"Dany Torres will be the man to beat in 2008"

Travis Pastrana is, so he says, “the most un-retired rider in the world.” Why he’s still fascinated by Red Bull X-Fighters even after retiring from it, who he thinks will succeed him on the throne, and why he’d be such a bad co-pilot in a rally car he discloses in the second part of our interview.

In 2006 you announced your retirement from FMX sport – only to win the overall title at Red Bull X-Fighters in 2007 as a two-time guest rider. What back door have you left ajar this time?

Last year it felt that as soon as I decided not to compete in FMX competitions ... Red Bull announced that they would hold an X-Fighters championship. I decided to come out and have some fun in the two events that didn't conflict with a rally. I showed up at Slane Castle and fell in love with the venue. Dane Herron built the most amazing course I’ve ever seen. The riders were all pumped on the 1/4 pipe and how well everything flowed. The track had my name all over it. That, plus Lord Henry had golf carts and shotguns that we played around with between our practice sessions. It was just an all-round good time, and I was able to find my rhythm much quicker than I thought I would.

Nice understatement: You won the event with as much superiority as you did the one in Madrid – and thus the overall title 2007. Who do you think will follow in your footsteps in 2008?

There are a lot of amazing riders, but I would anticipate Dany Torres to come out swinging. He made such amazing progress in the off season last year that even half of that improvement this year would make him the man to beat. Dany is a crowd favorite, especially in Madrid. Nate Adams is probably the best freestyle rider in the world today, but he’s so good and performs his tricks so cleanly that the crowd has a tough time appreciating his skills. Twenty per cent of a Red Bull X-Fighters score is determined by crowd enthusiasm. This will not play into Nate’s favor.

And who in your opinion has the most potential after Dany and Nate?

The two other riders I feel have the ability to win the championship are Eigo Sato and Mat Rebeaud. They’re veteran riders who are very consistent and know how to win. Eigo has some of the biggest flip tricks dialed and just needs to put the rest of his run together. Mat finished second last year with a broken thumb in the final round. He's tough, and willing to do what it takes to get one step higher.

You’ve got the same target in rallying. In contrast to FMX, rally driving is not about you alone having control over the victories and losses, crashes and risks: you have to blindly trust your co-pilot. How hard is that for you to do?

The most challenging part of adapting to rally from motocross is that my entire life I’ve learned how to block everything else out and focus on my riding. Now with rally, I’ve had to adjust my thinking so that I focus on listening during high intensity situations. If I block out the co-driver, we crash.

Would you yourself be a good co-driver, both in a rally car and also privately? Or are you one of those notorious belly-achers who hassles the one behind the wheel until they lose their nerve?

I’m a horrible passenger. I could never be a co-driver! The better the driver, the more scared I am because the faster they’ll be going when they crash!