Yamaha Motor Canada Presents MXP Chatter With Brett Metcalfe

Heading into Round 5 at Gopher Dunes, Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha rider Brett Metcalfe was yet to score a moto win in the MX1 class. In fact, other than a couple of holeshots in Nanaimo, Metcalfe was yet to lead even a lap in the 2016 series. However, that all changed this past weekend at Gopher Dunes as he finally put it all together and took home the victory in moto two. His victory was not only a sign that Metcalfe is becoming more and more comfortable with his new Yamaha, but it was also a credit to the Australian’s perseverance as he’s made a career out of never giving up. We managed to catch up with Metcalfe moments after his second moto win.

MXP: First off Brett, congratulations on a hard fought moto win out there. Not that any moto win on this track is easy, but this one looked really tough.

BM: Yes, anytime you race on a track like this you know it’s going to be tough. I knew coming in that with how fast the guys have been and with how difficult this track gets, a win here would be a huge accomplishment.

Maybe before we get into your day, can you take us through the Planes, Trains and Automobiles trip that it took for you and your teammate to get here?

It was definitely one for the story book, that’s for sure. The flight that Matt and I were on from California went through Philadelphia, but when we arrived there we found out that our flight to Toronto was cancelled. They put us on the next one but we were then on stand-by and didn’t end up getting on. They offered us a flight on Saturday morning but it went through Chicago and then ended up in Buffalo, so we just decided to rent a car and start driving. We drove for a bit on Friday night and then stopped and slept and finished it up on Saturday. We only drove as far as Buffalo and then Andre [Laurin] came and picked us up, and then we all drove here. You know, it might sound bad but we made it and it was kind of fun.

I’m sure it seems more fun now that it’s over as you ended up winning here today. Okay, by your standards you kind of struggled out west on the harder packed tracks, but today you obviously looked a lot more comfortable.

Yes, you nailed it for sure. Out west I just struggled with getting the right feel on those tracks, mostly with the front end and how it turns. It’s not the bike’s fault or anyone’s fault, it’s just a feel that I like and need to have, and I was having trouble finding it on those tracks. But today was good, and hopefully at the next few rounds things will continue.

In watching you ride during the first four rounds, I don’t think your results were an indication of how well you actually rode.

Well thanks, I appreciate that Chris. I do feel like I’ve been riding well but I just haven’t been able to put it together. Also, anytime you have one guy doing all the winning it definitely makes everyone else look bad.

Okay, so you come to Gopher Dunes, a track that you’ve had success on the two times you’ve been here, you looked great in practice, you had a decent first moto and then you came out in moto two and got it done. Can you takes us through that second moto?

It started off really well right out of the gate as I got a great jump and almost had the holeshot. I was behind Alessi for a few laps and then Benoit actually went flying by me. I didn’t really like that but it ended up being a good thing because Kaven had a few really good lines that I picked up on after he passed me. He was going fast and had a lot of intensity early, as it turned out he had a little too much and it bit him when he washed the front end in a corner.

After Benoit went down I started using those lines and caught up to Mike and got by him. Then around lap five, I think, I tried a few new lines and made a mistake which let Matt get by me. Unfortunately for him he went down a lap later and I was back in the lead. From there I just watched my times and made sure I kept a decent gap over Davi. We went back and forth a little but he was never able to get too close.

Those early crashes by Benoit and Goerke, do you think they were just from them pushing too hard?

Both are really good sand riders so for them to crash in sections that weren’t really that rough, it might’ve been from them pushing a little too hard. It’s such a fine line on a track like this, you can put a few good laps together and feel like you have everything under control, and then it just grabs you and down you go. You obviously have to push hard, but you also have to stay relaxed and let the race come to you.

You’re obviously a very accomplished sand rider having won here before and at Southwick. When you make a mistake in one corner or one section, do you push a little harder in the next section so that it doesn’t end up being a bad lap?

That’s a great question! Sometimes that’s exactly what I try to do. If I mess up a corner or a section, then I’ll pick another one that same lap and push a little extra to make up the time. For instance, in Moto 2 I made a big mistake in one of the new sections and lost time, so I pushed harder in another and my lap time ended up being the same as the rest. I will say though that on a track like this one, you really have to relax and not get too stressed when you make a mistake. As you saw today, everyone made mistakes, you just have to have a really short memory. I think that is one area that I’ve really improved on over the years.

They made a few changes to the track today from previous years, did you like them?

A few of them were okay, but a few of them didn’t really fit with a sand track. I know the land here is flat so they have to build jumps, but that rhythm section and even the finish line jump were so sketchy as the motos went on. Today is one of those days where you’re just happy to get through in one piece. If you win then it’s a bonus.

So now we keep moving east to Ulverton, QC. You raced there last year for the first time. Did you enjoy that track?

I really liked the layout, it was like a mini Glen Helen with all of the steep elevation changes. Hopefully they’ve fixed the watering system as last year a few parts were so dusty, it was pretty brutal. But yes, I like the track and it definitely fits my riding style.

Do you feel that with how tough some of the eastern tracks are and with how challenging the travel now gets for you guys from California that the experience of racing here before is now a bigger advantage.

For sure, the first year I raced here in 2013 I was blown away by how tough the travel was. This round is usually easy, but the next four races are going to be really tough as it takes a full day and sometimes more to get from California to the east coast. Add in the four hour time change and we’re getting up at 2:30am on race days; that’s not easy! I think it’s an advantage when you’ve been through it before and you learn from it.

Well Brett, congratulations on the moto win today and second overall. You definitely had a lot of fans out there cheering for you today. I think the Canadian fans are beginning to treat you as one of their own.

I hope so! The fans are great at every round and that is one of the reasons I keep coming back. Hopefully we can have a few more days like today and I get back into this championship. We’re now at the halfway point of this series so there’s still a lot of racing left. Thanks for coming by to chat, we’ll see you next weekend.