It's been a whirlwind couple of years for Spaniard Guillem Farres. After shining in AMA Pro Motocross at a handful of races for Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing, Farres has jumped over to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna where he is preparing for his Monster Energy AMA Supercross debut.
We recently sat down with him to talk about supercross, training with Aldon Baker and what this last year has been like.
Racer X: Guillem Farres, take me through the whirlwind of the last year and a half for you because finally some stability but it wasn't that way for a while, right?
Guillem Farres: Yeah, it's been a wild ride. [Laughs] Yeah, started about a year and a half ago. Now I just moved down to Clermont. I stayed in Tallahassee all this past year. Been in Clermont for about three months now and I'm loving it. It's a really nice place. Training at the Baker’s Facility. It's really good. It's a pleasure to be out there.
How much different is it in peace of mind to have a program that you're on, you know what your year is gonna look like. Because like you said, it was a little bit up and down with Star [Yamaha] and you weren't kind of sure if you're racing supercross and whatnot, but now, you know exactly what you're doing for, like the next year.
It's great. We have a really good planning. We spend sometimes here in California, but everything is really organized. So I know where I'm gonna be every time of the year and it's great. Finally, some stability, no more problems anymore. [Laughs] My paperwork is all done so, really happy about that.
The supercross learning process, what are the things that you've done and the steps you've taken to make sure that you're learning it at a speed that's comfortable for you and you're not like, kind of doing something too fast?
So, I started a couple weeks before everyone else. Here in California, I'm just trying to get used to the bike riding supercross for…I rode a little bit before but not that much. So yeah, just kind of getting used to supercross and I don't really have any pressure. I just go day by day. I feel like I'm improving every day. So that's my main goal. Obviously, having teammates like RJ, Christian, Malcolm, it's helping me a lot. I just try to take the positives every day and keep building.
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Simon Cudby ![]()
Simon Cudby
I know a lot of people talk about how difficult it is to learn is the whoops. What's been the toughest thing for you to get used to? Is it the entry speed into it? Is it making sure you have the front wheel on each one? What's the toughest part of it for you?
I feel like the toughest part…I mean, it's a lot mentally and once they get rough, they actually get pretty hard, especially in Florida. It's been raining the last week. So, those have been really challenging. But I'm happy actually to have hard woods while training because I feel everyone's saying that they'll be close to the race. So, yeah, I'd rather struggle and then have the same [tough whoops] at the race [over] not having an easy set and then struggling at the race.
Having the experience having raced some of these guys already that you're gonna be racing in supercross. Do you, do you lay markers for yourself of who you expect to be with like kind of right from the get go or you just like focusing on yourself and you just wanna make sure everything's ok for the first couple of rounds?
I feel like where I'm at right now, I'm just focusing on myself. I just wanna be healthy, make it to every round. Unfortunately, last year, that was my goal started the season. And outdoors, I just wanted to build, and it ended up fast. I wouldn't say it was my fault but, you know, it happens on this sport. So, I just wanna stay healthy. I go every round and I feel like going to race is gonna help me a lot. Never been at the stadium before, so there's some big changes coming soon.
What was the recovery process like for you with the injury at Thunder Valley? How long did it take before you were healed? And then getting back on the bike again?
It was really hard, especially being here by myself. I had a couple really rough weeks. The Coopers [Justin and his wife Jillian] help me a lot. But I tried to do everything I could to make it to the last two rounds. Unfortunately, I couldn't. I wanted to make sure I was gonna be healthy once I got in the bike. My arm is good. It's never had any pain. So, yeah, that was my main goal just trying to be healthy for this season. Make sure my injury was not gonna bother me. So, yeah, I'm happy with that.
You talked a little bit about the excitement of like being in stadiums and racing in that atmosphere just explain like the dream of racing supercross and coming to America and actually getting to do it.
Yeah, growing as a kid, from Europe, you always look forward to America because it's something different. Something we don't have over there. It's crazy the first time you got a supercross track, you're like, “Wow, like this, this is gnarly.” You don't even know the gears they use, how you hit the whoops, how to hit the jumps, triples, and everything. But, yeah, now I'm starting to get the swing out of it and it's nice. I'm, I'm enjoying it. So, I feel like if I enjoy it and I can show my potential, it'll be good.
Training at Aldon Baker’s Factory. Some people say it's so tough and boot camp is really gnarly and crazy and all that. But what's been your experience with it compared to what you've done with Star too?
It's been great. I actually love the program. We put a lot of hard work, but everyone does. We have our hardest weeks, then we have some easier weeks. So, I just feel like I trust the guys. I trust Alden, I trust Justin Boyd, my trainer. So, I feel like we're doing good progress. I'm feeling good on the bike. We've been doing some long motos too. So, yeah, it's good. Just a little different than what I was used to before. But I feel like it's positive.
Is it nice having Casey [Cochran] on the team as well? I know you guys say you, you're really good buddies already and stuff like that. But is it nice to have a fellow rookie. That's kind of like going through the same things that you are so you guys can kind of share information and bounce it off of each other a little bit.
Yeah, sure. I mean, Casey hasn't been on the bike yet. But yeah, we've been hanging out a lot. He's a really good guy. It's nice to have him at the same time. It's also nice to have people like RJ, Christian, Malcolm because, when you come here all by yourself, you have a lot of questions. Just basic stuff that they can help me out of, riding out of the bike. So, it's nice. Then when I hang out with Casey, I feel more like a kid, you know, so I just mix it up. [Laughs]
How do you try to take yourself away from racing a little bit too because you guys are always so in it. It’s a hustle and bustle kind of sport and then you're training so much with it as well how do you get out of that sometimes to just kind of relax and you're still young. So, you kinda wanna be a kid, right?
Yeah, sure. I feel like that's a really important part too. We're training a lot every week. So, I make sure I have some good rest and then days like Saturday, Sunday, I try to enjoy it. Try to do something. My neighbor is actually Landon Gibson, an amateur rider. I hang out with him a bunch. He trains the Aldon’s too. So, we try to do different stuff every weekend we wake surf with Casey. We take the boat out. So, so it's nice. I really love the Clermont area. It just gives me healthy vibes. There's a lot of guys, wake surfers. So, it's a nice area.
And then lastly, do you know east or west at all? And what are you kind of training for at this point in time?
We're planning east. RJ is supposed to do west, and Casey and I are supposed to do east. I still have eight more weeks. So, I think we've been on boot camp for like about five weeks. So, almost, we pass halfway now.
