Josh Cachia signs with Carlton Dry Honda in Australia

Kurt Teague

Ryne Swanberg

After tearing up the first six rounds of this year’s AMA West Coast 250SX series, Australia’s Josh Cachia is back on Australian soil and geared up to race the 2013 MX Nationals and Australian Supercross Championship. With JDR Motorsports shutting their doors entirely, the 21-year-old needed to secure a ride back home for season 2013, and quickly. Much to Cachia’s relief, he had no trouble inking a deal on board a CRF250R with the Carlton Dry Honda Racing team, alongside MX1 riders Ben Townley and Ford Dale. After exclusively breaking the news in this week’s USA Insider, Transmoto’s Kurt Teague spoke to Cachia about his recent experience is America, how it feels to be back home, and the expectations he has with his new team for the season ahead.

First of all, Josh, tell me a little bit about racing American supercross and your recent experience over in the States. Quite a drastic change of lifestyle, surely?
American Supercross, far out… It was insane, you know. I went over there for a three-month lead-up before the racing started, and I went there by myself. Just packed my bags, kissed my girlfriend of five years goodbye, locked up my house that I just built and set off to America to achieve my goals. It was all so exciting, but I was so damn nervous at the same time. But I got there, I met up with the team, got my bike sorted out and it was showtime. Seriously man, it was a gnarly three months of hittin’ the track. Every single day, it was getting to the track early, bangin’ out my motos, going home, doing it all over again. It was intense, and the whole time, all I had in my head was the thought, ‘You better make something good come out of all this’ or I knew, that I’d be going home disappointed.

So that’s the lead-up period, a whole different story in itself. What about racing?
Racing was just another hectic part of the experience. The guys I raced against were gnarly, and insanely fast. I don’t even think that the West Coast series was as stacked this year as it has been in the past, unbelievably. I treated the racing, along with the rest of the experience, as a really steep learning curve. And believe me, I loved every damn minute of it.

Were you happy with the results that you started to pull, or was it all about the learning curve?
Yeah, towards the start I knew I was struggling a little bit in terms of scoring respectable results. But after a while, I worked out where I needed to be and I started to qualify faster, slowly working my way up the chain. It was a bit of a snowball effect, gaining more and more as I went on. At the start, yeah, I was pretty pissed off, but towards the end of it I knew what I needed to do. Even in Australia I start off slow, but then I get there. It sort of sucks that I chose to leave when I did, seeing as my results were starting to shine through more and more after each round, but I learned a lot and I have a whole season to prepare for back here. And with JDR Motorsports closing down, I had to get back home as soon as possible and sort myself out.

So, how did you feel when you found out about the whole JDR Motorsports scenario? Did you feel like bailing and heading back to Australia as quickly as possible?
Nah, it was nothing like that at all for me. I have a very unique relationship with JDR compared to anyone else that they have ever signed. I was one of their first ever riders, and Trish and Derek Rynenberg were very close to me, as they treated me as one of their own. So you know what, I really didn’t care about their decision. If they weren’t happy running the race team anymore, that was fine by me. They paid for me to live the lifestyle that I did for five years, and they paid for me to be able to put food on the table for my girlfriend and I. They did a lot for me in my life, and there’s not a sour thing you could say about someone once they’ve done that for you. That’s the thing; JDR Motorsports was a family before it was a race team. They treated a lot of people like family members, and a lot of people treated them disrespectfully. I was a family member from day one, and I saw it all. I saw the backstabbers, and I saw the ones who remained loyal. Sadly, there weren’t many who stood by them towards the end. Hopefully, loyalty was something that the Rynenberg family saw in me, and I’d love to be able to give back to them one day.

With that chapter closed for now, you’re back home on Australian soil and preparing to turn the page, I believe.
Man, I love being home. I lived the Cali-lifestyle as a professional racer, and I didn’t really like it to tell you the truth! While I’m talking to you right now, I’m staring at the beach in South Oz watching waves rollin’ in with my house just behind me, with all my home boys about to roll in on their boat. It’s the little things like that that money just can’t buy, you know. It feels so damn good to be at home.

Are you keen to get back into racing, or will you be too busy staring at the ocean for a little while?
Yeah, I will be having a short break, but I can’t wait to start racing again. I really enjoy doing the MX Nationals each year. I love the company, I love the people I see at each track, and I love just being there, you know. The events make me smile and laugh and have a good time, so I’m very fortunate to be able to make some cash out of it, too!

So when you got home, or even while you were still in America and you were forced to start looking for a new team, how did everything start to take shape for you?
I’m not the kind of person who’ll make countless phone calls trying to find a ride with any old team. I could have had a year off and it wouldn’t have bothered me – I’m not that desperate. I spoke to my manager, Adam Bailey, and I asked him to ring KTM because I wanted to be a part of their factory program, as I’ve been a lifetime member of the brand. They did have a ride to offer me, but it wasn’t quite enough, and I felt like I needed a little bit more. Then Yarrive Konsky at Carlton Dry Honda started calling me. I’ve had a big history racing with Yarrive in the past, and my mum actually raced against him back in the day, so he’s almost like another family member for me. We worked out a deal that we were both happy with and went from there. Of course, I would have loved to stay loyal to KTM, but at the time they just couldn’t quite offer me what I needed, and Yarrive could. I really respect the way that Yarrive was trying his best to make everything happen for me, on such a late, late notice, too. I’ve been in the industry for so long now, and it’s good to know that people like Yarrive have got my back, no matter what.

So the deal with Carlton Dry Honda to race the MX2 class will be for the MX Nationals and the Australian Supercross Championship this year, yeah?
Yep. I’m the kind of guy who signs on with a team with every intention of staying with that team for a long time. If I’m with a team, I want to be with them for the next three to four years at least. I want to have my results so good that the team doesn’t want to let me go either. That’s what I want with Carlton Dry Honda. I won’t be skipping across to any other coloured bike whenever I can, because like I said, this game’s about loyalty. I rode with KTM for five years, and I rode with Honda for many years before that, so I’ll keep it that way.

So you’ll be under the awning with Ben Townley and Ford Dale. Happy with that?
To be completely honest, Ford Dale wasn’t my favourite rider when I was racing against him in the MX2 class. But hey, I’m not racing against him now so it’s not an issue at all. There could have been a bit of tension in the air if we were both still in the Lites class this year, but it’s all good. Townley, he’s an absolute legend. I’ve got so much respect for that man. Even when I was battling against Dale for a championship last year, Townley was a guy who wouldn’t turn his back on me, and he was always happy to give me advice. The fact that I was racing against his teammate and he was still willing to help me out showed really strong character, and I really appreciate that. There’s a lot to be learned from a guy like Townley, and Dale, too. If I can rock up at the start line and put to good use the advice they both give me, I think this year’s Carlton Dry Honda Racing team is definitely a force to be reckoned with. I’m super-pumped to be working with the team, and I can’t wait to be racing again.

That said, have you taken delivery of your all-new CRF250R?
Nah, as I said I just wanted to take a short break from everything. I’m heading down there on the weekend to pick up the red-rocket though, and I can tell you, mate, I’m keen as anything.

Good to hear, bro. Can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve come April 14 at Raymond Terrace.
Cheers, see you there.