Between the Motos: Ryan Dungey/Johnny O'Mara
Off of the street Golden Lantern in Laguna Niguel, California, is
a small shopping center. It’s the typical deal: A grocery store,
a Blockbuster video store, a shop where women get their nails
done, a hair salon — you get the drift. Also inside the center’s
confines is a gym and a place called Peet’s Coffee. It was
there, on New Year’s Eve, that I met my friend Johnny O’Mara
and his understudy, Ryan Dungey, to catch up and see how
the duo were doing with Anaheim I on the immediate horizon.
Ryan and Johnny had tested at the Suzuki test track earlier in
the day and after they had finished up, called to see if I
wanted to meet them at Peet’s for a cup of coffee.
At 6:00 P.M., we sat down in a booth and Johnny and Ryan
elaborated on the off-season and their plans and goals for the
2008 racing season. Brought together over the summer with
the encouragement of Ricky Carmichael, O’Mara, just as he
had done during the first phase of the GOAT’s almost
unfathomable career, was working closely to help mold the
18-year-old Dungey into a future champion. full story &
interview on racerxill.com