Photo by: Hoppenworld
How to describe BTO Sports/KTM’s Davi Millsaps? There’s no doubt you have to start that description with absolutely one of the most naturally gifted riders to ever throw a leg over a dirt bike, but beyond that, he’s a riddle that takes far more expertise to solve than I currently possess. Throughout Davi’s career his inconsistencies have always kept us guessing, but while one night he can look quite average in tenth, he can and often will completely blow your mind the next time you see him when he’s battling inside the top five for a podium or even for the win.
There are very few competitors throughout the history of motocross and supercross that have that magic light switch in their repertoire, but Mr. Millsaps seems to be able to flip that switch on any given night. Do you remember that guy that earned just five podiums and no wins over a two and a half year span and then showed up at the 2013 Anaheim 1 SX, won and went on to battle for the 450SX Championship with two wins and twelve podiums that year? Or that one guy that had a very serious leg injury, didn’t race anything from May of 2013 through October of 2014, but came out on a completely new machine and won the 2014 Monster Energy Cup overall? Yeah, well, the correct answer to both those questions is Davi Millsaps. Stories like that are unprecedented in this sport, and it’s that ability that keeps everyone believing in and watching the #18.
After surprising everyone by winning the Monster Energy Cup in ’14, Davi struggled in ’15 before a “falling out” with the Monster Energy/Kawasaki team left him jobless after round fourteen of the SX season. With only three top five finishes in 2015, many wondered if that was it for the nine year veteran of the premier class, but the BTO/KTM team gave Davi a great opportunity to get back on top with factory equipment for 2016. Over the first five rounds of the season, Davi’s main event scorecard finishes have been 8-12-7-12-5 and he sits in a solid seventh in the Championship. Most everyone had no idea where Davi would fit in with the stacked field in ’16, but I think if everyone were honest, they would say he has exceeded the preseason expectations thus far.
After Davi’s fifth in Glendale, I caught up with him to talk to him about his performance, where he’s at in getting acclimated to the new bike and how he would personally rate his season to date.
Davi, good night for you, all the way around. You were top five all day in speed, won your heat race and finished fifth in the main event. Talk about your inaugural Glendale SX.
Yeah, my night was pretty good. Obviously, getting the heat race win was nice, getting the holeshot was nice, and I would have liked to stay up there with those guys, but they’re going fast. You know, I can’t run that pace for twenty laps yet, so I have to settle into my own pace to make it through twenty laps. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to be up there with them battling and making it an interesting race.
And tonight, doing twenty strong laps inside the top five has to be a huge step towards that.
Just being top five right now. There’s eighteen, twenty of us that are factory dudes right now, so it makes it tough. It’s just nice to be up there and to start to feel like I’m riding better, flowing better and all that stuff. Yeah, it was definitely nice, but I want more.
What are your thoughts on the track tonight, because you were faster than you’ve been all year from the first practice and through the main event.
The track was fine. It was tight but really fast, which is weird. It kind of threw you into a little spin, but the more you rode it, the better it got and the more comfortable you got on the track. I think all in all it was a very well put together track, and they did a good job on it.
How are you gelling with the new KTM this year?
Yeah, it’s good so far, just learning it. I’m trying to get better, get acclimated to it and what it does. Race to race it’s a lot different than any bike I’ve ever ridden. I’m trying to figure out what works best. We come out to race day with the setup and stuff—we’re still working on that a little bit, but I think we’re really close and just nit-picking now.
Heading into ’16, expectations weren’t really too high, because of your absence over the last couple of years, but how would you rate your season so far in comparison to your own expectations?
You can’t really rate my season. I’m out here doing the best I can right now and trying to get better every week. Like you said, I haven’t been doing this pace since 2013.
But, you did it well then. (laughs)
You know, I’m working to get back there—that’s my goal. I want to get back there and I just got to get stronger and I will. I’ve been doing it for so long that I know what I need to do now, I just got to go do it now.
We’re heading back down south now for San Diego 2 next weekend. I’m sure the dirt that was there three weeks ago has not left the building, so there won’t be much of a difference. What do you think of that place?
I think it’s cool with it being downtown. It’s a little stadium so it makes for tight racing. I think all in all, the dirt gets really hard but loamy, so it’s a little bit different.
Thanks for talking to us, Davi, and good luck next weekend.
No problem, thanks.
