Q&A: Tim Ferry.

Team Yamaha's Tim Ferry, who finished second place in the AMA Outdoor National's behind Ricky Carmichael, is fresh from his first podium finish in the seaon opening World Supercross GP at Geneva last Saturday - and hoping to stand on the top step in tonight's [Saturday's] second round at Arnhem.

After going down during Thursday's practice session, Ferry decided to sit out Friday practice and hang out in the media room instead - where he answered the following questions.

Q: Before the opening round of THQ World Supercross GP, were you nervous about the format of the series?

Tim Ferry: I wasn't nervous at all; we race here all the time and having Clear Channel run the show, it can only get better. It started a little earlier than I would have wanted to. That part is tough but it is going well.

Q: After the first race, was there anything that surprised you?

Tim Ferry: The event was good. I was happy with my result: I got second. I have been to that event before, under different promoters, so I knew what to expect. I have raced in Holland, so I knew what to expect. Plus, everything is the same: We have the same track builders and all of the Clear Channel people, so it's basically the same thing. Clear Channel supported Yamaha for this and the rest of the teams and riders by shipping our bikes here, so it was pretty easy for us.

Q: What was your first impression of the track here in Arnhem when you saw it?

Tim Ferry: The first thing I thought was that this track is just like the ones we race at in the U.S. It's a lot bigger, just like the football and baseball fields. This is bigger than last week in Geneva. There were some good battles last week. I think this is great for the European fans. They don't get to see it all the time. They can now see the best riders in the world.

Q:What does this championship mean to you?

Tim Ferry: It seems like the best riders in the world always come to America. I feel like the U.S. has the best riders even if they are from overseas. This is just another race and it just happens to be in another country. The same riders and the same talent are here. We may be missing a few riders, but we have some great guys here. David (Vuillemin) won three Supercrosses last year, and if he did not get hurt, he could have won the title.

Q: Where do you see Supercross going?

Tim Ferry: Things are right on schedule and looking great. We will have to see what Yamaha wants to do because I have one more year with them. They were very supportive of these races in Europe.

Q: Besides racing, are you having fun?

Tim Ferry: It has been fun. We went to Paris for a few days. It's laid back. It seems like everything is more laid back here compared to the U.S. races. Everyone is not rushing around, and the practice starts later in the day, which is good for us because it gives us some free time. I think everything has been going well. I have gotten to relax and sleep in. I have been able to do some sight seeing.

Q: Tell us about the Thursday test session.

Tim Ferry: It was good because we are not used to take two days off the bike. It is pretty cold here, so even if I could ride outside, it would be tough. It's tough to be off the bike for a few days, but adding in a Thursday and Friday practice and Saturday race is plenty of riding. As long as you don't travel for a few months at a time, it works out.

Q: Has this trip helped you build unity with the people who came here on
this trip?

Tim Ferry: Yes, for sure. It has really helped Team Yamaha. The team manager and the rest of the staff have been able to spend a lot of time together. Usually, the mechanics and us are on different schedules, so we never see them. They (the mechanics) come here before us and leave after us, but here it's more of a team. We all go to dinner together and spent more time than usual together.

Q:Is there a track in America that you can compare this track in Arnhem to?

Tim Ferry: I would have to say that the size of the track is the same and so are the laps times. Maybe Indianapolis, Pontiac, Minneapolis, Atlanta it could fall under any of those tracks.

Q: Are those tracks that you excel on?

Tim Ferry: I like those tracks. I have been racing on them for 10 years. I grew up with this type of terrain.