Moto Talk with Matt Moss
MotoOnline.com.au catches up with JDR Motorex KTM’s Pro Lites MX Nationals round one winner Matt Moss.
On debut with an all-new team at Broadford’s opening round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals Matt Moss delivered victory for JDR Motorex KTM to head a stellar podium sweep for the squad.
Moss was consistently quick all day in what appeared to be a new sense of maturity, the type of performance that will pay dividends considering the four-moto formats that will take place at all rounds.
After winning the title in 2009 for Suzuki, Moss was rushed to the United States to partner Ryan Dungey aboard a factory 450, however a previous wrist injury ruined any hopes of showing his true potential on the world stage.
Now, at just 22, Moss is back in Australia and more determined than ever to make his mark with the JDR Motorsports team in a bid to earn himself a position on JDR’s U.S. team for 2012.
MotoOnline.com.au called him up this afternoon to gather his thoughts on round one, along with his initial impressions on working with the five-rider JDR Motorex KTM team.
Matt Moss won on debut for JDR Motorex KTM at Broadford's MX Nationals season opener.
Mossy, it was a big start to the year for you at Broadford with the round win on debut for KTM in the Lites. How much did that win mean to you considering the frustrations of 2010?
It definitely meant a lot because the team has put a lot of effort into me this year and are paying me to do the job as number one rider for the Lites. I pretty much had to deliver for them and really wanted to, so to get that win for them on the weekend was awesome.
I’m super pumped – it’s just a great team, great bike and it feels good to get a win. Hopefully we can keep getting some more wins.
You entered the series as the pre-season favourite, but the weekend was actually pretty close between you and the other top guys. What’s the strategy considering the four-moto formats?
I really had no strategy going into it. I was really nervous about the first round with the formats, but now I know what to do. It was close, but I’ve got a 22 point lead, so it wasn’t that close at the end of the day.
A lot of the guys are fast, but I don’t think they’ll be there each and every race and I believe I will be. I just need to keep getting good starts and keep winning.
There’s a lot of talk about the formats, but you seemed to enjoy them and embraced them for what they are at Broadford…
Yeah, definitely. They’re different to what we are used to because in a 30-minute moto you sort of get to find your groove, but in these new formats you don’t get to do that. You have to get out there, pin it, do seven laps and get across the finish line – hopefully in front.
Then you have a five-minute gap and straight into it again. It’s pretty much just hold it pinned and go for it, there’s no time to lay off. You just need to get out there and get going [laughs].
You haven’t raced outdoors here since you won the title in 2009, so did anyone surprise you at round one? There are a few new guys coming through now.
Well I knew that [Kirk] Gibbs and Ford [Dale] would be fast, so it was probably [Josh] Cachia who surprised me the most because he’s got a lot of speed. I don’t think he’ll win the championship this year or anything like that, but he’s definitely going to be a person to reckon with in the future.
He’s got some credible speed, so definitely the most surprising because I didn’t think he’d be where he was. Let’s just hope that he can keep it going. So yeah, that’s pretty much it – he’s the only guy who surprised me on the weekend, that’s for sure.
Moss is living up to his pre-season title favourite form so far after winning Broadford.
We have round two coming up in a couple of weeks, and your brother Jake is hoping to return for that one. Will he be your biggest threat for round wins?
Ah, I think so toward the end of the year. I don’t think so just yet, because he’s had a long time off the bike and he’s on a new bike. His shoulder still hurts a little bit, but definitely towards the end of the season he’ll be a person getting on the podium, that’s for sure.
You know, I’m just excited to get out there and race with him – to battle with him a bit would be great.
You’ve made it clear that this year is a case of one step backward, two steps forward, hoping you get a chance on JDR’s U.S. team for next year. How much does that motivate you to have that clear path to America with an Aussie team?
It’s great because it would feel like I’m not changing teams, pretty much going from here to there riding the exact same bike and with the same people since Jay [Rynenberg] is the team owner of both. It’s going to be great and I’m so grateful that they’ve given me the opportunity to prove to them that I can do it.
I definitely want to prove to myself that I can do it, so that’s what I want to do. I had a real bad year there so I’m hoping to turn that around and do what I’ve got to do.
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