The snocross season started slow, but at the midway point Logy found his speed and was a consistent Top 5 racer.
Logan Christian had a busy season last year. Riding for the Christian Brothers Racing team he had to be on his game nearly every weekend from Duluth all the way to the FIM Snowcross World Championship in Tuuri, Finland, March 26, 2011. He did double duty racing cross-country and snocross and hit some of the biggest snowmobile races around the planet. Along the way he nearly won Pro Super Stock at Hayward and was voted Pro Rookie Of The Year on the ISOC National snocross circuit. We caught up with Logy while he was up in Calgary, Alberta, racing the Canadian Motocross Nationals to find out what he thinks of cross-country vs. snocross, his near National snocross win and being a member of the night crew at the Christian Brothers Racing test track.
sledRacer.com: You’re up in Canada racing bikes right now?
Logan Christian: Yeah, I’m doing the Canadian Nationals. I haven’t made any mains yet, but I’m getting closer. I’m missing them by like a split second. The first weekend I had a bone stock bike and everyone else had mod bikes and I missed it by like a tenth of a second. And last weekend in Nanaimo the track was so different than what I normally ride. It was hardpack and supercross-like, I just couldn’t get into the groove of it there and missed it by a half second or something dumb.
sR: Why are you racing up there?
LC: Dad and I thought it would help keep up the intensity of racing all summer so it’s more of a year-round deal. It’s been helping me with racing, I’m going faster and learning more. I’m also doing it to keep in shape and so I can spend some time with Drew Robertson, my trainer. He lives in Calgary and I’m staying with him. We’re working on fitness and things like that while I’m racing.
sR: But your focus is still snowmobiles?
LC: Yeah, 100 percent. The reason we’re doing this is to learn more about racing and for the intensity of it.
Logy heading out onto the river a few miles from the casino on Day 2 of the I-500.
sR: You had a lot going on last season – you were a rookie Pro in snocross and you were also racing cross-country. You were racing every weekend, was that overwhelming or was it something that worked for you?
LC: I liked it because it didn’t give me time to think about stuff and psych myself out. If I get too much time off I start to do that, so it worked out good for me. It also keeps you thinking about racing which keeps you sharp.
sR: Your snocross season started slow but after New York it turned around. Why?
LC: You know, I think I just had to get in the flow and I got my confidence up after New York. I finally had enough. I didn’t do anything different mentally or physically, everything just started clicking and I just started to feel better. I started trying to ride my way instead of trying to ride like a Pro.
sR: Was that part of it, going from Semi-Pro to Pro?
LC: I think so. I didn’t know it then, but looking back I think it did. I came off such a good year in Semi-Pro I was trying to be an awesome Pro and trying to be up there with Tucker. After the first couple races it took a little bit out of me. It started coming back though, and after New York it started to click and I started riding good again.
Logy spent all winter transitioning between snocross and cross-country.
sR: Then you almost won in Hayward.
LC: That was pretty crazy, I wish I could have kept up there with Tucker, but those guys are fast. It was cool to get that good start and show everyone I deserved to be in the Pro class.
sR: You struggled a little in cross-country.
LC: I had never really done anything like that before. I had never gone 100mph down a ditch before, I’ve always been on the tight snocross tracks, so that was a whole different ballgame but I learned and was starting to get better. Next year I’ll be back at it and I’ll be even better.
sR: What’s the difference between snocross and cross-country?
LC: The whole sled setup is way different in cross-country and it really keeps the shop busy setting up sleds. We have some of the best mechanics around, my mechanic Halvy (Justin Halvorson) and Hector (Brian “Hector” Olson) and Berbs (Corey Berberich) for the other guys work really hard to keep us at the front. The other thing is riding – instead of standing up the whole time you’re sitting down the whole time. Your whole style is different on the sled. The intensity is the same, but you don’t get the intensity from the crowd like you do in snocross. It’s tough to keep the intensity up in cross-country because most of the time you’re by yourself. You have to push yourself instead of having someone there to push you. They’re both intense, but in different ways.
sR: What were your thoughts on the I-500?
LC: That was crazy, I didn’t have very good luck at all. I got 10 miles out the first day and iced up and the second day I got 10 miles out and iced up again. I wish we could have made the sled last the whole race. You always hear the stories about the 500 from guys who have ran it, now I guess I have my first one.
sR: There were a few guys who iced up, your teammate D.J. Ekre iced up too.
LC: D.J. and I had the same problems. It was funny, on the last stretch I think he passed me going about 45mph and I was going about 30mph.
sR: That’s funny!
LC: Yeah, it’s funny, but I still wish we wouldn’t have iced up so we could have been up there. Overall it was good weekend though and it was pretty sweet with the team getting the top four spots in the race.
Trainer/coach Drew Robertson keeps a close eye on Logy's program.
sR: How has Drew Robertson helped you?
LC: Drew is my trainer and coach. He’s been around moto since about 2002 and he’s worked with a lot of good racers and knows a lot about it. He’s got a lot of good tips to get my mind and body ready to race. He helps keep me calm and not get too worked up over a bad race or anything like that. He’s been a lot of help and taught me a lot.
sR: You’re part of the night crew at the Christian Brothers test track. Tell us about that.
LC: Tucker and I kind of put that together and every once in a while James Johnstad comes out too. The rest of the team rides during the day and we usually ride later on because I was going to school, so we started calling ourselves the night crew.
sR: What do you learn from Tucker?
LC: I’ve learned so much from him. I can’t give away the secrets, but just practicing with him and watching him ride, chasing him around the track you learn so many little things. Everyone looks at the big things but really it’s the little things that make the big difference. When you practice with him every day and watch him ride you learn a lot of little things. You take them and put them together and make them work for you.
sR: He’s so good, does riding with him make you think you can beat him or does it just make you think there’s not a chance?
LC: No, it gives me confidence. There might be one practice where you say, “Holy crap, there’s no way you can beat this guy” then the next one you might give him a run. When that happens it gives you confidence knowing you’re running with the fastest guy out there. Tucker’s the most down to earth guy you’d ever want to meet and he’s never like, “Oh, you’ll never beat me.” He’s not cocky whatsoever. He works hard, does his own thing then he goes out and proves to everyone that he works the hardest. That’s where I want to be and that’s why I’m up here in Canada working hard and trying to make myself better. Tucker did the races in Canada and he learned a lot about racing sleds through racing bikes, so that’s what I’m trying to emulate.
Voted ISOC Pro Rookie Of The Year, Logy is looking to improve on a stellar rookie Pro season in 2012.
sR: A lot of people criticized Tucker for leaving snocross to race bikes, but when you look at his program a lot of it comes from what he learned racing bikes.
LC: Exactly. You learn from both, pursue what you’re better at and become awesome at it.
sR: What’s the plan for the rest of the summer?
LC: We have the race here in Calgary this weekend, then I’ll go home and come back for one more race. Then I’ll just work for dad on the farm and work on sales trucks the rest of the summer. I’ll keep riding dirt bikes and working out and get ready for this winter.
sR: Any plans to go down and try and qualify at Millville?
LC: Maybe. It depends on how busy we are, it seems like we’re always busy in the fields around that time so we’ll have to see if dad needs me or not. It’s at an awkward time for us. I’d like to for sure though, to see where I rate.
sR: Goals for next season?
LC: Win, be Top 3, be the guy everyone wants to beat. I want to be that guy who comes through the pack to pass Tucker.
