Well-dressed Jason Schrage surprised a few people when he piloted his big, snarling Honda Canada CRF 450R motocross bike to the overall victory at round one and two of the Royal Distributing Canadian Enduro Championship, Presented by Parts Canada. We spent a few minutes with Jason on the eve of CEC rounds three and four at Penticton, BC.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: Jason, last weekend you were the fastest guy. Did that surprise you, or were you confident going in that you could win?

Schrage: Actually I was kinda’ surprised. I’d heard the rumours about who was coming out, and I know that the Pros had all stepped it up a lot going into this season.  So ya, I was surprised. It wasn’t easy…Alberta was a tough go, and I’m holding my breath to see if I can get back up there again this weekend. The competition is definitely there…a bunch of riders here can take the lead, no problem.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: People were also talking about your bike. It’s a motocross bike, and very close to stock. Most of the other guys are riding purpose built enduro bikes, or heavily converted motocrossers but your bike isn’t much different than any other Honda CRF450R…Lots of people think these bikes can’t ever be tamed enough to become suitable enduro bikes…

Schrage: I did hear grumblings, you know, people saying that my motocross bike couldn’t possibly be as good. That it would hold me back. Well, the bike is awesome. It works great, with no real modifications other than the Rekluse clutch and a flywheel weight. Even the suspension is stock, and it works really well and treats me really nicely. That speaks volumes about the Honda, but also about how easy it is to convert a modern fuel injected motocross bike into a winning woods bike, even at the Pro level. Even the fuel injection itself has stock mapping, and it’s been great. I put an FMF Q4 pipe on it, only to get past the sound tests.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: How have your sponsors been treating you so far?

Schrage: Honda has stepped up huge, and Rekluse…everyone is so supportive and they want to see their products and me win. I talked to Honda Canada on Monday, and they were very happy…

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: Do you think Honda Canada will step it up next year and get you a teammate to race the E1 class?

Schrage: I don’t know what Honda’s long term goals are, but if we keep the big bike on the podium it would be great for Honda to have someone racing their CRF250R as well. That makes the sport grow, and getting the Japanese manufacturers involved is very important to growth.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: What was your favourite part of the course last weekend?

Schrage: The second test because I think. I am more of an endurance rider, not sprints. So the second test, with lots of diverse sections like mud and rocky climbs, was great because it was long enough for me to get into a pace.

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: This weekend’s race, with the extreme test being man-made and the motocross test having lots of manmade jumps…are you comfortable with that stuff?

Schrage: I’m nervous about the extreme test because, well I’m not a motocrosser by any means, and there are some big log double jumps that are kind of do or die. The rest of the extreme test should be ok. The motocross test, well there was a double last year that I didn’t want to do, and I probably won’t want to do it again this year either. But whatever. I’ll take what comes and figure it out. I practiced motocross a little this spring, just to pound laps and stay in shapes, but jumping…tires on the ground are better for me!

Offroadmotorcycles.ca: You sound confident but smart. I guess that’s part of what makes you win, eh?

Schrage: I’ll give it my best shot to win again this weekend. It sure would be nice!