Austin Forkner has been through it all over the last few years, from unbeatable phenom to often injured and not even racing, and then something even worse in racing: not in contention for wins. Forkner beat Dylan Ferrandis straight up in Salt Lake City in 2020, setting up a final-round showdown for that season’s 250SX West Championship. Forkner crashed out of the finale, missed all of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship that year, and hasn’t had the same sizzle since then.
Forkner had slowed down because he didn't want to crash or get hurt. That concept never really works, and despite his attempt to stay safe early in this Monster Energy AMA Supercross campaign, he was taken down in mid-air by Jett Lawrence early in the season. Another broken collarbone, another ruined championship.
Forkner was able to heal up quickly and return last weekend in Atlanta. Here’s the thing about that: he was fast again! He was loose and aggressive, he let it hang out, he looked more like the old, aggressive Austin Forkner than the new, safer one.
Sometimes you just have to send it, and that’s what Austin did at the Foxborough, Massachusetts round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross on Saturday, fighting through the pack with Lawrence, battling the new 250SX East Region Champion, and throwing caution to the wind on the final lap through the whoops to make sure he got the win. It was vintage Forkner, doing whatever it takes to win.
He talked about his first win in nearly two years in the post-race press conference.
Austin, you missed this season. You had the injury. I know your approach was a lot different this year. As bad as that may feel on that end, how good does it feel to be able to come back and not only have that great heat race last week and show that speed, but get this main event win and kind of remind yourself of who you are? I have to imagine there’s some positive feelings with that.
Austin Forkner: Yeah, there is. It's been two years since I’ve won a supercross now, so that did feel really good. I knew that I would come back [from the collarbone], and my goal was still being one of the top guys. I didn’t want to take any steps back. Definitely after even just qualifying last weekend in Atlanta, I was like, “I’m right there. My speed is good.” Then the heat race went well. The main didn’t go that great, but still I was one of the top guys, basically. So I knew I was going to be good. It feels good just to get another win in general. Good to finish the season strong, or be in the direction to finish it strong after coming off injury. It feels good for sure.
We were watching that race and Pierce [Brown] and RJ [Hampshire] up front. You and Jett are coming through the field. It was a really good race. Fun for us to watch. What is it like for you being in that mode and being in that environment with the crowd cheering and knowing that cameras are on and you guys are putting on a show?
It’s cool. It’s awesome. That’s what I’ve missed so much, being hurt and stuff over the past few years, is just that. Whether I’m winning, whether I’m getting a podium, whether I’m getting fifth, just being on the track racing with these guys is something that I’ve missed being injured. So, that’s what’s cool, being in the mix. It makes it even cooler being in the mix like I was tonight. Racing is awesome. That’s what we get paid to do.
I’ve talked to Mitch [Payton, owner of Forkner’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team] a lot this year. It’s been a deep, dark depression for him. You’re one of the stars of the team. You won. You had a great race today. Does it feel some relief for you and obviously for Mitch too? He’s been very upset after the races sometimes.
Yeah, for sure. He even said when we were watching film this week. Obviously, as the team owner you want your guys to win every race, but he was like, “Guys, we need another win to end this season.” It’s not like he’s been stressing it on me, I guess, but he was just like, “Guys, we’ve only got a couple more races. Let’s try to get one.” I’m like, “I know. I’m right there with you.”
You had a real battle there with Jett for a while. Just take me through that. You were actually able to get back away, then he came back on you. Did you know that was him there? What was that battle like?
Yeah. I knew that we were coming through the pack kind of together. I got hung up behind [Kyle] Chisholm for kind of a couple laps there, and then as soon as I got him, I was hoping I would break away. I think I did for a little bit and then he reeled me in. We battled a little bit. He squared me up, and then I went off the track. Then I got him back in the next turn. We kind of had a battle right there for a little bit, then it was kind of like whenever RJ went down, I was like, “I need to go. If I got a chance at this, I’ve got to go.” Then I got Pierce [Brown], and then I didn’t really hear Jett being that close until the last lap again. I was like, “All right, last lap. Let’s go.” I knew he would be fast in the whoops, too, so I kind of just sent it the last lap in the whoops and got a little sketchy, but nothing too bad. It was a good battle. I wanted a battle like that all season. Good battles like that is something I’ve missed.
For you to be in the heat race and hit the deck like that on the last lap, to come back to where you are, after some of the setbacks that you’ve had in the last few years, where was your head at going into the main event?
No, it was actually a good feeling to hit the ground and not break! [Laughs] That was actually what Robbie [Reynard, trainer] told me. He was like, you never want to crash, but just as much as I’ve been hurt it’s sometimes nice to fall and be able to get back up, just to be like, I can crash hard and I can get back up and finish the race. In a weird way, it gave me I guess maybe a little bit of confidence. I don't know. After, I had G work on me and just kind of straighten my back out a little bit, because I just kind of smacked into that berm. Other than that, if anything it just fired me up for the main.
For you and Jett both, that last lap was kind of what we have been waiting for all year. For both of you, how did that feel in the moment? Were you aware of the opportunity and was it like, this is my chance to go at it with this guy finally? Did either of you feel that way, or was it just another lap?
Jett: I actually really liked it, to be honest. I think it almost helped me to just not even worry about the championship. I was more so excited about the actual race than the actual championship at the end, to be honest. We both were yo-yo-ing a lot. He would get a guy, then I ended up getting the guy. So, it was fun. The whoops were small, but they were still tricky. Like he said, I saw that last lap through the whoops and he’s hanging off the back of that thing. I’m like, “he’s going for it!” But I had a lot of fun. I think that has been one of my more fun races, just because I couldn’t just go catch and pass wherever I wanted, I actually had to set it up a lot more because it was not one line around the track, but that was definitely the main fast one. I tried some different lines, made some mistakes. I wish we would have had more of these because I feel like this would have made my season way more fun than it actually is. Hopefully we can do the same at the last round.
Austin: Pretty much the same. It was good battling. That’s always fun. As a rider, sometimes you’re like, “Let’s just holeshot, let’s get out front and let’s cruise,” but then there’s also the side of you that likes to battle. With the start that I had, I knew that I was going to be battling with guys and passing guys. So, it was good. It was good racing. We really all rode clean races. There was no crazy drama. Just good racing.
Jett: To go off that, it’s one of the main reasons why we get into the sport. It’s because of that close battle that we can get really close, unlike, say, Formula 1 cars. You get close, everyone backs down because their cars are so fragile, where in our sport we’re allowed to get nice and close. I think that’s what makes our sport so great. I know I can speak for all three of us up here. That’s what we got into the sport for, that real intense, close racing.
Considering the history with what happened with you and Jett this year, it seems like you guys had a genuine moment there after the race. Could you kind of share what Jett said to you and what you shared after the race?
He said good job for winning the race and I said good job for winning the championship. We were just like, wish we could have done that more this season.. It was pretty much as simple as, hey, good job. Let’s hopefully do that again the last couple races. Depending on if I’m in the 250 class or what happens next year, let’s do it next year.