A massive crash ended Brett Metcalfe’s 2012 season early, and when he returned to the bike, no U.S. factory rides were available. The Australian grabbed a place with the Leading Edge Monster Energy Kawasaki team in Canada and promptly won the 2013 Canadian Motocross National Championship. He planned on a return in 2014, until Ryan Villopoto was injured and the Monster Energy Kawasaki team here picked up Metty as a replacement rider. Metcalfe, solid as always, put his KX450F into fourth in the final 450 MX standings…and yet found himself without a U.S. factory ride again!
Now he’s planning on going back up to Canada next summer. But he still has some plans for the immediate—and distant—future down here.
Racer X: Let’s review the Nationals. That was a crazy situation. You got put on the champ’s bike and obviously had a solid season. Tell us what you thought of the Nationals for starters.
Brett Metcalfe: I thought it worked out really good. I was really pumped with the overall result. Finishing up fourth was great. I was hoping for top five going in. I was in good shape, riding well when I came into the series. But only having basically two weeks I think was the max time before Glen Helen, the first round, on the factory bike. It was a big changeover from the bike I was riding to the factory bike. I had a few weeks to get ready on that thing. It was pretty short notice, so I felt like coming in there, getting some good results, riding out the whole series, and ended up fourth in the points, I was really, really happy with that.
You were thrown into this late. Did you at all think this could be setting something up for 2015? Or was that never even really a thought anyway? Were you just living in the moment?
To be honest, I was mainly just living the moment, happy for one to be back racing the US Nationals, and to be back on a factory team, which I honestly didn’t think was realistically going to happen. I knew that may be my last opportunity to ride on a factory team, so to check that off the list was pretty awesome to ride for Kawasaki. It was pretty cool. It was mainly for me just living in the moment, try to do as good as I can and then really use it up.
Where do you go next? We’ve seen you pop up at a couple of these races here, kind of with your own deal, still on a Kawi. Do you have a plan yet for what comes next for you?
I’ve had two contracts in place and obviously this year RV got hurt, I filled in for him here. Then next year we’ll be heading back up there for the [Canadian] Nationals. We’ve been kind of jumping through a few hurdles and stuff. To be honest, I was really hoping to be able to stay in the US and pick up a ride here and kind of finish out here, but it looks like for next year I’ll be heading back up there [Canada] for the Nationals. We’re just finalizing all the details right now and just going through everything. I’ve been racing the Red Bull Rhythm, the Monster Cup, the last couple of races, on my own with some support from Dirt Candy Racing and a little bit of support from Kawasaki but basically it’s been completely on my own effort. I just really wanted to do those races because I wanted to do supercross next year. I wanted to just get my feet wet again and these couple events that just passed I think were really good building blocks for me. At the least I got to just go and have some fun.
What’s the reason to come back to supercross?
I didn’t do it in ‘13 or ’14 so it’s been two years. I just want to come back and enjoy supercross and do some racing. I feel like I can do it. My best result in a 450 main was fourth. I think I had two of those. So I know I can do well. But my plan is really at this point not to race the whole championship, just maybe do the West Coast rounds on a 450, come out, have fun, and ride hard. I just want to do it again. It’s just something I desire to do right and I’m just going to go with it. I’m motivated to do it. The results from the Monster Cup, when you look at it on paper they look horrible but I was actually pretty stoked at the way I rode and my performance. I know what we had to work with going into that race and I know we can make some really big improvements that can change to have some effort on the results. Overall just excited about going back out there again and racing with the guys that I’ve been racing for the last ten years.
I would think on the surface when you go out there and get fourth in the Nationals in the U.S. and then you end up having to go back to Canada anyway because you can’t get a ride, people would think, that guy’s got to be so mad. Are you mad about the way things ended up or are you still happy, you still have a good ride in Canada?
It’s a mixed feeling but when you look at me, there’s realistically I think five guys that are in kind of the same position as me. They don’t have a ride, they’re super talented and everybody works hard nowadays, maybe some more than others, but we’re all kind of professional and take care of our business and we still don’t have things lined up [in the U.S.]. So for one I’m thankful when I went up to Canada in 2013. I basically went up there just to reestablish myself and keep going. This year I get to reap the reward of that and still have a deal to go up there, but I’m still thankful that I get to race motocross and do this thing that I love. It’s a little bit of a shame that our sport, it’s still a little slim. There are more riders in the 450 class than positions on teams, and it’s tough for the guys. There’s a lot of guys that I think are going to not have what they normally would have and should have. So I’m thankful I can still do this thing. For once I’ve got a good long-term plan over the next few years. Dirt Candy Graphics Race Team, they’re a big part of that. We’re trying to evolve into something for the future. So I’m really excited about that. There’s no doubt in ’16 and ’17 I’ll be back in the US racing. So that makes things exciting for me knowing that I can come back here and ride it out to the end.
I know you had said two years ago when you were coming back from your injury and missed supercross because of that, you said you want to race until you’re 35 or so. Is that still in sight? This could still happen?
Yeah, that can still happen. That’s my goal, whether it’s a realistic goal or not, every year motocross takes its toll! But absolutely, if I feel in shape, I’m healthy, I think I take care of myself really, really well. That’s still the goal. Right now I have a really, really awesome plan. For the most part that’s what keeps me motivated. I know that there’s something there for me to keep striving for. Just got to stay positive and have a good attitude about it. Things will always work out. You just got to keep your head down and keep working.
So you don’t get bitter even that you did a good job for Kawi but they didn’t bring you back? Are you still good with those guys or were you like slamming your locker closed when you left?
I’m still cool with those guys. I still say hello to them. There’s no problem with them. I had a great time with those guys. They’re a real good company, good team. I would have loved to have maybe gotten an opportunity to stick on board, but Kawasaki is a big corporation, they’ve got good sponsors. They’ve got to make their moves that put them in a good position in the future too. That’s out of my control. But I’m happy to continue racing, that’s the biggest thing.
It sounds like for you, you’re just being realistic. This is the sport you compete in, this is the reality of the teams and the sponsors. You can’t really be mad at any particular people or the industry itself. It just is what it is pretty much.
That’s it. It is what it is. There’s a lot of guys in the position that have great rides and success and good for them, and there’s a bunch of guys that don’t. You try to make the best out of the opportunity that you get and that’s all I got to say about that.
Is it the same Leading Edge team that you’ll be racing on in Canada or is there an announcement yet to come?
Same team as 2013, the Leading Edge Monster Energy Kawasaki team in Canada. So I’ll be returning for those guys. That’s just for Canada. While I’m in the US, it’s a completely separate deal. Right now I’m working to put my own deal together for the US. Hopefully in a couple weeks I’ll definitely have everything locked in. I’m planning to do at least the six West Coast rounds for sure. Then after that we’ll see what comes and see what kind of budget we can pull together.