Nothing To Do But Win: Joey Savatgy

Transmoto’s Eric Johnson speaks to Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy ahead of Anaheim 1, set to take place on January 4. 

EJ: Joey, it’s less than a week before the gate drops at Angel Stadium. What are you up to today?

JS: Man, right now, nothing. I’m actually just hanging out at my mechanic’s house and just kind of relaxing and getting ready to possibly do battle next weekend.

If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say you’ll be competing in the West Region opener on Saturday night. Any news on that?

Man, I don’t know. Mitch hasn’t told us. It’s still kind of on play it by ear status, I guess. He hasn’t given me a for sure yes or no on anything so I guess it’s still a guessing game.

What’s your gut telling you?

My gut tells me I might be East but it’s hard to say. It’s hard to read Mitch. He has a good poker face. I haven’t really gotten a good, positive yes or no answer out of him.

Thus far, how has your experience been with Mitch and the entire team?

It’s been really good, man. It’s kind of weird because as a kid you always want to ride for Pro Circuit. It was kind of weird getting a call from Mitch during last season. He had talked about wanting to hire me and that kind of stuff. It was just talk. But when the contract really came through, that’s when it hit me that I was riding for him. It was kind of weird, but it was a good feeling at the same time because it was something that I’ve always worked for and for me, I always wanted to ride for Pro Circuit and Mitch just because you always hear that Mitch and his bikes are arguably the best that there is in the Lites class. To be able to have this opportunity is really good and makes me feel good about the hard work even though the results haven’t been that great. This year, though, will be a whole new deal. Mitch is a legend.

Was getting that contract from the team like the realisation of a dream come true?

Yeah, I don’t want to sound too cliché about that stuff, but its definetley cool, man. Mitch is a legend in himself and he knows how to win and he has the resources and ability to win so to have that on your side is definitely a confidence booster.

Due to injuries, your entire 2014 supercross season was written off, wasn’t it?

Yeah, I got hurt right at the end of last November and actually broke the scaphoid in my wrist. For those who race dirt bikes or who are familiar to that injury know that injury can take a long time to heal. It’s not an injury you want to rush just because if you do rush it, that bone can nag you the rest of your career, or lifetime. I made sure to take the necessary time off to be sure that when I came back I was as healthy as possible.

In 2013, however, you were the 250 Supercross Rookie of the Year and lit up the sport with some very good riding. I would think that even though you missed ’14, you know you have the speed and know you can do it.

Yeah, I had some pretty good races for my rookie year. Obviously, as a competitive athlete, you always want to do better. Even if you win, it’s like, ‘I could have done that a little bit better’ or ‘I could have done this better’. There’s always that drive to want to do better. I would definitely say, though, the confidence is there. I haven’t been on the supercross gate in over a year, which is a little bit of a bummer, but I know with the team behind me and as much work and everything that we’ve put in, we’re right there. We’ve also got the bike really, really good. Regardless of which coast I’m racing, East or West, I’m definitely excited to get started and I know that with the whole team behind me that it’s going to be a good year.

How is the atmosphere or vibe within in the team? Is it a very competitive atmosphere?

(Laughter) I’d say it’s definitely competitive. Obviously, you need competitive people around you to keep that motivation and the drive going. It’s good to be at the track with your teammates and to always have something to gauge yourself off of and to help each other at the same time. The atmosphere is really good. I think that for the most part we really get along. I haven’t met Arnaud Tonus yet as I wasn’t here when he came out here. I’ve met everyone else and I get along with them just fine. It’s definitely good.

You did most of your testing and training back East, didn’t you?

Yeah, I came out here for testing and stuff, but I’m definitely more of an East Coast kid. Thankfully, Mitch has given me that blessing to go home to be with family and in my own environment to ride and to train back at MTF in Georgia. It’s been good. The testing has been great out here, but it’s also been great to be home and to get some solid weeks in. I’ve been able to ride back there with Jordan Smith and Anthony Rodriguez and Gavin Faith. Justin Barcia actually comes and rides with us every other week. We always have someone out there to ride and just push each other and you keep each other on their toes.

And when you come back to California, is it day-in and day-out testing at all the local tracks?

Testing is the number one priority when you come out here – especially for me being on the East Coast, there’s no testing for me. I’m just trying to get faster and put in laps. When I come out here, the number one priority is testing. When I come out here it’s a different pace, but it’s also good to get the bike even better than it already was.

Do you consider yourself to be a good test rider?

I think I’m a good test rider. I’m sure that’s a question for Bones, but I feel like I’m good at it. I know what I like. Every time I come out here I always think my bike is good and wonder what we can fix, then I come out here and Bones always comes to the track with a couple of different settings and I always leave with a better setting. Somehow he always manages to raise the bar and that’s why they’re a team with a lot of number one plates on the side of their truck.

Once you were healed up and got your strength back, you really came on strong during the closing phase of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. What helped you to accelerate your game and did it inspire a lot of confidence in you?

Not so much that anything changed. I actually got hurt the Friday before the Glen Helen National. I broke my collarbone. We missed Glen Helen, but I was back at Hangtown a week after surgery. The main thing for me was that it was a building type of year. To get the good results that I did towards the end of the year helped with the confidence. I know I have the speed to be up there with those guys. It had been a while with the injuries and everything. You can go to a public track and be fast all day, but being fast on a racetrack is a whole different thing. I think that’s a thing a lot of people don’t realise. To be race fast, you can’t prepare for that. It’s one of those things you need to do to get better. You need to be on the gate and you need to have those people around you to have that experience. Racing is where it matters most and to really get that figured out you need to be on the gate racing. That’s what I’ve missed for supercross.

Whether you race this Saturday night or you don’t, what do you expect out of yourself and what does Mitch expect out of you when it comes time to line up?

I think everybody knows what Mitch wants and Mitch has not won a championship since 2011, if I’m correct. I know he’s hungry. Mitch is the type of guy who does not like to lose, so I think from Mitch’s standpoint, he expects all of his guys to win. That’s up to me. That’s the reason why he hired me, he didn’t hire me to roll around in fifth place. So to answer your question, I’m expected to win this year. I’m sure a lot of people are already counting me out as not being one of those guys, but I think the guys who I’m around know that I’ve been putting in the work. I think I’ll be good this year. I think I’ll actually surprise a few people. I think a few people will be looking through the supercross program to try and figure out who is on the number 37 bike because I’m sure there are a lot of people who have written me off just because I’ve been out of the supercross scene for a year and was hurt and struggled through outdoors. There are a lot of people who are expected to do good, but if I had to guess, I’m not number one on their list. That’s fine with me. There’s nothing wrong with being the underdog as long as I show up and do my work and get the results that Mitch wants.