Ryder DiFrancesco On His Switch to GasGas

Foxborough, MA FoxboroughMonster Energy AMA Supercross Championship

The coolest silly season video of all so far has been the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas team announcing the signing of Ryder DiFrancesco. The talented Bakersfield, California kid moves over to the red bikes after a long and decorated tenure at Team Green. We caught up to Ryder D on the PulpMX Show Monday night to talk about the switch and more. Here’s what he had to say.

Racer X: How much have you ridden the bike?
Ryder DiFrancesco: I did about 30 minutes from that video that you guys saw on the supercross track, then I rode a full day at Glen Helen. Then they gave me a 450 factory edition just to come home. I’m in Bakersfield right now just to hang out and ride around. That bike is really good. It’s a good bike.

The 450 life is pretty nice, right?
Even the bike that I rode at Glen Helen, just the one day, that was their factory 250. I couldn’t be more stoked.

What’d you think of the 250 on a supercross track?
It’s a lot quieter than the PC bike, which is different. It doesn’t seem like it’s as fast, but right away I was comfortable. I went into it trying not to think about it too much. So, I adapted really well. Each time I’d get on the 450, I’m pushing it more and more and more, so I’d get a little bit more comfortable. No problems yet. I’m stoked.

You’ve had a green front fender in front of you your whole life.
Yeah, I think maybe that’s why I’m so excited about it. It’s been a long time. We’ve always had the opportunity to maybe go somewhere else when my contracts were up with Kawasaki, and it’s just been like, “We’ll stick it out.” The bike was really good when I was on an 85. We were like, we just can’t move. Kawi is our home. So, it’s always been a discussion around the house when it comes time. This is the time that we switched up. I think we made a good switch.

Was it a pretty easy decision? When this offer got put in front of you, was it kind of cut and dry that this was the direction you wanted to go, or were there other options that you seriously considered?
There were some other options that I considered, and there were a lot of phone calls back and forth on what I was comfortable with. I think I just needed a change. Obviously, Mitch’s [Payton] team is a really good team to be on, but it was time just to have something new and relearn something and have that fun back into it of having a new front fender in front of me. That’s what it came down is that. I think it was just time for me to move on.

"I needed the new start to my program. Just something different. I think this is the right fit for me." -Ryder DiFrancesco GasGas

Do you think you will benefit from being one of only two 250 riders on the GasGas team instead of on a team like Pro Circuit or Star where there are a lot of 250 riders?
I think I’ll learn more of that when we go racing.

Could you see it helping, though?
I think so. Obviously, you’re going to get all the focus when there’s only two 250 guys instead of five. I think it will help with some things, for sure. I couldn’t really answer that until we go racing.

Two-year deal?
Yup, two-year deal.

I never got the sense that Mitch was 100% stoked with you over the years. Sometimes you went backwards in races. You had a nice end of the year this year. It felt like for as much as you’ve been Team Green and as many titles as you’ve won in the amateurs, Mitch was never all in on you. I’ve been wrong before, but I think Kawasaki is going to regret this a little bit.
I could say a lot. Mitch has obviously had my back since 65’s and all the way up through. I didn’t even have a pro contract the last two years and he took me under his wing and gave me the opportunity to have one and a half pro outdoor seasons. So, I thank him a lot. But there are times where I’m like, he didn’t even tell me good job this weekend. But that’s just Mitch. You can call him an old man. That’s just how he works.

Watch GasGas's rider recruitment video here:

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by GASGAS Motorsports (@gasgas.motorsports)

It’s tough love over there.
It is really tough love. You’ve got to take it like that. But there are also days where I wish he would have told me good job today. So, it was very tough. I think that’s why I needed the new start to my program. Just something different. I think this is the right fit for me. Those guys over at TLD, it’s a super small team so I’ll have all those guys around me.

Was there a Kawasaki offer? Was there an option to stay?
No, there wasn’t an option to stay. But I think if I had an option to stay or an option to move on, it would have been tough but I think I would have moved on. I think that new start is going to help.

You had a nice second half of the season.
SMX was good. Obviously, Charlotte was good. I think I learned on those three rounds. Success can come pretty easy, but also it can turn on you really quick and you can have a bad couple races. I left Charlotte and I’m stoked. Like, that was good. That’s where I should belong. That’s going to be me the next two races. Shit can go south really quick, is what I learned those next two. With how I was riding during the week and all that, how comfortable I felt on supercross, that was a huge step. Even RV was like, “You looked like a totally different guy from when we started in January.” I think that part of it is a huge step.

Insight: Ryder DiFrancesco