BAITIN' THE COMP: DREW ADAMS
Anyone who has seen Drew Adams ripping his KX85 at any given amateur motocross race knows just how talented he is. The Team Green Kawasaki rider always seems to be a step above the competition, whether it be on the racetrack or on the podium. He has an electrifying personality that translates well into his riding, but his mom confirmed that he's also a ball of energy off the bike. Adams spent the beginning of the season recovering from a collarbone injury after getting injured at SX Futures in Tampa, but he wasted no time getting back to racing as he showed up at the Daytona RCSX with only a week of preparation on the bike. He slowly built himself up throughout the weekend and ended with a win, eventually continuing in the same form at Spring A Ding Ding where he secured a pair of titles. We were able to catch Drew between training and fishing (with a little help from his mom) for a quick update on what he's been up to lately and how the beginning of his season went.
Everything's on pause at the moment and there's no racing or anything going on, what have you been doing to keep yourself occupied?
Drew: Well, I've been training a little bit. I go on bike rides probably two to three times per week. Other than that, I'm fishing a lot so it's pretty fun, but it's not as fun as going to the races obviously.
How has all of this affected what you do with your riding and training?
Drew: Yeah, I'm still on the same training schedule, but all of the gyms around here are closed and they closed the one here (at Moto X Compound), so I don't really have cycles and runs to do for working out.
But that's probably a good thing so you don't overdo it in the gym when we're not sure when we're getting back to racing. So it's nice to have some extra time to relax, right?
Drew: Yeah, definitely. I'm just trying not to get overweight or something.
Momma Adams: (laughs) That was a good one. It is not in his nature to be still, he doesn't spend any amount of time doing that. We've been doing not as many days, but it's still pretty much the same...and lots of fishin'!
Have you had a little bit of extra time for some video games too?
Drew: Yeah, a little bit. I play a little bit of Call of Duty and I play (Monster Energy) Supercross sometimes.
Momma Adams: He doesn't do a whole lot of video games. We didn't expose him to it when he was real young, his foundation was set outside and once he got video games, you know, he'll go through phases with it but for the most part he doesn't do much. As I said, he doesn't like to be still so he likes the outdoors.
Back when you were on 65s, you would hop on some other rider's superminis at Moto X Compound and there was even a video of you going around messing on a 450. Have you done any of that lately?
Drew: Yeah, I used to do that a lot but I don't do that very much now because I'm on a little bigger bike, so it's a little bit better.
It also seems like when you move up, you are always one of the younger kids in your class, so you've gained even a little more experience on the 85. It looks like your speed has come around where you're on pace with some of the older kids in the class.
Drew: Yeah, definitely. I think I'm always going to be one of those kids that just moves up early on the bike, just because how Kawi is not having a 125.
How did racing go for you this year before everything went on a hiatus?
Drew: Yeah, we were doing some Supercross Futures but I got hurt at Tampa. A lot of people were telling me not to race Daytona and just get ready for Spring A Ding Ding and Freestone, but I was kind of just like "I've got nothing to lose."
How long did you have on the bike coming into Daytona?
Drew: I think I had four to five days, maybe. It was about a week.
Momma Adams: Yeah, he wasn't all the way healed up but he was ready to go back. (laughs) He was just getting stronger each day. When he hurt himself, I don't know if you've ever heard of this, but he bent his collarbone. Especially when they're young and still kind of soft, I guess they can do that. So it splintered a little bit at the top and bottom of the bend, but it didn't break all the way through. The doctor told him it won't be one hundred percent until six or eight weeks, but you can start riding whenever you feel like it so that's what he did! (laughs)
Drew: And during practice at Daytona I hit my collarbone again and that messed it up a little bit.
Did that make you a little nervous before racing just knowing that your collarbone was a little more fragile?
Drew: Yeah, definitely. If I hit like a braking bump or something my collarbone would move a little bit and it hurt.
That sounds rough. How was Spring A Ding Ding for you? There are quite a few braking bumps out there.
Drew: We had that drive from Daytona to Spring A Ding Ding, so that gave me a little bit of resting time. It was fun, I loved it! The track got gnarly, the motos were long, and it was fun.
What do you think about the track there?
Drew: It's just so flowy and the track gets nice and deep, and that's what we train on here so it's kind of what I'm used to.
This is your second year on Team Dunlop Elite. Talk a little bit about what it means to be a part of that program.
Drew: Yeah, it's awesome. They give me a lot of support and, of course, I've got the best tires out there. It's awesome to get to be on a team with a lot of good riders.
The 85cc class this year is pretty stacked. What do you think about the depth of competition that you have to race against this season?
Drew: Yeah at some races, there's the 85cc (10-12) stock and mod and then other races, like Spring A Ding Ding, there is the 85cc (9-11) and (9-13), so I get some more competition there which is good. I like mixing it up with the older kids and showing them what I can do.