There are a very few riders in this sport that can call themselves champions at any point of their careers, and the majority of them are guys that light the world on fire straight out of the amateurs. Then, there are a small minority of racers that don’t light the world of fire, but consistently fight until reaching that ultimate goal. Broc Tickle is in that minority. Broc entered the AMA Professional Supercross and Motocross scene back in 2006 after a fairly well accomplished amateur career and has been fighting ever since to reach that goal. In 2011, Broc pulled it off.

 broc Tickle  - broken jaw
In 2008, Broc broke his jaw at Anaheim 1 during press day, but notice, even with his jaw wired shut, he has his gear on in this pic. He may have been eating through a straw, but he could still pound out motos. Photo by Jeremy "T-Bone" Winchester

After three  full years as a pro, Broc got his first professional win at the Seattle Supercross in 2010 and was signed to race for the most successful Lites team in the pits for 2011. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team has been the most dominating team in the sport since it’s inception twenty years ago, and Broc added a #1 plate to their already gigantic collection by winning the 2011 Lites West Region AMA Supercross Championship. Since then, though,  the series has moved on to the Lucas Oil Motocross Championship, and Broc has struggled to get the #20 back up on the box where he knows it belongs.

With five rounds of the Outdoor Nationals in the books, Broc sits seventh in the points. A fourth in the second moto at High Point and a third in Moto 1 at Budds Creek, though, showed he is just a few good starts away from challenging for wins. We gave Broc a call this week to talk about his first title, what it meant to him and his outlook for the 2011 Outdoors Nationals. Here’s what the 2011 Supercrosss Champ had to say:

We forgot to ask Broc about thanking his dog on the podium, but we couldn't resist showing Edward, the most famous dog in moto. Photo by Jeremy "T-Bone" Winchester


Start out with the good stuff: what a Supercross year, man! What was that like–winning your first title?

Honestly, I can’t even believe it! I never would have thought a couple years ago that I ever would have won a title, but it’s always been a goal of mine, so it’s definitely been a dream come true, for sure.

You say you never thought you would, but when you signed with Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, did you begin to feel you were a lot closer to your dream at that point?

Oh, yeah! I knew I had to make a step to be able to achieve that goal. As soon as I got the offer, I took it, and it went from there.

Yeah, you deserved it. You didn’t really light the world on fire straight out of the amateurs, but you’ve always been right there and always look like you’re working your butt off. I remember your first win in Seattle, and the crowd was super-pumped that night for you.

That race was awesome! That race definitely meant a lot to me. Everything that’s happened the last two years has been really good.

San Fran 2010 wasn’t your first podium was it? Are there a couple that I’m forgetting?

No, I got on the podium in 2009 at Toronto, and I almost got a second place at Jacksonville, but I crashed. I ended up sixth, but with three laps to go I was running third, passing for second, and Izzi and I came together and took each other out.

Well, let’s move on to 2011. What was that final race in Vegas like? Watching was intense–I should capitalize intense–but what was it like to race with all that on the line?

It was crazy. Tomac and I didn’t get that good of a start, and we just kind of stayed the same. I was thinking, “Dude, I’m not going to get it,” because I had to beat him and he had to beat me. Whoever beat the other person won, so it was pretty hectic. I knew he was the guy I had to pass, and he was right in front of me. It didn’t start too good; I wasn’t pulling up on him. He was inching away from me, but as soon as lap ten came around, I started thinking, “I could still do this.” Then, all of the sudden between lap ten and lap fourteen, a lot of shit happened. I somehow weaselled my way by Cunningham and Seely. I actually passed Tomac because he ran me wide before the triple and I jumped it still. He only made the double, and that’s when I made the pass. That was pretty much the changing point in the race. It was lap thirteen, and on lap fourteen, I passed Seely in the whoops and I passed Cunningham on the next straightaway. It all happened pretty fast.

Broc Tickle - Budds Creek National - 2011 - Lucas Oil ama motocross championship
Photo by Brian Robinette

Yeah, like you, I thought it was Tomac’s title for the first three quarters of the race. Then, everything got really chaotic, and it just looked like a war zone.

Yeah, when I watched myself on T.V., it looked like I wasn’t even worried about anything and just riding my own race. I honestly felt that way, too. I wasn’t worried about what Seely was doing. I wasn’t worried about what Cunningham was doing. I wasn’t worried about what Tomac was doing. I was just doing my own thing, and I ended up pulling through–ended up winning it in the last two laps.

In a year filled with great races, it was definitely one of the best races of the year. How much did you have to hear about the fact the Seely and Cunningham are your friends and they possibly helped you win the title?

You know, I’m pretty good friends with both of them, and from what the internet says, we had that planned. I don’t know how you plan stuff like that. I mean, they’re my good friends, and I like both of them. Obviously, whenever you don’t win something and you’re the one that lost out on something, you’re going to find an excuse somewhere along the way. That’s the way I looked at it. I felt bad for Seely, though. Did you read some of the stuff they were saying about Seely? He got it bad. There were tweets and comments that were pretty bad on Seely. Cunningham got some, too. Honestly, I look at it like we were all racing. It wasn’t like we were moving out of each others’ way for anybody.

Yeah I read a lot of those comments. There was a lot going on in that group. First, there’s you two going for the title; Seely wants a win; and you know Cunningham wanted his first podium if there was any possibility of getting one.

Yeah, you could look at it this way. Seely was doing good before. He won Seattle and got fourth at Salt Lake. He was going for another podium or win, because he was actually winning and crashed. Cunningham–like you said–was going for his first podium. And Tomac and I were going for the Championship. It was just hectic; nobody wanted to let anybody around them.

Broc Tickle - Budds Creek National - 2011 ama Motocross
Photo by Brian Robinette

Hectic is an understatement really. With all that was going on–and all that was on the line–it made for incredible, edge-of-the-seat drama. Either one of you could have melted down at any time.

Yeah! Anything could have happened. I mean, the track was kind of sketchy, to be honest with you. It was really, really slippery. It was just kind of like, “Don’t make a mistake, and just do it.” There was so much going on. I’m sure everyone that was there for me was probably having a heart attack.

Well, they were all okay with the outcome, I’m sure. (Laughs) So, you win the title, and now it’s time to head outdoors. After the first five rounds, how would you say it’s going?

Uhhhh… not good! The thing is that I know it can be a lot better, and I know what I need to work on. It’s almost like a re-motivation now. In the first two races, it was like I had just won a Championship and was just starting to think about getting ready for outdoors. I wasn’t honestly ready when we went to Hangtown because I was so focused on winning the Championship. I think I kind of dropped my attention off the outdoors. I was behind the eight ball. It was kind of hard to get regrouped for it. But now, I’m finally regrouped after this weekend. I did have some problems in the second moto: I ended up hitting somebody and put a hole in my radiator, and I haven’t had that good of starts. So there are  a couple things I can work on, and I don’t want to be the last guy on my team. I think that kind of motivates me because I’ve kind of been the guy lingering on the team in like the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth area. I want to be one of the guys doing better on the team.

That’s one heck of an outdoor team you have in that semi this year.

It’s crazy to see that because I was pretty much the best guy on Star–or at least the most consistent. It’s weird now to go to Outdoors and–I don’t want to say the worst–but not be doing as good as the others are.

Broc Tickle - Budds Creek National - 2011 - Lucas Oil ama motocross championship
Photo by Brian Robinette

Well, you are the only 2011 Supercross Champ in the rig this year, but right now as good as your team is riding outdoors, you’re either winning, or you’re not doing as good as they are.

Honestly, my goal for outdoors right now is to get a podium overall. I haven’t even gotten a podium overall yet. I’d like to get a moto win. I know if I can put everything together I can do it; it’s just that I gotta put those pieces back together. I need to feel like I did at Anaheim 1. Anaheim 1 and Phoenix were really good, and I felt like I was unstoppable. Even though I got second at both races, I felt good. I got four holeshots–the first two heat races and the first two mains. You can’t really go wrong with that. So I kind of need to get back into that, and I feel like I’m going in that direction. I’m doing all I can to go that way, so hopefully this weekend, I can put in a podium overall then get on the break and come back and stay in that area.

Well, at Budds Creek, I think you showed what you can do with a good start in that first moto. You started up front and finished on the box for the moto in third. Did the pace feel comfortable?

Oh, yeah, for sure! I don’t know; it felt easy to me to get a start and run that pace. In the beginning, I felt like I should just podium. I hadn’t gotten a podium moto finish this year. It was good to get the start and see what the pace was at. I hung in there until the last couple of laps and then dropped off the pace. All I wanted to do was get the podium in the first moto and regroup for the second moto, but it didn’t go the way I wanted it to obviously. (Laughs)

Didn’t you end up eighth in the second moto?

I think I actually got ninth. I got a seventeenth or eighteenth place start, passed eight or nine guys, and then I fell down with Lance Vincent, and that group of guys went back by. So I had to work my way back by those guys, which took me the rest of the moto.

Your career path and Weimer’s draw a lot of parallels. Watching you this year reminded me of some things he said last year about his struggles in the 2010 outdoors after winning his first SX Championship. Don’t quote me, but he basically said that his lifelong goal was the SX championship, and once he won it, he was on top of the world and had a hard time being motivated immediately for outdoors. His struggles in 2010 look similar to yours now.

Yeah, I can see exactly why he did what I’m doing this year, last year. I obviously don’t want to do that, and I figured winning the Championship would help me, but it kind of drew my attention off the outdoors. Like you said, you feel on top of the world, then all of the sudden, you have to go back and race when you weren’t ready in the first place. I feel like if I wouldn’t have had the couple DNF’s–one last week and one in Texas–I would be right in there where Barcia is–right at fifth with plenty of time to turn it around.

Now’s a good time with your favorite track in your home state of Michigan coming up. Can I get a Reddd Buddd?! (Laughs)

dean Wilson - broc Tickle - Budds Creek National - 2011 - Lucas Oil ama motocross championship
Photo by Brian Robinette

(Laughs) Yeah, I’m excited about that. It would be cool to do it in front of family and all the fans. Everything on the East Coast just seems cool. Even at Budds Creek, I had a lot of people I used to race there, and it pumps you up and gets you going for the day.

Nice! So for now it sounds like your goals are to crawl before you walk and just shoot for an overall podium, and then from there, you’ll worry about wins.

Yeah, exactly! I want to make us as a team go 1-2-3-4, but with me on the podium. Mitch told us if we can do that, we can all get a bonus, so I’m the one kind of holding that back right now. But hopefully we can get that done. It’s not out of reach to do that every week.

I won’t be surprised, and I doubt Mitch will if he has to pay that bonus out. (Laughs) Are you on a one- or two-year deal with Pro Circuit?

I have a two-year deal.

Nice! So, maybe a West Coast title defense?

Yeah, I think so–unless that changes at the last second, ’cause Mitch likes to keep everyone questionable until Anaheim 1.

 

broc tickle - 2011 - supercross champion
Photo by Brian Robinette

Well, good luck the rest of the way in 2011. I have a feeling that you will become a huge factor in the outdoors before this thing is over. Thanks for chatting with us.

Yeah, no problem!

Author

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