Steve "TFS" Bruhn had some rare free time to speak to some of the top riders before tonight’s Indianapolis SX when he covered press day at the RCA Dome. Here’s some of what Mike LaRocco, Kevin Windham, Josh Grant, and Joaquim Rodriques had to say on the eve of the Indy SX.

2004 Indy SX winner Mike LaRocco

LaRocco and his Honda teammates walk the RCA Dome track

TFS: Mike, you were the winner here last year. This must do a lot for your confidence this weekend, right?
Mike LaRocco: Yeah, actually, I am looking forward to this race. I have had some decent rides early in the season, but I am not really where I want to be, so hopefully I just want to ride good. Starts are important, and that’s what helped me last year. I have the same plan: get a good start and put a good ride in.

A lot of us remember those photos of your son Ryder getting a ride on your bike for a victory lap. Has Ryder said something about this weekend?
[Laughs] We run across those photos all the time, and they give us a smile. This race is always cool for him since we get to see all our family we haven’t seen for so long. For that to happen last year made it cool for all of us.

How is your racing going this year compared to a year ago, as far as the competition at the front?
It’s kind of similar. I’m a bit off where I would like to be, speed-wise. Without Ricky last year it was Kevin and Chad. So you add Ricky, but we lost Bubba. I was definitely prepared for a tough season. No ifs, ands, or buts. I think everybody is. It’s going alright, not exactly where I want to be, but I keep plugging away and hopefully I’ll pick up some speed and have some good races for the rest of the season.

In press interviews with some of the others, we’ve asked, Who do these 250 mains go to: the fastest guy or the best racer? What’s your take on that question?
It’s a combination. The fastest guy doesn’t always win. The fastest, smartest guy wins. It all depends on where you place yourself. If you give yourself a good opportunity on the start, and you have good speed and good focus, you have a great chance. I don’t have the fastest-guy thing going, which I’m working on.

You are known as the guy that is both fast and smart as the race goes on. What do you think works in your favor as far as that goes?
I would really like to be faster, on top of being smart and knowing there are 20 laps to deal with. If it’s a 20-lap race, you need to race for 20 laps. That’s where I stand. I would love to be faster. I’m working on it. To have both of those is what you need to have.

Good luck, Mike.
Thanks.

Fourth-ranked THQ AMA 250 Supercross rider Kevin Windham

LaRocco and Windham charge a large finish-line double that the riders enjoyed, but after Matt Goerke went into the stands off it, it was cut down for Saturday

TFS: Kevin, how are you feeling?
Kevin Windham: Pretty sore still.

From that Anaheim 3 crash?
Well there, and actually sore from Anaheim 2, and a crash at my practice track, and San Fran, and Anaheim 3 … I’ve been having my fair share of run-ins with the ground. It was nice to go out and ride the track a little bit [at press day] but I am pretty sore still.

We know you pulled out of the main at Anaheim 3. What exactly happened?
When I crashed, either my bike or someone hit me in the back. In my lower back it was pretty scratched up. Just the way I landed I hit my sciatic nerve. I guess it pinched it or whatever. I lost feeling in my legs for a little while. We went to the hospital and checked it out. Everyone was pretty worried about that, or if there were complications with the rod [from my femur injury]. For a while it was just lack of feeling.

After a race like that and you drop a few places in points, do you sit down and put together a recovery plan?
No, at this point none of that really matters. I just hope I can ride again. Here I am riding [at press day] today, and I am sore. I’m not doing jumps. It hurts to ride down the straightaway. You just put your best foot forward, whatever you can deal with. If it’s not racing this weekend, or winning this weekend, you take it one race at a time. I never really thought about the championship this year, and I doubt Chad or Ricky really did either, since it’s so early in the season. Talk gets started really early, but there is a lot of racing left. There are things that have happened to Chad that easily could also happen to Ricky. I’m focused on keeping this thing on two wheels. As far as racing, I don’t have any expectations. I just want to be able to do it.

Absolute Beginner! 125 Supercross debutant Josh Grant

Josh Grant rides during press day

TFS: Well, Josh, are you ready for your first pro supercross?
Josh Grant: About 80 percent, actually, strength-wise. I broke my arm, and I got the cast off four weeks ago, so I’ve had four weeks of riding. But actually, I didn’t ride a supercross track the first week. The second week I started working on my lines and lap times. The next thing you know, we were testing, so I didn’t have much time.

Where do you do your riding?
I’ve been doing my supercross riding at the Honda track and at Victorville.

Do you want this to start out like your first national and you get the lead and take off and make everyone say, “Damn!”?
[Laughs] Yeah, I want it exactly like that, without the falling and stalling the bike.

How is this team working out for you?
It’s awesome. I love it. The bikes are great. I can’t thank those guys enough. Everyone has done so much for me.

You took a spill in the corner before the finish [at press day]. You got lucky and had dirt to land on.
Yeah, I know! There was a little concrete under there, though.

Good luck this weekend.
Thanks.

AMSOIL/Chaparral/Factory Connection Honda rider Joaquim Rodriques

TFS: Are you ready for supercross this year?
Joaquim Rodrigues: Yeah, I have been working really hard. My team is working real, real hard to put the bike together and make it the way I like it. I think we got there, so I’m ready to race, for sure.

Last year you were on KTM’s, and your plan was to race 250s in supercross, right?
No, 125s last year, and then change to the 450s in outdoors.

Going back a year, what is the biggest difference between your combined bike and your own preparation?
[Laughs] Everything changes around me now! I changed my life completely. I changed my team. I am real happy with the team. It’s one of the best teams I have ever been on. I am really, really happy to ride for Honda. The main thing is, I want to use the first races to see where I am, compared to the other guys, and go from there. The bike is good. Physically, I am better than last year. Mentally, too.

It seems like a relaxed atmosphere in your pits.
It’s amazing how the team works. KTM was like … there was pressure. Not everyone is talking to each other. It was like a business thing. Over here, everyone is, like, relaxed. Just do the job and have fun with it. I am enjoying my time at the test track with them. Now I’m just going to try and ride and have fun, too.

Does the team have specific expectations outlined for you, like you need to win this championship or finish at a certain place?
No, they told me that. Actually, I told them I want to win the championship. I’m not going to put that pressure on my back, but I want to win it. If I do, I do, if I don’t, I don’t.

You had GP experience before coming to race in the USA. For someone like that, does it take at least a year to get your speed in supercross?
I would say more … a couple seasons. In Europe, the outdoors there are different than here. Here is it real intense. It is another world. It takes a couple seasons in supercross to get used to everything: the crowds, the tracks … especially the tracks. Everything is different. After this year I will feel better.

Last one, and you don’t have to answer this one: is Mike Alessi going to win a GP?
[Laughs] I don’t know! If he wins, good for him. If he doesn’t, who cares? I don’t care.

Article reprinted from http://www.racerxill.com/091205_Indy_Preview_1.cfm.