Monday Conversation: Josh Hansen
Monday, February 7, 2011 | 11:20 AM
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Josh Hansen has now won three races this season and holds the Lites West points lead, but his Anaheim 2 victory on Saturday night was something special. Hansen crashed in the whoops in practice and broke his hand, but he just gutted it out, fought through the pain, and won the main event anyway. He rode so well that it almost looked like he wasn’t hurt at all—but the fresh new soft cast on his hand said it all. Here’s what else he said.
Racer X Online: Will you please explain this? Are you injured or not? You’re wearing a cast, but you won the main event!
Josh Hansen: Yeah, I’m injured for sure. In practice I had a big crash and broke the top of my hand and some fingers. The bones were out of place, so they put them back in, and I guess they got knocked back out of place in the race, so now they put it in a soft cast. It is what it is.
What did it feel like when you were riding?
It sucked, dude! It sucked!
So how did you do it?
It’s one of those things where it came down to a championship. And then uh, I don’t really know. I just told myself, it’s only 15 minutes out of my life of pain. So I just busted it out. Everyone has always told me that I was soft in the past, so I figured if I was ever going to harden up, the time to do it would be when we were going for a championship.
Hansen shook off a broken hand and the field to come away with the victory at A2.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Hansen got the start but had to battle young guns Roczen and Tomac for the win.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Racer X Online: Will you please explain this? Are you injured or not? You’re wearing a cast, but you won the main event!
Josh Hansen: Yeah, I’m injured for sure. In practice I had a big crash and broke the top of my hand and some fingers. The bones were out of place, so they put them back in, and I guess they got knocked back out of place in the race, so now they put it in a soft cast. It is what it is.
What did it feel like when you were riding?
It sucked, dude! It sucked!
So how did you do it?
It’s one of those things where it came down to a championship. And then uh, I don’t really know. I just told myself, it’s only 15 minutes out of my life of pain. So I just busted it out. Everyone has always told me that I was soft in the past, so I figured if I was ever going to harden up, the time to do it would be when we were going for a championship.
Hansen shook off a broken hand and the field to come away with the victory at A2.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Well yeah, two or three years ago, would you have done this?
I don’t know. I don’t think so. I really don’t. But you know, I barely even had a ride three years ago so, I don’t know.
Yeah, I guess when you don’t even have a ride you don’t even really get a chance to go for a title and do this.
(Laughs) Yeah it all worked out. I’m just stoked to be a part of this team, everyone at Pro Circuit, Monster and Kawasaki.
So do you have any idea what to do now?
Well, just stay off it, let it reattach, and do my training off the bike. It couldn’t be a better time for this, we have next weekend off for the East kickoff, so I have extra time. I’m just going to work hard and get this thing back to normal. The next race should be better. I hope!
Yeah but this could be one of those things that hurts really bad the next morning.
Yeah, it could. I don’t know. I’ve only got one more race, then I have a month off, so I’ll make it happen.
Hansen got the start but had to battle young guns Roczen and Tomac for the win.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Let’s talk about the race a little bit. The kids, Tomac and Roczen, were all over you there.
Yeah, I got out into the lead and those guys were right on me. I think it was Roczen who closed in on me a little bit. Then I don’t know what happened, Tomac got into second and put a good pass on me. I got him right back and got a little aggressive. I put a gap on them and took it to the checkers. But those guys are riding good, they’re kids that you can’t count out, they have a lot of speed and work hard. Congrats to those guys, they rode good.
I saw you walking out of the Asterisk truck and you were really mad. Were you thinking at that point that winning tonight’s race was even possible?
No. Man, when I was going out for the main, I was not feeling like riding a dirt bike at all. I never thought I was going to win—I knew I wanted to, but it wasn’t like, “I’m going to have this tonight.” I kind of pissed myself off, because on the parade lap, I was so mad, because it hurt so bad, so I decided I needed to try to channel that energy into something different, something that could help me on the track. It worked out alright!
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That is badass, I'm starting to like this guy.
congrats hanny, im always cheering for ya , but what a ride sat night, the championship is yours 4sure
Glad to see Josh isn't a P**** like James Bubbles Stewart! Good ride Josh hope you can pull off the tilte.
Good job! Can't wait to see his aggression put to use in the 450 class.
JS7 would have done the same thing for a championship, don't kid yourself.
Good ride, hard to believe NO ONE could take advantage of his situation.
Very gutty ride for Hansen, congrats to him! But @jacob450...you can take your ridiculous comments and hit the bricks...Stewart rode Round 3 last year with a broken wrist and pulled 3rd...not to mention the torn ACL in the outdoors against RC
Hey jacob450 have you ever broken your wrist?? Its not fun you cant do crap especially with the bone JS7 broke!!
Mr Hansen I used to think that you were a waste of talent but now it seems like you grew up and now you are the champion that was meant to be. I wish you the best for you future which can be the one of your dreams.
jacob450, you realize the bone JS broke last year was a crucial bone that he either had to fix then, or deal with issues the rest of his career, right?
Jacob450.....Are you saying 19 riders got beat by a pvzzy named "BUBBLES"
Whatever, he's still a punk!
hannys the man!
Props to you Josh ! That effort was not all about moto . Damn , ima take my dunce cap and go stand in the corner.
JimM
CarlsbadCA
I was impressed. Jost was riding great last year and his Buddy Jake took the title. Ken Roczon was riding great. Watch the interview on How was your weekend. Ken had way to may Redbull's. This sport has some great guys.
anyone who is into this sport and can talk crap about any of these riders at this level of the sport cant possibly have any real riding experience themselves. If so, list your championships, wow us all.
Josh - Just wanted to say congrats on a great ride. Keep us up to date on that hand!
I think the guy has really grown up, big-time. Look where he and Lawrence were a few years ago, and look where they are now.
The only thing I've ever broken is my *****
that was supposed to say v a g i n a .. censorship sucks
Great performance Hansen! I have a newfound respect for you. That took a lot of determination and heart. This title is all yours. Do not get off the path you are on.
We love sports because we love to see the battle. To see someone dig down deep and really extend themselves. I think we just saw that with Josh Hansen- wow, even if it is just badly bruised, to hang on to the bars like that, landing triples et al, took some serious fortitude.
Maybe there's still hope for J Law?
very impressive....lots of heart in Hanny this year.....
Unlike some, I've enjoyed watching Hanny resurrect his career. Awesome ride Saturday. However, he's not out of the woods yet. As hard as it must have been to ride that race, it could be harder in two weeks, depending on the injury. The month-long break afterward will be a blessing for him. Being fit enough for SD will be crucial, though. Good luck, Josh.
Hey Josh if you read this post I am not gonna put you down cause I know what you went through I have done it althogh not on your level. It is all about winning. And wanting to win it is a drive that is only in a few people. You are gonnna have to dig deep in 2 weeks but you can do it!!!!!!
Yeah you're right, stewart's a pu***.
All HE had was a broken navicular bone in his throttle and front brake hand.
a REAL champ would have manned up, and rode the remaining 14 races.
What a PU***.
(sarcasm here)
Mad respect for Josh, very few people could have done what he did. Dude is a certified badass now in my book. I love to see stories like his. I hope he keeps up the great work and brings home the championships.
rg807,
You can't compare J Law to Josh Hansen. That's just retarded. Jason Lawrence has been a deadbeat piece of shit since he was born, Josh has always been a good kid who lost his way a few years ago and maybe made some poor decisions and mistakes. He grew up, realized he wanted to get back on the straight and narrow and now he's on the road to a championship, one of many to come I'm sure. BIG UPS to Josh.
Jacob450 you dont even know what a v*****a IS. Your'e gay, remember???
Batman will be wearing Josh Hansen underwear to bed for the next year. Dedication to winning like this man is putting forward keeps us coming to the races to see what he will do next. Who ever gets the West Lites #1 plate will earn it with pride.
DMC- it was just a retorical question, and not meant to be taken literally. But having said that, please, Hanson spent 4 or 5 years completely screwing up. They aren't that far apart.
Ya Hanny! I have been rooting for you the whole season! Your the man, hope you can get better for the next round. This is what you call a true racer! My favorite lites rider for sure! Keep up the good work. Champion in my mind!
dont forget J-Law won a championship...but his head got way too big....I am sure Hanny watched his buddy self destruct and knows what not to do, even though he had his years of screwing up....You can tell Hanny doesnt open his mouth any more than he is asked too.....do your talking on the track...and that is what he has done.....no more childish crap where the stuff that happend after the race is more important.....beside, he gets more p*ssy when he wins!!!
Broke his hand? What did he break in his hand? Three metacarpals? One distal phalanx? Is it dislocations or is it a fracture? What kind of fracture? Somebody let us know! The body can be broken down into smaller parts than hand, arm and leg. Let's learn our anatomy and describe these breaks accurately! Maybe a radiographer or radiologist should be on staff to help with bone identification.
He broke his left hand.....
Just a joke jairtime....I beleive the Asterik folks have some experienced imaging people on the payroll to take a first glance at things butthen again, they didnt catch Bubba's break either so who knows what info Hanny got....He does have a soft cast installed now.
I would like to see any stick and ball roid monster do anything while injured!! They break a fingernail and there in the locker room. My hats off to Hanny and all the other riders out there busting it out.
See what happens when Josh goes to the aussie outback for awhile!
Solid! When you are old like me, you will look back on this day and feel awesome that you decided to go all in. Compromise only feels good when you do it, but total committment feels good your whole life.
Readbeard, a fracture of the navicular may not present with an x-ray. ct to determine a prroper differential diagnosis.
Stewart's damage was in a joint.. Much worse than fractured tarsals or even phalanges (fingers) as it is still very much possible to compete with this type of injury without causing further damage.
Hanny has a secret weapon where all of his strength is created: DIRT SHARK !!!!
Hey slim you are stupid hanny got first with a broken wrist and bubba got third bubba is such a crybaby and is becoming a washed up rider.
I wish he would get a freaking haircut and start looking professional. Especially riding for ProCircuit!
Racing 15 laps all-out, on a track that most people that own a dirt-bike would have a tough time even riding around, against the best in the world and with the pressure of Pro-circuit Kawasaki and championship points lead on the line? With a freshly busted hand and fingers?
Anybody that talks shit about this kid is an idiot.
He has matured after 10 years in the lites class, props for the big win while injured.
However, does anyone else take issue with his passing tactics? Round one, he took out Craig. Round two, contact passes. Dodger stadium he tried to take out Seely but couldn't. As he caught back up, he made contact with almost everyone he passed. He is fast enough to ride clean, yet he rams everyone.
That is dissappointing and because of that I can't root for him.
I practiced with a broken boxer's knuckle once... hurt like hell and I didn't ride my motos that day. Props to you Hanny -- situations like this define a rider!
HANNY IS ONE BAD MOFO.