The stars seemed to align in 2014 for Martin Davalos. A veteran of the 250 Class, Davalos was in control of the 250SX East Region and seemed poised to capture the championship that has eluded him the past eight seasons. Just days shy of the return of Monster Energy Supercross to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Davalos suffered a big crash in practice, resulting in a dislocated ankle and a shattered scaphoid. Over the next five months, Davalos would undergo several surgeries and months of rehabilitation. Slowly getting back on the bike in preparation for Anaheim 1, we caught up with Davalos to discuss his devastating ending to last year and new horizons with Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna.
Racer X: It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. How’s the injury, and are you back on the bike yet?
Martin Davalos: It’s been five months now, and the injury was very dramatic for me, obviously. You can tell where I was during the year. It was very bad. Basically went into surgery and five months down the road I had to go through two more surgeries. I did ride last week a little bit, but I have so much scar tissue, my foot is so tight and it’s just so weak. I’ve lost of a [strength] lot of my leg because I’ve been on the cast for a long time. Obviously being in the mood to not being able to exercise that leg. Obviously my other leg has overcame everything basically, and it’s gotten a lot bigger. Now I’m just trying to get it kind of strong. But I’m still struggling a little bit with the strength on the right leg. So it’s been a long recovery. I’m still going through a lot of therapy. I went through a lot of therapy already after my first surgery, but then we found out that a lot of the ligaments that I had torn up didn’t heal. The bone didn’t heal also. So I had to go in for a second surgery and reattach ligaments, fix the other broken bone. Five months in now, I’m barely limping. I’m still limping a little bit. My recovery is going to be 100 percent, I’m sure. The most important thing for me is to be able to walk normal. Now I’ve started riding. Like I said, in the last week I did a little bit but I had too much pain, so I had to take a couple of days off. I’m going to try and get back on the bike on Friday. Slowly but surely. We still have three months until the season starts, and my goal is to be 100 percent. I cannot come in the season with a foot that is achy. The main goal is to take care of this while I have time to be patient with it. Obviously at this point I’m going through a lot of anxiety not being able to ride. We’ve gone to the gym a lot and we’ve worked a lot of stuff, but there’s only so much you can do without being able to peddle your bike and doing some cardio.
Is it easier to be patient since it’s the off-season and you’ve got about three months before the season?
At one point it was okay with me because I knew the injury was bad. This sport is so brutal on us sometimes it just happens. When I knew I had to do another surgery and stuff wasn’t healing that’s when basically everything started getting to me. Like I said a lot of anxiety and not being able to be on the bike. I just love riding my bike. Even being able to ride a bicycle or something to get out of the house. I’m a very active guy. I like to do a lot of stuff. I don’t like sitting around very much. It’s been a very long five months for me. I did get a chance to go home and spend time with my family but I love training. That’s what I do and that’s what I like to do every day.
How tough was that mentally to overcome? Knowing where you stood at the time [with the championship in reach].
It’s been one of the hardest things to swallow. I had a great opportunity. I was in a great spot to achieve something that I’ve been searching for. A lot of people have doubted me through the years, and a lot of people have talked bad about me. To be in that spot and not be able to finish it the way I wanted it, it was very devastating. I’m very lucky that I’m going to be okay and I’m going to come through this injury and I’m going to be able to ride my bike. But I definitely didn’t want to finish the season like that. I was very fortunate that I was in that spot. I’m preparing myself to be in that spot again. I feel like that championship was taken away from me from my injury. I’m definitely looking forward to next year. I have a lot of hunger to go in and race again. I just want to be where I was. I felt great on the bike. I felt great physically. That’s my main thing: physically and mentally. I want to have that opportunity. If things don’t work out, then it’s fine, but I want to feel the way I did.
And you were able to prove some critics wrong last year, getting a couple wins. Does that give you the confidence to know you can do it now and you know what it takes to get to where you need to be?
For sure. I’ve heard a lot of people doubt me, and there’s only a few people that do believe in me, but those people are the ones that I take the good stuff from them. The other people, it’s just part of life. There’s going to be people that don’t like you; there’s going to be people that don’t want to see you do good. At the end of the day I’m racing against myself. I’m trying to be somebody in this sport. I came from Ecuador; I came from a small country where motocross is not big at all. I feel like I’ve done really good for myself and I’ve trained hard. I’ve had some bad years. I’ve been in the Lites class for a while. People would like to say I’m a veteran of the Lites class, but I’m very blessed to have that opportunity and be able to race. It doesn’t matter what class I’m in; I’m fortunate to be here in America and racing with the best in the world, no matter if it’s on the 450 or the Lites class. People need to start looking at it that way. It’s a tough sport. It’s hard to get a ride. There’s a lot of talent out there. There are a lot of great riders. To be on a team nowadays, it’s just hard. I’m just blessed to have a team supporting me and I have another opportunity.
As you kind of pointed to, every rider has his or her critics. That’s part of being a professional. Obviously it’s kind of hard to stay completely out of the limelight and not realize what everybody says. How are you able to brush it off?
One of the biggest things that I do, I don’t mind going on the web anymore and seeing stuff, I try and take the positive. I try and surround myself with positive people. That’s all I do. Besides that, I just hope for the best and train hard and put my head down and do my work, do what I know how to do, and just focus on myself. That’s basically what I’ve done this past year, focused on myself. I know every rider’s training hard. It doesn’t matter how hard they train or whatever; I just need to know that I am doing the right work. I have great people surrounding me that are guiding me really good. I have a great trainer, which is Ty Kady. He’s brought my fitness to a great level. And obviously my riding coach Brock Sellards has been a huge part of my program and helped me not just in my riding but through my daily life and how I approach things. It’s been a great experience. 2014 was a great thing for me. I overcame a lot of the pressure, and being able to be a part of Pro Circuit those two years was a great experience, so I’m very thankful for all that also.
Next year you’re actually transitioning but back to a familiar place with Bobby Hewitt, although the team is now on Huskys. What’s it going to be like going back with Bobby? Are you excited?
I’m definitely excited. Bobby and Dave Gowland, they’ve been not just my boss and the team manager; but I’ve really built a relationship with them off the track and stuff. I’m really grateful that I have that kind of people around me and to be able to have another opportunity in their team. I’m really excited for the new challenge. Obviously Husqvarna’s coming back in the US, which is basically a KTM. KTM has been a great bike and it’s won some championships. I truly do believe that nowadays all the motorcycles are great out there. I’m excited for this new challenge, and I’m excited for maybe history. That’s basically how I see it. To be honest with you, I don’t care what bike I ride; I know that if I put my head down and do what I know how to and focus on myself...I can setup the bike the way I like it to be. I think I’ll be comfortable enough to be up there racing those guys.
Dealing with an injury and dealing with a brand switch, is it going to be tough to adjust? Or are the bikes so similar now that it’s not as hard? You’ve been doing this a long time. Has it become easier over the years?
Definitely. It’s going to take a little bit of time. Obviously every bike has got their pros and their cons. There’s going to be bikes that do stuff differently, but I think it’s a matter of having great people around you and working with you and kind of make the bike good. That’s where testing becomes so important. You’ve got to be patient with the bike and you’ve got to look for that right setting. I believe that the people that are surrounding me this year and the people who I’m working with and the team they will do whatever it takes to put this bike up on top of the box, to get it dialed. I know the engines aren’t going to be a problem. The KTM engine is the same engine that I have been fast, so it’s a matter of feeling comfortable on the bike and go for it.
Presumably this could be your last year in the 250 Class. Does it add a little bit pressure? This may be your last year to get that elusive championship.
To be honest with you, every year there’s pressure. This year coming up there’s the same pressure as always. I just want to take it race by race. I just want to try and do my best and know that I have given my best every single race. Wherever I finish that night... There’s going to be nights that I’ll struggle. There’s going to be nights that I’m going to be good. It’s how you take those nights, the bad nights, as a positive and try and make the best out of them, is where you’ll give yourself great opportunities. This championship is so short in the Lites class that consistency is the greatest key for it. There are a lot of great riders, whichever coast you end up doing. I’ve wanted to move to the 450 Class. I do want to move. I will be racing probably some 450 rounds this year, but the team and myself, we have sat down and gone through the stuff and we feel like it’s important for me to try and get in the spot that I was last year. So we’re going to go for it. Like I said, I will be moving up to the 450 most likely for outdoors if everything goes all right, and I will be doing some 450s on the opposite coast, whatever coast I end up doing.
You mentioned consistency and dealing with the good and bad. How much were you able to take away from last year in knowing that if you stay in the hunt a 5th isn’t going to kill you. Sometimes that’s what you have to take, as long as you can bounce back the next weekend.
Definitely. Like I said, the 250 Class, it’s only eight rounds. You cannot afford a eighteenth or a DNF. You just got to stay in the hunt, try and stay on the box and do the best. There are going to be nights that somebody’s going to be better than you. Those nights you got to be smart and you got to make the best out of it. Luckily, in 2014 I finished first and I had the best night of my career in St. Louis. I felt like I rode really good with great pressure and with Justin [Bogle] behind me. I was able to manage that good. I feel very confident for next year, no matter what coast I do. I feel like I have enough time to prepare myself. I know deep inside I will be ready no matter what I do. The most important thing for me right now is to take care of my foot and come into the season healthy. I don’t want to come in with aches or whatever. I want to make sure I feel healthy enough to perform my best.
