Joey Savatgy’s got a new ride with the Firepower Honda guys. It will start this fall overseas in the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) and the Australian Supercross Championship, then go into AMA Supercross, Pro Motocross and SMX in 2025 . This is the team that housed the likes of Dean Wilson and Max Anstie in America earlier this year. Savatgy didn’t have the type of 250MX season he wanted with Triumph and once those guys couldn’t get a 450 ready to go SX racing in 2025, Savatgy was forced to find a new home as he is not eligible to race AMA 250SX. With Firepower Honda he gets to go back to a 450. I caught up to Joey to talk about his new deal and his summer on the new Triumph.
Racer X Online: We know you wanted to do 450 supercross as a big thing for you. Triumph couldn’t get the 450 ready to go. We’ll talk a little bit about the Triumph in a bit. But first, how did it all come together, the new deal?
Joey Savatgy: It was one of those things where I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next year. Just kind of having conversations in my inner circle among myself, my wife, my family, Zach [Osborne, trainer], and just people that I talk to and value their opinion. I was kind of at that point of like, what do I do? I can’t afford to sit out again all next year supercross and just race outdoors. So, what the [Triumph] deal was originally supposed to be is not what it ended up being, [Triumph originally planned to race 450 Supercross with Savatgy in 2025, but its 450 Supercross racing plans have been pushed to 2026] which sucks for both ends because I truly believe that they wanted to go racing with me. They had every intention to. I guess you could say it was a live and a learn thing. They learned a lot this year with being rushed with the 250 and the hoops that they had to jump through to get there.
I’ve known Martin [Davalos, manager for Firepower Honda] for a long time. Yarrive [Konsky, owner of the team] actually I’ve known for a long time, because Gavin Faith, when Gavin went to Australia to race for Yarrive. I had known Yarrive before that because he had been at MTF a few times. But I was obviously way more familiar with him because of Gavin and all of that.
It was literally a Monday, I did a bike ride with Deano [Dean Wilson]. It was me and Zach, and it got brought up about Christian Craig. Zach was like, “Is Christian going there?” And Dean made the comment about, “I don't know if he’s taking my ride or not.” Then Dean said, “Well, for all I know, you’re taking it.” He looked at me and I was like, “Dude, I haven’t talked to them in months. I swear.” This was like a Monday afternoon. I hadn’t talked to Firepower in probably months. He’s like, “Yeah, but you told me that about Triumph. You told me you weren’t going to ride Triumph, and you had no idea you had already signed a deal.” I’m like, “Yeah, but I promise.”
I shit you not, Tuesday afternoon Martin [Davalos] calls me, and he’s like, “Hey, what do you want to do? Do you want to come ride the bike or what?” I’m like, “I mean, what does the deal look like?” It’s a lot of racing, I’ll be honest. It’s like 41 races maybe, if I do Australia, World Supercross, AMA Supercross, AMA outdoors, and SMX. I was like, “I don't know, dude. Let me think about it.” They sent an offer over and I’m like, I can’t not do it. So, it was literally a span of like 20 hours between when I talked to Dean to when it started happening. I told Martin, “Dude, please don’t tell Dean. Let me talk to Dean first.” Because I don’t want Dean to think that I just straight up lied to his face. It was in a weird spot. But as far as how it came together, literally was a Monday afternoon I had no intentions of going there. I had no idea. Trying to figure out do I sit around and wait for a fill-in ride? Do I stay down in 250? What do I do? Then the next day it was like, “This is an option, do you want to do it? We need to know kind of soon because we have other people waiting.” It just happened.
I was going to ask you if it included AMA Nationals, but I was thinking you were going to just do kind of what Dean did where if you need points to get in SMX, you’ll do whatever you need to do.
Yeah, it is. They left that part a little open. For sure I think we have to do five. At that point for me, I’m like, if you guys are financially capable, I would rather just keep racing. I know it’s a lot of racing, but where I’m at in my career I truly enjoy racing. Even though it’s not always the most fun and there’s struggles, but to miss all of last year like I did and then to race outdoors and not have it go how I wanted it to, there’s nothing more satisfying than maybe not having the best weekend and having the availability to do it again the following weekend. I don't know that necessarily all 11 are mandatory. Five is probably the number that we’ll have to do. I would rather just keep going because I know I won’t be here racing forever. I’m just trying to enjoy it.
Obviously, getting into 450s and racing those was important to you. Did you want to do worlds [WSX] and Aussie Supercross or was AMA Supercross was the number-one thing you needed to get back to and the other races are just part of the deal, because obviously it’s an Aussie-based team? What attracted you as far as series-wise? Just American supercross on a 450?
Yeah. Just having a secure future for more than one season. That was kind of big for me. Like I said, I still believe that I’m really good on a dirt bike. It’s a harsh reality, but I still believe that I can be a top-seven guy. I know a lot of people might hear that and roll their eyes and say I’m an idiot. I believe I have the qualities to be able to go fast. It’s just this year was a struggle, and I couldn’t get off the gate, but I was able to show that I still have speed. I just can’t afford to not go racing. So, to be back in AMA full-time was the ultimate goal. All this other stuff is rushed, to be honest. I even asked them, can we sit out some of this and just come in on the back half and get ready? They were like, it’s kind of like an all-in deal. I’m like, as long as you guys understand that it’s an all-in deal and I won’t have as much time as I want, then okay, I’m good with it.
Obviously, Yarrive wants to go win Australia and he wants to do well in world supercross, but his focus is Australia. Truth be told, if I ride three days this week I think I’ll have ten days on the bike. So, it’s a lot. I’m aware of that. I feel like if I can avoid the carnage, I can kind of ease myself back into it and keep the expectations realistic. I think it will be good for me, to get all of Australia in and all of World Supercross to kind of build going into AMA. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
How’s the Honda? What do you think? It’s going to be weird to see you on a red bike.
Yeah, I’ve never ridden a Honda. It’s been good so far, to be honest. I’m on a ’24 right now and that’s kind of a decision that we’re going to make when I fly out there next week. I’m supposed to test the ’25 and see if that’s the direction I want to go. From what I’ve gathered, it’s really good cornering. I’ve enjoyed the bike. I’ve had a little bit of a hard time adapting to this front tire placement. So, if I’m into a corner and there’s a rut that’s maybe a tire and a half wide, I’m just half a tire width one way or the other, and I’m still learning where the tire is on the ground. They do say some of that is maybe a little bit of flex, which is why I think Jett and those guys added some material to the frame up by the headstay. They say that’s supposed to help. Then obviously the ’25 I think is quite a bit better. So if I can figure that out, I’m comfortable. It didn’t take me as long as I thought it would. Definitely the first two days that I rode I was like, man, this is tough.
It was good and bad because the first two days that I rode, it was SMX up at Colleen’s house. Of course I roll in first day, hadn’t ridden in a while, hadn’t been on a 450 in a minute. Eli [Tomac] is there, J-Coop, and Deegan. The whole Star crew is there. I’m like, for sure, dude! [Laughs] This is how I want to show up, just head first. This is the confidence that I needed! It was tough, but we were on a supercross setting on an SMX track. Even with dudes who have been on a 450 for years and on the same bike all year, they struggle with it because it’s a hard balance. The first couple days I was like, man, this is tough, but I’ve started to be more comfortable and acclimated with the bike. So, I’m excited. Martin is excited. They pride themselves on making the rider happy.
Triumph released the 450. Obviously, it’s coming out. The media is riding it next month. If they are going 450 racing, are you still there, do you think?
If they had one?
Yeah. If they said, “We’re going 2025 450 supercross.” Do you think you’re still there?
Yeah, absolutely. It was such a weird parting ways thing, how it happened and everything. I think from both ends, we were kind of in a weird spot. There’s so many things I want to say, but what I want people to understand is that I have nothing but respect for them. We left on good terms.
I want people to know, too. I tried to stir it up when the Triumph 450 got debuted and you were having none of that, privately.
Truth be told, they did a really good job with the 250. Maybe me being too… My ego or whatever you want to call it, but I just truly thought that we might be at a disadvantage, but I’m good enough to overcome it during outdoors. It just wasn’t the case. Star, Kawi, Honda - they have their bikes so figured out right now that you can’t afford to be behind those guys by so many positions at the start of the race and expect to move forward. There’s too many good kids that are close enough in speed. But the motorcycle itself handled amazing. I’m telling you, there was maybe one moto all year where I was like, “Hey, the bike wasn’t the greatest. It was doing this.” But every time I came in, whether it was qualifying or racing… The suspension and chassis wasn’t the reason we didn’t do good. We left on good terms. I told Ian (Kimber Triumph head of off-road) over in England, really high up at Triumph, I FaceTimed him and we were talking about it. I’m like, “If we get to that point in the road where you guys have a 450 and you guys are searching for a 450 guy, I would be honored and I hope that you guys will consider me.” He said if the cards are right and it makes sense, then they’re not opposed to it, by any means. I think people were just kind of unsure of how to take that. Maybe they think we left on bad terms, but I have nothing but good to say about them. Scuba (Steve Westfall, crew chief), as much of a pain in the butt as he can be, he did a good also. It was tough.
This something that I’ve often thought and I’m not always right, but I just think it’s so hard for 450 riders to adapt to a 250 mindset/riding style. It’s happened time and time again. It’s just a different mentality, an older guy dropping to 250s. How much of it was just that? You underestimated that mentality, that mindset, that aggressiveness you need in that class.
To be honest, I was scared to death going into round one. I was like, what if I don’t have the speed? What if these kids are just sending it to the point where I’m just like three seconds a lap off pace? Even ask Zach. I stressed for the last month coming into round one. Like, dude, what am I going to do if I’m just not fast enough? It would be one thing if I had the speed and let’s say, as it turned out, I can’t get off the gate. My fear was I’m able to get off the gate every weekend top five, and these guys are just blowing my doors off and there’s nothing I can do about it. Because for me, that is the hardest part of racing. If you can’t bridge that [speed] gap, and you’re just stuck, it sucks. Truth be told, the only race that I got away halfway decent start, was Southwick. Southwick is my worst track all year, and that was my best finish all year, even with a tip-over in the last lap. I got fifth overall. But every other round outside of that, I don’t even know if we ever crossed the holeshot line inside the top nine. So, truth be told, if I got a holeshot one race, I don't know that I would have been able to go with the guys when they got to me, or if Deegan or one of those guys passed me. I truly believe I could have latched on and gone with them, but as they say, talk is cheap. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s doable. In my mind, I never even got a real grasp of this, because I’m in that 10th to 15th range on the first lap and you’re around guys that are good enough to be very hard to pass, and when you have Deegan and Hymas and Kitchen, and these guys who get away inside the top five on the first lap, good luck. They’re gone. You’re not getting them. So, I do think it is hard. It was something that I’ve struggled with for probably a month and a half, two months. Probably still did, even at the end. It’s a totally different way to ride. When you’ve come up your whole life, you raced the 250 for all those years, and you rode it and won races and you know how to ride it, when you step away from it with the mindset of “I’m never coming back,” it’s really hard to step back in and relearn some of those habits that you tried to wash away. In my opinion, I never got off the gate good enough to go and get away with those guys to see these guys on the opening lap. But I can tell you this - the kids are good. Deegan is good. There’s not much you can say about it.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying, by anybody, yourself or the team or anybody else. Also too, I think Triumph got an eye-opening on heat and mud and sand and temperature and bikes. I think they should still be praised. It’s a brand-new motorcycle. They won a heat race and they got on the podium and things like that. But at the end of the day, outdoors are hard for everyone.
I agree.
Jalek [Swoll] had a good year, a solid year. How much was that frustrating you too? Not because you didn’t get along with him or anything like that, but just everybody wants to be the top guy on the team and Jalek was out-performing you for different reasons most weekends.
Yeah, for sure. Every weekend coming home beating my head off the wall. At the same time, I was happy for the team. Like I said earlier, considering that they’re starting with nothing, from the ground up, I thought that it was good. Obviously for me I wanted much more and my goals and expectations were higher, but you look at Jalek in the years past and myself. We’re really good starters. For whatever reason, we struggled all year. Jalek every once in a while was able to get a good start. But we weren’t able to do it consistently. I believe that’s kind of what made it tough for us. Obviously you never want to be the guy who’s getting beat by your teammate, but I would say the majority of the time I was starting behind him and having to work my way forward. Not being number one on the team is always… you feel a little bit of defeat in a way when you’re not the A guy.
