It might come as a surprise to find 23-year-old CDR Yamaha’s Lawson Bopping is sitting third in the MX1 championship hunt and is only two points behind Motul Pirelli Suzuki racer Matt Moss.

Considering he hasn’t featured on the podium so far this year, Bopping has been one of the most consistent, quiet-achieving players in a stacked MX1 field. His 7-4-4 overall results have seen him glide under the radar, but stay within striking distance in the championship hunt.

We caught up with Boppo as he travelled to Victoria for this weekend’s fourth round of the series at Broadford to get his thoughts on how it’s shaping up for him.

Lawson Bopping is flying under the radar in his second season with Craig Dack’s factory Yamaha team. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

My position in the championship after three rounds…

I feel like I’m in a great position right now. I’m only two points off second place, but it hasn’t come easy for me. Every race has been hard and I’ve had to work my butt off as my starts haven’t been great, forcing me to come through the pack. Since Wonthaggi I’ve been working on my starts a lot; when that clicks it’ll make my life a whole lot easier.

The level of competition this year is stiff, but not as stiff as what it looks on paper. Obviously Todd has really stepped it up, but everyone else has been up and down. We’re starting to see a pattern of who’s running up front and while I think it’s harder to come through the pack this year it’s as tough as I expected it, if that makes sense!

Gaining points at two out of three Super Poles…

Before the racing at every round the team has a meeting and [team boss] Craig Dack can never stress enough how important Super Pole is. Last year only 11 points separated first and second place, so when you consider there’s a potential 50 points up for grabs with Super Pole, you realise just how important it is. At Wonthaggi I qualified first, but I blew out a corner in the Super Pole and that saw me finish fifth, with just one point. That was a bummer, but normally I’m pretty good at qualifying, so the Super Pole format suits me well. My seventh qualifying position at Raymond Terrace was my worst qualifying result in ages.

Heading to the first hard-pack round of the series this weekend….

I’m looking forward to getting onto a hard-pack track at Broadford. I think I’m probably more of a sand guy, but I’ve put in more than a few laps around the Canberra track. I definitely don’t mind the harder surfaces and did pretty well on them last year. It’s supposed to rain all week then fine up for the weekend, so I’m hoping Broadford will be in great shape on Sunday. It has the potential to be either a really well-prepared track or a rock-hard blue-groove, crappy circuit. Fingers crossed.

Bopping is keen to help CDR Yamaha add a sixth consecutive MX1 title to its stable. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

My second year with CDR Yamaha….

I think it’s been a little easier this year than when I first arrived in 2012. The bikes haven’t changed much and as a result we didn’t have to do as much intensive testing. We’ve still put in a lot of hours and have improved the bike further from 2012, but I feel the team is more relaxed and everyone knows their position. Billy Mackenzie has been a great team-mate so far and we get along great.

Dacka is pretty keen to keep his championship record alive. He’s won five MX1 titles straight and he’s always calling us and pushing us to work. Even if I win like I did at Hervey Bay last year he still points out things I can work on. It’s good to have a set of eyes watching you and giving you feedback. The pressure’s on but it’s not overwhelming at all.

The last five albums I bought…

I’ve always liked harder music and have never really been into rap or techno music. Mac Miller is the closest I get to rap and I’ve only recently starting listening to him after visiting the US at the beginning of the year. I get more into punk and hardcore music. The latest music I’ve bought is Bring me the Horizon’s new album, Semipiternal; House Vs Hurricane, Crooked Teeth; Mac Miller’s new single, Somebody Do Somethin’; Pennywise, Reason To Believe and Parkway Drive, Dark Days.