Story Written by:  Billy Ursic

Publication:  www.RACERXILL.com

Original Publication 6/25/2008 by Racer X.

This season hasn’t exactly gone as planned for Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ivan Tedesco. After being sidelined for much of the Monster Energy Supercross tour, the 2005 AMA Motocross Lites champion was ready and raring to go outdoors. At the first two rounds, Tedesco finished fifth and third and was sitting a comfortable fourth in points. Unfortunately, the wheels came off in the second moto at Texas’s Freestone County Raceway, and the bad luck stretched through to Mt. Morris. We caught up with Ivan following the first off-weekend of the 2008 series.

Racer X: Enquiring minds want to know, do you still go by the nickname “Hot Sauce?”
Ivan Tedesco: [Laughs] I don’t know, a lot of people still call me that, but it’s kind of fading.

Well, what are you up to today?
Today is my first day back on the bike. I haven’t been able to practice since my crash at Texas. I tried to race Mt. Morris and it didn’t work out too good. I kind of reinjured my ankle. But I’m out here today just checking it out and trying to get ready for Colorado.

Ivan, you started off the season right where a lot of people probably expected you to be—a solid top-five finisher in the first two rounds, the latter being a podium finish. So let’s start right there. Tell us about Glen Helen and Hangtown…
I missed the supercross season with an injury, so I just started getting ready for the outdoors when I started riding. I came into Glen Helen knowing I was ready and prepared—I felt like I was in good shape. I kind of struggled with a little bit of arm pump there at Glen Helen, but I ended up with a fifth, which I was happy with my first race back, so that gave me some confidence going into Hangtown. I rode a little better there, didn’t get arm pump, and I ended up getting on the podium there.

How do you solve a case of arm pump in one week?
With me, I get arm pump when I’m not comfortable and I tense up. That track at Glen Helen is just so fast, so with it being my first race back in a while, I think I just wasn’t comfortable.

So after the first two races you were sitting fourth in points. You then scored a sixth in the first moto at Freestone, but then things quickly unraveled in the second moto. Man, your crash there looked downright nasty.
I haven’t seen it, but a lot of people have said that. The first moto, I didn’t get the greatest of starts, but I came through the pack pretty decent and got a sixth. In that second moto I got off to a good start and was in third, but then I slid out in a corner. I caught back up after I fell, and about the halfway mark, Ferry and I were battling and I just hit a kicker on this single jump and went over the bars, I think. I guess that’s what happened. I then ended up spraining my ankle, and that’s the injury I’m dealing with right now.

I talked to you briefly before the motos at High Point, and you said you didn’t ride at all that entire week because of your ankle. How is it feeling now?
It’s getting better. It still hurts. The week before High Point, I didn’t ride at all, but I showed up to try and salvage some points because I was still, like, fifth in points. That first moto I got ninth, which was all right, considering the situation. And then that second moto someone T-bones me in the first corner in my injured ankle, so that put me out for the day.

So this weekend off couldn’t have come at a better time.
Yeah, I wish I would’ve had this week off after Texas, but now is good. So now I’m just out cruising around and checking it out. It sucks riding injured. You know what you want to do at the races, but your body just don’t let you, so it’s kind of an uphill battle.

Your riding clan down in Tallahassee are having a rough go at it lately. We read about your teammate Ben Townley having to undergo surgery, and you have an injured ankle…Cody Cooper is the only one healthy!
Yeah, Coop is healthy! He’s a good guy and he’s riding really well.

How do you like it living in Tallahassee?
It’s good, man. We got a good group of guys to ride with. I got Big Rick [Carmichael] working on my practice bike, which is good, and RC comes out when he has a chance to help me out. It’s a cool town and you couldn’t ask for better riding.

What’s the plan for this Saturday night in Colorado?
Well, it’s kind of like my hometown race. A lot of my family lives in New Mexico, which isn’t too far away, so they’ll all be there to cheer me on. Hopefully my ankle doesn’t hold me back too bad, and it would be nice to get back up on the podium and get he ball rolling again.

What do you hope to achieve by the end of the season?
My goal coming into the season was to finish in the top three overall in points. That kind of slowly drifted away from me there with those DNFs, but l have an uphill battle in front of me, but it’s still possible. There’s a lot of motos left, so I’m just going to try and be consistent and make that happen.

Who do you want to thank, Ivan?
I want to thank Honda Red Bull Racing for sticking behind me. I’ve had a rough year with injuries, and it would be nice to pay them back with some more podiums and even a win. I want to thank all the guys at Fox Racing for picking me up this year, as well as Dragon goggles, DVS Shoes, and the whole Carmichael clan for hooking me up!