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June 2012 Interview with LA's Forrest Smith

By Lucas Comeaux

 

 

 

17 year-old Forrest Smith started the LACC season with two mechanical DNF's but now is coming off of two impressive overall victories.  It's no secret Smith can fly on a motocross track but he's also proven he can run with the best of them in the woods as well.  Smith is going for the LACC Championship this year and he's on a roll.  We gave him a ring to ask a few questions.

 

 


Smith giving a victory speech at Angola.
Photo by Chris Shows.
Click to Enlarge

LC: How does it feel to land two back-to-back wins?

FS: Yeh it feels good, I'm finally pulling it together...took a while but finally got the bikes ready, finally got all my stuff woods ready...I've been doing motocross for so long.  We now have a woods bike going and have all the heavy duty tubes and all that.  The second round I got a flat, we've just been fixing all of the problems.

 

Have you been doing anything different these last two rounds, or just better luck on the mechanical side?

Just trying to make it as woods proof as possible you know.  I still haven't pushed it 100% during the races, just kind of doing 80% the whole time.  At the last round when Howell passed me I crashed so I pushed it to catch back up to him, then he had to gas up.

 

So more of a main goal of finishing?

Yeh that's what my Dad was telling me at Angola, just slow down, finish, don't go balls to the walls and wear yourself out and start cramping or something.

 

Is your focus this year on the motocross side or going for the LACC Championship?

I'm kind of over motocross, I mean it's too much...you have to have a 2012 bike, you gotta have ten thousand dollars in your motor, five thousand in your suspension, it's just too much.  I like doing this more, all the people, you can ride an older bike - like mine is an '06 and I don't have any problems, it's just a better environment I feel.  I'm going to get more into the woods thing.

 

#46 Forrest Smith stole the show at the brand new Angola Bike Rodeo Venue.  Photos by Bob Hatcher, click on each to enlarge. 

 

Well that's good to hear.  While on the mx subject have you gone to Loretta's or Ponca in the past?

I went to Ponca a couple years ago but my Dad and I ended up getting into some stuff with those people, some dude ran out in front of the track and knocked me over, I didn't make the main because of it...so I don't know we're kind of just staying away from Ponca.  Loretta's - Freestone this year...the starts just kill me, I'm not good at motocross starts and getting good starts are everything.  This year I was running fourth and someone hit a hay bale, I flipped over the hay bale, crashed, and once you do that in one moto it's over, there's no...you don't have another 30 minutes to fight back.

 

So you're going to be at Juderman's Park?  Ready for Howell?

Yep, I'm going to be there.  Yeh I'm ready (laughs) I've been riding in Texas - Cycle Land.  Cool, was Howell around? [Martin Howell is a club member]  No he wasn't there but I'd seen his name somewhere...and kind of put two and two together.

 

Speaking of Howell, how were the passes at the Van Way round?

Yeh, well when we were going over the concrete stuff he saw I was coming...I don't know what happened but I guess he kind of cut over and it made me stall out on the pipes, and I kind of rocked back and forth, got on the ground then I was mad so I was going and I slid off the top of that truck - the buried truck.  I was going a little too fast around the corner and slid out.  I was on top of it, and I kicked off the side and had to jump on a tree and shimmy my way down.  My bike flipped and then you saw in the video I was getting up and cranking it.  (Laughing) Yeh when I got there I just thought you'd slid under the ribbon.  Yeh I fell off the top, I had to knock my clutch lever back down, then you know I was seeing flames...not at Howell, just mad at myself because I was wanting to win. I caught up to him in the woods and on the moto track. We got together, I don't know, I went kind of wide before the gas section, I bumped him a little bit but wasn't trying to knock him over or anything, I was just trying to get a good pass in and make it stick.


Smith at Van Way Moto Playground by Hatcher.

 

 

Sounds like some good racing to me.  Are you still in school?  Yep, I'm going into my senior year.

 

How do you stay in shape?  I bike down my road and stuff, and swim.  I was on the swim team last year, that helped a lot.

 

Smith & Howell at Van Way M.P.
Smith and Howell battling at Van Way Moto Playground.  Photo by Christina Carter.

 

So rumor has it the #5 Evan Shows will be jumping in the XC1 class when he returns after injury...are you going to take it easy on him?  Yeh, you know Evan is my best friend but when the helmet goes on I'm not going to take it easy (laughs).  He knows that, we've been riding together and we're friends off the track but when the helmets go on we're going to race and try to beat each other.

 

Alright, thanks for taking a few minutes...anything you want to add?  Thanks to my Dad, Trey Foreman, and Corey Altazin/WPS/Fly.

 

Good luck at Juderman's.  Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

 

 

Photos by Bob Hatcher:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by the LACC Series Staff:

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Buck Langston:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Terrie Shaw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Chris Shows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Eyes set on the Number 1 plate.  Photo by Greg Richardson.

 

 

 

 



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