Shane McElrath Interview: San Diego Press Day
January 17, 2025
Image from Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
We caught up with Shane McElrath during press day in San Diego. Another new team for him, but he's coming off an impressive 13th to start the season.
How are you feeling on the bike heading into the season, with an extra week since A1?
I felt a lot better. A1 was a lot of sorting things out. Like you said, we didn’t have a lot of time on the bike, and it was my first race on the Honda 450. We were sorting through some issues throughout the day, including qualifying. The racing wasn’t anything spectacular; I wasn’t completely focused on my racing because we were dealing with other things. But this week was a lot better. It was a solid week of training and actually getting the time in, building my confidence, and getting the repetitions in. So, coming into this weekend, I’m showing up to race, whereas last weekend I had a lot of questions. I didn’t have a lot of time, so we were just trying to take it all in and jump in with what we had. But this week has been much more focused and productive.
How do you think last weekend went, considering all of that?
It went okay. The team was pretty happy. I mean, 13th is nothing to write home about, but it wasn’t terrible either. It wasn’t spectacular, and we have a lot of room to improve on that. So I think overall it’s exciting and encouraging because we can change a few things that will really benefit us. This weekend, we’ll apply those changes and see what we can take from this weekend, then move on to the next one.
You’ve switched bikes a lot in the last few years. Do you think that makes you more experienced and ready to take on a new bike, or is it mentally draining?
It can be both. I try to look at it as a positive. It’s definitely overwhelming at times, but the experience I’ve gained from all the changes is honestly invaluable. Early in my career, I didn’t have that much change, and there was a lot I didn’t learn that I wish I had when I moved to the 450 class. I see now where I could have taken more in or maybe changed some things just for the sake of trying it. That was just part of being a younger racer, and I didn’t have the same maturity back then. But now, having gone through all the change, it really helps me adapt quickly when we go to a new track. So it definitely has its place, and I can look at it as a positive in the long run.
What’s your goal with the team this year? I’ve seen mentions that it’s a short-term commitment, like the first five or six races. Is that something you’re hoping to extend?
Yeah, it’s kind of a moving target right now. I need to do well, and that would go a long way. We also need to find a bit more funding, which would help guarantee it. But for now, the team’s situation is a bit of a moving target. Long-term, we’re working on how we can make it work. We want to be together long-term, but this year, we’re kind of navigating through some things because they already had commitments for this season. Adding me onto the team is an extra load, and we have to understand that they’re stretching things for me. It’s really good that they’re doing that, and we love being a part of the team. We’re just going to keep growing together as we move forward.
