Coty Schock Interview: Birmingham Press Day
March 08, 2024
Image from Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
It’s your first season with the team and you’re adapting to that. I know it was maybe a little bit of a shorter off season than you had anticipated; you joined the team halfway through.
Yeah. The transition honestly was really easy for me because the previous team I was on, we always trained at Club MX. So for me to come to the Club MX team, it was more so just kind of getting to know the guys a little bit more. And immediately I kind of felt right at home. The bike was in a really good spot 'cause they obviously have had a lot of time on that bike and there wasn't really much testing for me to do. They were kind of like: hey, this is what we know is good and see what you think. And it took me a few days to understand a different brand and how the chassis worked. But overall it was super simple. And with what I'm on right now as we speak, it's not much different than what I started on. So it's been super nice to just be on something that's consistent and not having to chase any type of setting.What's the biggest difference between the Honda you were on last year and the Yamaha this year?
The torque. The torque on a Yamaha is just insane. A 250 doesn't really feel like a 250; it just wants to rip out of your arms. So for me, my starts: it was something I had to relearn in a way. I've always been a good starter, but on the Yamaha that took a while. So I had to discipline myself and force myself to be open to relearning on how to do starts, which is something I was always good at. And I feel like we're in a pretty good spot.How do you feel with the points right now and being so close? Has that put any additional pressure on you?
No. Being completely open and transparent, there is no pressure on me. It's a very cool position for me to be in right now. I feel like if you were to let that pressure get to you, then that's when mistakes start happening and everything else kind of goes out the window. I just want to go race by race and be in the moment ‘cause I love traveling, I love being at the races and I definitely try to soak up every round fully. I just want to enjoy being in the moment and just continue to put in some solid good runs.So you like traveling! How does it feel to come into a new city like Birmingham? Do you get a chance to explore it at all?
It’s hard. I try to explore a little bit, but nothing crazy. But it's always nice going to someplace new where you don't know and just create new memories; good or bad. It's nice to not be in the same spot. I always like the airports and flying. Even when you feel tired, almost hungover even though you didn’t drink; everyone gets exhausted from traveling. But those are the moments that we live for 'cause it's way better than sitting at home being bored on the couch.Do you have a favorite city you like to visit?
One of my favorite ones is Salt Lake. Obviously I wish we would go back to Vegas for the finale. But Salt Lake is just a beautiful place. If you want to go hiking or mountain biking; even the people there are super genuine and chill. That's my type of vibe.
