January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Ingham says give me a challenge
Ingham, who won the title with two weeks to spare and had the luxury of heading Stateside to compete in the Loretta Lynn qualifiers on Sunday, said his victory was down to the fact that he worked harder than the younger riders.
After smoking his rivals over the course of a grueling season at the new Clearwater track, he said: “I just think the younger guys have to put in a bit more effort. I don't know if you have to live a little bit more life to realize it's more serious than you think, or what.
“I just put more time in training and getting myself in shape.
“Those guys should be able to beat me,” said the 40-year-old.
“They're younger and they’re good riders, they are fast riders. But they don’t put in the time that I put in. I’ve been around for a while and they are going to have to work hard if they want to beat me.”
Aaron Pace, a former national champion, was Ingham’s closest rival in the 125 Expert Class, but his son Aaron Cannonier, another young rider with bags of potential, missed parts of the season through injury.
There’s been plenty of promise and enthusiasm shown in the junior classes with the likes of Jyire Mitchell, Jonte and Jonah Smith and DeAndre Lightbourne just a few of the talented youngsters on display.
But Ingham would like to see the course made tougher to help the Bermuda riders improve when they compete overseas.
“The track at Southside definitely needs to be beefed up a bit with some bigger jumps. It needs to be a bit bigger and a bit tougher.”
Ingham, whose father Burt was also a national champion, has raced on just about every track the island has had over the past 30 years.
He started out racing modified 50cc scooters, with the fenders pulled off, out at PHC. He's raced at St David's Field, Coney Island and now Southside.
Now he races a 250s in Bermuda and a 450s when he's out in the States racing. Ingham said he had a 12th and a ninth place out at the Loretta Lynn qualifiers last weekend, meeting the criteria to race in the classic.[[In-content Ad]]
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