MXP Chatter: Kaven Benoit

Except for a DNF in the mud at round 4 in Regina, Kaven Benoit has been the picture of consistency so far in the 2014 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals. After starting off the MX2 series with a win on the slick Nanaimo track, he’s gone on to finish on the podium in four of the last five rounds. With a hard earned 15 point lead over Vince Friese with four rounds to go, Kaven will no doubt stick to exactly what he’s been doing so far in this series. Another interesting side note to his championship chase is that if he does with the 2014 MX2 title, he will be the first ever to do it after switching displacements halfway through the series. With Kaven’s bold switch from four-stroke to two-stroke working out nicely so far, we grabbed a few moments of his time after he won the overall at Sand Del Lee.

MXP: Hey Kaven, do you have a moment?

Kaven: Sure, no problem.

 Well first off, congratulations on your first overall since round one in Nanaimo.

Thank you; it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been up there every week but it feels great to finally get another win.

 Since moto two just finished, can you take us through it. Friese caught you but he made a mistake and slide out, did you feel him coming?

Oh for sure, the way he rides it’s pretty easy to hear him when he’s close, and you never know what he’s going to do. When you’re in his position it’s easy to close on someone because you get to watch the rider in front of you and see what he’s doing and what lines he’s taking. So when he caught he me I wasn’t surprised, I just tried to stay relaxed and ride my own race.

It looked like you picked it up and bit and maybe you forced him into a mistake?

Yes, you might be right. But who knows, I didn’t see what he did, I was just trying to put in some good laps. It was also nice to get the holeshot in moto two because this track is hard to pass on. In moto one I didn’t get the holeshot and I couldn’t find a way around Austin.

 With this track being the way it is, with sand on top and hard clay underneath…..and although the track was rougher in moto two which seems to play into your hands, was it a little tougher to ride on the two stroke with there being more slick spots.

Definitely, the sand always gets pushed to the outside and the inside becomes clay. I had to really pick my lines carefully and make sure I didn’t get stuck in the wrong line. We have my KTM two stroke working really good though so it hooks up, even on the slippery stuff.

It must feel great to bounce back today and take the win after your crash in practice last weekend at Gopher Dunes. Were you still a bit sore today or are you fully recovered?

I’m still sore in my upper and lower back; I took a pretty hard hit there last weekend so it’s taken awhile to feel better. I don’t think it was an issue today, I didn’t feel it when I was on the track. I had a really good week of therapy and taking it easy, so that helped coming into this weekend.

Man, you and Friese were sure going for it that second moto, that pace was quick?

For sure, we were pushing really hard trying to make the other one make a mistake. In a race like that you have to try and just ride your own race but it’s really hard knowing that someone is back there. I had to dig deep because there was no way he was getting by me.

With this race over, now we move into the first of two rounds in your home province next weekend. You must be really excited?

Anytime you get to race in front of all your friends and family it’s very exciting. I really like the track there so it should be a great race. It’s actually a lot like the Sand Del Lee track so the fans should get to see the same exciting racing that they saw today.

Since Joe Skidd is standing beside you now, maybe it’s a good time to ask you how your suspension worked today?

(laughs) It worked great, we’ve put a lot of time into testing and it showed today on this rough track.

Well that’s a good answer. Thanks Kaven for doing this, we’ll let you go and celebrate with your team. Well done today!

Thank you Chris. Hopefully we can keep it going until the end.