450 Words: Colt Nichols

Well, how's the bike? What have you thought about it so far? And what are the things that are surprising about it or maybe that you didn't really expect?Honestly, the bike's been really good so far. It's got a good base to it, which is what I'm happiest about. And naturally the way the bike is set up is kind of how I would like to set it up. You know, the Honda has a lot of weight on the front. It's kind of tall in the rear a little bit and this Beta is kind of the complete opposite. If anything, it's a little low in the rear and we're trying to put more weight towards the front, get it to turn a little tighter, things like that. So the base is really good, like I said, I prefer the way a lot of the bike comes naturally how it is. So, it's been a good transition. I think I'm most surprised at how stable the chassis is so far. We're working on trying to get a few more ponies underneath it, things like that, mainly for the start and stuff, but overall, I feel like we're in a good spot. We're always gonna be surprised once we go race, like everybody, we will probably go back to the drawing board. But for the most part, we're in a good spot and we've been making improvements each week and I'm pretty happy to just be on this bike moving forward and still make some good progress before we start.

So, obviously, Honda was at the top of their game last year. Did you learn anything there that you're able to bring to this new team or is it just too different to make that connection?
Yeah, I mean, a little bit of both really because Honda was, I'd say just so professional, you know, in the way that their approach was to racing and to the race team. It's just such a legendary team, it's been around for so many years and they've had so much success that you can see that kind of bleeds through the company. And that's what I want to try and bring to Beta. You know, Bobby Reagan and the whole Star racing Yamaha team, it was the same kind of thing there. I was there for seven years and same thing, they just really wanted to win and that started at the top and kind of trickled down with every employee there. So, I'm trying to kind of bring that mentality and that kind of approach to Beta, starting from the top and going down all the way to the riders and mechanics. And it was really cool to be teammates with those guys last year, learning from Chase [Sexton] and the Lawrence brothers and even from their dad, Darren, he's just a really knowledgeable guy. So, I learned a lot more than I thought I would from those guys. Seeing how they interacted with the media and how they interact with the fans. It was pretty cool to see, because they are such a big figures in this sport now, with Chase winning the Supercross title and Jett being Jett, and the Hunter as well. So, that was really cool to see, something I wish that I had a little bit more of, you know, but those guys are superstars. It was cool though. They handled everything like professionals and did everything that they needed to do and it was done really well. So that was cool to see.

And then you found the opportunities and you put the effort in to come into the Motocross season for Washougal and Ironman to better your position with SMX playoffs, because of the situation that you were in. Did you learn anything from that? Having to handle that situation on your own and find opportunities?
Yeah, that was kind of interesting to do that, to put my team manager hat on and to kind of try and piece together how I could even get to the race. Normally you don't think about those things, the truck shows up and your bike is there and you just go race. So, for me, we had to kind of start from square one, like, “Okay, how are we gonna get a bike, who's gonna build it, how are we gonna get parts for it and how we're gonna get to the race.” So, I really had to piece the whole thing together and luckily, I have some good people in my corner to help. Good people I've met over the years in this industry that really wanted to help and see me get to these races. It was just a really cool experience to be able to do that. I got to see racing from a different side than you normally would get to see it from. And learned a lot and realized if I needed something who would be there and who wouldn't be. I love that I got to do that and really, like I said, pieced together my own program and then got to race SMX and then was able to do decent enough to make some good money from that and made it all worth it by far. 

I know you talked about how polished Honda was and everything. Is it kind of exciting for you to be tasked with leading Beta into this US market and trying to grow their platform here?
Yeah, I think that's probably why I was most intrigued to do this because they have success in the off-road market. For any other type of racing, they have success and they been known to have a good motorcycle. So, my experience at Star and at Honda, two of the best teams in the pack, that's what I wanted to bring here. But then also just knowledge about the bike, I feel like I got that kind of persona of being like a decent test driver, at least that's kind of the main reason why Honda hired me last year and I really want to try and bring that here and show these guys like, “Hey, this is what it takes to be good, to win. To have a competitive bike to have a competitive program, you have to have all these pieces.” So, it's been good though because a lot of guys in their positions, they're green, like never done this before! We've got a first year team manager, suspension guy, engine tech kind of everything. So, it's cool for me because they can kind of lean on me a little bit and offer suggestions a little, you know, and I don't want to overstep. It's not my place sometimes, but it is cool that they can ask me questions and actually give my input and then they take it and actually use it. It's been pretty cool so far, we all have had a good dynamic. It's one week at a time. We run into things that we didn't think of or whatever, but it's been a good transition. I've been happy so far.

Now you get to be the face of Beta, you get to be associated with this new brand. Was it worth waiting for?
We'll see, but so far, I really think it was. Man, it was something I thought about pretty long and hard to make this decision to come to this brand. You know, to go to an unknown is always scary, but I trust that these guys believe that the bike could be good and that they would give me what I needed. So, we'll see, racing is always different than at the practice track. We're gonna learn a lot this year and we've got the goals set at a point where I think they're realistic. And luckily, I have a two-year deal, so it doesn't feel like it's like an all or nothing type scenario like, “Hey, if I don't figure this out I could be going.” We'll learn a lot this first year, I think that's the whole purpose. It's like this is a learning year for us with a bike to see what we need to work on for ‘25. That's really the main goal. So, we'll take it race by race. We're gonna run into problems. I'm sure that we're gonna run into times where we feel like we don't know what we're doing! But that's all a learning curve and growing pains of a new team and a new bike. So, everyone's aware of that. We all know that. But if we come in and do what I think that we can do, we'll be okay.

What are some of the benchmarks you have for yourself personally to call this season a success?
It's kind of tough to say, but I know based off of what I did last year and where I feel like I can be, I have an idea where I want to be inside this top 10 in this field and you know, battling a lot of other factory guys that are lined up on the gate is the goal for me. And I wanna be in opening ceremonies each weekend. That was something that was kind of a goal last year and I was in it all the way up until I ended up missing a few rounds with a concussion. That's something that is still a goal of mine. I know we're gonna have some, like I said, some hardship, some things that are tough for us as a team. But as long as we stay together, this group, I think is a good group of guys that we can learn, feed off each other and, you know, put the egos aside and just work for a bigger cause. Then I think to call the season a success, we would have to be consistently top 10 guys and making improvements each weekend. I think that'd be good for us. Stacked field like normal, but if we can do that, I would be happy.

With Beta entering the sport, we're at the point now where we're just about to a full main event where it could be all factory bikes. You say you want to be top 10. But that means you're putting like 10 factory bikes behind you to do that. Like it's kind of a challenge, I'm assuming, right?
Oh yeah. I mean, that's the huge challenge of a new brand, and we have a few entering in the next few years. So, for us, we have probably a smaller budget, a smaller team compared to a lot of the established teams here and teams that are coming. And for us, we try and find the positive or the advantage that you can find in that. But I as a rider, I know what my ability is. So, if the team is providing me with what I need and we're doing everything that we can do and checking all the boxes and I don't see why I can't be there as a rider. But like I said, this is a really stacked field. I'd have to be beating quite a few factory guys in order to do that. If we're not there at the beginning, we're not gonna freak out and try to overcompensate and reinvent the wheel. We just gotta go back to work and figure out what we're missing. And then eventually I feel like that's where we should be in that realm for sure.

You mentioned testing as one thing, but what else in your skill set do you think makes you one of the ideal people to help them launch this brand.
I hope just how I've represented myself throughout the years. This is going on my 10th year of being in the professional ranks. And I've tried to carry myself well enough to not burn any bridges with people and to leave every situation in a positive manner, to be a guy that's respected around the industry, around the paddock. I feel like I can walk into any semi and be greeted wherever I go. And I think that's pretty cool. Not a whole lot of guys, I feel, can do that and whether you leave on bad terms or you do whatever. So luckily for me, I feel like I've done that, I've handled myself as a professional. And I think this team and this company kind of realized that too. That was another big part of it. So, if I can be the face for the brand, speak well enough and intelligently enough about them and about this, what we're doing here, you know, supercross as a whole. I think that's the biggest goal for me and for them. And I mean, we want it to look good, but we want to do good, that's half the battle. So, if I gotta talk to the media a little more or do whatever, then that's ok by me. That's something that I embrace and want to do for this brand. And hopefully we can push it to something that's really cool in the next few years and keep growing this whole thing, year to year to year, that's the whole goal.