Press Quotes: Anaheim 1

A new year means more content from the Vurb crew! This piece is called “Press Quotes” and every week we will bring you a quote from each rider that was said during the press conference following the race. This will give you a taste of the vibe of the race and what the riders thought of their night. You’ll find the full press conference below!

250 Podium:

1st: RJ Hampshire
“A lot of ups and downs in my career and just to be able to show up to the race, being confident, and taking what the night gave me. I mean yeah, of course, I felt like I could win but wasn’t going to pressure it. I had my spots tonight that were really good. Yeah, I’m just super stoked to have a red plate under the Husqvarna rig. It’s huge for myself and the team. It goes to show massive props to that whole Austrian group because we have an awesome bike this year.” – On winning Anaheim 1.

2nd: Jordon Smith
“I raced one time in 2016. A1, I was in the podium position until like five to go and I fell, so no it was good. I always feel more nervous coming into A1, than it is even the first round of the east coast. Like, you’re obviously nervous either way, but it’s even more here. It was good, I got good starts, rode good, made some good changes on the bike throughout the day, so I really can’t complain with how it went.” – On racing Anaheim 1 opposed to the east coast, which he primarily races.

3rd: Levi Kitchen
“There was a lot to it, honestly probably a lot more than I can fit in. Just the big thing was I think I need a little bit of a change. I kind of wanted to go back to some of the things I did before I got on the team. That was just kind of working a little bit more alone and be around some different people and have a little bit of freedom. Mitch was more than willing to do that for me. He’s letting me stay in Florida obviously and I’ve got a good group of guys around me. I just needed a little bit of a change. I think I’m happier, I’m enjoying it a little bit more. You always still have to put the work in. –On switching from Star to PC.

450 Podium

1st: Jett Lawrence
“You see this guys? He just goes and lifts like 600 pounds during the week and says ‘Okay, we’re good to go”- On Chase Sexton’s mental and physical strength.

2nd: Jason Anderson
“Yeah, I think that our stuff is getting more mainstream. I think we’re getting opportunities that are bigger and for me I’ve got some homies that do some cool stuff, you know? Yeah, I’m trying to hop on that wave and it’s stuff that I’m interested in generally just for me. It’s stuff like that. Yeah, hopefully we’ll have something coming soon. But it’ll be quite different and it’s tough because our motocross demographic is very race results, win, that type of monetization for our brand. When you bring in something like this, sometimes it’s not taken I guess as what people think. They’ll think that you’re not paying attention or something like that. If you’re somewhere else not at the test track it’s a little off. It’s kind of tough to sell it for our sport right now.” – On the opportunities to grow the sport at the moment.

3rd: Chase Sexton
“It’s definitely about learning, like I said I’ve been on Honda since I turned pro. This is a big change and going from an aluminum frame to a steel frame is about as big as you can get. For me, I had to learn how the bike reacts and yeah we’re definitely moving in the right direction. I think in  the main event we were somewhat close, but we still have some room to grow. I got tight, so that normally doesn’t happen, and we have to fix that. Other than that we’re focusing on the front, the rear is good, it’s just the front end.”- On adjusting to the new KTM.

Main Image: Garth Milan/Octopi Media