2021 Unadilla Motocross | Post-Race Interviews

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2021 UNADILLA MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

Want to know what riders had to say about the 2021 Unadilla Motocross without watching a “How Was Your Weekend” video? We’ve transcribed our post-race chats with riders in the 250 and 450 Class after round eight of the 2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship and added some photos of the riders in action.

SETH HAMMAKER
250 CLASS | 9-21 | 17TH OVERALL

How was the first race back?

It was a pretty good first day back. Riding wise I feel good, and endurance wise, I was pumped to see all the work we’ve been putting in pay off and I feel better than I have been. So, stoked to feel that and, yeah, it’s a good first day, good first race back.

You were up front for a bit. Not in the lead group, but in the main group, so that’s probably a lot of confidence after so much time away.

For sure, yeah. The top four guys, they had a good pace going. My second Moto, I was running fifth and I felt really good, had a good pace going, and unfortunately had a mistake; had a pretty hard wreck and broke my clutch lever off. It took me awhile to get going, but I’m all good. Just a bummer to be running up there that and to have that happen, but we’ll learn from it just move forward.

You’re a PA guy, so you’re not far from here. You’ve ridden amateur track, but not the main track, right?

Yeah, ever the main track, just the youth track in the back.

How gnarly is this track? After seeing it your whole life, it’s completely different, huh?

Completely different on the track, dude. It’s gnarly and I had fun out there. The second Moto I was having fun. I feel like I was riding good, had a good flow, but yeah, line choice was key. Dude it was gnarly.

There are a lot of lines.

All over the place! Insane. I liked it though. Once you got in a good flow, it was fun. And it was a good test of my endurance. It wasn’t hot today, but the track was gnarly. So it was good.

DILAN SCHWARTZ
250 CLASS | 15-12 | 14TH OVERALL

How was the day?

Yeah, it was a tough for me. I got a fourth place start in that first Moto and I really wanted to get into that top five, see how long I could be up there, and maybe even possibly finish up there. But unfortunately, I had a tip over on the first lap. I went back to last place and made it back to 15th in the first Moto. And then second Moto, I crashed in the second turn with a few guys and had to come from last again. I think my riding was pretty good. I had some solid speed throughout the whole Moto, which I’m happy with. I wish it could have went a little different this weekend. I really enjoyed this track, but we learned a lot this weekend and we can take that into the next weekend.

This year has been good. Colorado was great and I think that put you on a lot of people’s radar. You have had really good days here and there. To that buzz about you now, when it really was never that much, do you pay attention to that or is it just background noise?

Yeah, at first I was interested in it, but at this point, I’m just trying to do the best I can every weekend. And if that raises more voices, then it is what it is, but I can’t do anything during the season. So yeah, the same goal every weekend is just do the best I can and if something comes about, something comes about.

I mean more so with public recognition, “Hey, Schwartz is fast,” these kinds of things.

Yeah.

Because it’s super easy for you guys to hear positive stuff, and then knowing how it is with the sport and fans and whatever, one bad race and they totally forget everything else you’ve been doing.

Yeah, that’s the tough part. People see you do good… And then it’s like riding a Suzuki is almost better, because it’s double the attention because no one else is doing it. I think that benefits me a little bit, but yeah, definitely, the highs are a lot different than the lows. Which sucks, because as a rookie, you’re just trying to improve and do better. And the support you get from your good days is a lot different than your bad days. It’s just a learning thing, but it doesn’t really affect me.

We forget that you’re a first-year rookie. Yeah, you did a handful of nationals last year, but this is whole different deal.

Yeah, I did the last two and then the first one last year, so I really only did three. And the first one was really rough. Some people think it’s my second year outdoors, but it’s really my first one. I’ve never rode any of these tracks. It’s my first time, except for at Pala and Colorado, so yeah, I’m just learning.

Is it a big learning lesson every weekend, or is it just little by little by little?

I think it’s a new thing every weekend. It’s mainly with my physical and mental health, how it’s taken a toll on my body and just learning that. Because as amateurs, you race every couple of months, go home, and you can take a month off. But here you got to take a day off, maybe, and get back to it. So yeah, the schedule is definitely different, and I think that’s just been a big learning curve, along with the guys, too. The tracks are completely different. Coming here for one day, riding one day and leaving, yeah, learning the tracks is tough. But I think I’m getting the hang of it and hopefully put in some better results soon.

AUSTIN FORKNER
250 CLASS | 39-6 | 13TH OVERALL

How was the day?

First Moto I was running good, was top 10, good for me right now anyway. Was top 10, ninth or eighth or something, and just went for a pass on Swoll up one of the hills. It was super rutted, and I carried a lot of speed up one of the hills and jumped into the turn. As soon as I did that, I was like, “That was stupid. Why’d I do that?” Because I landed in rut, high sided and just really jammed by my hip or twisted it or did something to it. I got back up and got back on the bike and rode. I was hoping that it would numb up a little bit; it didn’t. I pulled in the mechanics area and by that point I was already pretty far back, so they were like, “Just go back, make sure nothing’s really bad.” And went back, got it looked at by G. He taped it up and did some stuff and it was really sore at the beginning of the second Moto.

I had to start from the far outside, so it was maybe 20th, but there was a pile up in the second turn. I actually came out in the top-15, maybe 12th or something, good for how far back and how far outside I was. And then just started picking guys off; was real slow and hesitant at the beginning. It hurt to dab it on my right side, and in these ruts, that was pretty easy to do. After it numbed up, about 12 to 15 minutes, I actually started riding really good and made a bunch of passes, got up to sixth I think, and was only a couple seconds behind fifth, so that was good.

I’m just bummed that I crashed really, because I was catching the guys in front of me and if I could have had 7-6 finishes, anything in there, that would have been my best overall finish. Just putting two decent Motos together would have been a step in the right direction, but it didn’t go like that. I’m happy with my riding, the crash just screwed me in the first Moto.

And this is a track where, if you have a sore leg and you’re gripping so much with your knees, if you’re a little off it’s really going to get you.

Gripping wasn’t too bad; it was mainly just dabbing my foot, holding myself up when you go to dab. I mean, you’re going to dab your foot here. You’re not just going to ride a Moto and not dab unless you just don’t take your foot off the peg. I was doing that the first couple of laps, just keeping my foot on the peg, which made me ride a little bit hesitant. Until it numbed up, I was pretty slow and stuff. But after it did, then I actually started to put some good laps together.

PRESTON KILROY
250 CLASS | 16-10 | 12TH OVERALL

How was the first race?

It was gnarly. Track was gnarly, dudes were going fast. Just glad to get it out of the way, come away healthy and just build for the next one.

Although you did a few last year, how different was today? Knowing “Hey, this is what I do now, for good.”

It was a lot different. It makes it good to know that I can go into the next weekend, take what I learned here, just keep building off of that, learning and improving. It’s a good feeling. I like the pro stuff a lot better than the amateur stuff. I’m excited where I’m at and to do my best every weekend and see where the cards fall.

What’d you think of this track? Have you ever ridden anything this? Dirt wise, laying out wise, rut wise, any of that?

Not really. That’s probably the gnarliest track I’ve ever rode. Like I said, the ruts were insanely deep and long. Getting through those clean, every lap, was very difficult. But yeah, it made for good racing, and I like long ruts, so I like it better than a fast, wide open track. I enjoyed it. First Moto wasn’t the greatest, but second Moto, I came back a little bit better. Just good to get the nerves out of the way, the first one, and get it in the books.

Last thing, what was the biggest takeaway or learning lesson of the day?

Good starts. First time out I didn’t get a good start, so second Moto I came off the line pretty good. And yeah, I think I was in sixth on the first lap, or something that. Good starts are key and it makes the race that much better and that much easier. That’s what we’re going to work on going forward; just try to get good starts, put in clean laps, move on each weekend and just keep learning and keep growing and see what we can do.

JARRETT FRYE
250 CLASS | 13-8 | 9TH OVERALL

How was the weekend?

Today was better for me, first top-10 overall. First Moto, got a bad start and made it tough, but came back to 13th. And the second Moto, got a good start and was able to run in the top ten and finish up eighth or ninth overall. So better day for me and looking forward the home race next weekend.

LEVI KITCHEN
250 CLASS | 12-7 | 8TH OVERALL

How was the weekend?

Started out very rough. In practice I felt like a lost cause out there, I think I was 19th or 20th. It was bad and I was a little bummed. I was like, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” And then first Moto came around. I think I was 26th through the first turn, got a terrible start, and worked up to 12th. And then second Moto came around and I don’t know, I was pretty far in front and made a few passes, got up into fifth and then, I think I got around Vohland for fifth. I don’t know, about 25 minutes, I hit a little bit of a wall, and he caught back up to me. We had a pretty good battle and then Forkner got me with two laps to go. I made a couple mistakes, but I think I went 12-7 on the day or something that and I ended up eighth overall or something. So that was my goal, to get a top ten overall. And to do that right off the bat, I’m pretty happy with that.

JALEK SWOLL
250 CLASS | 8-9 | 7TH OVERALL

How did you do today?

I got 25th my last time here, so I’ll take a seventh overall. But obviously coming from High Point, winning and all that good stuff, obviously this isn’t where we want to be. I’ve said this multiple times, but for me, this is pretty much my rookie outdoor season, so I’ll take it. As long as I can be in the eight and up range, I’ll be fine with it. Most of these tracks I’ve never ridden before and it’s fine, man. I’ve just been having fun. And honestly, the team’s not putting any pressure on me to go win again. It’s just we’re racing and I’m trying my hardest and what I get is what I get. I think today, without the fall and the second Moto, I could have been in the top-five deal, but no, it is what it is. It’s racing. I tried to send it and another rider… We just collided and it is what it is. It’s just racing. All in all, I’m happy with my day, especially after the gnarly head deal in Washougal. Most guys would probably still be sitting out, you know what I mean? So I’m happy with it and we’ll keep moving forward.

The win, obviously that sets the bar super high, and like you said, the team is not expecting crazy stuff from you now as a result of it. But at the same time you know, “Hey, I’m capable of it.”

Yeah.

How is it for you now to find a balance of, “Hey, I know what I’m capable of, but I can’t kill myself out here trying to make something that’s not possible happen.”

Honestly, Zacho has been really good for me. Osborne is working with the team and just helping the whole 250 program. We had a big talk about this. Me as a rider and as a racer, the racer in me, I want to win, you know what I mean? I had little goals before the season; it was just to be top 10. Then I started getting some top-10s and then it was, “Okay, let’s go top five.” And then I won. So all that stuff went out the window and it was, “All I want to do is win now.” And he sat me down and we talked about it and was like, “Yeah, nobody expected you to win this year, and nobody saw it coming. You have to go back to the goals, the little goals that we were trying to achieve in the beginning.” Not saying that I can’t win. Because any given day I can go out and win again or podium again and all that good stuff. But in the pro ranks, a lot of stuff has to go your way. And honestly, a lot of the races just haven’t gone my way. And it is what it is. I mean, you can’t do anything about it.

I’ll give you this, you’re really learning a lot and you’re taking the lessons in stride. When talked after Washougal, you were out of it. And again, sorry for making you get on camera.

No, you’re good.

Me and Donn were talking about later. He’s like, “Dude, that boy was…” You were checked out.

Yeah.

But you’re taking all of this stuff and learning and understanding it’s not every setback is a catastrophe. It’s just part of it. And the guys you have around between Zach, Timmy, Scuba, they keep you on a good path.

Yeah, for sure. And there’s always positives. I mean, today I came from dead last and we’ll take that. You know what I mean? A lot of this stuff isn’t shown on TV, so you would never even know, but after High Point we went to, what was, it was Millville right after?

No, it was RedBud I think?

Okay, RedBud. RedBud I fell a bunch of times. What do you do? The next race, Southwick, I led a few laps, got fifth, decent. The second Moto I was riding decent and got tangled with Martin. Me getting around him and not getting tangled with him, I would have most likely finished on the podium. You know what I mean? What do you do? It’s always something. I think I got my win and I showed my true potential and what I can really do out here. And then now, I’m starting to hit the rookie deal that you have to learn through, the getting into it with other riders and bad starts and all that stuff. But the good thing about it now is everybody’s seen what I can do and no doubt about it, it’ll come again. But when that happens? I don’t know. But we’re slowly getting there. My speed is there. That’s not a problem. It’s just putting the pieces of the puzzle. It’s good starts, staying clean on the track and those things just have to click together.

JEREMY MARTIN
250 CLASS | 3-2 | 3RD OVERALL

How was your weekend?

Kind of bittersweet, I guess you could say. We were ninth fastest in practice, so that wasn’t good. I definitely wasn’t comfortable. But then Drew, our suspension guy here at Star, really made some good changes, even after Moto One. I mean, I got third in Moto One and I was with those guys and they just slowly inched away. I was like, “We got to make some changes, Drew, so I can drive this track better and I can try to close that gap.” And he did, he executed on that. And then, yeah, just didn’t have anything for the Donut. The Donut beat me there in that second Moto and he had some really good, a couple of better lines, for sure. He was riding just really good there for a little bit and I just couldn’t get him, then he just managed it from there. I tried to get back up on him, but ran out of talent.

JUSTIN COOPER
250 CLASS | 1-4 | 2ND OVERALL

How did it go?

Yeah, it was good. I qualified first, had good holeshots in the Moto, ended up winning the first one. I had a really good flow on that one. And then I didn’t feel comfortable in the second one. It was a bummer, but yeah, definitely the track was really tough. Once you lose your flow on it, that’s kind of it from there. Was kind of in no man’s land and I didn’t really have any pressure from behind, I couldn’t see anyone ahead of me. I rode around to the finish. Knew I was in fourth and that’s the best it was going to get for me. I didn’t ride that well on the second Moto and I didn’t want to do anything stupid, because the track was definitely pretty dangerous. So glad to get out of here safe and regroup and come back swinging for the next one.

JETT LAWRENCE
250 CLASS | 2-1 | 1ST OVERALL

How was this? I wouldn’t say it was a must win situation, but you needed it.

It was good. Qualifying wasn’t the best, but this is probably one of my favorite tracks and I just felt really good on it. I was excited for the race. I finally got a good start, so that obviously just set the day off pretty well. And then from there I tried putting a bit of a charge on Cooper and some of my lines went out, so I tried some different ones and he ended up just getting away. I lost some time. When you lose that gap here, it’s so hard to pull it back in, so I ended up losing it. I just couldn’t quite pull them back in. I tried doing some other lines, “maybe I can gain time,” but he rode really good in that first one.

And the second one was pretty similar. I got a decent start again, was third, and I couldn’t quite make my fast moves as I could on JMart in that one. But we’re all right there. We’re pushing hard the whole time. JMart ended up getting Cooper early and I caught Cooper and got him, but I made a stupid mistake in the next turn. I just came in too hard so he got me back. But I had some really good lines that second Moto and just felt really good and strong in that one and yeah, ended up getting him back. Then I put a charge on JMart because he started to creep way. I’m like, “I can’t let you get too far,” so I put on good charge, got him, and I just kept charging. I felt really good. That second Moto had really good lines, had such a good flow. I barely got tired. I felt really strong throughout that whole Moto. So no, it’s a pretty good day and it’s just good to be back on the podium again. It’s been awhile.

Yeah, because after a couple of those races, you were visibly mad.

Yeah.

You obviously want to win, you know the position you’re in, but you and your brother both were looking for a lot of answers on why things went south those last few weeks.

Yeah. I’m a lot more emotional kid than Hunter and I was pissed. I show my emotions when I’m pissed off or anything. And yeah, those last few weekends, they sucked. Seeing the guy that I was supposed to be beating out winning races and being on podium every time, and I’m coming back from 20th. So that’s a bit of a hard tablet to swallow, but it was good to finally get that bit of a break and get these good starts here.

Did you guys change anything on the motorcycle over the break?

We did a little bit of testing, but nothing major, really. Just some little tinker stuff, yeah.

You guys are not going to race it before the end of the year, I would think, but the new 250, you are really looking forward to next year.

Yeah, who knows. If we get some testing and this bike is noticeably different, we might race it on the last two rounds. If it’s really that much better than, yeah. We’re always looking to get that little bit more. And if it is, dude, we’ll hop on that thing straight away. I’m excited if we can do that.

That would be cool, that extra little bit of secret sauce to end the season.

Yeah. I think everyone would be mind blown, going “Dude, they just change bikes? With a few rounds to go.” I don’t think many people have done that.

Yeah. It’s happened a couple of times, but when it does happen, it is big.

Yeah, “Whoa.”

Hey, birthday this week. Did you get anything good? Favorite gift?

I got some jewelry from my mom. I love my chains and rings, so I got a new ring and some chains and then got some clothes. I got some shoes from my brother Hunter and Cynthia, so that was pretty cool. It was good, reckon it was one of my best birthdays. My mom and dad went out for a bit of a little vacation, so I basically had the house to myself. I just relaxed, really. It was good to finally have some downtime by myself.

Are you 18 yet?

Yeah, I’m 18.

So, all these sexually explicit signs that are in the stands, it’s legal now.

It’s legal now [Laughs]!

JOEY SAVATGY
450 CLASS | 6-20 | 13TH OVERALL

Fourth in Timed Qualifying, good rides in the Motos, so the speed is there.

Yeah, speed’s getting there. Qualified P4 both practice sessions. First Moto, was running in fifth and unfortunately went down in the back before the Sky Shot. Got back up and then had to pass a couple guys, got around my teammate and then kind of ate roost behind Cooper for a while. Every time I’d get close and try to make it past, I’d run into lappers in bad spots, so P6 first Moto. And then second Moto I think we were running seventh, got a decent start, and just got cross-rutted and went down. I had a weird clutch issue where I couldn’t start the bike, the clutch wasn’t working, so I had to put it in neutral. And then by the time I got it started, I had to come in because my front end was hammered from when I crashed. Tried to fix it, but obviously when you’re scrambling, we only got it fixed so much. The bars were still bent and trying to ride a track like that with bent bars is very hard to do. And then I crashed three times in the second Moto and I think we got maybe 20th. At least I got a point. I finished the Moto and at least made it worth it, as far as getting a point. But all in all, I’m happy with how the weekend was, speeds were a lot better and qualifying was good, first Moto was good. Like I said, had a tip over in the back and it cost me a top-five, but we’ve been going in the right direction. Feel a lot better than I did at Washougal. I guess I was already fighting sickness at Washougal I didn’t know about and then I got home Sunday and I didn’t do anything for a week because I was down for the count. I didn’t have the ‘VID, actually I got tested and I had the flu. That break was good, but would have liked to have got a little more riding in. All in all, the speed was a lot better today and I’m happy with how the speed was.

I saw that second Moto crash. Holy shit.

Yeah.

Okay, so for people that don’t know, it’s that step up coming back by the start straightaway. And with the lip on that thing, the landing is a little bit higher, you left completely sideways.

I came out of that corner and just got high centered or offset enough to where I was already committed. Dude, I was wide open, I was committed. And got in that thing and got cross rutted this way and then it bounced back this way and that was all she wrote.I let her eat though, I was fully committed. Like I said, I’m happy with how the speed was. Would have liked to have had a better second Moto but I guess to take the positives out of the day we qualified good and speed was better, so that’s all I can ask for.

To be top-four on a single lap, I mean, that’s moving.

Yeah, qualifying was good and barring a stupid crash, kind of by myself in the first Moto, we should have been top-five the first Moto and realistically I think we could have been top five second Moto. I know Coop got fifth again in the second Moto and he was right in front of me before I crashed, so I feel like there was definitely potential for 5-5 on the day. And it doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s a big step in the right direction. It’s tough out there, man. It’s not easy by any means, just trying to keep her going.

COTY SCHOCK
450 CLASS | 12-10 | 10TH OVERALL

How was today?

Today was huge for me. Qualified eighth fastest, I’ve never done that before, and it kind of gave me some confidence going into the Motos. It’s pretty cool to get a good gate pick like that. I went 12-10 for 10th overall on the day. Struggled a little bit first Moto, and then second Moto struggled with two laps to go, but managed. I’m really happy just to break through. I knew I could do this ride all season and to do it here is special for me. As some of you know, Jessy getting hurt in 2016, he wasn’t the only one. I was the first red flag, and this is where I made my pro debut. And I broke my back as well.

Oh, you broke your back at  your pro debut?

I did. And Tony was in the race with me. And he’s the one that told my dad, “Hey, Coty’s the one that’s down.” Because my dad was asking all the track officials and nobody would answer him. So Tony’s the one that had to tell him, “Coty’s down.” So that day, obviously changed a lot of things with me and my perspective on life and how fortunate we are to just do this. And as for Jessy, I mean, the dude’s crushing it right now. He’s so mentally strong and he didn’t let that injury hold him back, so every time I think about me struggling, I’m like, you know what, this dude got through it and it’s like we’re fighting our own battles together.

Today just had a little soft spot for me, to do that here and just keep building. I mean, we’re going to go to Budds Creek next week and that’s a hometown race for me. I’m two hours from there, so it’ll be nice to see everyone that I grew up with. And yeah, just keep the momentum going and just try to finish out the outdoor strong.

I asked Rodbell this at Washougal when I did the privateer interview with him. There have been privateer or guys on a B level team, let’s call it, that are super young and they put in the results and all that. You’re that guy in this generation.

Yup.

Did you have a guy when you were a kid that you looked up to like, “Hey man, he’s not winning championships but he’s having fun and he’s doing his life, getting to do this.” Did you see somebody that you wanted to be like?

It’s a small world and people might think I’m just saying this but I’m truly not. It’s Tony Archer. Tony just was that guy that would crush it locally. And when it comes to the pro ranks, he had his Motos where he was just on and you’re just like, “He is so smooth.” And Tony never had a factory ride, but he was with Traders, so it was the satellite team. And Darryn Durham, just a PA guy. And honestly the list goes on and on. But I just watch how they were able to suffer and put in great results and I just was like, “You know what, if they can do it, I can do it too.” Any time I get tired I’m like, “You know what, I’m not done.” So, we’ll keep fighting and hopefully get our spot one day. That would be cool.

Okay, there’s a lot of buzz about you right now. We’ve talked about this, I’ve talked to Michael about this, I’ve talked to Tony about this. I don’t necessarily want to mean that as in you need to go on to bigger and better things-

No.

… even though everybody is saying that. But at the same time too, it’s got to be nice to hear like, “Wow, are you watching Schock? Like, damn, that kid’s fast.”

No, it’s crazy to me, honestly. Because it’s almost like an honor just to have my name in that conversation. Because two years ago, when I was completely doing it on my own with the people that helped me out, I was just… People would talk about me for my starts. Never really results, like hey, “Schock showed some good speed blah, blah blah.” And for my name to pop up in the industry now, it’s pretty crazy. I mean, I always just take a step back and just think how far we’ve come and how we’re continuing to grow. My mom has always said stay humble. That’s what I’m doing, that’s just me as a person, because I have my mom’s heart. People may think I’m soft for that, but you know what, that’s just me. And some people enjoy it, some people don’t but whatever.

But no, just to have my name as a ringer right now, that’s cool. And I believe good things will come eventually and obviously good things are here. But the point of this team is to try to get to the other side and I feel like I’m slowly breaking through and just got to continue to do it and we’ll do it next year as well and if the opportunity arises, awesome. But if not, you know what, that’s not going to stop anything. I’m still going to work my ass off and just be me, so.

Was that a subtle confirmation that you’re back here next year?

Yeah, it’s looking like it, yes.

Okay, cool. And that’s good. That’s good to know, even going into these last eight Motos of the year, to just go ride your ass off. Go do it. Because you know next year, it’s going to work out, it’s working.

And I know I can do better than what I’ve shown this year. Yes, this year was a huge progress for Coty Schock. But even today’s ride, am I happy with the tenth? Absolutely. But I know I belong in eighth. I have that, all day long. So there’s more from me to come. And it’s just trying to be patient, you can’t rush this. And it’s just, we’re working on it, and yeah. Just continue to build and just be me.

Last question. How fun is it to be in that mix? Dude, I’ll be honest, I’ve dreamed about what it would be like to run in a Moto and this and this and this. And I’ll never know. For you to finally like… I know you’ve thought these same things.

Yeah.

To realize that, is it what you thought it would be? Is it way different? Once you get past the stress of it, is it fun? Is it enjoyable to be like, “Damn dude, I’m good.”

It is fun, at times. When I passed Tomac, in the second Moto in the back section, I was like, “Wait, I just passed Tomac?” That was crazy to me and I get a smile under my helmet because that dude is just, that’s Tomac. He is an animal, and for me to just be around him, Wilson, Anstie, these guys are legends all in their own way. And when I’m mixing it up with them I’m like, holy crap, this isn’t just a fluke. This has been an every weekend thing and it’s just… I’m not one to say I’m one of them guys, but I’m up there battling with them. So it is cool. I learn a lot from them. And yeah, I don’t know if they enjoy battling with me, we don’t really talk. But I enjoy just being in the mix with those guys and it’s honestly just an honor and yeah, I look forward to it every weekend. Just seeing pictures with them, and then me in the background. To me that’s cool. So, yeah, it’s good.

JUSTIN BOGLE
450 CLASS | 9-12 | 9TH OVERALL

How was it?

Oh, it was. First Moto was pretty good, I got a good start. Not a great start, but I kind of weaseled through in the first couple corners and I ended up fourth for four or five laps. And I’m struggling, dude. I’m struggling so bad with just energy and stuff. It’s pretty annoying. I guess once the group caught me of Joey and those guys, Marv, all those guys, I kind of got out of the way a little bit, so I could try to get in behind and conserve a little. And there were five laps to go, I had to pick it back up, because I had a decent pace at the beginning. I think my lap time would have been a top five as far as fast times went. But dude, I dropped eight, nine second trying to conserve energy. And then, five to go, I pulled it back together and I had such an eventful… Dude, I cleaned out a lapper, like gnarly. Gnarly. My bad, but dude, I had pressure, I needed to get around and he wasn’t letting me by and I said, “All right, here we go dude. Torpedo time.” Shout out to him, my fault bro, but I torpedoed him. I hope he’s okay, but I had to get around. And I ended up holding off that group that got behind me and then man, I don’t know. I ended up ninth overall today. My best finish so far. I don’t care how it happens, I don’t care who’s here and who isn’t, I’ll take a single digit and I’ll go home feeling okay about it. Second Moto I started 37th and I came up to 12th, so, not ideal but what are you going to do, man. Trying my best.

Okay, I have one question about the conserving energy thing.

It’s so annoying.

For the average rider, when they go into maintenance mode, they start getting sloppy and they start making mistakes. How do you keep from having that happen? How do you back it down without that? Because that’s when the mistakes do actually start coming.

It’s hard. It’s really difficult, focus wise. And I’m a space brain anyways, I have such a hard time focusing in general. So, it’s hard. But literally dude, I’m… I know people hate hearing this, because they think it’s an excuse whatever. But, bro, Epstein Barr ain’t no joke man. And it’s worse than it was a couple years ago. I’m getting it sorted, I’ve got people to help me get it sorted. But man, it’s been tough. It’s so hot during the week at home, it just kind of got away from me and I’ve been struggling with that a lot. So, it’s just a lot of focus, dude. You just have to be so focus. More focused when you’re going slow.

And the track was so gnarly today. It was gnarly. So if your head wasn’t in it, it’s so easy to crash and have a big one. I definitely saw God at one point first Moto, yes. I tucked the front coming out of a sweeper, and both wheels came up and I snapped my neck because it caught me off guard. I snapped my neck so hard that sweat was all down in my goggles after that. It was right before the Sky Shot. And I went up the Sky Shot and literally just kind of threw a whip and looked at the crowd and I was like, “Thank goodness, man. Someone was looking out for me on that one, shout out.” But, wow. So yeah, it does get difficult but you just have to focus and it’s tough when you’re so damn tired. But whatever, man. Like I said, as eventful as my day was and all of the stuff going on, I ended up ninth overall. I’ll take it.

Okay, most important thing of all. How was the Sky Shot?

Dude.

I don’t know if it was that good today.

It wasn’t. I was bummed.

I was bummed.

I was bummed. I did my best. I tried. But they weren’t giving us much. The face wasn’t very good. All it was was with the takeoff. The takeoff just needed more, like it normally does. It was really flat and it was kind of soft. I was disappointed man. I’ve been looking forward to it all week, do you know what I mean? I feel like stuff like that will turn it around for me, I’ll have fun finally. I haven’t had much fun lately. I had a lot of fun this week so I was just feeling… Me and Byrner trained a lot on mental health this week, do you know what I mean? So just getting a little bit of myself back, just trying to be happy and have a little fun. I don’t operate well as a nose to the ground, super serious. I’m down to put in the work, I have no problem with that, but I’ve got to have some fun too. So, yeah. I was looking forward to the Sky Shot. I tried my best, everyone. The gang was giving me some stuff about not throwing down as hard as normal and I said, “Well, dude, I did as good as I could do.” So, again, I gave it my all. So, all across the board. It is what it is. I tried my best. I through some whips. Top ten overall. What do you do man, I tried.

CHRISTIAN CRAIG
450 CLASS | 7-6 | 7TH OVERALL

How was the weekend?

Started off on the struggle bus for me. Qualifying usually is pretty good for me and today I was struggling on qualifying. I just couldn’t… I guess I just didn’t have the pace to run early on and qualified ninth, so not too great. And then first Moto, terrible start but made my way up to the pack quick, so I was stoked with that. My riding was good. Got up to seventh and top five was right there, right in front of me and I just couldn’t make it happen, so finished seventh. Second Moto, better start and ame around, I think sixth. Pretty much stayed there the whole Moto. Was fighting for fifth the entire time with Webb and I’m still just a tick off of those top guys, so just got to keep working and we got four rounds left to try to make it happen.

CHASE SEXTON
450 CLASS | 11-2 | 5TH OVERALL

How was today?

Yeah, I mean, overall I didn’t really feel like I was riding that well in practice. I think I was third overall in qualifying but, wasn’t really just… I don’t know, I wasn’t gelling with my bike or the track or something. I usually like this track and I just wasn’t really riding that great. I was just kind of rushing the corners and dabbing my foot and making a lot of mistakes. First Moto I got a pretty good start. I think I was third or second, somewhere in there, and I just lost the rear end a little bit it fish tailed me and threw me on the ground. So that one definitely did not feel good. I sat there for probably a minute trying to catch my breath. But yeah, I got back to eleventh which was not great. I actually ended up going down one more time. I fell over with another rider. Probably could have got to ninth or eighth or something like that, but went down again.

Second Moto I got another holeshot, which my starts are… It’s very encouraging to see my starts turn around this much from where they were at the beginning of the season. Pulling holeshots is probably the best feeling that you could have in a motocross race. And I just tried to ride as fast as I could. Kenny and I had a good little battle and then he got by me, he got me a little bit. And then I ended up catching him again and just got screwed by a few lappers, but it’s racing and he had lappers too, so. He rode really well and he’s obviously really fast, right? I mean, he’s won four Motos in a row. Yeah, will regroup and come back at Budds Creek trying to get another win.

Hey, did that first Moto crash, did it beat you up any? You took a second, yeah, but I was kind of worried there. Like, “Oh man, this could be serious.”

Yeah, my ribs definitely don’t feel great right now. I thought I broke my ribs, or a rib. I took a minute and realized I was fine and got back on my bike. But I’m definitely, my right side is pretty sore right now, yeah.

How was it to have that turn around between Motos? I mean clearly you got over it because you put in that charge and everything. But it’s another thing when you go sit back at the truck and you see the crash on replay and you think about all these things. How do you just put that out of your mind?

I actually haven’t watched the crash, so.

Okay good.

So, that’s probably helped me. But, no, you just have to put it behind you. I’ve felt like I’ve been able to rebound after a rough go at it, so. That second Moto I just had a really big gate for being 11th gate pick. And I just told myself I’d get a good start and I could go out here and win this Moto. And obviously I didn’t win, but that’s the mindset going in.

Four more to go after this. How did we feel after that nice little break and everything?

Yeah, we feel good. Definitely I feel like I didn’t lose momentum, but I definitely stalled out after winning Washougal. But I feel like, that second Moto, I’m going to climb back up and hopefully be up a top step of the podium a few times before the season’s over.

MARVIN MUSQUIN
450 CLASS | 4-4 | 3RD OVERALL

How was today?

Yeah, it was solid. I mean, I wish in the first Moto I had a better start. Speed was really good. Practice was okay. I love Unadilla, it’s one of my favorites. Of course, it was sketchy. You want to go fast but you really have to respect that track. Those long runs and high-speed sections, you cannot just send it. That track would bite you and put you on the ground for sure, quick. I had to respect the track, still make some mistakes, but 4-4 is consistent. My start was better in the second Moto. But the top two guys, I mean the two guys were quicker.

The second Moto it was fun to be behind Dylan. I wish I could have battled a little bit harder with them, and closer with them, but he was quick. And like I said, easy to make mistakes and lost the tow. But still, I knew I had a podium overall, o this is really cool and cool for the team. It’s been a rough one. We’re trying to make things better with the bike, but it’s easy to get lost with settings and stuff. The break was good, we keep on training and consistent with the program and I’m feeling good and ready for the last four.

Did you personally need that result? We know you know how to ride a motorcycle and all that stuff, but just after the way that the year has been, and certain things that have been said about the season, did you need that result for affirmation or is it whatever?

I mean yeah, it was always good, but it’s not because I got third right now that I’m like, “Oh heck yeah, let’s go,” or something. I know what I’m capable of, but I know how the competition, how tough it is right now. There’s so many good guys and to get a podium right now, it’s hard. Washougal was good, I got fourth overall, but it was good. You never know and there’s, like I said, so many good guys. And mentally I need it? Yes and no. I’m just really enjoying it, the moment, because those ones are tough. Like I said, it’s good for the team, good for the people that have been working hard, and we’re just going to try to get some more before the end.

Okay, two big things going on right now. Team France. That’s a big return for you after some time away. How excited are you to take part in that again?

Motocross des Nations is always a tricky race and a tricky decision, I feel like, for the Federation, FIM, to set a date. I mean, it’s either too far after our championship, or now, it’s in the middle of the MXGP championship. So we have guys like Febvre that is not going to race for Team France. Or Maxime Renaux, that is winning the championship in 250, so, we have other options. Dylan has thought about it, with the team or whatever. We’ve got good communication, with the French Federation and Pascal, and I’m excited about it. I’m excited about it. Yeah, I just want to go out there and enjoy it and represent France.

And I think that’s a good thing. All the stuff you’re doing right now, you’re really making it a point to enjoy what’s going on. You’re at this point in your career where you know, “Hey man, soak it in. Have fun doing it. You’ve made your life being a motorcycle racer. It’s time to have fun doing it.”

Yeah, you’re totally right. Obviously when times are bad, it’s hard. I mean, it’s hard for everybody. But when you have good times like this, at this stage of my career, definitely enjoyable. But I know I’m capable, I know I can still do it and yeah. Things like options to do the Motocross of Nation is an opportunity and I’m excited to represent my country.

KEN ROCZEN
450 CLASS | 1-1 | 1ST OVERALL

How was today?

It was a really good day, actually. I had to after Washougal. And being sick, it just seems like I can’t put a full season together without having a really, really bad weekend. It was important for me to come back here, obviously I tend to do decent at this track, so I was looking forward to the conditions. And first Moto I got a super insane holeshot and it was awesome, made the ride a lot easier. In the second Moto I got a decent start and I had to make some passes happen, but overall I just felt strong and yeah, I felt good on the track.

With that two week, three week break, you just kind of regrouped, huh? Just decompressed totally, didn’t really over analyze everything going on?

I just had to get healthy. Right at Washougal and right after I got super sick and nowadays it seems like when I get sick, I don’t just get sick for a couple of days and then come around. It takes me forever to get back in the swing of things and just get back healthy. I had my first good day of riding just Tuesday, so it came just in time to come here, so. But to win a championship, ultimately I really have to eliminate those times. But it’s still not over and I’m just going to give my best and this 1-1 here was huge for me.

That 1-1, obviously that first Moto was huge ride and the second Moto with Chase was a good fun battle between teammates. For you, in those moments after everything going on, how does it feel? Does it feel second nature? Is it just like, “Hell yeah, this is where I’m supposed to be?”

Totally. I actually felt like I rode a lot better in second Moto. That Chase goes that speed, that didn’t surprise me at all. If there’s a guy that can do it, it’s him for sure. I tried as hard as I could, it’s not like I stayed back. But at the same time I kind of just had confidence that one way or another, at some point, that I can at least try and make a move and yeah, I just was trying to figure out some lines and see where I can carry a little more momentum. Or get really close and carry the momentum to actually make the pass.

Supercross, motocross combined, you’ve been by far the most consistent guy this year. That’s got to feel really, really good.

Totally, yeah. I actually thought about that a couple of days ago. That overall, I definitely have my down weekends and people always seem to point the fingers at me, but at the same time when you looked at both seasons combined, I feel like I’m sitting decent.

Yeah, you know. You’ve been around.

I’ve been around, yeah [Laughs].