Heading into the first round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, not many Americans knew the name of SC Sporthomes Husqvarna rider Josh Gilbert. But after running in the top ten the second moto at Fox Raceway (eventually getting 13th overall) and then having a spectacular crash at Hangtown, it is safe to say he is a household name for most die-hard moto fans. Luckily, we caught up with Gilbert after Ironman Raceway, before he heads back home to the UK, here is what he had to say.
Racer X: Good job today. I thought you were further back in the second moto, but way to dig deep late and get some guys.
Josh Gilbert: Yeah, I kind of just sort of held my laps and just ticked them off in the heat. Being from the UK, we don’t get anything like this. I could feel myself almost boiling over. I knew if I just sort of stuck in there and plugged away, it would come out all right. I started 19 and ended up 13, which was a bit of a surprise. I think a couple guys, like Barcia, had an issue. A couple guys maybe pulled in. I did pass a few. At the end of the day, a 13th, I’ll take that. The first race I rode really well with a 12th, so solid day.
First race you were 9th or 10th for a long time in the first moto, which had to have been pretty cool.
Yeah, I was a little bit frustrated with that one because I had such a good gate and I almost froze a little bit to start with. I think I was fifth or sixth around the first turn. Then I dropped to tenth. I think Malcolm…
Your teammate, Malcolm [Stewart], got you.
I tried to just latch onto him, but he just inched away. Came home twelfth, which I’m happy with. Then 13th in the second race.
Your American tour is over. Best track, what do you think?
Hands down Unadilla. I love that track.
You said that on the pod that you were looking forward to it.
Yeah. I also liked here today [Ironman Raceway]. That was nice. I kind of like it when it gets nice and rutty and a lot of lines. But, Unadilla, the flow of that track, I enjoyed every minute of that. This was close but got to be Unadilla.
You happy you did it all? You happy you had this experience? Very impressive speed. You had Hangtown and Lakewood that didn’t, but for the most part, this went pretty well for you.
Yeah. Overall, I was almost a little bit surprised. From the get-go, once we got Pala out of the way, it was like, I am actually meant to be. This is my speed, and this is where I am. After that, it kind of became the norm. The only downside is traveling. In the UK we obviously don’t get the heat, so when we come here, like that second moto there, I was boiling over. So, you just kind of need to live here to get used to it, basically. Also, the traveling. Back in the UK, my results were pretty poor. I was feeling tired the last two or three weeks. I didn’t think it at the time. I thought, just got to get on with it. I was still trying to train in-between flying and jet lag. I think it all just caught up with me. I think now I’ve had about three weeks of doing absolutely nothing in the week. I’ve literally just been going week to week riding. This weekend is sort of the first weekend that I’ve felt that sharpness back again.
Everything caught up to you a little bit. Was there any low-key talk for you for the Des Nations UK team? Anything out there?
A little bit, but not much. I think the team, or Mark [Chamberlain] who chooses, I think he’s pretty set on those three from the get-go.
50-year-old Tommy Searle? Is that where we’re going with this?
The amount of people over here… I’ve been sat on the starting line, and Benny Bloss asked me today. “Oh, you get beat by Searle? I didn’t even know he was still riding.”
He’s good.
He’s going really good this year, actually. He fully deserves to be on the Nations. Max [Anstie] did a couple good rounds over here as well. Hopefully, those three can pull it out of the bag. I’ve been told I’m a reserve, so we’ll take it.
You never know. Anything could happen. Maybe go hit Tommy in the knee or something.
[Laughs] He’s got a title to go for, but we’ll see!
