thing that I am lacking is having a faster rider to push me.

Are you worried about that?
No, because when JSR came over it was fine. I just stepped it up to where it needed to be.

So who’s faster? You or JSR?
When he came to Dubai, he had everything against him. As far as time change, not riding the track, and he’s obviously not in as good of shape as he normally is. I don’t know. Let’s just say it was fun. After he left, I didn’t even want to race; it didn’t feel the same. He liked it a lot and was talking about coming back already. Next year, JF was talking about bringing riders over from Canada, and doing a Dubai of Nations. That would be pretty cool.

Did you see Georges Jobe much or talk to him?
George got hurt when I first got there, and then he went back to Belgium and I haven’t seen him since. I talked to him when he was in the hospital. I think he’s back in Dubai doing physio now.

What are the differences between living in Dubai and Canada?
Living in Dubai is all about ego. It’s ego driven. It’s about who has the nicest car or watch or which area you live in. Their license plates determine how much money you make. The lower the number, the richer you are. That’s what I hate about Dubai. In Canada, and Nova Scotia, it’s not like that. Canada is so much slower and laidback. Dubai is nice because you wake up everyday and know it’s going to be hot and sunny. While I was there, it only rained once and it rained for a week straight. Let me tell ya, the desert was something sweet that week!

I’ve watched a documentary on Dubai, and, the whole time, I was thinking, ‘they actually race dirt bikes there?’
[Laughs] Just go outside the city and into the desert. If you go out to the desert on the weekend, it’s packed. I’d go during the middle of week and still see packs of people. It’s like snowmobiling here. You should see the dealerships; they’re selling thousands of four wheelers and lots of bikes.

Have you been following the supercross series?
I have.

Any takes or opinions on Canadians?
I’m feeling bad for Dusty Klatt. I know what it feels like to not feel like you’re living up to your potential. I think people need to lay off him, because all he can do is try. I’m impressed with Beaton qualifying for some supercrosses.

The Sackville arenacross: are you racing?
I don’t know. I’m just getting my bikes this week, but I would like to race a 250F. We’ll see. I will be there whether I’m racing or not.

Why is it that your East Coast fans love you so much?
[Laughs] I’m glad you asked that. I have the greatest people from the East Coast behind me. I love those people! They’re so good and so loyal and I thank them for that. I don’t try and treat people like fans; I try to treat them like a friend more than anything.

[Laughs] I like that, ‘treat them like a friend.’ That’s nice of you, Mitch.
You know what I mean? I like everybody and I’m not going to try and portray something I’m not.

What’s keeping you busy until the first national at Ste-Julie on May 24?
Just to stick to the program. The main thing this year is not to get burned out. Georges helped me out in many ways, but training seven days a week may have been too much. I want to have some fun; you know, work on my truck, go skateboarding and hang out. I’ll probably do the first local race in Kingston here.