Photo: Steven Loyer

 

One of the biggest mysteries of 2012 has been what is going on with Star/Valli/Rockstar/Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes. After battling for the 2011 Eastern Regional Lites Championship and winning two main events—including the 2011 Lites East/West Shootout in Las Vegas—Sipes came into 2012 as a solid contender for the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross Western Regional Lites title. The kid from Kentucky was near the top of everyone’s championship prediction list, but his season has been one that he would have liked to forget, that is, before last weekend’s Seattle Supercross.

After struggling through the first part of the season without a podium and going out with a fractured hand and separated shoulder in February, the #53 came back and shocked everyone in Seattle with a win. Ryan not only won, but led all fifteen laps and did it with two of championship contenders starting the Main Event right on his rear wheel.

We were pumped to see Ryan back up front where he belongs and made sure to grab an interview with him after the race. We talked about his struggles, the Seattle win and his upcoming move to the 450 for the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

How’s it going Ryan?

Good, I’m heading to therapy.

 

Not for something new?

No, I go everyday. My hand and my shoulder are still not 100%, so I’m just trying to do everything I can do to get it that way.

 

How are you feeling after Seattle? A lot better? (Laughs)

Yeah, the pain doesn’t matter too much to me after the win. (Laughs) Nah, it’s good. I mean, it’s cool. I feel like I’m back where I belong, where I should be. It’s good; it takes the weight off my shoulders. In the beginning of the year, my results weren’t there with all the stuff and all the crashes, so it’s a big weight off my shoulders to finally get back to where I belong.

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Photo: Hoppenworld - KTM Images

Can you take us through your Seattle Supercross?

Well, in the heat race, I was bummed out on myself because I wheelied off the start real bad and got a terrible start. I was bummed ’cause all my starts at the test track have been perfect. I was pumped for this race.  I knew I was gonna get a good start, and then, I kind of blew it in the heat race. So that was my whole focus in the Main–be smooth with it and keep my front end down–and man, I didn’t get to the first-turn first, but I kind of left it on a little bit longer and went around the middle. They said Dean got to the line first, but I was the first one off that first jump. It was cool, and I just told myself, “Focus on the track. Race the track.” I didn’t even know who was behind me. I was just trying to ride my own deal and do my laps. I could hear them every once in a while, and I just made sure I didn’t think about it. I didn’t think about winning or whatever; I just rode.

 

At what point did you think about winning? (Laughs)

Well, I only looked up at the board twice, and the first time I looked up it was lap eight. I was like, “Alright, cool, we’re already halfway done.” Not that I wasn’t riding riding hard, but I was like, “Alright, I’m going to focus and push right now.” I tried to be a little more precise everywhere and hit my lines and maybe turn it up just a little ’cause I felt great. Then the second time I looked up, it was lap thirteen, and I thought I might just pull this thing off. But I was still like, “Don’t think about it.” Man, the last half a lap I thought, “This is crazy.” I didn’t expect to be up there. I had been out for so many weeks that I really didn’t know what to expect. I definitely didn’t expect to win just coming back.

 

Yeah, you said coming in that your confidence was basically nothing. I guess this changes all that. (Laughs)

Yeah, it changed as soon as that checkered flag waved. (Laughs) My confidence was down because the last time I raced wasn’t good. Since then, it’s just been injury, riding with pain, therapy every day, and it’s hard to have confidence in that. The only thing I did have confidence in was my preparation. I knew I was as well prepared as I could be. I came into it thinking, “I’m really not scared to lose anymore,” ’cause I knew I had done everything I could, and wherever I end up I’ll be happy with it. Honestly, I think that was a big part of the win. I didn’t come in thinking, “Man, I’m going to win.” I was just happy to be there and to have made that deadline. My goal was to be back for that race, so I was just kind of happy to be on the gate. I kept talking to myself all day saying, “You can do this, man. You can do it,” because practice was rough. I was ninth fastest in both practices and didn’t ride that well, so the win was a special one. I put in a lot of work to do it.

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Photo: Supercross.com

How long have you been back on the bike? 

I think I’ve been riding about three and a half weeks. It’s just been hit and miss because I’d be riding a couple days, and then, I had a couple times where I strained either my shoulder or my hand that would put me out another couple days. I couldn’t get any momentum going ’cause I was still riding in a lot of pain. It was a stretch for me to race there.

 

Well, you say practice was rough, but even though you only finished fifth, the heat race had to be a confidence boost. You came from way back, and your times were as good as Marvin Musquin’s, who won the heat.

Yeah, I felt good in the heat race, but I was bummed out because of the start. I was really, really zoned in on rounding my corners off, carrying momentum and trying to tie everything together. In the heat race, it just kind of came together. Then, Scottie—my mechanic—he was so pumped. He was like, “Dude, you’re on it. You were riding great.” And I was like, “Well, alright, I got fifth. Don’t do a back flip.” (Laughs)

 

I saw what your mechanic saw. You were flying in that heat. Did you happen to hear or see that Marvin Musquin thought he was in the lead in Main Event when he passed Eli Tomac?

I saw that, I saw it on the TV. (Laughs) That’s pretty funny. I know exactly how he feels; I’ve done that before. Then you get up there and you go, “Ah, damn it. I’m not in the lead!” He came from pretty far back. He passed like fifteen people, so he’s thinking, “I gotta be in the lead by now.” (Laughs)

 

You haven’t been up there all year, so he’s not looking for the #53. (Laughs)

Exactly. He thought I was in the back again.

 

What did you think of the Tomac-Wilson battle when you watched it on TV?

I thought that Tomac didn’t mean to hit him that hard. Tomac tried to kind of break slide and power slide coming out, and he caught traction–and basically just plowed him. It’s racing. I mean, he didn’t T-bone him; he didn’t go into him wide open like some people would have or whatever. That’s racing. They got a title on the line. I think I would be doing the same thing.

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Photo: Supercross.com

I thought it was awesome to watch.

It was cool for me ’cause they were focused on each other. They weren’t worried about me.

 

Exactly. Before I let you go, let’s talk about outdoors coming up. You will be moving up to the 450 Class, correct?

Yeah, the team basically—at the race in San Diego—told me I have a choice. Do you want to ride 250 or 450? I thought about it for a while and talked it over with everybody, and I jumped on it. I feel like I ride that bike well, and I’m looking forward to outdoors. I’m just ready to make that next move in my career. I’ve played out the Lites Class long enough, I think. (Laughs) The only reason I’m still down is ’cause I keep getting really solid rides and good money and stuff, so it’s hard to turn down. I’ve wanted to move up for a couple years now. It’s just that you’re either going to take a 450 ride on a lesser team with less money, or you’re going to stay down and take the good money and good ride, you know? Like my team, our bikes are the best on the track, I think, or one of the best. So when the team comes to me and says we want you to ride 250s again next year and I know my bike is good enough to win, it’s hard to turn down, but I’m definitely looking forward to moving up and starting that part of my career. I’m getting up there in age now; I’m an old man at twenty-seven years old, so I feel like I need a couple years to try and do some damage in the 450 Class. I feel like I will. We’ll get it started with outdoors this year, move up next year, try and find a good team to help me out with it.

 

I think a lot of people are looking forward to seeing you on the big bike. How pumped was the Star/Valli/Rockstar/Yamaha team on the Seattle win?

They’re pumped. Everybody was pretty stoked on it. Bobby Regan, the team owner, was on a hunting trip in Missouri, and he called me up and said “Ryan, I just can’t believe it. I can’t believe that you won, and I’m not there.” (Laughs) He said, “I thought for sure it would take you a couple weeks to get back going, so I went hunting.” (Laughs) It was pretty funny.

 

I am pumped I was there. Congratulations. I will miss Salt Lake, but I’ll be there to see you try to defend your East/West win from last year in Vegas.

That sounds good. Thanks a lot, Dan.

Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.