Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Coming into this season, Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki rider and the 2013 MX1 Champion Brett Metcalfe is as healthy and confident as he’s been in some time. After racing to fourth overall at last summer’s Lucas Oil Pro Outdoor National Series in the USA, Metcalfe is very well prepared for the 2015 Canadian battle. At the opening round of the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals in Kamloops this past weekend, we witnessed just how dominant Metcalfe can be as he rode away with both moto wins on a very rough Whispering Pines Raceway track. Moments after his podium celebrations we caught up with Metcalfe to get his thoughts on his very successful day.
Brett Metcalfe was very happy with his set up on his Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki at round one in Kamloops. photo by James Lissimore
MXP: So here we are again, welcome back!!
BM: Thank you very much, it’s good to be back.
You had a great day, two moto wins and the overall in the MX1 class. Hot day, rough track, and you handled it well. You must feel pretty good right now?
Definitely, the conditions today were extremely tough but I felt really strong. I’m also happy because we came in here with Factory Connection we had to make an educated guess as to which way to go with my suspension. We ended up being right so I want to thank Factory Connection and Mike Haist for all the help.
Why the guess work with suspension? You’ve been to this track more times than any other in Canada.
Well, I haven’t been here with this suspension so that is why. I used this stuff a few weeks ago at Hangtown and Glen Helen but those two tracks are way different from this one so we really didn’t know. As I said, we talked about what we thought might work and obviously it did so I’m happy for that. It’s always good to start off a series like this.
During the first few laps of moto two, Metcalfe and Colton Facciotti were very close as they battled for the lead in the MX1 class. However, after a few laps Metcalfe found his groove and began to pull away for the win. photo by James Lissimore
Was the track as tough as it looked? I mean, obviously it was a scorcher today, but how was the track?
Like you said, I’ve been here a few times with team in 2013 and then a few weeks back for our photo shoot. But you never recreate race conditions, so today it was like an entirely new track. It was pretty rough today and definitely hot, but I had a few good lines that no one else seemed to find so that helped. In moto one I was able to recover from that little slide out. I actually got lucky because a rider hit my bike after I crashed, but the damage wasn’t too bad. I got up and just started charging and was able to get to the front.
In the early stages of moto two Facciotti got in behind you and was close. Did you know he was there and did you maybe see it as an opportunity to try and pull away to get an early series mental advantage?
I did know it was him, for sure, but you know for the first few laps the track was super slick and you had to be careful not to push too hard. After a couple laps of looking for some good lines I kind of put it down and then just kept checking the interval to make sure I was making time on him. A few laps he was matching me pretty good and then I started to inch away. After that I’m not sure what happened to him. At that point it was me trying to hit my lines and have a mistake free moto. It was good and it’s definitely nice to have that feeling today.
So we head from here to Nanaimo next weekend and probably everyone’s least favourite track, well maybe except Colton. You were there two years ago and hated it. You’re now older and wiser; do you think it will be better this year since you know what to expect?
It’s great to see Metcalfe back in Canada this summer. As he did in 2013, Metcalfe is looking to use these first few rounds of the series to set the stage for another successful season. photo by James Lissimore
For sure, I still think it will be a huge challenge for me and my set-up, however it will be like that for everyone. I think two years ago it took me by surprise because it really was like nothing I’ve ridden before so I don’t think I prepared properly for it. I definitely won’t make that mistake again. I’m going to go home this week and try to ride on a few tracks that I feel will help me next Sunday. It’s a long series, and like 2013, I’m just going to try to go moto to moto and make the most of each race.
Not to mention that the next two weekends you’ll be starting on concrete, which is something you don’t get to do very often.
Yes, that’s definitely one of the differences in coming up here. However, I think when it comes to that everyone is in the same boat and you just have to deal with. Who knows, maybe it will help because I didn’t really get off the gate too well today.
Well, great job today and congratulations on getting off to such a good start in the 2015 series.
Thank you, it was a good day and I’m really happy to be back up in Canada this summer. My Monster Energy Thor Kawasaki worked great today and I would really like to thank the team for their hard work. We’ll see everyone next weekend in Nanaimo.
