One of the more unique storylines of the day at Red Bull Straight Rhythm was whether AEO Powersports KTM teammates Joshua Varize and Derek Kelley would both make it to the 125cc finals to race each other. Varize made it to the final when he eliminated Ryan Morais, but Carson Brown was just too good and bumped Kelley out in the Semifinals.
Still though, Varize rode well in the finals before ultimately losing to Carson Brown in the rain, but the former 125 All-Star Race winner looked comfortable on familiar machinery. It’s been a pretty interesting offseason for Varize thus far after racing for Team Guam in the Motocross of Nations, and now finishing second at Red Bull Straight Rhythm. We caught up with the Californian to hear all about it.
Racer X: Joshua Varize, second place here today. It was a wild day of racing and got wet toward the end. But 125s on the beach is pretty tough to beat.
Varize: Yeah, definitely. My first Red Bull Straight Rhythm and my first time back on a 125 in a few years. So, it was definitely exciting. The rain definitely mixed it up a little bit there at the end. My last two runs, I was a little bit psyched out by the rain and the metal grate. Coming off that drop off, I was scared to just drop the front. It was a blast being here at Huntington Beach on the beach. It was sick.
How hard was it to learn a 125 in basically a week or two and get good on it in supercross to then come out here and race it?
It wasn’t too bad because back in 2019 I rode a little bit of supercross getting ready for [Supercross] Futures on a 125. And I’ve raced the Monster Cup in 2015, ’16, and ’18 on a Supermini. So, I’ve ridden supercross on a two-stroke I’d say maybe even more than on a four-stroke.
So you’re maybe the most experienced guy out here!
Yeah! So, that’s why I knew getting on a two stroke wasn’t going to be anything crazy. It was going to feel weird for sure. The power wasn’t there, and I was a little bit like, ‘Do I hit this in third or do I hit this in second?’ On a 250 it’s just hitting it in second and then you’ll get comfortable in third but on a two-stroke you have to shift a lot.
How different was the track than maybe you expected? Was it bigger, was it gnarlier, was it not as bad?
It was actually gnarlier than I thought. I didn’t think it was going to be that peaked out. There was a couple of obstacles that were nearly impossible on a 125, like the three-three before the big jump. That big jump was very scary in the beginning, but it turned out to be one of the most fun obstacles on the track. The whoops were super close together and skatey, so when it rained, it got even scarier. Those last two runs I feel like I held back a little bit of speed, but you know, I had a blast and I’m definitely looking forward to next year.
You talked about that three-three before the big jump. When you were going up against Ryan [Morais] in the Semifinals, you got sideways there. What happened there?
[Laughs] I forgot about that. I had seen Carson [Brown] do it and I knew I had to do it in the final. It’s a big separator. Left side, I was having a tough time on the left side. I don’t think I ever hit it on the left side, even in practice. I definitely went for it and came up short and I told myself if I come up short to go single-double to get the big jump. But I went double just because I had so much speed and I tried to lock the rear brakes up and skid over the top to maybe get enough speed to feel comfortable with the big jump, but my foot was still on the rear brake off that thing. So I got a little squirrely and I was kind of like, ‘Ah shoot, I screwed this one up.’ But we get another shot, and it was definitely a little stressful because it was like a last chance. But it was a blast and just a little mistake but glad we got it out of the way.
You talked about not being able to do it on the left side, how much different were the lanes? Was it surprising to see how different they were?
Yeah, honestly, each lane had its pros and cons. The left lane, I feel like, was easier to do the on-off over table-three, the bounce-two-three-three was harder, and then the whoops at the end of the day were honestly sketchier on the left side. Carson and I were actually talking about it before our last final and he was like, ‘Dude, the left side of the whoops is getting squirrely!’ And then when I saw him get squirrely in them, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, they are slick!’ The right side, you spun more on the grate on the right side. It was weird. Even yesterday in practice and today in qualifying, the left side just had more traction. The right side it was almost like the grate was flipped. When it rained, it obviously got squirrelier and I don’t know how easy it is to see it on TV, but I spun so bad on my last run, and I knew it was over from there because the start is the key to the race. But yeah, the right side was harder to do the on-off-over but easier for me to do the bounce-two-three-three. So, it was weird! And when I would watch Straight Rhythm, I would think like, ‘It’s the same track. What’s different?’ But now experiencing it, I understand where everyone’s coming from.
How unique is it then, like the wall jumps are designed to kind of be “corners” I guess to break up the momentum, so how hard is it to maintain flow and actually get good drives off them to carry into the next section?
Hitting the wall jump, you come in so fast and sometimes you’ll still have your front brake locked up in the air, so your front end gets all weird. The wall jumps were sick though. Cool little speed checks and then going straight into another obstacle like you said. I didn’t think about it being like a corner though.
Well this was your first Red Bull Straight Rhythm so how cool of an experience was it overall? Not just the track but the fans, being on the beach and stuff. Is it something you want to do again in the future?
Oh yeah definitely. I’m already excited and looking forward to Straight Rhythm next year. Seeing all the fans in the stands and how packed it was, it reminded me of a movie. Like seeing a retro movie with all the fans in a NASCAR stadium or something like that. I was like, ‘This is pretty sweet!’ The bracket racing was definitely exciting. My first time doing that. And yeah, racing in a straight line and going for it. It was actually my first podium in a while. I can’t remember the last time I was on the podium. And I got to spray actual champagne for the first time. So, that was definitely exciting, and I hope in supercross we can keep doing that.
Yeah, carrying the momentum now into supercross, you’re sticking with AEO, so how exciting is it to build up for that now and get ready for 2023?
Yeah, I’m excited to go back and take another little break because my offseason hasn’t been ideal because I did Motocross of Nations. So I’ve taken a week off and got back to riding and then taken another week off and got back to riding, but I’ll take another little break and then get back to testing the new bike with AEO Powersports KTM and just do a lot of testing. Last year, I had the backdoor deal with Rockstar Husqvarna. The testing side of everything was more just like what I’d normally do. But now having an official team and knowing what my plan is for 2023 and having more of an ideal, we’re going to definitely crack down on a lot of testing. This will be my first offseason doing that so I’m looking forward to it.
I have to ask you about Motocross of Nations, I didn’t get to see you afterward. How cool was it?
It was a blast. The best experience I’ve had racing a dirt bike. Even though it was a mudder, I normally hate mud races, but it was the funnest weekend of racing I’ve had in a long time. It was just a blast. All the fans, everyone from around the world, it was fun and definitely something I’m glad I got to experience.
I’m curious on your take on how the track broke down because it’s like your first time I guess seeing a GP track breakdown. Did the lines feel different than RedBud normally does or the way an American track breaks down where maybe the bumps are in a different spot or the corner’s apex is different?
Yeah. It rained the day before the RedBud National which made the track decent on Saturday for the AMA National. For the des Nations, the way they had everything prepped was just so perfect. Everything, even the sides of the jumps. Looking at it, it was just amazing. I would say it was definitely a little bit different. More sand, but I think from the RedBud National, I did not have a good weekend at all. My day was bad. So then, I think all the work that I put in throughout the season and in that little break that I had, I got a lot stronger. So when I went back, I was kind of able to see the difference and I just felt a lot stronger all day. I don’t know if it was because the track was different, or it was just me physically being different, but I was just a little stronger and more ready for the track.
Lastly, what was it like racing some of those names that were on the gate against you? You’ve never seen probably half or more of those guys before so what’s it like?
No definitely, I always just see them on social media. Being in staging for the qualifier, and just all the fans are going crazy, and you’ve got the music. The staging is so much different. You’ve got the sight lap not coming out of the gate. It felt like I was in a dream. And then even practicing, we got the 40-minute practice, and I’d pull into the mechanics area to try different tires and wheels and I felt like I was playing the actual MXGP video game [laughs]. Like pulling into the mechanics area and cruising through it to go to your lane. It was a dream and like I said, I’m glad I got to experience it.
