GNCCRacing.com: Hey Cody! What have you been up to during the summer break?

Cody Barnes: My summer break program basically consisted  of a lot of training and riding. I think I made a lot of solid ground on the things I was lacking during the races earlier this year. One thing that really helped was that I was able to spend some time with Mike Witkowski and key off some of the things he was doing, then kind of turn those tips I learned into something that worked for me. Having that kind of guidance was a big help both physically and mentally for me.

Still working at G2?

Yep, this will be my third year working for them full time.

Have you faced many challenges managing a full-time job and a pro career?

I wouldn’t say there are a lot of challenges – Sam and Gary at G2 are extremely helpful with my racing and back me 100%, which is a huge help when it comes to managing riding, racing, work and training. Trying to manage all that is probably the hardest thing, and I couldn’t do it without their support. But we definitely make it work, it just takes a lot of scheduling and time management to get everything done in one day. Usually I will get up around five to work out, then after work I’ll go ride.

It’s great that you ended up with an employer who was so willing to work with you. Now, tell me about this new deal you have with Beta!

So, around the sixth GNCC this season, I started working with Beta USA. I was helping them test their new 125cc when I was practicing. After riding the bike for awhile and really falling in love with it, I was offered a spot on Factory Beta USA, which I couldn’t be more excited about! They have been amazing to work with and I am enjoying my time working with them, both on and off the bike. I can’t wait to see what I am able to do with them for the rest of this year and beyond!

I know you’ve ridden the 125cc a ton, but have you gotten to race it yet?

I have mostly been practicing on it as preparation for the rest of the GNCC season, but I have raced it whenever I’ve gotten the chance. So, I’ve raced it a couple times and I feel really good on it.

Was getting this kind of support a huge relief for you? You’ve mentioned in the past that continuing to race at this level depended on you continuing to get support….

At the beginning of this season, Rod Marshall at MCS racing took a chance on me and supported me through the first part of the season. That was a very big help in allowing me to continue and get to this point in my career. Getting to work with MCS and now Beta has been a very, very big relief for me. I can’t thank both teams enough for the support they have given me this year.

It looks like you’ve earned that support for sure though – you’ve brought home one win and four other podiums in a stacked XC3 class so far. Can you tell us a little more about your season?

Thank you! My season has had its ups and downs but been relatively consistent otherwise. There’s been two rounds where I had some bad luck, but besides that it’s just been little mistakes on my part that have cost me podiums at some races. Hopefully all that time I spent over summer break working on the things I think were holding me back will pay off. I look forward to finding out at the next GNCC!

On a similar note, do you feel good about how things have gone for you this year?

I feel like this year was a very good learning experience for me as a whole. I learned a lot about bike set-up and my body’s physical needs when trying to push for a three hour long race. You have to take the good things with the bad ones, and I think at this point I have learned from a lot of dumb mistakes I made and worked towards limiting them in the future. Of course, I would have liked for my results to be better throughout the first part of the season – but I am the only one responsible for those bad results, which means I’m responsible for fixing the things that led to them, and I believe I’m on the right track to doing that.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?

To win! I believe that I am capable of winning, but it won’t come easy given the competition I’m facing this year. I am looking forward to battling it out with all of them and hopefully being at least on the podium if not on top of it for the remaining three rounds of the series.