Joey Savatgy has been impressive so far this season in Lucas Oil Pro Motocross. There is no need to put an asterisk by his name that says “for a fill in rider” as he has been putting in rides deserving of his spot at Monster Energy Kawasaki. Especially his third in the first moto at RedBud. However, after pulling the holeshot at Spring Creek and then going down twice (one being pretty brutal) then toughing it out at Washougal, Joey is looking forward to the break to rest and recover.
Racer X: For the way the day started, I guess it ended pretty well. So, how do you feel about it all?
Savatgy: The last couple weeks have been a grind. Just been dealing with a lot of nagging stuff. This break couldn’t come at a better time. I’m going to go home, back to Florida this week and just take the week off and try to let the body recover. I’m trying to play catch-up so much, been kind of putting ourselves in a hole, in way. But, like I said, the break is coming at a great time. I’ll go home, spend a weekend at home, see the wife and the kids and try to recharge. Come back to California. We’ll have two weeks to get ready for the last four.
As you said, you’ve had a rough couple weeks here. Is it still rewarding that even though you had those rough weeks, the riding itself has been good and you’ve been up there battling the whole time, still.
Yeah. For me as a racer, it’s really hard to just come to the race and not have the win mentality. I went through a phase where I was a guy that was contending for wins a lot. I know it’s been a while. The hardest part for me is just reminding myself that we are the most under-prepared rider on the gate, considering fill-in ride, coming off a knee surgery… We are without a doubt the most under-prepared guy. So, with that being said, I have to keep reminding myself of that. It’s hard. I’m very stubborn and I make stupid mistakes sometimes. Mistakes tend to come when I ask too much of what’s there. The crash at Millville was stupid. The first one was stupid. Today I had a moment in practice, and that was the “probably should have been laid out but got away with it,” type thing. Honestly, for a minute there, I was questioning even going racing because my ankle was so bad. It was one of those things where that was the reminder. Like, “Hey, you keep trying to bite off more than you can chew and it’s not going to end well.” So, it is rewarding to just be racing again and to be with the guys. It does feel good. Obviously, I want to do well for myself, and I still have to try to bargain for a ride. Also, I want to do well because I really appreciate those guys giving me the opportunity. So, I want to do well because it makes them look well, and it makes me look well, too. It’s been good. It’s nice. Obviously, the battles, I’d like to be a little bit closer to the front, but those guys at the front are gnarly. Like I said, we’re a little bit behind the eight-ball with preparation time, but we’re doing the best we can.
In terms of the injury and the break coming up, how much healthier do you think you will be in the two-week span to get yourself fixed up? Or is it still going to just be nagging the rest of the year at this point?
Probably nagging if I’m being honest. But I do think that taking this week off would just help reset everything. I’ll do minimal stuff at home. I’ll stay on top of the cardio stuff. Just the wear and tear everyday adds up. When you’re healthy, it’s gnarly, but then you go and you’re fresh off the couch trying to play catch-up, it’s a whole lot deeper when you do it that way than what it should be. So, it’ll help. It’s not going to fix it all, but we’ll be in a better spot.
