Interview written by Dan Lamb – Conducted by: Chris Cooksey

It was way back in the 2002 – 2003 season that Smartop / MotoConcepts / Honda’s Justin Brayton was given the title “Rookie of the Year” in the Arenacross series, and fifteen years later the #10 is still battling for podiums in the Monster Energy Supercross series. The 33-year-old is also currently the two-time defending SX1 Australian Supercross Champion and will likely be back in 2018 to go for a three-peat Down Under.

So far in the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross season, Brayton is climbing the ladder back to the podium with 7-6-4 finishes over the first three rounds, and he currently sits 6th in the 450SX Championship–just seven points away from 2nd. Justin may be creeping into his mid-30’s, but this is the best we have seen him ride since back in 2014 when he scored five top 5’s and a podium.

After Justin went 2-6-3 for 4th overall at the inaugural “Triple Crown” of SX race at Anaheim 2 on Saturday, MotoXAddicts’ Chris Cooksey caught up with him after the press conference for a little one-on-one talk.

Justin (10) was battling inside the top 5 in every main event. Photo by: Ryne Swanberg / Garth Milan

Justin, I’ll start with the question everybody has been asking tonight: what do you think of the new “Triple Crown” format?

I think it was pretty intense. I listened to the guys on the podium talk about it, and I have to agree with them; I think doing it for all 17 rounds would be a little much. The risk for injury is triple, and the intensity is so high. To bring that for the whole year would be really tough. It’s cool to mix it up and I think it’s great for the fans. As a fan of the sport–if I wasn’t racing–I think it would be awesome to watch ’cause the very first race actually means a lot. Points are on the line. I think they’ve done it right this time with doing three of them. It kind of mixes it up for us and allows the fans to see us in a different way. I mean, the first main event was crazy. It was just all in. I heard a lot of people talking about how all of them were going to be a sprint. Really not true. The last one was just about 20 laps. The first one I would say… I don’t want to say it’s dangerous, but it’s borderline a little much.

 

Just too many guys going too fast too quick?

That and the track is so fresh, especially on a track like tonight where the top 15 guys are within a second. There’s nothing to separate the elite. There’s always a group–whether it’s five, six or seven guys–if the track’s technical, you separate yourself from the next group. There was just no doing that with the top 15 guys so close. To put us out there when we are so close, on a fairly simple track that’s fully prepped, is pretty gnarly. Like I said, as a fan, I think it would be sweet. (laughs)

Justin (10) ran second behind Cole Seely (14) wire-to-wire in main event 1. Photo by: Doc Weedon

It was fun to watch. How is it having Tony Berlutti [Justin’s Mechanic] back in?

Berlute’s awesome! I had never met him before the team hired him. I had talked to Mike Genova [team owner] about him several times, and it’s an awesome decision. I was in Australia when it all kind of happened and I’m thankful. He’s a methodical guy, but will get on me when he needs to. I really like that. He’s a guy I really have a lot of respect for, because he’s done so much in the sport. When he speaks, I listen. It’s cool. It’s a cool friend to be going to the line with me. I feel like he’s the last guy I talk to and the last guy before I go to battle. That’s been great. We’re really enjoying each other’s company. And really the whole vibe of everyone on the team right now, it’s something special. With me being on several teams and being around a while, that’s really hard to come by: with a team gelling, the bike being so good, my mind set, having my family. Just everything right now for me is really clicking. I’m trying to take advantage of it.

 

Did you feel fresh coming into the season with your schedule where you took the summer off and started racing off season races?

I think the biggest thing is I’m mentally fresh for sure. It’s what I want to do. I want to do SX. I want to be here. I feel like I can compete at the highest level. To race twelve months out of the year, I think you’re giving up a lot on the table. With you getting injured more, it’s hard to bring your very best game for twelve months. For me and having a family, it’s a decision I made a couple of years ago, and I’m happy that I made that decision. I don’t think many people maybe have the confidence or had the opportunity to do that. It was just something I wanted to do and I’m really thankful for it now. I have SX in Australia as kind of a little bit of a warm up, but also just being in full race mode when Anaheim comes around, ’cause a lot of people take a while to get going. You don’t really know where you fit in. A lot of it too is the bike and having it under race conditions. You can ride a million laps around the test track and show up at Anaheim 1 and miss it by a mile. And I’ve done that before. For me, knowing my bike so well in race conditions, I think it’s a huge part of it.

With full Honda support behind him at Smartop / Motoconcepts and a lot of time on the new bike, Justin is super comfortable in ’18. Photo by: Doc Weedon

There was that little elevated hip turn with the tough block on the inside of it. It seemed like every race that tough block got knocked into the race line. Did you notice that one?

Yeah, I actually hit the tough block in the second main event I think. It kind of messed up my main. I had a decent gap on the guys behind me, and once I did that it bottled us back up. Then I was starting to protect my lines. I was in the clutches of that group from 3rd to 7th, and I got passed a couple of times. I was just a little bit out of my rhythm. Yeah, I don’t think that section played out like the track crew wanted it to. I wish in that scenario, when you see in first practices that when everyone is just going inside, inside, inside, you just know it’s going to be a goat trail [one-lined]. I wish we could mix it up or bring the outsides into play where you can actually go outside and do something different. But yeah, I had a couple altercations with the tough blocks there.

 

Yeah, you and everyone else. I appreciate the time.

Yeah, cool. Thanks!

 

Author

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