Billy's first win

AMSOIL/Chaparral/Factory Connection Honda rider Billy Laninovich was handed a brand new set of white-and-gray riding gear from Shift Racing’s Rob Salcedo on Saturday afternoon. A few hours later, he wore that same gear into the winner’s circle at SBC Stadium in San Francisco. After a couple of seasons marked by injuries and some bad luck so far in 2005, he finally got a break and showed he can do it for 15 laps. We caught up with the first-time winner right after the press conference to see what he was thinking.

Racer X: Billy, your first win: it must feel good. Did you see this coming? You’ve been showing speed, like that heat-race win in Phoenix.
Billy Laninovich: Yes, it feels really good. In Phoenix I won my heat race, and in the main event I got a horrible start and got tangled up with Paul Carpenter and crashed.

So last weekend we saw you get a good start and have a problem with your rear brake.
Yeah. I won my heat race again. I got a good start in the main, I think I came in second, and I nose-wheelied into the second corner a little hot and I hit someone and pushed up my back brake. It pulled everything out of the master cylinder. We tried to get it working but couldn’t.

Laninovich acknowledges the crowd on his big night in San Fran

When you lined up for the main event, did you see yourself winning it?
I was pretty confident tonight. I felt good in practice. I felt good in my heat race. Danny Smith was holding me up a little bit and I got around him. I didn’t have too much time to catch up to Ivan and Nathan Ramsey. I felt really good tonight, and confident.

You got past Danny Smith in the main pretty quick. What happened?
You know, I don’t remember. I think he got the holeshot but I had him in a couple of corners. He ended up passing me again. He passed me after the first triple. He pinned it and put a block-pass on me. After the finish line, in the whoops, I ended up getting him back.

You guys were talking just now in the press conference about having a lot of fun at the Honda test track. What goes on?
Andrew and I, we just kind of do our own thing out there. We ride together and stuff. He’s an awesome rider. I learn from him and everyone else out there.

Did the odd weekend throw you, with no riding Friday and wet dirt and you didn’t know what to expect?
I thought it was going to be a mud race, and when we got here for the track walk, it wasn’t too bad. Practice was a little soft and rutted. By the heat races, the track was awesome. By the main event it was even better. It got a little bumpy, but it wasn’t too bad.

Laninovich was the fourth winner in four races, and he put his Team AMSOIL Chaparral Factory Connection Honda in the winner's circle for the first time this year

Some of the 250 guys have been saying they prefer more difficult tracks. What about you?
Yeah, a track like this, everyone is pretty much the same speed.

Was this race easy for you?
Was it an easy one? No. I had Andrew right behind me. It helped that Ivan crashed, and that helped me out a little bit, but I don’t think any one is easy unless you check out by 30 seconds or so.

If you started the main over again, and if it were you, Ivan and Andrew and Nathan all side-by-side after the first turn, could you win it?
I don’t know. All these guys, we’re about the same speed. It’s whoever can be the most consistent. There’s a chance for everyone to win, with a good start. Anyone can win out there.

[From pesky interloper who walks up with a cookie] Have you tried the cookies?
I haven’t. They’re not part of my diet.

Interloper: [Laughs] Hey, you were pushing cookies last week!

Good job tonight.
Thanks, Steve.

Reprinted from www.racerxill.com