MXP Chatter: Nanaimo MX2 Winner Austin Politelli

When a rider heads into the first round of a series, all they want to do is have a consistent day and build on their success. For Austin Politelli, round one in Nanaimo went exactly as planned; he got good starts and rode very well. His 1-2 moto score gave him the overall for the day in the MX2 class. We caught up with Austin 15 minutes after his second moto to see how everything went.

Q: Hey Austin, great ride today. It was almost a perfect day except for that little miscue in moto two. Can you take us through what happened?

A: I pretty much had that moto won. I worked really hard at the beginning to stretch my lead out over Kaven. I was just dropping down a hill and there was a little hard packed section at the top. Well, when my front wheel hit it I got a little pushed and it shot me off the track. I hit a drainage ditch and almost crashed, but I saved it and kept going. Unfortunately I lost the lead to Kaven and that was it.

Q: Yes, I saw that and it certainly came out of nowhere. Luckily your 1-2 moto score still gave you the overall for the day and the points lead going into Kamloops.

A: Yes, I felt great today. I would’ve been really bummed if I’d thrown away the overall with that mistake.

Q: After that incident it looked like you were holding your leg for the last few laps. Was something hurt?

A: When I went off the track my feet went flying off the pegs and I caught my calf on the footpeg; it gave me a pretty good gash. I knew I had a huge lead over third place so I just slowed down and rode steady. At that point I knew the overall win was still mine.

Q: All day you looked like you had this track dialed. In moto two you were able to get around Kaven pretty quickly then in just a few short laps you were gone. Are you used to this type of track?

A: I have a few tracks back in California that are hard packed like Perris or Starwest so I am used to this stuff, but I don’t ride anything that has this many rocks, that’s for sure. I don’t know, I just felt really comfortable today and was able to get some flow.

Q: Your Monster Energy Parts Canada Leading Edge Kawasaki looked like it was working great all day?

A: My bike was amazing, right from the first lap of practice it was working great. We made a few little changes after moto one to the suspension so in moto two the bike was incredible. In this class you have to have a great bike and I think with ours we’re going to be good all season.

Q: So other than having a big cut on your leg right now, I don’t think you could ask for a better start to the series. What is the plan for this week to prepare for Kamloops?

A: Well, I’m flying back home this week so I’ll just make sure my leg is good to go and then I’ll just start preparing for Kamloops. I really like that track. I mean, it’s completely different than Nanaimo but we’ve done some testing there already so hopefully we can have another good day.

Q: Well Austin, great riding today, hope the leg is good and we’ll see you in Kamloops.

A: Yes for sure, thanks for doing this and hopefully we’ll be talking again next week.