Michael Mosiman put together a career-high fourth in the 250SX main event in Seattle. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider missed time last year during his rookie supercross season to do a concussion. This year, he has raced in all seven West Region rounds so far—even with a lingering ankle injury—and has only finished outside of the top 10 two times. He currently sits in sixth in the 250SX West Region points standings. Our Jason Weigandt caught up to him in the post-race press conference:
Michael Mosiman | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna | 4th in 250 SX
Racer X: Did you ride way better, or was the result just better and you’ve actually been riding well enough to do this all along?
Michael Mosiman: Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I think I rode pretty solid, minimized the mistakes 100 percent, but I think it was the start that helped a lot.
So you’ve been riding this well all along?
Even the off-season. I was riding with Shane [McElrath] and we were going back and forth for lap times every day. Jordon Smith. We battled, hard. I had an ankle injury, and that hampered me a bit. Today was the first day I’ve ridden without my ankle taped—the first time, all season. Even during the week, wrapped it every day. Dude, so that’s super awesome. Things are coming together slowly, we’ve known that it was there the whole time, but it’s good to see it.
So you missed some time last year… how many races?
I missed the first two rounds with a concussion.
So you missed time at the very beginning of your supercross career. So you’ve now done one full season between this year and last. You’re learning?
Yeah there is that sense that I feel like a rookie, so to get this fourth is huge, it’s like “Okay, I am one of the players.” The team has been pushing me that way, it’s probably a confidence issue, to get me to believe in myself like that.
So this is what they’re telling you?
Oh, 100 percent. They’re saying “You’re there, you’re there. You’re better than what we’re seeing.” But they haven’t been bummed, man. They handle it really well, but they know there’s much more. So to get fourth means we’ve made up some good ground.
Well, I see how much you’re smiling when you talk about the fourth, and not wrapping the ankle. You have a lot of look forward to.
Dude, I think I was more stoked about the ankle! Every day I ride I’ve had to wrap this ankle. I mean, I’m an expert ankle wrapper now. I met my neighbor, turns out he used to ride on an ambulance, but now he’s retired, and then one day he just comes over with a huge bag of ankle tape! Just hooks me up! I’m like “Heck yeah!” So I used his ankle tape for practice but I didn’t use it for the main, and I felt okay. So now I have this huge bag of ankle tape that I don’t even need to use anymore.
Oh, so you just got this stuff? That’s like when you bring your rain coat it never rains.
It is like that.
So are you so pumped that you wish we just had another race tomorrow.
No tomorrow, man. I took three big crashes in practice. My body is so beat up, it’s ridiculous. So I was so happy to get the finish, and then all of a sudden I was like “Whoa, it hurts to breathe.”
Do you feel that at all when you’re racing?
Not at all. It goes away.
A few days off might help?
Yeah but Tyla’s [Rattray] probably going to have me riding again on Monday. I’m excited because I’m learning how to race these guys. The team always jokes with me that I couldn’t hurt a fly, but, I got pretty racy tonight. Also, I think I figured out my starts. So I think you can expect more out of me.
When you got a good start, did you stay calm or did you start thinking about it, like “Yes, finally.”
It didn’t bother me at all, I just rode. Because I’ve battled with those guys before. I passed a couple of guys early, they got me back or whatever, I ran into the back of [Adam] Cianciarulo, I was just in the mix. I wasn’t like, “Oh what is going on up here?”
Jacob Hayes, the 2018 Amsoil Arenacross Champion, was gunning for his second top-five finish of the season when he went down in a pair of wrecks, one with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Michael Mosiman, and another with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Garrett Marchbanks. The Marchbanks crash re-injured his sore hand, and he ended up 19th. Our Aaron Hansel caught up with him after the race.
Jacob Hayes | CycleTrader/Rock River Yamaha | 19th in 250SX
I kind of goofed up my start but I came around in third or fourth and I was happy with that. I got settled in and got by Mosiman. The whoops were tough tonight, I’m sure everyone has said that, but I found a good jump pattern through them. I saw Jimmy D [Decotis] in fourth and it was like, “Okay, let’s put a good charge in.” I don’t know if Mosiman upped his pace because I was riding well and didn’t make any big mistakes, but before the whoops I went to cut down and he just kind of met me and we tagged each other. We went down and I got up and was seventh or eighth behind Marchbanks and Enzo [Lopes]. I got Enzo and was trying to get Marchbanks. I tripled into the corner and was trying to set him up to try to stand him up and as I was coming in I saw him washing. He was cutting more in than I anticipated and when I hit him we stopped dead. It blew me off my motorcycle and him off his. I crashed a couple weeks ago and messed my left hand up pretty good and haven’t really been riding at all, just trying to get it better. I knew this weekend was going to be a fight getting through it, and I was going to be sore, but I knew I could do it. But when I went down it just kind of put it over the top. So now I’ll check it to make sure everything is okay.
Yeah we saw you rolling stuff.
Yeah, we’ve taped it all day, there’s been a lot of swelling. I was just trying to limp it through but when I hit him it was over. The only thing I hit was my hand. I just nailed his handlebars or something.
It looks like you’re favoring that left hand.
Yeah, she’s pretty jacked up. I got X-rays on it when it happened and they said there was no bone damage, but that doesn’t mean there’s no damage, especially if I reinjured it tonight.
Colt Nichols was leading the race but crashed huge in a rhythm lane, which ended his night. The 22nd place finish is likely a nail in his championship coffin, but luckily the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha rider isn’t seriously injured and should be ready to race again this weekend in Houston. Our Aaron Hansel caught up with Nichols after the race.
Colt Nichols | Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha | 22nd in 250SX
On the crash while leading that ended his night:
Colt Nichols: I don’t really know what happened. I’d been doing that section all day the same and I thought I did it the same that time but apparently not. Just came up a little short on that triple. I caught something on my thigh, I don’t know if it was the bar or footpeg or something. I had a little laceration on my thigh and we were kind of worried I’d done something to my femur but it’s fine. It’s a little bruised up but other than that we’re good to go.
So you’re in, you’re not out for next week or anything like that?
No. If I can be walking next weekend by the time the race rolls around I’m racing. We were worried about my femur, it’s the same one I broke before and it has a rod in it, but it’s good to go. Just bruised up.
With the points the way they are now, does that change your approach at all? Do you focus more on the nationals coming up or are you still in here trying hard to win races?
I want to win races. That was the whole idea this weekend, we were going to go for it and act like I didn’t have anything to lose. We were just going to try to win the race. I was on my way to doing that too, and just made one little mistake. We’ll be prepared for the outdoors, definitely, but I still want to go and win these races.