Josh Upperman ATV Motocross Interview
Josh Upperman Pro
Motocross Racer
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Josh Upperman Pro ATV MX Racer
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Florida (1/30/2015) - Josh Upperman has been racing since he was 15 years old. After moving up in the ranks throughout the years while earning multiple championships, Upperman raced his first Pro ATV Motocross season in 2007. Around that time, Baldwin Motorsports caught eye of Josh Upperman and has been a part of Josh Upperman's race program for years.
Fast forward to 2015, Josh Upperman is now on a brand new ride backed by Root River Racing. We had a chance to catch up with Josh Upperman while he was training in Florida to talk him about the switch and his new Pro ATV Motocross Race Program he has for 2015.
ATVriders.com:
Josh you have a brand new race program for 2015, can you tell me how this all came about?
Josh Upperman: You know it kind of happened toward the end of the season when I heard Root River Racing was looking for a new Pro rider, so I approached them and we worked out a deal that I am really excited about for this year.
ATVriders.com:
You have been with Baldwin Motorsports for many years, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to step away from them after all of these years.
Josh Upperman: It was definitely a huge, huge step for me, Mark and I have been together for almost ten years. It’s unfortunate that the industry is just not picking up the way we had been hoping, and it was just time for me to move on and that’s when Rich offered me a deal, and Mark understands. Mark’s been there for me since day one. We worked together and lived close to each other, but it comes a time in your life when you need to take a jump and here I am.
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Josh Upperman will be racing on a Root River Racing backed Honda 450R in 2015 |
ATVriders.com:
I definitely think you can’t go wrong with Root River Racing and the commitment that Rich Gillette has put into this sport.
Josh Upperman: Yeah, Rich is just a phenomenal guy and willing to help out whenever you need him there and we are all fortunate enough to have him in and behind the sport and I’m fortunate enough now to be on his team. I’m going to be training my butt off and I’m excited to be getting on the ATV more and more. I’ve been on the machine for a month now and making some tweaks and getting it all dialed in. I’m looking forward to the year and really hoping to be on the podium, a lot.
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Josh Upperman looks to be very comfortable on his new ride. For 2015, Josh Upperman is sponsored by Root River Racing, ITP Tires, Motowoz Shocks, JB Racing, FTR Graphics, Yoshimura Exhaust, FourWerx Carbon & more |
ATVriders.com:
As far as your Root River Racing Honda 450R goes, who are your big sponsors for the 2015 Pro ATV Motocross Championship season with the new team?
Josh Upperman: ITP Tires, Motowoz Shocks, JB Racing, FTR Graphics, Yoshimura Exhaust, FourWerx Carbon, DWT, and a few others and I’m really excited to be working with them and getting them all dialed in.
ATVriders.com:
Have you gotten in a lot of seat time? You had mentioned you were still dialing in your Motowoz suspension.
Josh Upperman: Yeah we’ve gotten some testing done down here just this past week and continuing to make improvements, we’ve made some big leaps so far, and I’m loving the bike more and more I’m on it.
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Josh Upperman has been dialing in his Motowoz Suspension while training down in Florida with former Pro ATV Motocross Champion Tim Farr |
ATVriders.com:
With the backing of the Root River Racing team this year, are you going to be able to concentrate more on riding and training this year and keeping up to speed rather than having to work your forty-four hours a week job this season?
Josh Upperman: 100%, Rich has a great program for me this year and I’m going to be able to take some time off from work and focus on riding and training and being able to train like a lot of the other front runners in the class, so I’m really looking forward to that and we are hoping to succeed and push it and see what we can really do this year.
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Unlike years past where Upperman had to work a full time job to race on the weekends, Josh Upperman is now 100% focused on training & riding in 2015 |
