At round three of the 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in Lakewood a couple weekends ago, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC / WPS / KTM’s Blake Baggett got the first 450MX overall win of his career and inserted his name into the conversation for the championship. A lot of the talk in the week off before High Point focused on Blake’s confident post race comments about his competition and if the #4 was premature in conveying that kind of confidence after just one win. Well, one round later and Blake now has his second moto win, his second overall win, and he also now takes the red plate and an eight point lead in the 450MX Championship points with him to Tennessee next weekend.
After recording his second-straight overall win into the record books with a 2-1 performance at the 2017 High Point National, Blake answered questions at the post race press conference. You can read what the still very confident former 250 National Champ had to say below.
Blake, what are your general thoughts on the day, the track, how everything developed?
I mean, the track was good—you know, a new layout. High Point’s always good, maybe a little muddy this morning. They watered it and then with the rain coming in, but the track turned out, shaped up really good for racing. It kind of was the typical High Point. I got decent starts, was able to get the moto win in the first moto and then I just glided it in for second in the second moto and claimed the overall.
Can you talk about how the track developed? Like you said, it started pretty muddy in the morning and then first moto, then obviously pretty rutty in the second.
It was muddy in the morning and just a slop-fest out there. You knew that second practice was going to be better. Thunder Valley was nice and muddy in the morning, but then it turned out good, had lots of ruts to choose, but sometimes when it gets over-muddy, everybody just sticks in that main groove. It started to do that today. There were some other lines, but really the main line was a lot faster.
I know you changed a lot of stuff the first few rounds. Is the evolution continuing, and what areas have you been focused on dialing in?
I mean, just comfort, just trying to get it more comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the faster you go. Just like the rental car you get. You get a hot rod rental car, it handles good, you drive it faster. Basically the same thing, just getting more comfortable with it. I feel like we got it basically where I need it to be to try and get the job done, and now it’s just left on me.
What happened on the start of that second moto? I think you were like fourth and then kind of got shuffled back a little bit. And then, right at the end, you put in like consecutive 1:55s—I think cut it to like eight seconds—and then it kind of went back, so just take me through that too.
I mean, the second turn, the ruts were so deep, it just caught the rut and went into neutral, so I was just a sitting duck out there and it just got ate up fast. I was gonna make a charge for it and try to make a push for it and catch him. Then it went through my mind that I was coming up on the lappers really quick, and you pretty much can’t trust where they’re going to go. So I just called it and decided I was just going to ride it in and get a second and just take that on the day. On the days where I need to go, then send it, but today I felt it was enough to just get it done.
Did you think about it Championship-wise? Like did that enter your head, “I need to back it down a little bit?”
Yeah, I mean, of course. I had like a 1-2 going and I had enough room behind me that I could kind of just slow the pace down a little bit. Was it worth just hanging it out there and having something weird happen or crashing or getting hung up with a lapper and having an injury and then handing the Championship over? It’s not ideal. I took the smarter option. I already had the overall, so I just let him have that one. It is what it is. There’s a lot of races to go.
I think it’s the first time you’ve had the red plate on a 450. Was it a surprise for you to have that at the end of the day?
Not really. I felt good this morning. The track was muddy, rutted. I’ve always been pretty good here. And when I seen him laying on the ground the first lap of the first moto, I kind of figured the day was going to go pretty good as long as I did what I needed to do and just executed the best I could.
How does it feel to have a red plate on there?
It doesn’t really add anything. You know what I mean? It’s just a sticker background. The bottom line is, at the end, you can have that all the way to the last moto and lose the Championship to a tie or one point. It doesn’t even matter what the background color is. It’s just for the fans out there, and the goal is to try and go each weekend and get the most amount of points and win overalls.
Maybe the lapped riders will see you coming a little easier too?
They don’t see blue, I don’t think. The blue flag, they just don’t see it.
Let’s talk about the race between you and Eli Tomac. That second moto, I heard you say up on the podium that you just kind of said, “Okay, I’m gonna settle for second, take the overall on the day.” Do you think—it’s one thing giving up the points—but do you think that that was a big confidence boost in Eli’s mind? Does that help sway momentum his way? Is that something that you’re worried about giving up?
I mean, I don’t want to sound too cocky, but I was down last weekend or two weekends ago in the first turn and made it to third. That’s self-explanatory. If it’s going to go that way, then you’ve got to have confidence and you’ve gotta be a little bit cocky. That’s basically where the sport’s going, and no, I don’t think I gave him any confidence by doing that. At the end of the day, I won the overall and got the points lead.
Everybody leaving Colorado kind of was like, “Oh well, Blake, he normally does good at Colorado,” but obviously coming into Mount Morris, I feel like that’s a track for you as well. There are many races in this Championship that you’ve dominated. Do you feel like these two tracks laid favor to you or does it just happen to be that these two tracks are just where you’re catching traction in this Championship?
Yeah, I think just catching traction. I’ve had some good years and I’ve had some bad years as well. I haven’t put it together every single year at these two tracks, but I feel comfortable right now. The bike is amazing, so now it’s just up to me to try and deliver.
Did you learn anything from your dad on the motorcycle? I know he gave you some riding tips the last couple of weeks back at the ranch.
Yeah, I’ll have to put that on Instagram later, but it’s absolutely just pathetic. He somehow did a handstand over the handlebars going so slow and uphill that… I don’t know. Spring foot pegs or something. It must have kicked him over the bars. (laughs)
Happy Father’s Day, right?
Photos by: Simon Cudby – KTM Images
