Australian Kawasaki team riders Adam Monea and Jake Moss are currently based in Southern California gaining some valuable experience and speed to take into the 2015 Australian Motocross Championship. However, it hasn’t all gone to plan, with both riders picking up injuries within days of hitting the ground Stateside and missing the first two rounds of Monster Energy AMA Supercross. We spoke with Monea to find out what he’s been up to and when we can expect him back, plus a couple of other random topics to fit the Fast Thoughts structure.

The Kawasaki US experience…

It would’ve been better if it wasn’t for this little hiccup of an injury, but apart from that it’s been a great experience so far. Our team has developed a good friendship with the guys from Houston Energy Services and after I got off the podium at the Gladstone round of the 2014 MX Nationals and got back to the truck, I was told we were going to the US to race the first six rounds of AMA Supercross. I kinda thought they were having me on, but a couple weeks later the flights were booked and it was all locked in. The aim of this trip is to gain some valuable racing experience and come back to Australia with a few seconds under our belt, pick up some speed and intensity and try to tackle to the MX Nationals MX1 championship.

Getting injured…

It sucks and is more frustrating than anything. I’d rather not disclose what the actual injury is, but I basically tweaked an old area while out practicing. It was a stupid crash where I just tucked the front and hit the deck and the injury flared up again and it became hard to ride due to the swelling. It was more annoying than anything – I can deal with the pain – but I was pretty pissed off when it happened. I’m back on track now, so there’s only been a week or so delay to the program.

Missing the opening two rounds of SX…

Being at Anaheim 1 and not riding, I guess for a lot of people that would be a dream come true, but I was over it. Jake was gutted too as we’re both in the same situation. I think it’s much easier to watch the race live on TV from your own home rather than being in the stands watching the pre-show and the gate-drops, knowing that it could’ve been me down there being a part of it.

Aims for the final four races…

The big goal is to make the 450SX main event at each round, starting this weekend at Anaheim 2. That in itself is a pretty big task with the depth in the class. You look at all the guys who’ve finished between 10th and 20th over the past two weeks, they’ve all won races or made podiums, which is pretty nuts. To make the main every round from this weekend would tick the boxes, but I’m not going to do anything stupid either. Our main focus is on winning titles back home and if I’m not comfortable with the speed then I’m not going to force the issue and crash. I’d love to turn some heads while I’m here but we’ve got to look at the big picture as well.

Working with Michael Marty…

Michael’s over here now with his family and we’ve spent some time together and developing our relationship, but until we’re back in Australia with our own tools, bikes and equipment it probably isn’t a proper gauge of how things will be. It’s awesome having him in my corner. He’s won championships and I feel I can really trust the equipment with him looking after me. I was as surprised as anyone when he moved from Serco to our team and believe he’s going to be a great asset for our team this year.

Airport security…

I’ve been lucky and had a pretty sweet run with it, but it’s a little annoying when they grab your bag and go through it. It’s for everyone’s safety and they’re just doing their job, but it can be frustrating when you get pulled to the side. Getting stuck in customs for an hour also isn’t a fun way to start any trip, whether it’s for business or holiday. But yeah, I haven’t had too many dramas, apart from having my bags travel to Perth instead of Brisbane. I mean, how do you mix up PER and BNE when reading bag tags?

Celebrity wife crush…

Taylor Swift. We were actually just talking about this the other day. That Victoria’s Secret model used to be at the top, but I think Taylor’s come around over the past couple of years and she could been one of those girls easy. She’s amazing. If she comes back to Melbourne on tour I’ll be front and centre at her gig!