Rodrigues finished third in the Pontiac 125 ESX race. Here he's chasing Davi Milsaps, who finished second

April 14, 2005

Jim Kimball

Maybe you don't know that much about Amsoil Chaparral Factory Connection Honda rider Joaquim Rodrigues, but that's likely to change soon, as the Portuguese born rider took his first ever AMA podium at the recent Pontiac supercross. After several years of racing the World Motocross GP's, and the occasional European supercross, the 23 year old impressed the higher-ups enough at Red Bull KTM to sign him to a two-year deal to race AMA Supercross and Motocross. In America, J-ROD impressed all that met him with his speed and desire, unfortunately a string of injuries often kept him on the sidelines. However, due to his late season charge in the 2004 AMA 250 Motocross series on his factory Red Bull KTM 450, the "Red Riders" (Honda) signed him on for 2005. Although the likable Murrieta, California based J-Rod had several very credible finishes in 125 ESX series, he wasn't happy - at least until his third at Pontiac. I was able to catch up with Joaquim a few days after his break-through ride which earned him ninth overall in final 125 East SX points. Attending one of the AMA Motocross Nationals? If so, stop by and say hello to J-Rod and you'll meet one of the nicest, and most determined, riders in the pro pits.

Okay Joaquim; great ride at Pontiac -- can you talk a little bit about the night?

Well, overall the night went pretty good. Practice went great, I had very good lap times, and I was right in there. The day qualifier went pretty easy, but then in my heat race, I had bad luck again, and crashed during the start. But I worked on it, got going again, and qualified for the race -- it was very important for me to qualify for the main event. In the main I actually had my first good start of the year, so that worked out pretty well. Then from there on I just kept my pace and tried to put some good laps in.

Your podium was pretty amazing, as talking to you before practice started you weren't even sure you were going to ride because of your previous injury during Orlando's practice session; in fact you sat out Dallas too.

Yeah, I didn't really plan on racing here at all. Actually the team said, "You want to just get focused on the AMA Motocross series and all that, and skip Pontiac?" But I said, "No, I like supercross so I'm going to ride supercross". I get paid to ride, not to stay home, then after checking with my doctor, he said I could ride, so I just went for it. Now I'm really glad I did!

Even after missing the two previous races, it was impressive that you were running up there with Langston, Millsaps, and Hanson; all three guys had been winning mains and going for the championship.

Yeah, it was pretty good for sure; also I had nothing to lose so the pressure was off. I just kept my pace and tried to battle with those guys; and I was really happy to be in that position. In the back of my mind, I always knew I could do it, but maybe I didn't actually believe it; so now I believe it! I know for sure that I can race for the podium or win. I finished third, but I was around only 2.5 seconds from the first place. We were real close, so it was a real good race for me, and also for whoever was watching. (Yes it was!)

Joaquim, you mentioned that you didn't have any pressure on you at Pontiac; prior to that did you feel some pressure?

Yeah, I want to win; that's all I want. So if I don't win, I start getting frustrated because that's where I want to be. I know I work hard, and I'm pretty sure I'm in better shape than most everybody out there; I just think that maybe sometimes I think too much, and I put too much pressure on me. I want to win so bad that it actually kind of slows me down a little bit, and I make mistakes and get bad starts. But this weekend, I didn't have that. You know I just went out there to have a good time, and have fun - and it was my first good start of the year. I gave a good battle to the top guys in the class; now I know I can win for sure.

I can remember talking to you after the St. Louis race where you finished fourth - you weren't happy at all!

No, I wasn't happy at all; even with my fourth at St. Louis. I was riding . I got fourth?poorly; actually I'm going to say that I was riding like shit there, but I wasn't riding well. I know when I'm riding well and I know when I'm not, so I just admit it. The first thing I said to my mechanic after St. Louis was that I was riding like shit. He said, "No, you did pretty well. You really put too much pressure on yourself," and all that. But I said, "No, I can do better than this." I just couldn't put it together, so it got me frustrated for sure.

At Pontiac you looked just awesome; really fluid with the bike. I didn't really see any mistakes, or bobbles, or anything.

No, I didn't really make any mistakes; I was just riding, and the bike was working awesome. Where I came from in Portugal everybody knows there's no supercross, and there aren't that many guys that can ride it, so it's important for me to do well. It's been hard, and I'm pretty much still learning. Actually, even though I may have missed a couple races, this year was my first year that I completed a championship series. So I just try to keep learning from my mistakes and try to put everything together -- I just need to keep going.

J-Rod, could you talk for a minute about your change from the Red Bull KTM Team to the Factory Connection Honda Team. Obviously the bikes are quite different, but how is the team itself -- does it operate a lot differently than things did at KTM?

Oh yeah, for sure they operate differently. I don't want to say anything bad about the KTM team; they were the ones who helped me come to America, and I certainly wouldn't be here in America without them. Nobody would know who Joaquim Rodrigues is; KTM helped me a lot. The Amsoil Chaparral Factory Connection Honda team just works in a different way, and I feel more comfortable here. They like to help me and try to motivate me in so many ways. Everyone is like a big family here, and the bike is super; I'm pretty much sure it's the best bike I ever rode - everyone knows that Honda builds a great bike.

Do you ride or work much with the 250 guys like LaRocco and Windham?

Yeah, actually I went to Windham's place and I stayed there for a while before Daytona. I've been working with him and Mike a lot; they help with advice and help me loosen up. They know I have the speed because they see how fast I go on the practice tracks. So yeah, for sure, I am learning a lot from those guys. I need to get a little more speed, like they have, in the whoops, because I haven't gotten that fast in the whoops yet. If I need to be faster somewhere else, in another area, I'll work on that too. If I want to be the best, that's what I'm going to do; work on my weak points. For sure, I want to be there in the mix, and be a top guy -- definitely.

What do you have coming up next Joaquim? I know your teammate Billy Laninovich raced a 250 at St. Louis; and based on your success in the 250 class last year in the nationals, is there a chance you might show up on a 250 at one of the upcoming western supercross rounds?

I was going to do Seattle, but the team and I recently decided against that. I'm going to focus on outdoors now and we'll get the bike ready -- so I'm probably not going to do any 250 races. I would love to, because I like to ride the 250 two-stroke a lot, but it's not in the schedule now . . .

Continuing on with the AMA motocross nationals, you ran well in the 250 class last year on a new bike to you (KTM 450); now based on your recent podium, what are you shooting for in the AMA 125 Motocross series?

Well, I know I have everything I need to be successful. Although Supercross was the most important thing to me, I'm going to do my best this summer and be on the top tier, because I don't like to lose for sure. I like to race and I consider all the races important to me. I'm not going to be there to play around. I'm going to try to win every race I go for. I want to be up on the podium, and that's where I want to be one day

Reprinted from www.AMAMotocross.com