 | | Hard to believe it’s been a dozen years since this man first won a pro race. | |
|
Rockstar
Suzuki rider Mike Brown’s first win as a professional came on April 9,
1994—more than a dozen years ago—at the Pontiac Silverdome. Before
that, he was a Loretta Lynn’s champion, and he later became the 2001
AMA 125cc National Motocross Champion. Now the quiet man from Piney
Flats, Tennessee, is making a go at another motocross title. He’s
parked his RM250 Suzuki supercross bike to focus from now until
Hangtown on the RM-Z250F he hopes will get him back on top of the AMA
Toyota Motocross circuit. Before Brown went into full lockdown
mode with his training, we caught up with him for this week's Between
the Motos.
Racer X: First of all, Mike, while we know supercross isn’t exactly
your style, you had a pretty good season. You’ve been very consistent
and made every main event you entered.
Mike Brown: Yeah, it’s been good. Like you said, it’s not my style, but
it’s been a good season for me. I get down on myself pretty easily for
not being up there with the top guys, but it wasn’t too bad. I
qualified for all the main events and had some good races.
You placed seventh in the main event in the Edward James Dome in St. Louis. That appeared to be a very good result for you.
Yeah, it was, for sure. I good a good start — I was, like, in fourth or
fifth. I don’t know why, but I was able to stay up there with the lead
guys. For the first 10 laps I had good distance between Travis Preston,
but then I started thinking too much and Preston and [Nick] Wey caught
me at the end. But yeah, it was a good night, for sure. But now I’m
done with supercross. I’m going to shut it down to begin concentrating
on the outdoors.
What’ll be your program for the nationals?
I’ll ride a 250F in the Lites class. I’m hoping for a championship and hope the bikes will be up for it, too.
Are you happy with the way things have been going with the RockStar Suzuki team so far?
I think so. It’s a new team that’s still learning, but they’ve got good
people and are getting people to help. I’ve already ridden the 250F a
bit, and that’s why I stopped with supercross after Houston. We want to
start dialing the bike in for the nationals. The bike is really
important in the Lites class and I’m hoping the Suzuki is good enough
to help me win races. I think it should be all right.
The 2005 125 National Championship—in the first four rounds, you
were on the podium every time, and you won Budds Creek. But then you
were seventh at round five at Red Bud, sixth at Unadilla, and seventh
at round seven at Lakewood. Things seemed to start falling apart.
Yeah, the season started awesome. I had a win and a number of
top-threes and -fours. I was right there in every race. But then at the
halfway point, I don’t know.…
At that point, the finger-pointing about your bikes being” off-song” began between you and Pro Circuit.
The bikes were not the best. I don’t know if they were old or if it was
me or what, I really don’t know. [The bike] ended worse than it
started, I do know that. I just want to let it be—I don’t want to blame
anyone. I don’t want to blame Pro Circuit. There’s nothing left to be
said. It’s all done now. I’m not saying things went wrong the second
half of last year because of me, and I don’t want to say they went
wrong because of anyone.
 | | Brownie rode the RM250 for much of the SX season, but now it’s parked and he’s on his RM-Z250 outdoor bike | |
|
Then
came the political maneuvering of the Motocross des Nations team. You
were picked to ride the 250F for Team USA in France, then, for reasons
still unclear to most, you were asked to leave the team.
I really don’t know what happened there either. I was getting good
results. The team was announced at Lakewood and everyone was so pumped.
Honda was like, “We’ll give you a bike; we’ll give you the good stuff.”
But then each weekend, it seemed like the offers for support became
less and less. Before one national, I had a meeting with Erik Kehoe
[Honda], Steve Whitelock [AMA], and J.C. Waterhouse [Factory
Connection], and we talked about what type of support I was going to
get from Honda. Things were still moving along.
Then came Binghamton. Supposedly, there was supposed
to be some sort of meeting about the team after the race. Nobody said
anything to me about that meeting. After the race, I was gone and on my
way to the airport. The next day I got a phone call from Steve
Whitelock. He said, “Why weren’t you at the meeting after the race?” I
told him I didn’t know a thing about a meeting; if there was a meeting
about the Motocross des Nations, of course I would have been there! I
wanted to go! It was a bunch of bull crap. I guess Steve and Roger
DeCoster held this meeting and Kevin Windham and Ricky Carmichael were
there and I didn’t show up. I didn’t even know about it.
How did word come down that you were off the team?
After Millville, RC called me one night and said it might be better if
I wasn’t on the team because he knew I was having problems with my
bikes. He said he didn’t want me to go over there and make the team
lose because I didn’t have a good bike. I could understand what Ricky
was saying, but I was also being told that someone was going to step in
and give me a good bike to ride for the Motocross des Nations. So not
long after the call from Ricky, I got a call from Steve Whitelock
saying I wasn’t going to be on the team. Like I said, I could
understand what RC told me, but knowing about that meeting really
pissed me off.
 | | Brown made a Racer X cover last year when he blasted into the lead in the AMA 125 National point standings. | |
|
Looking ahead, what’s your goal for the 2006 250F Nationals?
To win races would be awesome. That’s what it’s about: winning races.
If you can win races, you can win the championship. If I can win races,
it’ll make the team happy and it’ll make me happy. I’m the old guy now.
I’d like to try and win one more championship, for sure.
Is the 2006 AMA Toyota National Championship going to tell the tale, as far as your career goes?
For sure. I have a multi-year contract with these guys, but I want to
see how the outdoors go. I don’t want to be back racing in 15th place.
If I can win motos or a race, for sure I’ll stay around. I just don’t
want to be racing in the back. That would just be wasting people’s time
and money.
Any idea what the future may hold when you are done racing motocross? I know you love car racing.
I really don’t know. Are you going to get me that NASCAR ride we talked about? [laughs].
It would awesome to race cars, but I know it’s really hard to get into.
If not that, maybe I could be a team manger for a motocross team or
something. I’d love to stay involved and go to the races. That would be
great. We’ll see. If that doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll build houses.
 | | Brown knows he will always be remembered as a man who won a championship | |
|
Between
supercross, the nationals, and Grand Prix motocross, you’ve led quite a
career. When you look back on it all, are you happy with what you’ve
accomplished in your career?
Yes, I am. I’ve been everywhere. I’ve been to so many different nations
and places around the world. Man, I’ve been to so many malls! It’s
scary when I think back on it now. But you know, it’s been a great
experience. I love to travel and see different things. And, you know, I
won a championship—that made everything complete. That’s what I wanted
to do my whole life. And for the rest of my life, people will say,
“That’s Mike Brown. That guy won a championship.”
So your sights are now firmly set on the 250F National Championship?
Yeah, they are. That, and I want to be safe. Always.
