Reprinted From
RacerXill.com
Written By: Jim Kimball
Original
Release: December 18th, 2007
Maybe Justin Brayton didn’t burst onto the AMA pro
scene as someone like Ryan Villopoto, but the Fort Dodge, Iowa, native has
steadily moved up the racing food chain. Now as a member of the newly formed
MDK KTM Lites team, the 23-year-old is poised to move to the next
level. Carefully watched by many industry insiders, Brayton could be the
dark horse of the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Lites West series. We
reached Brayton on his cell phone as he was leaving a practice session.
Racer X: Justin, as we head into Anaheim 1,
how’s everything going?
Justin
Brayton: Everything’s awesome Jim! This team is unbelievable. My mechanic
Rich Simmons and I have been working together for a couple months now--he’s
awesome, and a very hard worker. I’m ready for Anaheim, so if it was tomorrow,
I’d be confident. Usually it’s not that way, it’s all somewhat last minute, but
not this year. The KTM team has been awesome and we’re ready to go
racing.
You’ve been doing some off-season racing. Has that
helped you get comfortable on your new bike?
It
has. The first one I did was Bercy, and it went pretty well. The first night I
struggled with some things, but the second night I got a fourth and I got fifth
on the third night. The guys that I got beat by were no slouches, there
was Reed, Langston, and Short. They were all on 450s, so I was pretty happy
about my finish. Next I went to Switzerland, but I had some bad luck. I was just
at the wrong place at the wrong time. I need to get a little bit better
about making my own luck and taking healthier starts. Racing the 450 there
was hard, so I’m excited to be back on my 250F again.
Have you been riding much with your new teammates?
Yeah,
a whole lot. Billy [Laninovich] and I are racing West Coast so we ride together
just about every day, along with Nick Wey who is on the 450. It’s
definitely a huge benefit, not only to have the track facilities, but also
riding with my teammates, who are established guys. They’re both great
riders. It’s helped me out a lot, and I’m excited to start racing and show off
what I’ve been working for.
How has the transition been from Motoworld Yamaha to
the MDK KTM Lites Team?
First
of all I must say thanks to Paul Lindsey for giving me the opportunity at
Motoworld. I was racing arenacross and Paul Lindsey noticed me and gave me
the chance to ride supercross - so I want to thank him for that. Motoworld
was great, it was an excellent stepping stone, but at the factory level it’s
different. It’s a lot bigger budget, and you have lot of things that the
satellite teams cannot get. With the factory team, if there’s something
better, then you’re probably going to get it, or if not, you probably already
have it. We do a lot of testing, and that’s helped me out a lot to know
that I have the best bike set-up possible for me. It’s great, no
complaints on my part, that’s for sure.
There are also a lot of experienced guys involved with
the MDK KTM Lites team, right?
For
sure. Danny Paladino is our team manager, but we still deal with Casey Lytle
too. Steve Lamson is at the track a lot, and so is Kurt Nicoll. Rick
Johnson and Sebastien Tortelli also come out with me a few times a week to help
me with my riding. I hired a trainer this year too, so I’ve covered all
the bases that I feel that I needed to cover. I’ve never had a trainer
before that I’ve worked with daily, so along with the help of RJ and Sebastien,
it’s upped my confidence, and my riding. Everything’s gotten better since the
last time I raced.
You put in a great ride at the 2006 U.S. Open, and
things looked good for you early in 2007. Will 2008 be your year?
No
doubt it’s definitely going to be the year. I’ve got all the tools to win races
now. I have the best bike, the best team, the best mechanic - everything’s
falling into place. Last year was a pretty good year for me; I got some
top fives in supercross, but I was really looking for more than that. Then
just before motocross started I messed up my shoulder. I had to have
surgery, so I missed all the nationals - it was just one of those things. I was
really looking forward to riding the AMA Nationals last year as I’ve never
really gotten to race a full motocross season. So that’s another challenge
for me this year - to really do well at the nationals. Like I said
earlier, I’ve got an awesome bike now and everything’s in place - there’s not
one excuse!
I understand
that now you have “officially” moved to California.
Yeah,
I bought a house a few months ago in Murrieta, California. I guess it was
almost a blessing in disguise by hurting my shoulder - that gave me some off
time to spend some money, and buy a home. I got my California license now
too, so it’s official.
Any big Christmas plans?
No,
I’m going to stay out here in California. I would love to go back home and
visit my family in Iowa, but I just don’t really have the time to take a week
off, and I don’t really want to take that time off anyways. I’ll probably take
Christmas Day off, but other than that I’m sticking to my normal routine so I
can be as confident as I can be going into round one.
Speaking of that Justin, what is your game plan for
Anaheim 1?
At
the first round I’m not really going to emphasize the finish. If I go there and
get a good start like I’ve been practicing, and ride to the best of my
abilities, I believe the results are going to come. That’s pretty much
all I can do – just go out there and give it 100 percent and let the finish
come to me - instead of me trying to do too much. If I ride the way that
I’ve been riding, I for sure will be where I want to be, and where the team
wants me to be. I’d like to thank MDK and KTM for giving me this opportunity to
be on such a great team and a good bike!
