MXP: Hey Newf! We hope you’re ready and excited for Christmas. Do you and your family have any big plans for the holidays?
RL: We have no big plans this year, which is a bit of a change for us. Usually, we have something going on, whether it’s traveling to see family or heading down to California for a few weeks. We will be just hanging out around home and spending some time with friends, which is a nice change of pace for once. I would assume that 2025 is going to be another big and busy year for us, so it will be nice to have that home time to close out 2024.
MXP: A few Canadians are lining up on January 11th for the opening round of SX. How do see riders like Cole Thompson, Preston Masciangelo, Sy-Cyr, and Blake Davies finishing?
RL: I will start off by saying it’s awesome to have some Canadians to watch come A1. With Cole Thompson’s experience and having a great off-season, you would have to think that he will be fighting for that top 10 in the 250SX West class and I think that is pretty realistic. St-Cyr is also great in SX and has come close to making main events, so you would have to think that is his goal. As far as the two rookies, I think just making night shows and staying healthy will be the goal. Both of them appear to be putting in the work at the test track, and the opportunity that Blake has with the Triumph team is awesome. Getting to ride and train with the US factory team is going to help his confidence, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in a main event or two in January.
MXP: Here is a question that might help some of our younger riders getting ready to jump to the pro class. We know you were quite young when you turned pro, but looking back now, what was the hardest part of making that transition? And what did you do to overcome those obstacles?
RL: I was only 14 when I moved up to the Pro Class, and looking back, it was too early. At the time, I thought I was ready, but I should have stayed intermediate longer and did some bigger races rather than just staying in the Maritimes racing against the locals. I had speed, but I was not in any way, shape, or form mature enough to be racing with men. I had some really tough years filled with injuries and just zero confidence which killed me when it came to getting results from 2000-2003. Those years were a complete waste for me. I got lucky in 2003 by surrounding myself with great people like Mike Treadwell, who taught me what it takes to be a professional and get results. 2003, it turned around for me, but it was tough mentally in those younger years.
