DeCoster Moves Up, Ian Harrison Becomes Red Bull KTM Team Manager

 

Big behind-the-scenes news today from from

KTM, which has announced that Roger DeCoster has been promoted to a more senior position within the company. His longtime sidekick Ian Harrison will take over day-to-day team manager duties for the team.

"The Belgian has put pen to paper on a multi-year agreement and a new role for the KTM Group," says a KTM PR from today. "DeCoster will be ‘Motorsports Director KTM/Husqvarna North America’ and retain a more strategic and senior position in all of KTM and Husqvarna’s USA racing activities.

"Ian Harrison has been Roger’s ‘right-hand man’ and key collaborator for a number of years—certainly since 2011, when DeCoster first came to KTM—and has also renewed his position with the KTM Group to become de facto team manager of the Red Bull KTM MX/SX squad and technical director of the KTM/Husqvarna efforts in the United States."

Harrison and DeCoster actually started together with Suzuki during the 1995 season, when Roger took over the helm of Suzuki's U.S. race team and Harrison came over as Greg Albertyn's mechanic. Both departed to KTM after the 2010 season.

DeCoster: “I can still remember now when people said I was crazy to join KTM. It has almost been ten years, but it shows that when a company is as serious and dedicated about their racing as the KTM Group are, then many things are possible. I’m happy to again sign with them and to continue working with them to extend my long story in this sport. We have achieved a lot together and I don’t feel that the ‘fire’ is dimming or my motivation to keep this team and factory at the top of the sport is any less as the first day I wore the orange shirt. I’d like to thank Mr. Pierer, Pit, and all the guys who work so hard to allow us to be where we want to be.”

Harrison: “Time has passed so quickly, and it feels like we have done so much since we started to look at how and where we could be better back in 2011. I don't think we could have imagined all the trophies and red plates we’ve collected, even if the ambition to do so was very strong then and has not faded in all this time. We went through the [Ryan] Dungey era and have seen the development of Marvin [Musquin] to a bona fide supercross title contender. We’re not stopping, and it’s exciting to think about where we can go next.”

Robert Jonas, vice president, KTM Off-Road: “Having Roger and Ian as the solid backbone of our supercross and motocross division in the United States has paid back so much to the company. Believing and backing those guys the best way we can has allowed for some superb success in some of the biggest and most competitive motorcycle racing series. Keeping them as part of the family and depending on their experience and wisdom was very important to us, so I’m really pleased to be talking about this new contract. I want to congratulate Ian; he is now leading the Red Bull KTM team, and this is the least he deserves after so much work and dedication over the years. We will continue to plan and, hopefully, continue to reach our goals on American soil.”

The KTM press release further explains DeCoster and Harrison's success in building KTM's U.S. racing effort into a championship outfit.

"The DeCoster/Harrison link was largely fundamental in the reorganization of KTM’s sporting arm in high-profile supercross and motocross circles at the start of the decade," the statement says. "The pair were instrumental in forging a close link with R&D in Mattighofen, Austria, and elevating the race team to the position of champions.

"Ryan Dungey’s signature was key, as was development of outstanding talent such as Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin. KTM went on to toast titles and milestones in every AMA division. Recently, the alliance with Aldon Baker’s training regime only strengthened the KTM Group’s status and ensured the finest resources towards the current and next generations."

Private ride days...a huge success!

A PC ride day

No I’m not talking about a political correctness parade held downtown at the entrance to the State Capital, although the way things are going that might not be a bad idea. On second thought forget about that.

I’m talking about a Tom and Carmen ride day at the Prairie City MX track. For the past few months Tom and Carmen have been renting local motocross tracks and inviting up to fifty riders to come out and enjoy a day of riding on a prepped track.

The Sierra Old Timers MC and the Over the Hill Gang hold a number of ride days throughout the year specifically geared to us older riders so we don’t have to directly compete with the eighteen year old crazies and all the other types of riders you normally in counter at a what Tom likes to call a “public” ride day.

So the question I put to Tom and Carmen are you trying to for some reason compete with these other organizations and the answer was a resounding no. “We just want to ride our dirt bikes more and don’t want to have to do it at a public event if we can help it.”

If they are able to get fifty riders that helps pay for the track rental but for them it’s not about breaking even or even making money, it’s simply about riding their dirt bikes with a bunch of their friends.

Everyone today had a great time and with just fifty riders you could pull onto the track anytime and not fear for your life.

Doug 21J

Webb Wins opening Endurocross Thriller from Haaker

to More 57

The 2018 AMA EnduroCross series season started with a bang in Prescott Valley, Arizona with FMF KTM’s Cody Webb and Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker battling for the win. Ultimately Webb got the win ahead of Haaker with SRT Husqvarna’s Trystan Hart rounding out the podium. 

With the Prescott Valley Event Centre packed to capacity the crowd was treated to a full night of exciting racing. The afternoon started with the hot laps to determine the heat race gate picks and Webb set the fastest time, followed closely by Haaker. Gas Gas backed Noah Kepple finished a solid third. Kyle Redmond and Cooper Abbott rounded out the top five.

Evening show

The night show started with the two pro class heat races and both were exciting. Webb won the first heat race with a last lap pass on Hart. Ty Tremaine, on the Alta electric bike, Beta’s Max Gerston, Dustin McCarthy and Cooper Abbott rounded out the top six. 

In heat two, Haaker took the win over SRT Husqvarna’s Kyle Redmond after a back and forth battle. Gas Gas backed Geoff Aaron, Beta rider Ty Cullins, Mason Ottersberg and South American Benjamin Herrera also transferred to the main event. Haaker and Webb each earned a bonus championship point for the heat race wins.

The top four from each of the above heat races faced off in head-to-head bracket races. Haaker advanced to the final while Webb was eliminated by Redmond. Haaker then beat Redmond in the bracket final to take another bonus point and the first gate pick for the main. 

 

 

Main event

When the gate dropped in for the main event, Webb stormed to the front followed closely by Haaker, Ottersberg, Cullins, Redmond and Hart. Webb led the first two laps but then Haaker managed to pass for the lead, then gave it back a lap later. Webb opened a twelve second lead but then a few mistakes and a crash handed the lead back to Haaker for laps thirteen through fifteen of what ended up being a nineteen-lap race. 

But Haaker got held up by lapped riders several times and then crashed in an uphill rock section, handing the lead back to Webb who maintained the lead to the finish to take the opening round.

“The opening round was awesome.” Said Webb. “This was the coolest most, fun race yet. Colton and I were going back and forth. The course was so nasty, and this was what EnduroCross is supposed to be. People were crashing everywhere, including Colton and me, and the crowd was so into it. This was a great way to get the season started.”

 

 

In the dramatic race Colton Haaker wasn’t completely comfortable with the Prescott indoor track and had to settle for second: “The track was really slippery tonight with a lot of water getting dragged around the whole course, so we lapped a lot of riders and Cody lost out on some lappers and I got into the lead, then I lost out on some lappers again. And it ended with me in second. It was a brutal one. I am looking forward to Costa Mesa and an outdoor arena and maybe a little more room.”

Hart was as far back as ninth at the completion of lap one but worked his way to third place and maintained it to the finish to get his season off to a good start. His teammate, Redmond, also had a strong night and finished the main in fourth position. Ty Cullins rode his Beta to a fifth-place finish, his best result since his rookie pro season in 2016.

 

 

“I had a good start and then got shuffled back in the rocks on the first lap.” Explained Hart. “When I got into third I took the Joker lane and knew that I was in third. I saw the halfway mark and thought it should have been just about over, so it was a tough race. But in the end, I got third, so it was a good day.” 

Aaron finished sixth on his GasGas, Tremaine finished seventh on the Alta, Gerston was eighth on the factory Beta, Abbott rode his RPM KTM to ninth and Kepple rounded out the top ten on his Gas Gas.

2018 Prescott Valley AMA EnduroCross main event results:

1. Cody Webb, KTM
2. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna
3. Trystan Hart, Husqvarna
4. Kyle Redmond, Husqvarna
5. Ty Cullins, Beta
6. Geoff Aaron, Gas Gas
7. Ty Tremaine, Alta
8. Max Gerston, Beta
9. Cooper Abbott, KTM
10. Noah Kepple, Gas Gas
11. Benjamin Herrera, Beta
12. Dustin McCarthy, Yamaha
13. Mason Ottersberg, Beta
14. Spenser Wilton, KTM

 

MXGP of Bulgaria

All of the action from Sevlievo

Herlings 1-1 in Bulgaria

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings has won the Grand Prix of Bulgaria with another 1-1 performance and extended his world championship points lead over Antonio Cairoli to 73 points heading into the Turkish GP next weekend. 

It was also the Dutchmans 14^th GP win of the season, and his 81^st GP win of his career. He is now just four GP wins behind Cairoli in the all-time list.

Second overall in Bulgaria was Tim Gajser with 2-3 results and Clement Desalle was third with 3-4 scores. Cairoli was fourth with 8-2 results. Herlings can now only be beaten by Cairoli as all the other competition are more than 150 points behind with three GPs remaining.

“It was awesome," Herlings said. "We came out with three good starts and led every single lap, and we now lead by 73 points with Turkey, Assen and Italy remaining. I want to thank the man above for keeping me safe and also the Red Bull KTM Factory team. We need to see the situation, maybe now start thinking about the championship. 150pt up for grabs and I have a lead of 73, but Antonio is very strong, we saw that in the second moto, he is bad ass."

"Sure it was a good weekend," Gajser said. "The track was not rough but hard and slick. We took two good starts and I am looking forward to Turkey."

"We were consistent," Desalle said. "But I have to say I was behind and its been difficult. I want to be better, but a big kiss to my family and also my mechanic who had a baby, and I wish them the best."

Cairoli led moto two of the MXGP with Herlings second, then Desalle, Gajser, Coldenhoff, Febvre, Lieber, Anstie, Searle, Paulin in 10^th.

Herlings went for a pass early, but Cairoli blocked the passing move, but then Herlings just blew under the Italian for the lead. Gajser nearly pushed Cairoli off the track looking for a pass, but the Italian hung tough and kept second place.

Liebe down and out as he seems to be injured, and Febvre also crashed in a slippery corner. After two laps it was Herlings with a two second lead from Cairoli, Gajser, Desalle, Coldenhoff, Anstie, Paulin, Febvre, Searle and Seewer.

Febvre all over his Team France rider Paulin, and made a pass in lap three, so back into seventh spot. Strijbos passed Waters for 12^th place, and Herlings extended his lead slightly over Cairoli. Lupino also passed Waters, with the Aussie dropping to 14^th, and Simpson was into the mechanics area for adjustments to his bike.

After four laps Cairoli closed up a little on Herlings, and Seewer was all over Searle for ninth place. Herlings turned up the heat and suddenly pulled away from Cairoli, and maybe the Dutchman is just playing with his Italian rival?

After five laps it was Herlings with a 2.5 second lead, then Cairoli, Gajser, Desalle, Coldenhoff, Febvre, Anstie, Paulin, Searle and Seewer.

Herlings just cruising around in front, with Cairoli four seconds back after 10 laps, then Gajser, Desalle, Febvre, Anstie, Coldenhoff, Paulin, Searle, Seewer in 10^th.

A race of waiting as the top ten didn’t change in two laps, as Herlings extended to a six second lead on lap 13, and Cairoli had eight seconds over Gajser. Then came Desalle, Febvre, Anstie, Coldenhoff, Searle, Paulin and Seewer.

And the final moto was a battle of the world champions as Herlings won it from Cairoli and Gajser.

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 - Classification

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:21.881; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:14.366; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:25.658; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:34.633; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.829; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:47.752; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:50.922; 8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:54.196; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:54.943; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:57.488; 11. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +1:06.183; 12. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:12.012; 13. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:25.473; 14. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Yamaha), +1:31.429; 15. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:33.428; 16. Todd Waters (AUS, Honda), +1:53.951; 17. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Petar Petrov (BUL, Honda), -1 lap(s); 20. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 21. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 22. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 23. Panagiotis Kouzis (GRE, Honda), -2 lap(s); 24. Nathan Renkens (BEL, Honda), -12 lap(s); 25. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), -18 lap(s);

MXGP - GP Classification

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 28 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 23 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 21 p.; 11. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 18 p.; 12. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 16 p.; 13. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 15 p.; 14. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 14 p.; 15. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 13 p.; 16. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, YAM), 12 p.; 17. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 10 p.; 18. Todd Waters (AUS, HON), 7 p.; 19. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 7 p.; 20. Petar Petrov (BUL, HON), 6 p.; 21. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 3 p.; 22. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HUS), 1 p.; 23. Nathan Renkens (BEL, HON), 1 p.; 24. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 0 p.; 25. Panagiotis Kouzis (GRE, HON), 0 p.;

Chad Reed To Race Ironman For JGR Suzuki

It’s official: Chad Reed is returning to Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. The 2009 450 Class Champion will race the season finale this weekend at Ironman with Autotrader/Yoshimura Suzuki. Remember, Reed was riding a Suzuki when he won the 2009 title.

“The opportunity came up last week for me to test the Autotrader/Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450,” Reed stated in a team press release. “I immediately felt comfortable with the bike and team. Although I had not planned to be in ‘race shape’ for another six weeks, it’s an opportunity to get out and do what I absolutely love the most, which is race. I haven’t raced a national in three years, but I have those nervous and excited race feelings to be getting back out there. I’m stoked to help their team and sponsors while a few of their riders are out with injuries. I feel like a kid again getting to ride a factory bike and go racing with a highly motivated crew. I hope to see lots of 22 fans this weekend!”

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Chad Reed outdoors in the U.S. He last raced a Pro Motocross event in 2015 at High Point, after which he shut down his TwoTwo Motorsports team. Reed recently talked to Racer X about that day in our longform feature “Longshot: The Oral History of TwoTwo Motorsports.” 

“So basically, the inevitable was just coming. It was High Point weekend, and I was having a miserable time. Everything just felt wrong. Honestly, nothing was wrong other than the rider. Mentally, I was smoked. I felt like I had burnt the candle at both ends and just didn’t have anything to give. The bike felt wrong. The track felt wrong. I just wasn’t there. I wasn’t able to find any comfort. I think it was just a mental thing. At High Point, I had full realization that it wasn’t fun for me. I wasn’t enjoying it. I didn’t want my last years to be like that.

"Right then and there I made the decision on my own, at that point. I don’t even know that I raced. I think I pulled out of the first moto, and I came off the track and I said to the guys, “I’m done. This is it.” They were like, “What do you mean?” I said, “I’m done. I don’t know if that’s my last race, but I’m done with the team. I’m done racing motocross. I’m done for the year.” I told them that they needed to pack up. They needed to put everything on the truck, and then the truck needs to head back to California. I’ll get in touch with them ASAP.”

JGRMX

Steve Matthes wrote about the impending move for Reed last week in Racerhead. Here is part of what he said:

"According to Dan [Truman, from GET/Athena], Reed's times were very competitive with the guys they have now and it worked out so well, they gave him a bike to take home and practice on. I would highly bet we'll see the #22 under the JGR Suzuki tent next weekend, and Truman even said there was a chance for tomorrow [Budds Creek]! That wasn't exactly something that anyone saw coming, right? Truman said he liked the bike and everyone seemed to get along. Chad Reed racing MX for JGR Suzuki? Yup, just another turn in the life of Reedy.

"So... what about 2019 supercross for JGR and CR? Well, Dan said it wasn't ruled out—JGR has Hill and Peick under contract (Peick's deal might be done—it might not be, but it will be) for 450SX and MX and are talking to riders for 450 Class deals. So maybe, perhaps, something can get done here. I had a source close to Suzuki tell me that JGR has told Suzuki it's on them if they want the #22; they have to buck up and find the cash/bikes/parts for an extra guy."

We will see what this means for 2019 and beyond, but for now, let’s just enjoy Reed back in Pro Motocross this weekend. 

MXA INTERVIEW: GRANT LANGSTON’S LONG, LONG JOURNEY

From South Africa to Europe to the 125 World Championship to the fateful phone call to the 450 National Championship to eye problems

By Jim Kimball

GRANT, HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN MOTOCROSS? My dad’s friend owed him some money, and my dad took a bike in lieu of that money—that is how it started. Motocross very quickly became my life. At 6 years old I was on video saying, “I am going to go overseas, and I am going to dominate and be a World Champion.” You can hear people chuckling in the background, but that is how I felt from an early age.

YOU MOVED TO EUROPE TO RACE THE GPs. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A BIG STEP? I went to Europe in 1998, and it was my first year of doing GPs. I actually did not qualify for that first race. It was frustrating to chase your dream and then have to watch the race from the sidelines. It was like the end of the world for me. Here we were in a foreign county and my dad was telling everyone how his kid could ride, and I did not even qualify. I was 15 and the youngest rider there. But, I soon progressed to qualifying, then to qualifying in the top 20, and then to finishing in the top 10. In 1999 Factory KTM picked me up. There was no salary, but they provided a motorhome, bikes, housing, travel expenses and everything we needed. 

WAS THERE CULTURE SHOCK BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND EUROPE? Yes. When my dad and I moved in 1998, I rode for Harry Everts, and we lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Belgium. I was going to any local race to make money whenever there was not a GP. Moving to Europe was a big adjustment. I was dealing with being homesick. We did not speak the language. We didn’t have any money, and I didn’t know anyone. Plus, it was much colder than South Africa.

WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU COULD MAKE IT IN GRAND PRIX RACING? In 1999 it started feeling like I was becoming a true contender. I had some top 10s and then a couple top fives, then I broke my wrist and I missed a few GPs. But, being young and training hard, I returned quickly. Towards the end of the season, I was on the podium a few times and then dominated the German Grand Prix. Going into 2000, I ended up re-signing with the team for another one-year deal. I got my first paycheck. I went into 2000 thinking, “I have the speed to win this Championship,” but not many others believed me. Kurt Nicoll, the team manager of KTM, was saying, “The kid is fast, but he has a lot to learn. He might win a race or two, but he is a little erratic.”

WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT? I had just turned 17 in 2000. It was a good year. If I did not win, I was usually second or third, so I got the points lead early. I just held on to it and did not do anything crazy or stupid. I won seven GPs that year out of 15. Then in June, not even halfway through the season, I got a phone call out of the blue from Mitch Payton, asking if I wanted to race for him in 2001. Of course I said, “Yeah.”

THEY SAID, “YOU’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER, AS LONG AS IT IS ON A KTM.”

WHAT DID YOUR DAD SAY? After I hung up, my dad said, “Well, you said your dream was to be World Champion. What if you don’t win this year?” I was a little cocky and arrogant and just said, “Oh no, I am going to win and then leave; it is that simple. I’ve got this. We are going to go win this title.”

WAS COMING TO AMERICA YOUR BIG DREAM? Yes. I wanted to follow in Greg Albertyn’s footsteps. I wanted to be in America. I told KTM that I spoke with Pro Circuit Kawasaki and was planning on going to America. They said, “You’re not going anywhere. You can do whatever, as long as it is on a KTM.” So, they offered me the choice of racing the 125 GPs, 250 GPs, 125 AMA Nationals or 250 Nationals in the States. It was a nice offer, but I said, “I have made up my mind. I want to go to the U.S.”

SO YOU TURNED MITCH PAYTON DOWN? I negotiated a while with KTM, and even Mitch some. Then I had to make that hard call to Mitch and say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” I told him my reasons for staying at KTM but said, “You never know. Maybe one day we will work together and it will be cool,” which later ended up happening. With KTM, I just felt like it was the best decision at the time, sticking with what you know and whom you know. Obviously, when I came here, things were not quite the same, because with the production rule, the handmade factory bike I had been racing in the GPs was useless over here. It was weird to go back to a production bike, because it felt like taking two steps back.

YOU HAD NO DESIRE TO DEFEND YOUR 125 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP? No. I achieved that goal, and once I accomplished it, I wanted to move on. I admire guys like Tony Cairoli who can be motivated to race the same class, the same tracks and the same people year after year. I chose to walk away in search of something new.

HOW WAS THE RED BULL KTM 125 U.S. TEAM’S EFFORT WHEN YOU ARRIVED? In the GPs, the Kawasaki KX125s were getting smoked. My Factory KTM could easily pass them on the straights. I believed that the KTM was a better bike and had more power than the Kawasaki. But, the AMA production rule leveled out the playing field. In the USA, Mitch’s Kawasakis were the bikes to have.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THE KTM 125 IN THE USA? We still had fast bikes. The biggest issue was that the PDS shock did not work in Supercross.

BUT YOU CAME CLOSE TO WINNING THE 125 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP THAT FIRST YEAR; WHAT HAPPENED? It was about 30 minutes into the second moto of the final race of the year. If I would have crossed the finish line, I would have won the Championship over Mike Brown. During that second moto I knew the rear wheel was collapsing. I tried everything to keep from slamming the rear wheel down. I even quit doing the big double. Worse yet, Mike Brown had gone down on the first lap, and it was my Championship to lose. It was a slow nightmare unfolding. I was an 18-year-old kid, and I was thinking that I was going to be the first guy to win a World Championship followed back to back by a U.S. Championship.

AFTER AN INJURY-PLAGUED 2002, YOU MOVED TO THE PREMIER SUPERCROSS CLASS IN 2003. KTM had promised Jeremy McGrath and me a new 250 two-stroke for 2003, but it never came. Jeremy left, but I had just signed my contract. Supercross was a nightmare. The only silver lining was that because KTM realized how frustrated I was getting, they gave me the option to ride the 125 Nationals. I jumped on it just to get off of the 250.

THE GUY SAID HE WAS FROM THE AMA AND WANTED TO CONGRATULATE ME. I SAID, “IF YOU GUYS ARE MESSING WITH ME, THIS IS NOT FUNNY.”

AND YOU WON THE 2003 AMA 125 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT IT WAS CONTROVERSIAL. That year it seemed like I could not win a race but was always in the points. Heading into the last race in Ohio, I thought, “I can finally win this Championship.” But, the race got rained out. I didn’t know what the AMA was going to do. I assumed it would be rescheduled. I was staying at Brock Sellard’s house in Ohio when the phone rang. Brock’s wife answered the house phone and said, “Hey, Grant, the last race is canceled. You are a champ.”

So, I got on the phone and I was pretty sure it was a prank call. The guy on the other end said he was from the AMA and wanted to congratulate me. I said, “If you guys are messing with me, this is not funny. You are toying with my emotions right now.

HOW DID IT FEEL TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP OVER THE PHONE? That was not how you envision winning a championship. You envision going over the line with your hands in the air. It was really strange.

YOU WON OVER THE PHONE AND YOUR TEAMMATE RYAN HUGHES LOST OVER THE PHONE. WHAT WAS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RYAN LIKE? Ryno had the kind of personality where he wanted to hate his competition. His way of hating his competition was to run his mouth. There was a lot of tension at the KTM truck, and it made everyone on the team feel uncomfortable. Towards the end of the Championship I moved over to the 250 truck with Joaquim Rodriguez, while Hughes and the other 125 guys stayed in their truck. At one point, Ryno complained that the engine builder was giving me the best engines, so KTM gave us both separate engine and suspension guys.

IN 2004 YOU HAD A MEDIOCRE YEAR AND SAT OUT THE NATIONALS; IS THAT WHEN YOU DECIDED TO SWITCH? In 2004 things were not good. I was not in a happy place. KTM offered me a deal to ride the 250 for 2005 and 2006. I just said, “No, this is over. I am moving on.” I wanted to ride for Mitch Payton because I wanted to win. I knew I wouldn’t make as much money as KTM was offering, but Mitch and I talked, and I signed the contract. I needed to reinvent myself.

WITH MITCH PAYTON, YOU STARTED WINNING250 EAT/WEST SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS. That was the first time that I ever felt comfortable in Supercross. I won the 125 East Supercross titles in 2005 and the 125 West in 2006. I remember 2006 the best. It was the most fun that I had in Supercross. I loved the bike, loved the team and I loved being on the West Coast. When you win that second Championship, it makes it all that much better. From the opening round in 2006, I was the guy to beat. And, I started getting some 450 offers.

WHO WERE THE 450 OFFERS FROM? Obviously, I could have stayed on green and rode for Monster Kawasaki—and been second to James Stewart. Or, I could go to Yamaha and be “the guy.” At Kawasaki, they let me know that I was going to be the number-two guy. That did not sit well with me. Call it ego, but I felt like the best step was for me to go to Yamaha.

YOU WON THE AMA 450 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR YAMAHA IN 2007. I had a gearbox issue at the Supercross test track and broke my collarbone. I ended up missing about seven or eight rounds of Supercross. Going into the AMA 450 Nationals, the only guy who concerned me was James Stewart. I felt like I had these guys covered. James had a decent points gap on me, but the day James got hurt, he was trying to catch me. He was pushing it because he was not used to anyone running away from him. He tweaked his knee, and all of a sudden this was anyone’s Championship. I got on a nice roll at the end after we switched from the 2007 chassis to the 2008. I had been struggling with the turning on the YZ450F. It was my biggest gripe. My worst result in the next five rounds after the chassis change was a second. I won the final three Nationals of the season to win the title.

WAS THAT YOUR GREATEST MOMENT? The Europeans might say the GP Championship is the most important, but many of their World Champions come over here, including me, so I personally think the biggest feather in anyone’s cap is the 450 National Championship. I felt confident going into 2008, and then the wheels came off.

THAT IS WHEN YOU HAD YOUR EYE PROBLEM, RIGHT? I got diagnosed with a melanoma tumor in the eye. When you are in great shape and you hear the word “cancer,” it is scary. I felt angry at the world, but eventually you have to put your big-boy pants on and tackle the next thing in life. I only raced the first four Supercrosses in 2008 and took the rest of the year off to sort out my problem. It took all of 2008 and half of 2009 to sort it out. I planned to do the 2009 Nationals with Factory Yamaha, but I crashed at Glen Helen just before the start of the outdoors and had to have my knee reconstructed.

I CAME BACK AS A PRIVATEER, BUT I WAS NOT THE SAME. “PRETTY GOOD VISION” IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

BUT YOU CAME BACK IN 2010. I came back as a privateer, but I was not the same. “Pretty good vision” is not good enough. I had one good eye, but I just kept crashing and crashing. A lot of people remember the big crash that I had at the Daytona Supercross. It was right then, after I woke up in the hospital, when I just started crying and said, “I am done. I can’t do this anymore.”

ANY FINAL THOUGHTS ON YOUR MOTOCROSS CAREER? I am glad that I got through all the hard times, because it made me appreciate everything. There was a point in Europe when I did not qualify for a couple of GPs. It was cold. We were broke. It was raining, and we did not have any friends. I remember saying to my dad, “I just want to go home. I think I am done.”

I will never forget what he said: “You don’t have a home. I sold it to get you here, and we are going to stick this out.” It was probably the best thing he ever said, because I would have probably given up and that would have been the biggest mistake ever.

Webb Tops Tennessee Knockout

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Eight weeks of “couch surfing” doesn’t stop Cody Webb winning his sixth straight Kenda Tennessee Knockout ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler and Mario Roman. 

The multi-round format at Tennessee Knockout at the Sequatchie course mixed slippery and challenging conditions this weekend but couldn’t stop Cody Webb from returning after a foot injury to top the podium ahead of an invasion of riders from Europe.

262 Amateurs competed two-races on Saturday with the top 30 riders progressing to the four round Sunday race alongside the 31 pre-qualified pro riders. 

Hawaii’s Kekoa Estrella took the Amateur win to earn the AMA Amateur Extreme Enduro Grand National Championship and move forward to Sunday.

The Sunday morning program started with a ‘Hot Lap’ on a mile long course which Webb won with a 4:33 lap to earn the first starting position for the next Knockout round. Wade Young, the 2018 Red Bull Romaniacs winner, was second with 4:43, ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler (5:12), Mario Roman (5:26) and Colton Haaker in fifth (6:06).  

 

Photo Credit: Darrin Chapman

Round two

The second round sent the riders out on a 14 mile loop in thirty second intervals, based on the hot lap times. Young and Lettenbichler hauled in quickly Webb and the three riders battled until Young finally opened the gap in the last few miles. 

Young set the fastest time at 1:08:54, Lettenbichler was second at 1:09:30 and Webb third with 1:10:20. Roman was fourth and Austria’s Lars Enockl came home fifth at 1:19:57. The fastest twenty-six riders moved on to round three.

Round three switched to a multi-rider head-to-head format for the fastest 25 riders split into five groups of five with a 26th rider was added to group six as the LCQ alternate. Haaker, Lettenbichler, Webb, Roman and Enockl won their respective groups to earn front row starting positions. The second and third place finishers in each group also moved on to the fifteen-rider main event.

 

Photo Credit: Darrin Chapman

Main event

The main event moved back to the short course for a 30-minute plus one lap battle, which Webb took after 41:31 racing. Haaker jumped into the lead off the start and led the field into the woods but struggled on a tough climb exiting the water fall that proved to be one of the most challenging obstacles. 

Webb capitalized on Haaker’s mistake and quickly opened a small gap with Roman and Young not far behind with Haaker and Lettenbichler 20 plus seconds back. On lap two, Young and Haaker struggled again on the same hill allowing Lettenbichler passed with Young also taking Haaker in the melee.  

The top five remained the same for several laps with Roman closing in on Webb. At the halfway point, Roman began to fall back towards Lettenbichler who went passed for second on lap five of seven. 

This ended up setting the final top five results, with Webb finishing 1:28 ahead of Lettenbichler. Roman was 2:15 behind the leader and Young fourth, 5:17 back. Haaker went a lap down on the final lap but held fifth.

 

 

Webb broke his foot at Erzberg in June, so he had limited preparation for the 2018 TKO: “I was definitely worried, especially with all the competition coming over from Europe,” Webb said. “Some of Hard Enduro’s biggest hitters came over here and I had eight weeks of couch surfing and only eight days on the bike since my injury so I was happy to get another win. I kind of conserved some energy in those early races and I think that helped me for the main, but I still felt like I was going to die out there.” 

Lettenbichler, the twenty-year-old German who has had great season, including podium finishes at Erzberg and Romaniacs was impressive in his first TKO visit. “It was a nice event, I really enjoyed it, the main event was super gnarly with the slippery rocks and humidity, it is not like this in Germany,” Lettenbichler said. “I am super proud of second place and I passed Mario a few laps from the end, so I am stoked about that.”

Roman finished third at the TKO for the second consecutive year. “I came here with more preparation because last year I suffered a lot, so I prepared more for the short, sprint main event,” Roman said. “I have to thank Sherco USA and the friends I met last year for helping me for this event.”

Trystan Hart had a pretty quiet day to finish sixth in his first ever TKO. Enockl finished seventh on his GasGas. Tennessee’s Jordan Ashburn finished eighth on his Beta. Ben Kelley took ninth on his Trail Jesters KTM and Chris Satterfield rounded out the top ten on his KTM.

 

Cairoli set for Bulgaria

Great news is that Antonio Cairoli will be ok for the GP of Bulgaria next weekend. He commented today that his knee is okay and he will be ready to battle Jeffrey Herlings for the World MXGP championship.

"Good news," Cairoli wrote. "Nothing is broken and we will be riding next weekend in Bulgaria. Stretched PCL with fluid between the joint. Some days of rest and we will be ready to race again."

Discussion: Jeffrey Herlings

Jeffery Herlings on yet another great day! 

What more can actually be said about Jeffrey Herlings at this point? After taking his twenty-fifth moto victory and thirteenth overall win of the season at the Grand of Switzerland, he is now sat on an incredible advantage of fifty-eight points. Remember that he actually missed a round! All of that is discussed in this exclusive MX Vice interview from Frauenfeld-Gachnang. This interview was originally posted as a podcast and listening to that adds another element.

MX Vice: Another 1-1 and similar to every other week, just dominant. Talk us through your races that were obviously picture perfect.

Yeah, if you get a result it looks picture perfect. A little crash in qualifying, but it is not a big thing. Today was good. Two good starts. Put ourselves in a good position and managed to win both motos and, most importantly, extend the championship points lead.

Jeffrey Herlings now leads the premier division by fifty-eight points (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

That qualifying race yesterday was great to watch. Obviously, it sucks that you crashed in the second corner and you do not want to have to do all that work on a Saturday. Do you enjoy the challenge though? Every single race seems to follow a similar pattern for you. Start fourth or fifth, get into the lead lap three or four. Just doing something different, is that fun?

Most fun is just holeshot, check out, do not look back and win the GP. That is the most fun. It is racing. You cannot plan things. It is the same in life. Things are just happening. I did not plan to crash there. It is racing. Nobody expected, for example, Tony [Cairoli] to go 8-5 or 8-6 today. Just things like that are coming unexpected and the same with my collarbone, so that is why I also do not want to plan too much for the championship.

Just look race to race and do our best possible. It is hard to keep improving, but we try to still improve. The competition is not slowing down. You see the Yamaha guys and the Kawi guys. They have been working on the starts and trying to get closer to our bike, also us at KTM. Even though we’re really strong currently, me as a rider but also as a team, we need to keep improving to stay at the top.

Obviously, you came back to sixth in that qualifying race on a track that maybe tightens everyone up a little bit. Were you surprised by that? If it was a full-length moto, it’s easy for me to say stood in front of you, I honestly think you could have won it. You were only fourteen seconds down at the end, so I think it could have been possible.

I think if I would not have crashed I definitely could get up to second or third. Tony started up front and if he would have saw me coming he could maybe give an extra push. I had to still pass five guys and the further you come through the top guys, the more difficult it gets to pass. I am strong physically I think, obviously, so I am good in the end of the motos still, but I got sixth. I do think if it was a full thirty-minutes plus two I would probably get up to second or third.

Jeffrey Herlings has won twenty-five of the thirty-two motos this year (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

In that second moto it obviously took you a little while to get into the lead and you were involved in quite a tight battle. Was that just a calculated race on your part? Just kind of bide your time and wait for the right moment?

I was trying to find some lines. There were plenty of lines. They did a good job on the track, I think, but there was only one fast and good line, so it was hard to overtake Clement [Desalle]. He is known as a rider who is not a dirty one, but hard to overtake. He puts his elbows up and he is a tough guy to pass. He rode really great. He took good lines. He did not ride dirty or anything. He just was riding strong and good.

I also need to be on a good day to pass those guys on those types of tracks. I was just focused on Tony, where he was. I saw I made a bigger gap towards him. At one-point Romain [Febvre] came back and started to push me, so then I knew that if I was going to win the overall I had to shift a gear up, overtake him and try to put a little gap.

I think you have got a gap of more than fifty points again now, which is obviously nice to have. I have heard you mention it a few times, but just talk about the amount of work that has gone into that from eating, training and everything. It sounds like you just have not let off at all this year.

No, I started on the first of December and I think we are August 20 almost. It has been long. I just cannot wait for the season to be over with. I know it is seven weeks until ‘Nations and six more until this championship is over anyhow. There is like a finish in sight. It was tough mentally and physically to do it every day, day in and day out. Wake up, go train, come back, eat, go train again and always make the sacrifice for the food and eating all that god damn salad every day to try to lose weight. I am only human.

Tony, for example, he is smaller, so for him… He probably also watches his food, do not get me wrong, but for me I am a taller guy, so I need to watch it extra to get a good start and things like that. I am not a good starter for myself, so I need to work on everything. If you are not a good starter you also need to have a good physical [level] to work your way up through the front, so it was many things and reasons why I had to do it. If I do not win the championship, I just want to go to bed on September 30 and say, "Hey, I gave it all I could. I was not good enough, something happened or whatever." I just want to go to sleep then and say, "Hey, I gave it one hundred and ten percent."

It is likely that Herlings will clinch the title at his home race next month (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

Is it actually weighing on you a little bit now then? Obviously physically it does not look like it. You are still just as strong as ever, but mentally maybe?

Yeah, mentally it is tough. Whenever I pass a McDonald’s, I go past it with my friends and they are like, “Hey, let's get some food." I'm like, “Let's get a salad!" They are eating the big hamburger, Coca Cola and stuff like that. It is part of the job. I have seen it and learned it with Aldon [Baker]. KTM gave me the chance to go there for two weeks and experience that, so it was nice to see how those guys work. I try to copy their system to try to make it even better for myself and do a personal thing, but I like Aldon's way of working. If he would have been here I would definitely work with him, but he is in the US so it is not really possible. I try to copy his system.

We are going down a path a little bit now. The two weeks you spent with Aldon, it sounds like it really meant a lot to you? You really took a lot from that, right?

Yeah. I learned a lot. I have heard about it, but I never witnessed it. To witness it, it was nice. Once again, I have to give it up to KTM for giving the chance to me to work with Aldon for only a little bit of time, but I learned a lot. I think that's one of the reasons I am pretty strong this year.

Herlings will join Calvin Vlaanderen and Glenn Coldenhoff at the Motocross of Nations (KTM Images/Ray Archer)

Finally, since the last time we spoke, the ‘Nations team was announced. It is looking pretty strong. I might even have to become Dutch for the event! I like your chances. It sounds good! It all looks good on paper.

Yeah, we are looking good I think with Calvin [Vlaanderen] on board. He is maybe half South African, but he is Dutch for the weekend. Let's keep it that way. I think we have got a really strong team. I think we have got one of the best chances ever, but we should not underestimate France and definitely US. The US guys on home soil, they are always fast. From my feeling, they always have something extra on their home soil, so we will see. It is going to be tough. I am just going to do my personal best. Our main priority is to obviously win this championship, but I definitely want to go there and do my best and fight those guys.

Win or lose at the ‘Nations, an In-N-Out Burger at the end of the day sounds good right now, hey?

If I drive back from the ‘Nations, win or lose, I do not really care. Just best thing to go and sit there and get that big McChicken burger or whatever. I will definitely feel good, even if I lost that day. To finally have some time off, because I have not planned to do any races after the ‘Nations until next year in January or February. If you would see me at the end of November, you will see me like big and fat probably.

Interview: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: KTM Images/Ray Archer