If you have recently had a chance to view the newest edition to the Premis catalog of videos, Carpe Diem 3, then you got a glimpse of another northern-based rider who is making waves. AEM took a few moments to talk with Cody Anderson, a fast racer and a heck of a nice guy. AEM is picking Cody as the name to watch in the WPSA this year. His support is bar-none and his attitude is fantastic. We feel like he has what it takes to be a respected winner in an extremely competitive group of racers. Check out a little of what we discovered: Photo by: Chris Votgman

Name: Cody Anderson
Location: Waconia, MN
Age: 24
Machine: Rath /TC/LSR TRX450R (2)

How long have you been riding? And when did you start racing?
I started riding real ATV's (not battery powered) when I was about 4 years old. I was lucky enough to have a father that saw how excited I got as a 4 year old over a little 50cc Suzuki at a local gas station. Dad did a U-turn in the family station wagon right in the middle of town, pulled up to the gas station bought it, and threw it in the back seat. It was like something straight out of the Family Vacation. Haha, my Mother just about killed him until she saw that he could pick it up with one hand and pulled it out of the car. That was the beginning of the end. Then, when I had gown into new ATV's, by the time I was 11, I had a Blaster, a TOTAL piece of junk... But, it's what we could afford at the time. So, that's where I learned to be my own mechanic. It was either learn, or don't ride.... I picked learn. Then I decided I wanted to race at age 13. Mom hated this idea. So she said, "You want to race, buy your own 4-wheeler, you pay the bills for it all." So, I did just that, I drained my bank account at age 12, and bought a new Blaster with a pipe. I thought it was a sweet ride... I didn't even know that they made aftermarket shocks, a-arms, and things like that. So my first EVER race, it was me VS. Daryl Rath. Just him and me. Great. This was when he was running like 3 classes a day, won two recent national championships in the Pro/Am class and was LRD's boy. Daryl can be intimidating the way it is, I think I almost pee'd my pants!

So you and Rath have a history - what kind of role has he played in your current career?
Daryl has been a tremendous help for me ever since first meeting him. In the beginning, he was simply somebody that I aspired to be... A Champion. Fast. Smart. Focused. Driven by riding. As time went on, he became more of a sponsor, but of course still holding the throne as somebody I'd like to be like. We've been working together for about six or seven years now. Currently, Rath racing, (That includes Jen) is my main sponsor. They have been nothing short than being the key to my career to this point. There is no possible way I could do this with out them. Daryl still holds that card of a role model, tells me when I'm being a jackass, and is a very genuine friend and a great person to have on your side. Jen, has had a huge part in my racing as well. She's more of a moral supporter, takes care of lining up the hotels, the flights, the details that Daryl or myself would never have the time to do. Jen has been instrumental in both mine, as well as Daryl's racing success.

What kind of events do you race? I prefer Motocross, then Supermoto, then EDT, then Cross-Country. I guess I try and do them all just to be diverse. I think that it helps you learn more about the way a quad reacts to this or that. EDT clearly helps with corner speed on a MX track, MX riding helps you with stamina for a EDT, SuperMoto, just about any kind of riding, as does XC. I think it just plain comes down to that I love to ride. I don't care what I'm riding, or what I'm racing, I just want to be out there doing it. Photo by: Marc Barilla

Explain what a ‘Supermoto Event’ is like:
SuperMoto is different than any other ATV racing I've done. Reason one is there's just about no dust! It's usually in a big parking lot, black pavement, be ready to sweat... A lot. I love it, personally. It's just such a different type of riding that it's sort of brand new. The first time I slid my 450 4th gear wide open around a tar corner, I had all kinds of thoughts going through my head. "Is this right?" "Ah, this isn't good" "Can and SHOULD I be doing this on a quad?" and my favorite, "So, when are the wheels going to catch that throw me off?" The track in Green Bay is unreal, banked corners, off cambers, elevation changes. It's amazing, easily an A+ facility. The track has it's own swimming pool! The Stateline Supermoto in Vegas is another awesome event. Tons of fans watching, of course great weather and you're in Vegas, does it get any better?

"I don't care what I'm riding, or what I'm racing, I just want to be out there doing it."

We saw a press release go out about the Stateline Supermoto the other day. Do you plan on running it this year?
Absolutely! I can't wait! The event was great last year.

How did last season go for you?
In one word, rough. It started out fantastic. I trained al winter long, lost 25lbs, I felt great, I was more than ready to take on my classes. I went out to Glen Helen with ATVSport for the Suzuki into and in the first moto went from dead last to first with a 10 second lead in 4 laps. The second moto I pulled the holeshot and won that one as well. I guess there was a little motivation to beat the other magazines test riders, haha, just a friendly rivalry though. Then I came home, saw how much the training paid off and of course increased it. Then went had a shoot with one of my bikes and went down to film for Carpe Diem 3 with my new MX quad. It was the fastest 450 I had EVER rode. I've rode Kory's YFZ, Doug's Z450, and this was faster than either of those... So I was feeling good, first day went awesome, the second day was a different story. I hit a huge step up and ended up breaking my L4 vertebra, messing up some muscle in my back, pinching a nerve and a couple other things. So that was pretty much what killed my season. It was back to TT after that... Two weeks later, I flew to the first TT national in Texas with the Rath's. I "raced" there. More like rolled around the track and got points. Then my next real race back was the IL. TT national, crashed in Pro Practice, got back on and had a decent run. It was always getting better and better, I pushed my back to heal. In my opinion, it wasn't ready... But I was, and guess who wins on that battle. I finished the season pretty well, pulled a top 10 in Pro production once or twice, a couple top 5's in Pro/Am I think?

A lot of people saw the footage of that wreck - how scary was that?
Surely you had to realize you were not going to make it after leaving
the launch.
Ah, I thought I kind of thought I had a chance at making it when I took off, then shortly after I pulled a Ron Burgundy and "I immediately regret this decision!" But, it was too late, try to ride it out I guess? There was no lift off the take off. Even if I would have hit it 5th gear wide open rather than 4th, I just would have crashed harder... It didn't matter, 3rd 4th, 5th , whatever, nothing was going to give the lift you need to clear it. As far as scary, I guess I wasn't too scared, I knew that I was going down, I hit the ground. When I woke up, I couldn't move anything. I thought I broke my neck. That was the scary part. I just prayed that I was still able to walk. I eventually got up, I just couldn't remember anything. All I knew was that we were in Iowa. The only reason I knew that was because Brad was there.

How much time do you spend practicing and preparing for a season? After the season ends, I take about 30 days off and just chill out. After that I start getting at it again. Eating better, working out. The I gradually increase it. Starting on Feb 1st, I hit it pretty hard, eat NOTHING but healthy food in small portions. Run and bike every night till I can't hardly even walk. Practicing up here in the winter is hard. For example, this whole week is going to be -10 degrees. It's just terrible. There's some small indoor tracks here and there, but they really don't like quads coming, so it's kind of a juggle, "Yeah, quads welcome" "Nope, you guys can't come now" "Oh, we didn't get the insurance for quads" It sucks... so I tend to stick with my bike and tread mill. "The first time I slid my 450 4th gear wide open around a tar corner, I had all kinds of thoughts going through my head. "Is this right?"...

MN - we do hear that it get's cold. Do you ever have time to venture to FL to train? Time yes. Money No. I have plenty of vacation time right now, But to just drive down to FL, stay there for 2 weeks or whatever. Right... I wish. I work about 45-50 hours a week. Then go home, work on my bikes for a couple hours a night, run, bike and still try to have a small social life. But, that's kind of went out the window. Ever since I got really hard into ATV racing, I started losing friends. They all wanted to go out an party non-stop, I was in college, had a serious GF, wanted to race all the time. It just made things hard. So the friends were first to go, then my GF. So, even now, I really don't have many friends... other than the ones at the track.

So what do you do for a living?
I went to college for fluid power. Basically, I deal with hydraulics, pneumatics, automation, robotics and electronics. Things like that. I'm an inside applications specialist for automation components and systems.

What are your current season goals?
For 2007 I would really like to win the A class championship in WASP, and be more than competitive in Pro/Am. It's hard to say what the Pro/Am will be like this year, so many things are changing with people, teams, series. It's anybodies guess. Of course there's going to be super fast people running it, I already know of a few. But, I'd like to finish the season with a top 5 or close to that in the Pro/Am. As for SuperMoto, I'll be in Vegas, maybe another one? For TT, I'd like to do one or two if possible? As for XC, may be a local when I get a chance, and I'd really like to do the 12 hours of ATV America again. I just need a team!

Is there anyone you would like to thank?
There are definitely people I want to thank, they're the ones that make this happen for me, with out them behind me, it wouldn't be possible. My parents, Bruce and Wendy Anderson, Daryl and Jennifer Rath, Rath Racing, my ever so understanding GF, Jimmy White, EVERYONE at Hiper
Wheels, Kalani at Laker Custom, LoneStar, TC Racing, Lenzen Chevy, Project 321, Premis Ind., ATVSport, Fly Racing, Scott Optics, St. Boni Motorsports, Fasst Company, Quad Tech, Streamline brakes, K&N, One West Clothing, Janssen Motosports, Truxedo and Wayne Davis Photo and Lost Creek Cycles. Thank you ALL!

AEM Wants to thank Cody for his time and wishes all the best in the upcoming 2007 race season!