SITTING DOWN WITH ANDREW McFARLANE

Maybe you don’t know Andrew McFarlane. If you remember back to the first two West coast Supercross races this year, you might recognize the number 124 on a Yamaha of Troy bike. If you’ve followed GP racing in years past then hearing Andrew’s name should ring through your ears. However, if you do know McFarlane, you know that “Sharky” broke both of his feet shortly after the Phoenix Supercross. Yet now he’s back on the bike and is going fast. We caught up with Andrew on the eve of the White Brothers Four-Stroke World Championship this weekend to see what he’s up to.

Andrew, we heard through the grapevine that you have decided to race the White Brothers Four-Stroke World Championship this weekend. Why?

Well, I decided against racing Supercross because I broke my feet after Phoenix. I wanted to concentrate on the outdoors and with two rounds to go in the series I knew that I wasn’t going to finish in the top five overall. The Four-Stroke Championship popped up and I think that it’ll be a good race. Ryno [Ryan Hughes], Josh Grant, and a few other guys are going to do it. Plus it’s at Glen Helen, which is close to home for me. I haven’t raced on any outdoor tracks in America so I’m looking forward to that. This race will be a good test as to where we’re at for the Nationals.

Are your feet 100 percent after breaking them in January?

My feet are really good. They healed up well and the ligaments in the ankles are fine, so I had a good recovery.

How do you like the United States?

I quite enjoy it, but it was a little bit of a bummer that I hurt myself in Supercross. I like the weather here. It’s a whole lot nicer here than in Europe, and especially in Belgium where I lived because it rained constantly and was usually cold. It’s been nice to train and ride in the nice weather, and the people and lifestyle is good. Everyone is really friendly and the motocross industry itself is a lot of fun.

You’ve been doing outdoor testing for Team Yamaha with their 450. How did that come about?

They just asked me if I could help because Chad Reed has been injured. It’s been going really well and I’ve been given them some good feedback. From what I understand they have been happy with the results and the progress on the bike. I don’t know if the bike I set up will be to what Chad or Heath [Voss] want, but I wanted to give them some sort of a starting point.

Compare the 250F and the 450F, other than the obvious difference of power.

You mean other than the obvious difference that the 450 has a crapload of power [laughter]? They are both pretty much the same bike in that I can hop off on and hop on the other and not have any problems. The riding position and the width of the bike is pretty much the same. The 450 is a little heavier, but I actually enjoy riding a bigger bike. It’s quite nice.

What are your expectations for the outdoors?

I want to do as best as I can. The testing has been going really good and I have plenty of experience in the outdoors. I think that I’m a little more mature than other guys. I just want to be consistent in every race and do the best that I can. My best is giving 150 percent and I know that I can do that. I’m really looking forward to the outdoors.

What did you do to pass the time while you were sitting around with two broken feet?

I kept up with my training and we started doing outdoor testing as soon as I was able to get back riding. I just bought a house out here in California and got that set up while I was injured and everything has been going to plan. The recovery went well and then about a month ago I decided that I wasn’t going to race Supercross. I think that it was a wise decision to focus on the outdoors and get good results for Yamaha and Yamaha of Troy.

Tell us your thoughts on Supercross.

It took me a little while to get the hang of things because I hadn’t raced Supercross in five years. I struggled a little bit at Anaheim, and then Phoenix was a little better until I broke the rear subframe bolt when I went over the bars and crashed. After Phoenix I started feeling really good on the bike and started to make progress, but then I got hurt. It was disappointing but I’m looking forward to Supercross next year because I will have more time.

Thank you very much.

No worries.