At round eight of the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship in Washougal, Washington, the number fifty-five on a full on privateer Honda came out and showed everyone what he’s capable of. Tommy Weeck–after not racing since Hangtown–went out in the first moto at Washougal and, after a mid-pack start, worked his way up to as high as fourth in the moto. Tommy passed factory bikes like that of Justin Barcia and battled with points leader Dean Wilson before a couple of mistakes pushed him back to a very respectable sixth place finish.
After that performance at Washougal, he was hoping to get enough sponsor support to contest the final four Nationals, but that call never came. Instead, Tommy got an email from a team in Europe saying they wanted him to come to Europe to contest the final two FIM MX2 World Championship series races. Not having anything in the states to do, Tommy jumped at the opportunity.
We gave the always hilarious character to talk to, Tommy Weeck, a call to find out what was going on. Here’s how it went:
I’m glad I got a hold of you, because it sounds like you have a lot going on these days.
Things are starting to come around. The hard work’s starting to pay off. I’m excited!
Nice! Let’s go back to what probably had something to do with these new developments: your race at Washougal. How did it feel to run up front at a National?
It felt normal, man. It was like coming through the ranks again. It was like being a KTM amateur racer coming through the ranks battling with guys like Justin Barcia and Dean Wilson. That was the norm for me back in the day. Being at Washougal like that, nothing about it seemed weird or nothing. I felt like I was back at home where I belonged.
How was the bike for you out there? Same bike as Hangtown?
It was the same bike that I had at Hangtown, but at Hangtown it blew up five laps in. (Laughs) Same bike, same suspension, same everything, but it made it through the weekend. Well, the first moto at least. The second moto we actually lost 3-400ccs of oil. That was part of the reason we finished a little ways back in the second moto. We were having some bike malfunctions, but it was awesome. Washougal was definitely a career highlight for me as of now.
We’ve talked, and I know it’s B.S., but how many times did you hear people saying “Well, you live at that track, so your performance there doesn’t carry as much weight?”
Yeah, that’s awesome! I think it’s pretty funny how everybody just seems to think that I rode there every single day before the National, but if anybody’s worked at a National track or lived at a National track, they’d understand the scenario because you can’t ride the track. There’s so much preparation that goes into it, and the track’s not prepped all the time. I mean, Washougal’s one of those tracks that when it sits, it sits! And it’s hard-packed and gnarly. You can’t even ride it. You’d have more fun riding a quad on it than you would riding a dirt bike on it. So like I said, anybody that’s worked at a National-caliber track knows that, from practice day to National day, it’s two total different tracks. You know, obviously it didn’t hurt my standings being from up there and having a hometown race up there. It definitely boosted my confidence, made it easier and made me feel more at home for sure, but it’s totally different from amateur days to National day on the National track.
A lot of MX fans know by now that you’re heading to Europe to ride the Grand Prix series for the final two MX2 World Championship races in Gaildorf, Germany and Fermo, Italy–and we’ll get into that more later. But I’m curious: did any U.S. teams give you a call after that Washougal performance?
Nothing! Nothing at all. Actually, I joked in a RacerX interview about Eric Kehoe [American Honda team manager] and putting a call in to him. I actually put a call in to him and he did call me back, but just to let me know they were putting Barcia on the bike. (Laughs) Other than that, though, I didn’t get a single call. Nothing.
(Laughs) That’s funny. I like how you roll. You have no problem picking up the phone and calling Eric Kehoe.
(Laughs) Yeah, no problem! I searched for his number and got a hold of it, and I called him three times in one day. (Laughs) That’s one thing people don’t understand. Especially with this Europe thing, people are thinking I’m just running to Europe, whether it be for money or whatever, and bottom line is I just want to race, and I have no opportunities to do that over here. The opportunity to go over there presented itself, and I jumped on it. Absolutely. I had to give my race bike back over here, so I don’t even have a dirt bike to race right now. The opportunity came to go to Europe, and I jumped on it 100%. I’m ready to go, because that’s all I want to do is race.
How did the GP opportunity come to you?
James Hanson at Rockstar put in a good word for me. Then, one night I was laying in bed at about 11:30 at night, and I looked at my email and saw an email from him with a proposal and them wanting me to come over and do a test. Like I said, I jumped on it. I emailed him back that minute and said tell me when my plane leaves. (Laughs)
(Laughs) Have you ever even been to Europe before?
Never have. I’ve been to Mexico or Canada or something close to the states, but I’ve never been across the seas, no never, so this is a pretty cool experience for me. I even get to take my father with me, so that’s pretty awesome, too.
That’s awesome! You guys are going to have a blast. Have you watched the GP’s at all this year or in the past?
I’ve been watching YouTube like no other. (Laughs) Trying to do my studying. I’m getting as much information as I can on it. You can’t ever go into a race prepared enough, so I’ve been studying it every single night. I’ve been watching that track I’m going to be racing, the competition I’m going to be racing, and getting as much knowledge as I can. It’s a whole different world over there, and the more prepared I can get, the better I’ll be.
Both Gaildorf and Fermo are hard-pack, but there’s hard-pack, and then, there’s concrete. I think Fermo more closely resembles concrete. (Laughs) Just Italian blue groove with gnarly square edges everywhere. Gaildorf has some loamy sections, if I remember right.
Yeah, exactly. I headed out to Comp Edge today at about noon, and I didn’t leave Comp Edge until 3:30 today. I was the last man riding the 40-minute motos out there today–just training on the blue groove, riding the end of the day tracks and Star West trying to get used to the blue groove. The way Ryno [Ryan Hughes] described Gaildorf to me was “more hard-packed than Lake Elsinore.” (Laughs)
Yeah you’re coming in for two of the gnarlier tracks of the year.
That’s awesome. The gnarlier the better!
Nice. Well, we know you’re riding a Kawasaki, and most are drawing assumptions based on that, but I noticed in a recent video interview, all you would say was Kawasaki, no team name.
You know, it’s pretty funny. Everybody keeps asking me, “Who are you riding for? Who you riding for?” And yeah, I don’t want to tell anybody. The second I let that out, that’s just more knowledge for another American racer to have to make a phone call and try to get that ride. I’m taking advantage of the opportunity I have, and I’m holding for myself.
Check out this video of Tommy Weeck from earlier this week. Video by CrazyMoneyProductions.com
Well, most people assume it’s Bud Racing Kawasaki right now, but I’ll wait until we see a press release before I make any more assumptions.
It’s not Bud!
It’s not Bud?
Nope. I’m basically starting my own team over there. Pokemon is going to step up! They have a pretty good incentive program over there. (Laughs) Pikachu is going to send some electricity down to the other racers to make sure we dominate. We’re talking about getting a 125cc two stroke rider and possibly even a 500 rider. (Laughs)
(Laughs) Awesome! Sign me up! I just turned 40, and I’m looking to make a final push in the Vet Championships.
Perfect! Let’s go.
So you’re protecting a possible paycheck? I don’t blame you considering you haven’t eaten in a while.
Exactly. You know, nothing’s for sure. I still have to go over there and put the work in with the team to make sure that it will work. I want to make sure I have the ride before I let out all the information, but believe me, the second that everything is good and looking solid, everybody will know who it is I’m racing for. I just bought a new digital camera, and I’ll take pictures of the bike and keep people posted for sure.
I see where you’re coming from. If you do get the ride, and the team and yourself like how it works these last two rounds, would you consider making a run at the GP’s full time?
Absolutely! Like I said, I want to race. It doesn’t matter where I am or what country I’m in. I want to race, and I want to win races. And if I got the opportunity to do a full season over there, I’m jumping on it. I have no opportunities to do anything over here. I just struggled to make it to a couple of races. It’s no fun trying to make things happen just to get to a few races. You have so many months in between, and you don’t get to get into a routine and a ritual of training. Like I said, though, if I get an opportunity to do a full season no matter where it is, I’m jumping on it and am going to give it everything I have.
When do you leave for Europe?
I leave on Thursday.
Well, I’m a motocross fan that’s a huge fan and supporter of the Grand Prix series, so I’m just pumped we have another very solid American talent over there representing us . Good luck with this opportunity, and thanks for doing the interview.
No problem, Dan. Thanks for the call.
