Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer has gone from hero to zero and then back again before, and it looks like he’s in the middle of doing it again. He dominated the Lites West Supercross Championship this year, then did the same at the East/West Shootout in Las Vegas, but outdoors hasn’t been going too hot for him. And some people are talking as if Weimer has “lost it” or something. He hasn’t. We caught up with him this week.

Monster: You’ve been struggling a lot, obviously, lately. It’s not like you haven’t had speed, because you have, but seems like kind of similar to last year that for whatever reason things keep happening. But this last weekend it looked like the start of a turnaround. Can you talk about how frustrating that had to be for the first half of the series and how even a small victory like a 3-5 or whatever it was, what it actually means for you right now?
Jake Weimer: For me, it wasn’t like I was just jumping up and down for joy. It was just one of those things where the races haven’t really gone according to plan at all. I’ve been searching and trying and doing this, that and the other. Finally, it was better. It wasn’t still what I want or what I was planning on doing, but it was definitely better. I just took it and said, “Okay, just kind of build on this and get some confidence going.” The first moto, I was right there, and in the second moto, it wasn’t quite as good but still a lot better than what I’ve been doing. I’m just trying to take it and use it and try to get some confidence going and get the ball rolling again.

That first moto, Chris Pourcel, who kills first motos, was out front. Trey Canard did a little bit of battling with him but when you say you were “right there”, I’m not sure that TV did it justice because you were coming into turns they were coming out of. You really were “right there.”
Yeah, I think at the end of the moto, I was six seconds behind Chris and two behind Trey, so it was a pretty good ride for me. Obviously, winning is what I want to do, but that type of racing was more of what I had had in mind all year; being up front and at least being in the mix and giving yourself a chance. The first round, I actually ended up having the same result. I didn’t get third in the moto, but I was fourth overall, which is the same thing I did this weekend. It was a little bit better, so I’ll just keep moving forward.

How do you explain what happened for the first half of the season?
You don’t. I mean, I don’t know... I wasn’t sick; I wasn’t hurt. I don’t know 100-percent what the problem was. I think part of it for sure was the Supercross thing. That was my whole goal as a kid was to win a Supercross title. I didn’t care if it was 450, 250, East, West... I didn’t care. I just wanted to win a Supercross title. I just had it pounded into my head for so long and as I got closer and closer it became more of a reality. It was just such a focus of mine that I think once I did it, it was over so quickly and mentally I was just so focused on the Supercross thing it was almost like I hadn’t made plans after that. So, I had to redirect my focus, and it’s tough because even a slight mental error on my part is a big deal sometimes, and sometimes those things take time. With racing every weekend, it was tough because when the Nationals started I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do, so I was getting frustrated. I wasn’t happy. And so it just took me a minute to calm down and figure out what my goals were and I guess just get back on it. I’ve been training the whole time and nothing changed really. Nothing changed other than I just wasn’t happy with my results and I got frustrated. That almost made it worse because I was crashing all the time, and even when I had decent starts I was lying on the ground. It just kind of seemed like no matter what I did, I had issues, so it was frustrating and I think it just took me a little bit to get over the frustration part and just clear my head and get back to it.

The silly season is going on right now with everyone trying to find rides for next year, and you’re a Supercross champ now, so one would have to assume that you would land on a top team somewhere. Do you think potentially this bad streak has changed things in regard to how silly season is going for you?
It probably is, and that’s one thing that bothers me. It is what it is and that’s just kind of the way the sport is. It is frustrating because I felt like my performances were jeopardizing contracts for next year and that was adding to the frustration. It’s frustrating for me because a year ago I was winning outdoor races, ended up going to des Nations and being involved in that... All of a sudden, I won the Supercross title, everything is looking great, and then I struggle for a few races and then all of a sudden it’s like I don’t have it anymore. You can’t say everybody struggles at some point because it seems like some people just never struggle, but I had struggled for a few races and it’s just kind of weird the way some people think. It’s not like I can’t do it. I know I can do it. I did it last year, basically against the same people. I do think that there have been some people stepping up this year, but I don’t see any reason why I can’t win races. As far as the silly season goes, probably as jacked up as it is, it probably is affecting it.

That’s kind of messed up because the reality of it is, when the checkered flag flew at Las Vegas, you kicked the holy crap out of everybody, including Christophe Pourcel, Trey, all the people that maybe are more touted right now because of what you’ve done outdoors. It’s got to be somewhat frustrating.
Yeah, it is, but the only thing I can do about that is just try and put some good results in. Last weekend was a good start, and I think I rode well at Washougal last year. This week, the times that I’ve rode, I felt better than ever. My lap times were good and I feel like I’m in even a better spot right now than I was in Millville. I think that half-decent finish kind of got me what I needed. I think it gave me a little extra boost and things are actually going really, really well this week. So I’m going to Washougal to win, for sure. There’s nothing that’ll fix the problems better than winning, so that’s the plan for now.

It’s kind of a double-edged sword, the whole saying of “you’re only as good as your last race.” When you have a good race, it’s good, when you have a bad race, it’s bad, but it’s good that you can change it next weekend...
Totally. Some dude could get 30th one weekend and the very next weekend go out and win, and all of a sudden he’s the new thing and the greatest thing ever. It’s like that for sure. Regardless of next year or anything like that, it’s important to me personally, obviously just because winning is important. Second of all, I don’t want to get to where I’m labeled as a Supercross rider. I don’t want to get to that spot. I think that some people already think that and if you look at last year, I won as many outdoor races as I did Supercross races. I don’t want to get into that category so I’m trying to get it turned around.

Not for nothing, but the guy that’s winning everything in the big bike class was in both of those championships where you won those races last year...
Exactly...

What about the 450? I know I frequently ask you about this, but I keep running into people who keep saying, “What about him on a 450?”
I mean, I raced a 450 as an amateur and did well. I liked riding it and I’ve had a 450 every year I’ve been pro; I’ve had one to play on and I like riding them. It’s fun for me and it’s a whole different deal. The bike is heaver, the races are longer, there are twice as many Supercrosses, so there’s definitely a lot of things that make it tough, but just as far as riding the bike is concerned, it’s fun for me. I feel like it’s a little bit better of a bike for me just because it seems like you’ve really got to just hang it out on the 250F to go fast, and that’s not really me. I kind of like to be a little more patient about things and I think that works a little bit better on a 450. I’m optimistic and I’ve ridden a 450 in Supercross a little bit and everything is all good with that. I feel good on it. I’ve been riding on it probably more this year than I ever have, just because of the switch. Everything is good. I feel like lap times are good on it and I enjoy riding it.

The last thing is, you just got back from Florida. I know the hot thing is for motocross racers to go live in Florida for all kinds of different reasons. What did you take away from your experience going down there, hanging out and racing and training down there?
I think it’s good. I think that it’s no wonder the dudes from Florida are gnarly; it’s so hot and the tracks get super-rough and they’re sandy and they’re soft. For me, growing up riding on the west coast, I go over there and that’s tough to go ride in the soft sand. It gets rough and that was tough for me. I felt like it made me better being over there and I think it’s good training in the heat and stuff. I don’t know if it’s the difference in a career, but I definitely think if you’ve got the money to get a good setup and you’ve got a good place to ride, I think it would probably be helpful.