Exclusive: Davi Millsaps Interview

For all intents and purposes, the May of 2013 was the last time Davi Millsaps’ star truly shined brightly. For at that time, he finally displayed what he was capable of in the professional ranks by railing to two wins and 10 more podium finishes in nailing down a fantastic second Overall in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross series. Certainly no mean feat. But then came 2014, and with it, a raft of injuries which kept Millsaps on the sidelines and on the injured reserve list. So problematic and incessant were Davi’s injuries that he never lined up once behind a supercross or outdoor series starting gate. As we all know, out of sight is out of mind in big-time motocross and things appeared to be bleak for the stranded Rockstar Energy KTM rider. Then things seemingly righted themselves when the Monster Energy Kawasaki team came calling. No doubt enticed by both his high performance and high consistency season of 2013, Kawasaki decided to take a chance on Millsaps and signed him on to be Ryan Villopoto’s tail gunner for the 2015 SX season. All seemed well with Monster Energy Kawasaki until Ryan Villopoto’s shock announcement to the world that he was leaving long-time benefactor, Kawasaki Motors Corp, USA, to join the 2015 World Championship series. At that precise point in time, Davi Millsaps became Monster Energy Kawasaki’s lead rider and great hope to keep the green marque’s supercross title streak alive and well come 2015. There has certainly been some huge ups-and-downs for Davi Millsaps in the last year, and while he toiled away in a sort of twilight obscurity during this period, the native of Kissimmee, Florida has now been shoved right back out into the klieg lights of the sport. Today, just two days out from the 2014 Monster Energy Cup, we spoke with the new Monster Energy Kawasaki recruit about the importance of Saturday night’s race and his new lead role in the drama that is American motocross.

Eric Johnson: Davi, we’re about 48 hours out from the drop of the Monster Energy Cup. What are you up to?

Davi Millsaps: I’ve been riding and breaking in my race bike and just trying to feel as comfortable as I can on it so we’re ready for this weekend.

Just how long have you been riding the Kawasaki for? The announcement of your official deal with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team was slow in coming.

The Kawi deal got done rather quickly, but as far as me riding, I got on the bike the Monday before the Salt Lake National (August 18). I got on the bike and rode outdoors for a while and then jumped into supercross. I’ve just been getting my feet wet on that to get some time on the new bike. Obviously, I was off the dirt bike for a very long time. I’ve been trying to get up to speed and to get some testing under my belt and to get familiar with everyone on the team. I just needed to get familiar with riding supercross again. Obviously everything has been good so far, you know? The team is awesome, the bike is awesome. I feel great. I mean, I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything from where I left off. I think that’s what is going to be so good about this weekend. It’ll be great to get my feet wet again and to get my race pace back under my belt so I know what to expect come Anaheim 1.

We’ve all heard you’ve been off the bike for over a year and a half and I’m sure hearing that is getting old. But was the Las Vegas supercross in the May of 2013 the last true raced you competed in?

Yep.

And not only did you miss the Nationals, but due to a knee injury on the eve of the 2014 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series, you missed that entire supercross season. I’ve read and heard some things where you mentioned you really couldn’t have gotten hurt at a worse time. True?

I mean me getting hurt at the end of November, it wasn’t the best time to get hurt. I had just had gotten back on the bike from my foot injury and had just started riding supercross and was getting as ready as I could on the new bike and what-not. It was definitely a bummer because I wanted to come in and prove to everyone that it wasn’t a fluke and I wanted to back up what I had done in 2013 the best I could. Obviously with me doing my ACL I wasn’t able to race supercross. Then the delays and setbacks with my foot kept coming on. That took pretty much seven months to figure out. That was probably the one injury that set me back longer than anything. We just couldn’t find out what was wrong with it. I had a lot of different doctors look at it and take a lot of X-Rays. Eventually, we found out a bone wasn’t healed so we had to go into the foot and have all this work done on it to try and get it to heal. It took four surgeries. It was a long process, but it’s just part of our sport. I’m just thankful to have been given the opportunity that I have right now with the Monster Energy Kawasaki team. I’m just looking for a good year and to put all this stuff that has happened in the last year and half behind me and move on with the future.

You were on the podium 12 times, won two races and finished a fighting second to Ryan Villopoto in the 2013 AMA Supercross championship. You know you can win and you know how to string a championship-caliber season together. You can count the racers who can do that on one had. Thoughts?

2013 was a great year for me. It was definitely one of the best 450 seasons that I’ve had. Obviously, I didn’t pull off the championship which would have been icing on the cake, but the fact that I was able to be so consistent and be on the podium 12 times and win races and be up there every single weekend, brought the fun back in the sport for me. It made it so much more fun to be up there at the front. Is it a lot of work to get there? Yeah, but the reward I got for 2013 was just unbelievable. I feel that after that season I have the consistency to string a championship together. I just have to do it. To have all these great guys and this great team behind me now as well as my family and Ezra (Lusk) and my trainer, Ryan, and my friends and everything, it’s a great support system and we’re really looking forward to getting back out there and starting off where I left.

You’re the Monster Energy Kawasaki team leader now. Did you expect to be the team leader in 2015?

No. That’s something I got asked quite a bit when I was talking with people coming to this team. I was asked if I’d be alright with being the second tier guy to Villopoto. I was okay with that because anyone you take from this sport to be on that team, you’re going to be second tier to him. You know what I mean? Everyone is going to be second to him. For me, it was just the fact of being able to ride with him. And not just that, but I’d also be able to have a great team behind me. They’re the best team in the industry right now. To have that confidence in knowing that you’re on a bike that has won a championship every time it’s been on the track the last four years is nice. It’s nice to have the confidence going into the races that you’re on something that has won a ton recently (laughs). I don’t mind being the team leader. My teammate is Will (Hahn) and we get along really well. I don’t feel like I’m the team leader or number one guy. I feel that we are both equal. I think that’s a good way to have it.

As you just spoke about, you’ll have the A plus team and the A plus bike for 2015. Does that add more pressure or add more confidence? Or both?

Obviously, it’s going to add pressure. The team has won a tremendous amount. I welcome the pressure. It’s the pressure I want. And as far as the confidence goes, yes. It gives me a tremendous amount of confidence knowing that I’m on a bike and on a team that will do whatever it takes to win. I’m right there in the same boat with them. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I think all around it’s a really, really good combination.

As far as the year 2013 goes, you certainly rose to the occasion and showed everyone what you could do and what you are capable of. Not an easy thing to do, but you know, you did it once, right?

I proved to myself that I could still do it. I proved I can be up there with the front guys and still run with them on any of the tracks and in any conditions. That, to me, was a big confidence booster. It was definitely a great season and an eye opener for everyone out there – including myself.

As far as age and experience goes, you’re kind of between worlds a little bit. You’ve got the super-hyped young guys such as Barcia, Roczen and Tomac. Then you have the veterans such as Reed, Stewart and Dungey. And in-between these two spheres there are a number of fast newcomers. How do you look at the competitive landscape right now?

I’ve been in the 450 class a very long time, but I’m only 26 years old. I’m still young. I’m technically a veteran of the 450 class now, but I don’t know. These young guys are great and they’re fast and they keep us old guys on our toes, I guess (laughs). For the veterans, at times we can be wise and smarter. Even though these guys are young and ready to go, we’re not old and we’re definitely ready to go.

How are you looking at the Monster Energy Cup on Saturday? Are you going to win? Will you use it as a gauge to see where you are at? Are you putting a lot of pressure on yourself?

I’m not putting any pressure on myself this weekend. I would like to win; I think everyone would like to win. I think that’s everyone’s goal. For me, it’s going there to do my best. Everyone knows I haven’t raced in over 18 months and it’s been a very long time. Obviously, I’ve raced my entire life, but when you stop racing and you stop running with the top guys and being up there every weekend, you lose a little bit of that race pace and that race feeling. It’s going to be really, really, really beneficial for me to get back out there and get into the race pace and get into the race conditions and see how my bike handles. I can see how the team works and how we can communicate and see how I work. We can go there and shake down everything so after this weekend we’ll know what we need to do and we’ll know what we need to work on going into Anaheim 1.

You’ve been at this sport a very long time. Come race day in Las Vegas, the eyes of the motocross world will be upon you. It’s a big race for you. How do you feel?

I’m definitely very excited about racing this weekend. It’s been way too long. I’m nervous, for sure. I’m nervous every time I go racing. I think I’m more excited than nervous just to get back out there and see where I match up being out for so long and coming back on a new team and all that. I think it’s going to be exciting and I think it’s going to be a good weekend.