Catching Up With…Ben Evans

bayodome

• February 09 2009
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• 15 comments

Riding for the newly formed Ti-Lube/Honda team, Supercross newcomer, Ben Evans, is becoming a familiar face within the top ten.  We found Ben huddled up and hiding from the rain with his two older brothers and trainer in the family RV before the main event at Anaheim 3.

Ben, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.

I’m 19 years old and from Boise, ID.  I’m in my rookie season racing Supercross on the west coast and loving it. I have a unique situation in that I finished high school, whereas most riders today are home-schooled.  So during my senior year of high school I was riding the A-class at the amateur nationals and then did the last three pro nationals during the summer.  So this is my first full season and its been really good so far.  My coach, Joe DeGano, and I have really been able to train and focus on my riding technique.

I recall seeing your video update after the Steel City national when you were on Ryan Clark’s team.  I believe that was just after you graduated from Loretta Lynn’s and had just turned pro.

That’s right.  I did the last couple of nationals right out of Loretta’s Lynn’s and it was pretty cool.  I had a tough time at first.  My bike caught on fire at Millville in the first moto, then I pulled a muscle in the second moto, so it was kind of a frustrating weekend.  But I came back swinging at Steel City and I got a 20th in the first moto and I had to throw my goggles as well.  In the second moto I crashed twice and ended up getting 21st (laughs).  It was a crazy experience coming in, but I’m adjusting well to Supercross and have really been able to show more of my speed.

So do you feel you are more of a natural Supercross rider than an outdoors rider?

I don’t know.  I have a smooth riding technique and I have been able to adjust pretty well.  I’m six feet tall so that does help.  Some of those rhythm sections were intimidating at first, but I think my height has definitely helped at some of the tracks and in the whoops.

Did you have any Supercross experience prior to this?  Was there a local private track for you to ride on, or are you completely new to Supercross?

Yeah, pretty much.  I rode just a couple of times last year.  But fortunately I have been riding with Cole Siebler who has a track near Boise and I have been able to go out there and ride with him.  He’s a veteran who has been around for a while.  Damon Bradshaw even came out a few times when he was preparing for the US Open.  So I got to ride with some good guys while I was learning.  It had been a while since Damon had ridden, so we were kind of learning together.

He’s not a bad guy to learn from.

No doubt, and Cole has been doing decent this year so it’s exciting to be able to ride with those guys.  Cole also got me a ride over in Europe.  I went to Germany and Switzerland riding for the Honda Meyer team.  They have a shop and gave us brand new bikes and gear to use.  It was not really a series, but just a three-race deal with two races in Germany and the other in Switzerland.  They actually have another one later in the year but it’s during our Supercross season so I couldn’t do that one.  That gave me a ton of experience coming into this season.  I got a second in Switzerland and two wins in Germany so that gave me a lot of confidence.

So now you are on the Ti-Lube/Honda team.  What is your standing at the moment?

Right now I’m ranked tenth in points.  I had a rough race last weekend, but this one is a mudder and a lot can happen.  I’m looking forward to it; I have a chance to make up some points.

Note:  Ben ran in fifth place for about the first half of the Anaheim 3 main event before falling and dropping down 16th place at the finish.  He now sits 12th in points.

Do you consider yourself to be a good mud rider?

Yeah, in the past I’ve done pretty well in the mud actually.  And I think my height helps me and being smart is key for doing well in the mud.  A couple of years ago in the Canadian Nationals, I won the first round in the mud.

That was the controversial round when they cancelled the second motos because of the mud?

That’s right, it was so bad and a lot of riders were like, “I don’t want to ride,” and things like that.  But I didn’t care either way.  I had won the first moto so I figured I would either come out with the points lead or get another shot to ride in the mud.  So I am bringing that same attitude here.

Do you have any intentions of riding the Supercross class on the east coast?  You are a taller rider so I would imagine you are fairly comfortable on a 450.

Although I’m tall, I’m pretty slender so I don’t weight very much and I like being on the 250f right now.

You were not one of the highly touted amateur kids and seemed to come into the pro ranks relatively unnoticed.

You could say that.  PJ Larsen and Darryn Durham over shadowed me a bit.  But I won a championship at Loretta’s in 2007 and got second behind Larsen last year, so I had some good finishes but the press seemed to stick to those guys.

So it’s our fault!

(laughs) Being in Idaho too, I’m out of the scene; out of California.  I’m living here now though and it seems like with my results it easier to talk with the press.  I just want to thank my team.  The Ti-Lube guys just threw this team together in the last few months and I got a ride last minute.  Some of my long time sponsors like Fly Racing stepped in and sponsored the team and Carl’s Cycles Sales gave us bikes.  Allen Brown is doing our motor work, and the Race Tech suspension is the best stuff I have ever used.  I also want to thank Pirelli, DRD, and my mechanic, Kiwi.