NPS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Moss seems like a different guy this year. His results have been more consistent, his outlook on life has changed and he’s not scared to call a spade a spade. It seemed only fitting, then, that we hit him up with five questions starting with ‘why’.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Why are your results more consistent this year?

I think I’m just a lot happier with life. I’ve always loved Kawasaki and being on a factory team with a manager who’s a former champion plays a big part. A lot of people tend to fade away a couple of years after winning a title, as bad as that sounds. But TC was one of the first riders to really dominate in Australia and I grew up racing him, so I take on board every piece of advice and information he gives me. This year I think a lot of drama has gone out of my life. I’ve got Dave and Ange from NPS helping me out and because of them I met my girlfriend, who’s so supportive – I’ve never had that before. Her life revolves around trying to help me instead of me feeling like I have to keep winning in order to sustain a certain lifestyle for her. Everything’s changed for the better.

Why have you taken MXD rider Nathan Crawford under your wing?

I’ve tried to take kids under my wing in the past but it has never really worked out and they’ve never trained as hard as me. When I was their age I was fit, young and had no injuries and trained harder than ever. But now that I’m getting towards the end of my career I saw Nathan and his dad and the way they worked together. His dad always made the right decisions and was all about helping Nathan, and Nathan never talked back or caused any arguments. I saw that and his results, and I saw a bit of me in him and decided to help him out with a few areas. At the time I also wanted a training partner and he puts in just as much effort as me, so it’s worked out really well. He’s changed his attitude and has grown up so fast. I want to see him be the best he can be.

Why do you think the MX1 class has been struggling for numbers the past two years?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot actually, and I think it comes down to a lack of incentive. We get more people to a club day at Warwick or Coolum than we do at the Nationals, but there’s no incentive for them to step up. Even if the local champ goes out and wins the local MX Nationals race, he doesn’t win a cent. I can tell you here and now that if I didn’t have the support of Dave Campbell over the past couple of years there’s no way I’d be racing; it’s not worth it. Nothing against the MX Nationals and WEM – it’s tough times and they’ve got to make ends meet too – but I think the costs are too high and everyone is taking, taking, taking and not putting anything back into the sport. Motorcycling Queensland has built QMP and they help me out with cheaper riding rates, as it’s my job. Tradies get cheaper supplies all the time, but racers who have to go out and practice every day usually have to pay $50-$60 to ride every day. No-one can afford that, and in fact if there’s no supercross championship later this year, I’ll probably have to go back to work myself.

Image: Jeff Crow.

Why are you and your brother Matt so even in pace?

I don’t really know. Maybe it’s a twin thing. We both have the same physical build, although it can vary who’s bigger from year to year. But we know exactly how each other operates and on the track we do exactly the same things. As far as pace goes, one week he’ll be faster and the next week it’ll be me and it’s always been that way. Matt’s shaken me the last couple of years but I think I have better speed than him this year… he just gets great starts every race and I have to try and come through the pack.

Why do you ride?

I ride because it’s all I know. As much as I’ve had the lows and injuries, I always go back to racing because I don’t know anything else. I love the bond we have with people we’ve never met and the community spirit within motocross. Some people talk shit in the industry and can sit behind a keyboard and never face the music, but as much as that goes on, when we have situations like Blake [Colleton] and Harley [Quinlan] we always come alongside them and try and help them through it. You’ll still be there to help pick them up when they need you to, because everyone shares the same love for the sport.