Ty Masterpool hasn’t raced RedBud very many times, but he’s still been able to throw down some memorable rides there. He holeshot the first moto in 2020, with one hand off the bar and his finger pointing straight up, which was one of the coolest things that happened that year. Well, he struck more RedBud gold this year when he led laps in the second moto on a used bike he’d purchased just over a week prior. Intrigued? We were too, which is why we caught up with him for this week’s Privateer Profile.
Racer X: That was quite the day you had at RedBud!
Ty Masterpool: Yeah, thank you! Thanks for thinking of me on this.
Of course man. It was a wild day for you. I actually didn’t even know you weren’t with AEO Powersports anymore, I thought you’d just been injured. Can you get into what happened?
My job is to just do my best and try my best. Everything happens for a reason.
Talk about that bike you raced. It was used, right?
Yeah, it had like twenty hours on it [laughs]. We had it for about a week-and-a-half. Big shout out to Brian Storrie with Adventure Moto. We got the suspension dialed in for me and raced it.
What were you expecting coming into RedBud?
The biggest thing was just me vs. me, and to ride the best I could and let the results take care of themselves. I just focused on myself and did the best I could do.
But there was no way you expected to come out and lead laps on that thing, right?
Well, you never know, I was feeling good!
Well it’s not the first time at RedBud for you right?
[Laughs] No sir! RedBud was the only race I did in 2020.
Walk us through the day.
Qualifying went pretty good, although we struggled with bike setup a little bit. It was just my brother and I there and we aren’t the savviest with suspension so we did the best we could. The biggest thing was just getting used to the track, and not being too concerned with putting down a heater. I worked on putting in consistent laps and getting used to the feel of the suspension and knowing how the bike would react. I was feeling really good going into moto one. I was actually more impressed with myself in moto one. I got a pretty good start but got held up a lot on the first lap with people going down in front of me. I got bumped around too. I think I was around twentieth after the first lap and just charged the whole way through. My energy was really good, and I didn’t get tired. I got up to seventh, then Justin Cooper passed me on the last lap. We were going back and forth, and he passed me on The Leap on the last lap. I was hoping I could hit the leap actually, but the bike wasn’t fast enough. I don’t think it would have made it. I only had one set of rims and they weren’t even mine, so I couldn’t return those things all busted up [laughs]. I was feeling good, but between motos, like fifteen minutes before going out, I was choking on dirt and threw up everything. I couldn’t get all the hydration back into me and I could feel the cramping before the moto.
Well, just by watching you ride, I never would have known you were cramping. Even after Jett Lawrence got by you it looked like you were coming back on him. You were aggressive out there.
I was feeling good, my arms were just cramping super bad. It was everything I had to hold on. My energy was good though, I just couldn’t get hydrated back up in time. I’d thrown up everything I had left in my system.
You’ve obviously got speed and talent. How come we’re not seeing these kinds of rides more from you? When you’re on the gas you’re really on the gas.
This year I’ve had all kinds of bumps and bruises. I was actually ready to race supercross, but I had small bumps and bruises and stuff like that. I was feeling good at Pala, and just had a little incident there. But you’ll see more of it this year for sure!
So what’s the story from here on out? Will you be doing the rest of the Nationals?
Yeah, I’m doing the rest of them. Big shout out to the fans and everyone out there, we’ve had a lot of people coming up and helping me. It’s hard financially, I’m a privateer right now and it’s coming out of my own pocket. But after RedBud I’ve had a lot of people reaching out to me and helping me get to the next round.
What are you going to do if your bike blows up!?
[Laughs] We’ll figure it out! I’m going racing.
That’s your practice bike too, right?
I got two bikes now. The biggest thing is just finding bikes, there aren’t really any bikes available. I got two more practice bikes but they both have like 35 hours on them or something like that. We just threw some fresh top ends in them and freshened them up a little bit.
You didn’t even have decals on your shrouds out there.
We only had a week to throw everything together, and I didn’t really have any sponsors to put on there, really.
Is there an element, in these situations, of not caring about the details? I mean, in the sense that, you just don’t worry about it because what’s the point? You’re on a used bike, it’s you and your brother, you aren’t suspension experts, you’re just out there racing.
The biggest thing I can do is what I always do, which is do the best that I can. They’re the cards I’ve been dealt, and the only thing I’m in control of is my own attitude and the work I put into it. It’s me vs. me, and I’m going to do the best I can do no matter what. I’ve always given it 100 percent and I always will. I love this sport and all I can do is put my heart into it.
For sure. Are you going to have some sponsors on those shrouds this weekend at Southwick?
[Laughs] We’ll see! It’s hard to put everything together in the middle of the season, but we’re trying!
What if you put it in the top five with a bike with no decals? That’d be so awesome.
[Laughs] Yeah well that’s the goal now, I guess! I want to give a big, big thank you to all the fans and everyone coming together. The amount of people coming together helping me get from race to race, I mean, much love. I can’t thank them enough.
Well thanks for your time Ty and good luck this weekend. I know a lot more people will probably be watching you this weekend than they were at RedBud.
Thank you.