MXP: Hey Newf! What were your thoughts on how Dylan Rempel’s day went in Columbus? Also, how long does his Quad Lock Honda deal last. Will he be heading to Australia to race in that series next month?
RL: It was a rough showing for Dylan. It seemed like anything that could go wrong did. Big crash on the first lap of free practice on Friday but he did rebound and qualified 4th Saturday morning in the mud. Turned a bad start into a good start in the main but hit a downed rider and bent his shifter back to the foot peg and that’s all she wrote; he was stuck in first gear. Hope he has a little better luck this weekend. There are some things that I can share and some I can’t, but what I will say is that the Quad Lock Honda deal will last longer than these two SMX Next rounds. I honestly don’t know how it exactly looks, but he will be doing more and more stuff with them, I can say that much.
MXP: After hearing some of the penalties handed out in Columbus to some of the team officials, do you think they were warranted, or is this just overreach by the promoters?
RL: That whole situation is pretty odd to me. I mean the one side of the story that we are hearing from the teams and managers seems like that the whole thing is blown out of proportion, but I have to feel that for the AMA and Feld to suspend them, there has to be more to the situation and maybe this was a situation that has been going on for longer than just one race. Seems silly as they are all adults, but hey it is what it is. I think we all get caught up in the moment and say things that we regret after time has gone by.
MXP: Looking ahead to the MXON in two weeks. We’re assuming that you’re heading to France as two of Team Canada’s riders are from the GDR Honda Team. Also, even though Team Canada are renting bikes over there, what parts do the two Dylan’s have to bring with them and what, if any logistics is the GDR Honda Team responsible for?
RL: I’m actually not going to make the trip this year as I have a Future West race on the same weekend here in BC and just busy overall. Derek Schuster will go on behalf of GDR Honda and keep the boys in line and I wish the team the best of luck. Of course, behind the scenes I have been kept in the loop and I would like to say thank you to Kourtney Lloyd for running the program the way she is this year. Renting the bikes over there will make things so much easier and better in my opinion. Not having to worry about the different fuel and trying to pass sound is enough in itself to make it make more sense to rent the bike. Our guys will still bring certain things like suspension, bars, grips, foot pegs, seats etc. all bolt on parts to make the bikes feel like their own.
