The San Diego round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross is in the books and what an exciting race it was. Both classes are stacked with talent right now, so there are stories everywhere, from veterans in the 450 class (like Malcolm Stewart) to young kids in the 250s. Ryder DiFrancesco is on his second season of supercross while Jett Reynolds and Cole Davies have only ever competed in two supercross races ever. Our Aaron Hansel caught up with all four riders after the race Saturday night to ask about their race. While none of these riders finished on the podium, that is the resounding goal for all of these riders as the season goes on.
Jett Reynolds | 13th
Racer X: Hey, you holeshot the heat. Nice!
Jett Reynolds: It was cool to be up front and show what we have with our motor package. We have fast motorcycles, and it was good to show that thing up front. But I kind of got a bit tight up there. Not gonna lie, I haven’t been in that situation in a long time and I kind of fell back to fifth. In the main event I fumbled the start completely and came around last and plugged my way up to 13th. Nothing too crazy, not too happy of a night, but it’s definitely a steppingstone after last weekend.
Yeah, and plus, the number of supercross races under your belt…
This is my second one!
Right! You can’t be too hard on yourself, right?
Yeah, you know, I see myself, where I want to be, and unfortunately, it’s going to take some time to get there. I want to be up there with the boys, battling up front.
Well now that you’re finally out here racing supercross, what’s the pace like compared to what you expected?
I kind of figured it would be like this. I knew I wasn’t quite there. I’m going to click these races off and get better at each one. This year is just an experience year, and I don’t think anyone really expects me to do too much. I’ll learn this year and come in next year ready.
What was the track like out there? It looked pretty fast.
Good old California dirt. Nice and hard. I’m happy, being from the west coast, I dig it.
Cole Davies | 4th
Racer X: What a good night for you out there! Take us through it.
Cole Davies: My qualifying wasn’t really great, I qualified P7, and I wasn’t really happy about that. I reset for the heat, got the holeshot, and turned things around. I got my first ever heat race win, so I’m stoked with that. I was P1 going into the main for gate pic, which was pretty sick. I had a good gate and got a mega-holeshot off that. I did some laps, then JuJu [Julien Beaumer] got past me. I made a mistake and a couple guys passed me and I was in fifth. I was trying to chip away at some laps and get some good times down, and I made a last corner pass on Ryder [DiFrancesco] for fourth place, so that was definitely a good pass. It was pretty cool.
What happened with that mistake you made? I looked down for just a second and when I looked back up you were off the track.
I landed off the triple and my front started tucking, it was kind of a slick spot. It started sliding then it gripped up. There wasn’t much I could do.
Tell us what it was like to lead your first main event? What was going through your head?
I was just trying to ride my laps and not think about too much. I was just trying to ride my dirt bike. I was riding pretty tight, honestly, and after JuJu passed me, I started riding better. It felt like the pressure got lifted off after running first. It was definitely a good running for us with learning and getting more experience.
What was it like when he was behind you and trying like crazy to get by? Were you riding defensively or were you just trying to ride ahead?
I could see him, and he tried to get me after the start. I was focusing on trying to be a bit defensive. My race craft was good tonight, I’m stoked with that. I’m getting better and better each weekend.
Did you think you’d be in this position this fast?
Honestly, I don’t know what I’ve been thinking. I’m just trying to do the best I can do, that’s all I can do.
Ryder DiFrancesco | 5th
Racer X: Another pretty good night for you. You were in third four a while, where’d you end up? Fourth? Fifth?
Ryder DiFrancesco: Fifth.
Okay. Take us through it.
My whole day was good. On the board every time again in qualifying. Got a pretty bad start in the heat race. In the main event I actually started fourth and made my way into third around halfway. I was there until I made a huge mistake on the three-four before the big triple. I ran fourth until the last corner and little Cole [Davies] got me. That’s the thing that really stings on the night. In the last two races I gave up spots at the end. I need to wrap my brain around pushing a little harder. It’s coming around though, and hopefully by the Triple Crown races next weekend we can have three consistent races and end up on the box. If you get top five in each Triple Crown race, you’re pretty much guaranteed a podium position.
So, I know you’re bummed a bit about how it played out, but at the same time, two weeks ago if I told you you’d go 4-5 to start the season out you’d be pumped, right?
Yeah, for sure. My goal is to have this first run of four weeks inside the top five, and if you told me that October, I would have told you you’re crazy. It’s not necessarily a finishing position though, it’s to be in the fight, and the last two races I’ve been in the fight for a podium, and even in a battle for second. So, I think I need to take the position goal away and focus more on being up there, getting good starts, and being in the fight.
That three-four looked huge on track walk but you guys were doing it no problem.
Yeah, if you could get the three-in good it was easy. But I made a big mistake on it in the main. I heard JuJu went 2-3-2 and was consistent with it. I wish I would have known that a little earlier. Just simplifying the little things like that. If I would have managed to not mess up that three-in, I don’t think [Haiden] Deegan would have gotten me, and I would have been on the box.
Malcolm Stewart | 7th
Racer X: How was your night? After that crash last week, I didn’t think you’d even be racing for a couple races, yet here you are.
Malcolm Stewart: After what happened last weekend and not really riding this week, I can’t be too upset at myself for a result. I know we got seventh, but we had a lot of great opportunities to put this motorcycle inside the top five, and maybe even a possible podium. We didn’t, but at the end of the day, this is kind of the start of my A1 tonight, just because of how A1 went for me. I’m not bummed at all. I did everything I could to get this motorcycle inside the top ten. We were unfortunately shy of a top five, but at least we had some good opportunities. It's only going to get better and better for me. We’re still a little sore, but we’re going to continue building and getting used to being up front with those guys. Riding with those guys, you start to adapt. I feel like this is A1 for me, a good reset, and we’re going to from here and get ready for A2. I’m excited that we didn’t crash, I can’t afford to hit the ground right now [laughs]. We’re going to go from there and look forward to A2.