May 2013 was the last time the Davi Millsaps star truly shone brightly. He displayed his true potential in the professional ranks by railing to two wins and ten more podium finishes while nailing down a fantastic second-overall in the Monster Energy Supercross Series—certainly no small feat. But, then came 2014 and a raft of injuries that kept Millsaps on the sidelines. He never lined up behind a supercross or outdoor series starting gate.
Kawasaki decided to take a chance on Millsaps and signed him on to be Ryan Villopoto’s tail gunner for the 2015 supercross season. All seemed well until Villopoto’s shock announcement that he would race the 2015 FIM World Motocross Championship. At that point Millsaps became Monster Energy Kawasaki’s lead rider. We spoke with Millsaps about it all before tomorrow’s Monster Energy Cup.
Racer X: Davi, we’re not far from the drop of the Monster Cup. What are you up to?
Davi Millsaps: I’ve been riding and breaking in my race bike and just trying to feel as comfortable as I can on it so we’re ready for this weekend.
Just how long have you been riding the Kawasaki for? The announcement of your official deal with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team was slow in coming.
The Kawi deal got done rather quickly, but as far as me riding, I got on the bike the Monday before the Salt Lake [Utah] National [Note: August 18]. I got on the bike and rode outdoors for a while and then jumped into supercross. I’ve just been getting my feet wet on that to get some time on the new bike. Obviously I was off the dirt bike for a very long time. I’ve been trying to get up to speed and to get some testing under my belt and to get familiar with everyone on the team. I just needed to get familiar with riding supercross again. The team is awesome; the bike is awesome. I feel great. I mean, I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything from where I left off. I think that’s what is going to be so good about this weekend. It’ll be great to get my feet wet again and to get my race pace back under my belt so I know what to expect come Anaheim 1.
We’ve all heard you’ve been off the bike for over a year and a half, and I’m sure hearing that is getting old. I’ve read and heard some things where you mentioned you really couldn’t have gotten hurt at a worse time. True?
I mean, me getting hurt at the end of November, it wasn’t the best time to get hurt. I had just had gotten back on the bike from my foot injury and had just started riding supercross and was getting as ready as I could on the new bike and whatnot. It was a bummer because I wanted to come in and prove to everyone that it wasn’t a fluke, and I wanted to back up what I had done in 2013. Obviously, with me doing my ACL, I wasn’t able to race supercross. Then the delays and setbacks with my foot kept coming on. That took pretty much seven months to figure out. That was probably the one injury that set me back longer than anything. We just couldn’t find out what was wrong with it. I had a lot of different doctors look at it and take a lot of X-rays. Eventually we found out a bone wasn’t healed, so we had to go into the foot and have all this work done on it to try and get it to heal. It took four surgeries. It was a long process, but it’s just part of our sport. I’m just thankful to have been given the opportunity that I have right now with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team. I’m just looking for a good year and to put all this stuff behind me and move on with the future.
You had a great season in 2013, with twelve podiums, two wins, and second in points. Only a few riders on the gate can say they’ve had a season like that.
Obviously, 2013 was a great year for me. I didn’t pull off the championship, which would have been icing on the cake, but the fact that I was able to be so consistent and be on the podium twelve times and win races and be up there every single weekend, to me, it brought the fun back in the sport for me. It made it so much more fun to be up there at the front. Is it a lot of work to get there? Yeah. But the reward I got for 2013 was just unbelievable. I feel that after that season I have the consistency to string a championship together. I just have to do it. To have all these great guys and this great team behind me now as well as my family and Ezra [Lusk] and my trainer Ryan and my friends and everything, it’s a great support system, and we’re really looking forward to getting back out there and starting off where I left.
You’re the Monster Energy Kawasaki team leader now. Did you expect to be the team leader in 2015?
No. Something I got asked quite a bit when I was talking with people coming to this team. I was asked if I’d be all right with being the second-tier guy to Villopoto. I was okay with that because anyone you take from this sport to be on that team, you’re going to be second-tier to him. You know what I mean? Everyone is going to be second to him! For me, it was just the fact of being able to ride with him. I’d also be able to have a great team behind me. They’re the best team in the industry right now. To have that confidence in knowing that you’re on a bike that has won a championship every time it’s been on the track the last four years is nice.
I don’t mind being the team leader. Obviously my teammate is Wil [Hahn], and we get along really well. I don’t feel like I’m the team leader or number-one guy. I feel that we are both equal. I think that’s a good way to have it.
As you just spoke about, you’ll have the A-plus team and the A-plus bike for 2015. Does that add more pressure or add more confidence? Or both?
Obviously, it’s going to add pressure. The team has won a tremendous amount. I welcome the pressure. It’s the pressure I want. And as far as the confidence goes, yes, it gives me a tremendous amount of confidence knowing that I’m on a bike and on a team that will do whatever it takes to win. I’m right there in the same boat with them. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I think all around it’s a really, really good combination.
How do you look at the competitive landscape right now?
I’ve been in the 450 Class a very long time, but I’m only 26 years old. I’m still young. I’m technically a veteran of the 450 Class now, but I don’t know. These young guys are great and they’re fast and they keep us old guys on our toes, I guess. [Laughs] For the veterans, at times we can be wise and smarter. Even though these guys are young and ready to go, we’re not that old.
How are you looking at the Monster Cup on Saturday? Are you going to win? Will you use it as a gauge to see where you are at? Are you putting a lot of pressure on yourself?
I’m not putting any pressure on myself this weekend. I would like to win; I think everyone would like to win. I think that’s everyone’s goal. For me, I’m going there to do my best. Everyone knows I haven’t raced in over eighteen months, and it’s been a very long time. Obviously, I’ve raced my entire life, but when you stop racing and you stop running with the top guys and being up there every weekend, you lose a little bit of that race pace and that race feeling. It’s going to be really, really, really beneficial for me to get back out there and get into the race pace and get into the race conditions and see how my bike handles. I can see how the team works, and how we can communicate and see how I work. We can go there and shake down everything so after this weekend we’ll know what we need to do and we’ll know what we need to work on for going to Anaheim 1.
This is a big race for you. How do you feel?
I’m definitely very excited about racing this weekend. It’s been way too long. I’m nervous, for sure. I’m nervous every time I go racing. I think I’m more excited than nervous just to get back out there and see where I match up after being out for so long and coming back on a new team and all that. I think it’s going to be exciting, and I think it’s going to be a good weekend.
