 ne
125cc World Championship, one 125cc National Championship, and too many
injuries to count. Grant Langston is an enigma. He’s incredibly
fast, and no one doubts that. He can ride through pain as well as just
about anybody. After missing most of the last year with nerve damage
in his hand, it was hard to know what to expect of Langston this year.
However, if he’s healthy, you know he’s going to be fast.
Now, pair a competitor like Langston with a competitor like Mitch Payton
of Pro Circuit and you just might have a great winning combination.
Only time will tell. We caught up with Grant pre-season and got his thoughts
on the upcoming 125cc East Supercross Series.
Parts Magazine: Where have you been?
Grant Langston: Well, I had that hand injury last year, and actually
my very last race was this race last year. I only went to Hangtown pretty
much because the team wanted me to, but I wasn’t ready. In 2003,
I broke my scaphoid at Phoenix, which led to trigger finger, which led
to carpal-tunnel, and I got to the point where I had damaged nerves in
my hand. It would go numb. It got to the point when I came back to start
riding again, I was still having numbness. Eventually, they figured out
I had nerve damage. You can’t fix that. It heals itself. They said
if I kept riding to the point where I kill the nerves, I’d never
be able to feel my hand again. So they told me I had to take six months
off. That did it right there. KTM was disappointed about the whole deal,
and so was I, but there wasn’t really much of an option. I raced
Supermoto for them, which was enjoyable, because there was no pounding.
But still, I wasn’t up to speed there.
PM: So what made you decide to make the switch from KTM?
GL: With all of the time off, I had my mind made up that I wanted to
ride for a different team. I was talking with factory Honda for a
while, but they were undecided with where they were going to go with
their team, so I was sitting around waiting. My hand could’ve
been a problem for them because they don’t want to hire someone
that won’t even be able to start the season. So I was sitting
around, and I was wanting to look at riding a four-stroke. I thought
I’d like to give a 250F a shot for a couple years, to take
a step back to take two steps forward. So I was talking with Jeff
Fox from Parts Unlimited and he was talking with Mitch [Payton] and
they wanted to put together a deal. I figured if I was going to be
on a 125 team, I wanted to go to Mitch’s team, and if I was
going to go to a 250 team, it would be Honda. It went quickly, and
in just a few days I signed a contract with them. I think Honda has
a lot of people they have to go through to get answers, so it was
a delayed process, and the day after I signed with Mitch, they called
back with an offer. I believe everything happens for a reason, and
my time may come with them again.
PM: So how have things gone since you started riding the KX250F?
GL: Well, not too long after I was signed, I went out to Glen Helen
and rode Ivan [Tedesco]’s racebike and Mitch was really pleased.
I just had a blast. I couldn’t believe how quick the bike was.
I was just really enjoying myself. It was really, really refreshing
to be on a four-stroke, a different brand, and all of that. Sometimes
with KTM, I was almost to a point where I was getting stale. Ricky
kind of had that with Kawasaki, riding those his whole life. It’s
real refreshing to make a change, and it brings excitement in and
everything else.
I started riding outdoors because I didn’t want to go straight
into Supercross, and I was at Glen Helen a couple of weeks later and
it was super-dusty, and I was coming around a sweeper before the back
tabletop and I was behind three guys and I couldn’t see where
I was going, sitting down and powersliding, and I drifted off the track
without realizing it and I hit a hole where they used to have a tractor
tire. Because I was sitting, I jarred my back and I herniated a disc
in my back and had to get epidural steroid injections in my back. And
just like that, I was out for 6 more weeks.
It was really, really frustrating. Then I started riding again, doing
some outdoors, came to Supercross... Backs are one of those things
that seems to take forever. Then, I came back and I cased a jump, not
even that bad, and the seat hit my butt, and my back went numb. Then,
I crashed again two weeks ago, hurting my back. So I have to be careful.
I have to ride really smooth and not take any chances right now so
that I can get my back working right. I had to learn not to seat-bounce
jumps because of my back, so now it’s almost like that’s
how my style’s become.
PM: How did testing go for the Supercross season?
GL: The testing has gone good, and every year I’ve had something
go wrong going into Supercross. This year, it’s my back. I think
people are starting to think it’s a convenient excuse, but I
want to show what I can do. The bike is great, and my back should be
okay. So we’ll see.
PM: With the injuries you’ve
ridden through, it seems odd that people would begin to question
your toughness.
GL: People said, if it’s just a little numbness in your hand,
it’s no big deal. And I was like, “It’s not a pain,
like riding through pain, it’s worse. It’s like getting
in a car and you can’t feel the gas pedal.” You don’t
know how much throttle you’ve got. It’s just the weirdest
feeling, and it’s distracting. Even when you ride, you’re
riding at 60% and getting lapped, so what’s the point in that?
It was really frustrating, and I’m glad things are going well
now. I did some therapy, and then they just said to relax and don’t
do anything. It slowly got better. In the beginning, if I held a tennis
ball in one position, after a while my hand would get weak and go numb.
Then, just doing certain things, I slowly started to notice a difference,
like being able to hold a coffee cup for longer than I used to. It
healed itself, and then I went back to the doctor and they said it
was a lot better. Then I started riding, and it’s been pretty
good since then.
PM: You know how to win championships. How do you feel about your
odds this year indoors and out?
GL: I believe I can win. I think there’s no excuse why I wouldn’t
have a great shot at it. I think the bike’s really good, I think
the setup’s good, and like you said, this is pretty much my best
opportunity. Obviously, racing’s racing, so you never know. You
could go down in the first turn and battle to start a bike and not
score points, and that could cost you the championship. But I’d
like to think that I can be consistent and make the most out of every
situation and win some races. Hopefully, I’ll be at least at
Pontiac with a shot at this title.
PM: Do you think you can handle that Alessi kid outdoors?
GL: I think he’s pretty good, but I’ve seen him ride the
last couple times and I’m almost kind of shocked by the fact
that I think I was expecting more, maybe. But he’ll be up there,
and I think Hepler and Walker will be up there, but I also think that
on this bike, my outdoor speed has picked up a lot. I really think
there’s no reason why I can’t win. I feel really confident
that I have a shot at both titles, and in all reality, that is my goal.
Langston in action at the St. Louis Supercross. Photo by Kinney Jones.
PM: Do you know of anyone who’s
taking money on this?
GL: I don’t know. If I find someone, I was thinking I’d
go bet a bunch of money myself, because then I’d have even more
motivation to do whatever it takes to win! I used to do that with my
dad. The year I won the world title, I bet everyone because they thought
that I could win, but all of my family and friends were betting against
me, so if I would’ve lost the world title in 2000, I would’ve
lost about $10,000. I figured I would bet everyone and do whatever
it takes to win, and I did. Maybe I need to do the same thing now!  |
