Catching Up With…Lucas Moraes

bayodome

• May 15 2009
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• 11 comments

Haven’t heard of him? Neither had we until this year when he started showing up at all of the Southern California practice tracks.  As it turns out, Lucas Moraes (pronounced like “more ice”) has moved here from Brazil to compete in the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship aboard a Division Seven/Star Racing/Yamaha YZ450.  We caught up with the young Brazilian to find out how the move has been for him and what he expects out of himself this summer.

Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.

I’m from Brazil and I am 19 years old.  I have ridden in Brazil for most of my life and I turned pro in 2006 when I was 16.  My results in the Nationals there were pretty good last year.  Everyone’s dream is to come here to America to race, and I got this opportunity with Star Racing and here I am.

Where are you from in Brazil?

Sao Paulo.  It’s a pretty big city with a lot of riders too; not quite like here but there is motocross.  It’s not big like it is here but there are a few tracks and it is getting better.  Soccer is huge there so it’s hard to compete with that.  Step by step it is improving.  My Dad is actually the owner of the Supercross series down there, and it just started back up in 2007.  The last Supercross championship we had there was back in 1995, so my Dad just had the idea to put it back on the schedule.  So 2007 was the first year, and 2008 was pretty good, and we will see how it goes this year.

So you will be competing again in that series?

Yeah, it starts in September right after the last round of the Nationals here, so I will head back down there to race some Supercross.

We have been seeing you just about everywhere we go in preparation for this summer.

(Laughs) Yeah, for sure.  The racing here is just at a whole other level.  I really want to do good and we will see.  I feel very comfortable on the bike, I like the team, and everybody has been really nice.  I am looking forward to Nationals.

Have you ever come to the US before to race for any of the amateur nationals?

I did the Winter Ams in Florida in 2005, 2006, and 2007.  I rode with Darryn (Durham) there, and (Trey) Canard and it was pretty good.  Those guys are really fast and it is not a surprise to see them up front now, and now I am just trying to get my speed up so we will see.

So do you have any expectations or goals for this year?

I really want to be in the top 15 for my first race.  I know it’s going to be hard.  My goal is to race and finish in all of the rounds for both motos and get more experience for next year.  But top 10 or top 15 would be awesome for me.

Having spoken with Antonio Balbi, your fellow countryman, he has some good things to say about you.

He is a good rider.  We have never raced against each other but he did come down this year to race the Supercross series.  He’s a really nice guy and he has helped me some with getting adjusted to the US.  He told me how hard it is and about the speed that everyone has.