Exclusive: Davi Millsaps Interview

When the news broke a few weeks ago that Davi Millsaps signed a deal with KTM to contest the 2014 AMA SX and MX seasons, we sent US-based contributor Jason “JT-Money” Thomas on a mission to catch up with The Saps and find out what he’s been up to of late.

JT: Looking back on 2013, what were your overall thoughts?
DM: I want to think it was one of the best years I have ever had in the 450 class. It was more of a building block or stepping stone to what I want to accomplish. I was able to get on a good bike and a good team and move forward. Looking back on all of that, the change was good. In both the off season and during the season, it was a great year with all of the things I learned. There were just a lot of things I still had to learn to get the ball rolling.

Whether you knew it or not, you were the buzz of the pits this year. It was as if you were a different rider out there. What would you attribute that to? With Ezra Lusk being involved, switching bikes and teams, and more preparation, there are a lot of factors that could be pointed to.
I would have to say all of the above. With Ezra in my corner the past few years, we have been working on my base fitness to set me up better for the season. We haven’t really had a good off season before with injuries and issues. My biggest goal for 2013 was to have that good off season of training. We talked to a lot of teams about making sure that would happen. With the team I ended up with, they let me do it. They gave me a couple of bikes and let me go do my thing for a while. I rode and rode and rode and that gave me a solid base to work from. From there we started testing and built a really solid bike at Rockstar Energy Racing. I was more ready than I had ever been basically.

Your 2013 SX season is well documented. You led the points for months and were a real threat to win the title for the first time ever. As the season wore on, you developed a leg problem that you had fixed after the series ended. Was that something that caused a lot of pain during the season or maybe hindered your results?
I re-injured my leg halfway through the season. I wasn’t able to train at all other than riding my dirt bike. I couldn’t bicycle or do leg exercises that were part of my normal program and I feel like that hurt my results. I couldn’t stay in the shape that I was in coming into the season. Pain wise, every little mistake I made was tough. Over jumping or dabbing my foot would break my concentration and I would have to grit my teeth and deal with the pain for a lap or two until it went away. There was nothing I could really do and I didn’t want to complain but it was not much fun. I just had to try as hard as I could and wait till the end of the series to fix it.

Ok, moving forward, when this KTM subject came up, did you want to stay on the Suzuki or were you interested in seeing what KTM could offer? I am sure that had to be a big subject of debate.
Well, of course, at first I wanted to stay on the bike I had done so well on. You would have to be a knucklehead to not want to try to continue that success. At the same time, I wanted to see what KTM could bring to the table and where it could take the team. Overall, it was a smart decision to switch. KTM has so many smart people with Roger, Ian and my old mechanic Carlos. Those guys working with my team is a great group to put together. It was the best move for the team and with how hard those guys work, it is only going to make everyone better.

After such a strong year, I am sure you matured and learned a lot. As you prepare for 2014, how will you approach it? Did you learn anything that will change how you get ready for another chance at it?
I am trying to go about it the same way. I don’t want to raise any expectations. Coming off an injury and switching bikes again, we have a lot of work to do. I just want to do the best I can do. I hired a new trainer already and we have been working really hard to get my leg back to 100%. Last year I didn’t hire an actual trainer until December so I feel I am ahead of the game in that aspect. I am hoping it helps me to be more prepared. I wouldn’t say I am expecting more or less for 2014, just expecting to do the best I possibly can and I know that if I do that, it will work out.