Honda Canada Racing Presents MXP Chatter With Derek Schuster

This year marked my 30^th Anniversary of my first visit to Gopher Dunes Raceway. Back then, Gopher was a new track, and even though there was no social media to speak of, word spread pretty quickly that the track was sandy and very rough. Even with Gopher Dunes’ challenging track conditions, people keep coming back and enjoying the Schusters’ hospitality. When Frank Schuster retired a few years ago it opened the door for his son Derek to take over the facility and prepare it for another thirty years of riding fun. For the past few years Derek has not only ran one of the most infamous tracks in North America, but he is also a husband, a father of two, and the man behind the GDR Fox Honda Racing Team. Yes, Derek Schuster is a busy man with a lot on his plate. Yesterday, I travelled to Gopher Dunes to test ride Colton Facciotti’s championship winning Honda CRF450. While there I was able to sit down with Derek to chat about a number of things.

MXP: Hey Derek, you’re a hard guy to get to sit still for a few minutes so thanks for giving me a few minutes. Let’s get right into how 2018 has been going. You won the 450 MXTour Title with Colton Facciotti so congratulations on that. Your other rider, Dylan Wright, also had a decent summer and won some races. In fact, once the 250 series came east he scored the most points from Sand Del Lee on, so that must have made you happy?

DS: Dylan had a very good summer and I think he demonstrated for most of the series that he was a title contender. If it wasn’t for a couple of DNFs in the first two rounds I think he would’ve been battling Jess Pettis and Joey Crown for the championship at the final round at Walton. Even in the motos he did finish in Calgary and Popkum, his speed didn’t really look good enough to win motos. However, at Round 3 in Prince George he went 1-1 and from that moment on he was a threat to win motos at each round.

You mentioned those early DNFs obviously didn’t help matters, but what changed with Dylan’s riding from the first two rounds to Round 3 in PG when he dominated both motos?

I don’t know if it was any one thing. I think perhaps the DNFs might have taken some pressure off and he then relaxed and just rode the bike. You never have to worry about Dylan’s effort on the race track, I think everyone knows that. Sometimes, though, he just simply tries too hard and the mistakes just multiply. After Popkum, I think he just rode how he wanted to, built up some much-needed confidence and the ball just got rolling.

You have two riders in Colton and Dylan who appear to be complete opposites, not just in age but in personality, riding style, you name it. Is it a big challenge for you since they are so different?

Well, even though they’re so different they’re equally as difficult to deal with at times (laughs). On the surface, it might seem like a challenge, and I guess sometimes it is, but for the most part I think it’s actually a good thing and a positive thing for our team. I think their contrasting personalities and styles actually benefit each other. While Dylan may learn from Colton in the way he goes about life as professional motocross rider, Dylan’s youth and energy certainly benefits Colton. I think they compliment each other, and really, they’re perfect teammates.

Even away from the track they seem to get along really well. I love how Dylan sometimes calls Colton “Dad.”

They’re pretty funny sometimes with how they treat each other. At the end of the day, though, I know they have each other’s back. That is all you can ask for with teammates.

At the track it appears like the entire GDR Team is like this, though. You guys are always joking around and you make being at a high-pressure national level look like fun.

We obviously try to keep it light under the tent and have fun. I think we’re all really good at having fun when it’s okay to do so, but when it’s time to be serious we get focused and get the job done.

Let’s talk about Colton for a moment. In my opinion, we saw a different Colton this past summer. He looked more focused, more prepared and better in all areas. What do you contribute this to?

Well, I would definitely agree with your assessment of him this summer, he did come into 2018 more prepared and confident than I think he’s ever been. From a team point of view, we worked really hard in the off-season getting his bike to be exactly where he wanted it, so he felt great about the bike coming into the season. One thing that perhaps not too many people know about Colton is that he has a great sense of recognizing when he’s presented an opportunity. Whether that’s in life or in racing, he’s just very aware of what is going on around him. I think with the new series this year and the chance to win more money and maybe get a little more exposure for himself and for the team, he just seized the moment and made sure he was fully prepared both mentally and physically. He trained extremely hard in the off-season and just came into the opening round ready to win.

Do you think that having to train on some different tracks and in different conditions helped? For instance, having to race some indoor events prior to the nationals appeared to really helped his race craft.

For sure, being a BC kid, he grew up racing AX and SX so he already had those skills ingrained in him. However, with no indoor series he didn’t really need to practice much on those types of tracks. This past winter he obviously did some training on tight AX type tracks to get ready for the AXTour and the Daytona SX. That helped his riding in all areas and I think it gave him that extra boost of confidence heading into Calgary. Even now he’s been here almost every day riding our AX track to stay ready for Quebec City and Hamilton. This will help him in 2019 if he decides to race, as normally during this time of the year he isn’t riding. So, to sum up your original question, I don’t think you can point the finger at just one thing as to why he was so good this summer, I think it was because of a number of things.

You mentioned that if Colton decides to race in 2019. Have any decisions been made yet?

I knew that question was coming! Even coming into this season, we spoke about whether this would be his final go at it. Prior to the nationals we agreed that we wouldn’t talk about it until the summer was over. I’m not going to say anything right now as I’ll leave it to Colton to let everyone know. All I will say is that a decision has been made and we’re planning accordingly.

To even think about him retiring makes me sad as it will be the end of yet another era in Canadian moto. I get a sense from you that it’s even hard to talk about.

For sure it is Palms! He’s not just my rider, he’s a close friend and he’s someone that I admire. There will no doubt be a huge void in Canadian motocross when he’s done racing, just as there is now with Kaven Benoit retiring. Like Tyler Medaglia also, these guys are legends and when they’re done they’re going to leave big shoes to fill.

MXP: All of these guys have been through so much and they’re all such great professionals. What is it about Colton that impresses you so much?

DS: I think the way he goes about his business and how resilient he’s been. Colton has been at it for a long time and he’s had a number of serious injuries. However, he just keeps coming back and finding new ways to win. Honestly, he is the most mentally strong person I know and that is why I love working with him. As of right now he’s won five 450 titles and 70 nationals. I don’t think there’s been another rider to win 70 nationals before. I think every rider out there could learn from him as far as how he goes about his racing. Not just on the bike but off the bike as well with his preparation and his attention to detail, and how he balances it all with his family. Even if he’s not training or riding, most days he’s still here at the shop going over his set-up with Justin and myself. Over the past few years he’s become a student of the technology that we now use. He watches videos, he knows the tracks and studies his competition. He is definitely a great pro.

Well said Derek. Tell us, how do you juggle it all. You have the team, the shop, the track and a family. Your plate is pretty full.

It’s not easy, that’s for sure. There are many late nights and early mornings. I have a great team though, and most of all I couldn’t do it without my wife Kerri. She does so many things behind the scenes. When I’m away she runs everything here, and still runs our household. She’s amazing and all of this wouldn’t be happening without her.

Well Derek, congratulations on all of your success and thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Good luck at the final two rounds of the Triple Crown Series and I guess we’ll all await the news on Colton Facciotti’s future.

Thanks Palms and thanks for all of MXP’s support in 2018. Hopefully the final two rounds go well and then we can start looking towards 2019. h