Interview by Chase Yocom – Photo by: Hoppenworld
These “Privateer Showcase” interviews presented by Race Tech Suspension at MotoXAddicts tell the stories of the guys in the trenches week in and week out just trying to chase their dream of racing professional Motocross and Supercross. While the riders at the front of the pack get the money, the T.V. time and the glory that goes with it, there’s a huge pack of kids just hoping to become regulars in the main events. We will talk to them and get their stories about trying to break through to that next level with little or no help.
This week’s “Privateer Showcase” is with the 2015 Horizon Award winner Benny Bloss. The Horizon Award is an award given to the top A Class rider at Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Motocross Championship and is usually followed by a nice contract with a top team at the next level. It’s pretty much unheard of to see the Horizon Award winner not scooped up by a top 250 team in the professional ranks. The last five Horizon Awards were won by RJ Hampshire, Matt Bisceglia, Zach Bell, Justin Bogle and Jason Anderson, and all found themselves on factory bikes for their professional debuts. Benny pitted under the CycleTrader.com/Rock River/Yamaha rig at Indiana, but has not been signed for the 2016 season yet. We’re not sure why Benny has not gotten a call from a professional team manager yet, but it might be due to his size and the questions that go with being a big kid on a 250F. Benny is well over 6 feet tall and an all around big kid.
After winning the Open Pro Sport Championship and the Horizon Award at Loretta’s, Benny was supposed to line up at Uandilla, but a practice crash delayed his professional debut until Indiana. At the 2015 Indiana National, Benny showed he was ready for the next level and scored points in both 450MX motos. At the end of the day, the #934 finished with a 17-15 score for 15th overall in his debut. With Benny’s height and the #934 on the Yamaha, it had us all experiencing flashbacks to David Vullimen’s days on the #934 Yamaha. Not only did Benny run the 934, but his flowing style and letting the bike work underneath him was very reminiscent of the Frenchman’s style.
After Benny’s debut was over, MotoXAddicts’ Chase Yocom caught up with him in the pits to talk about his day and his plans for the future. You can hear what Benny had to say in his “Privateer Showcase” interview below.
Benny, congrats on your 2015 Horizon Award at Loretta Lynn’s this year. This was your first-ever professional motocross national, and I believe you went 17-15 for 15th overall. How was your day today in Indiana?
It was good, but it was really hard, way different than anything I’ve ever done. It was good to get out there and learn a lot. Fifteenth overall for my first one, I feel, is pretty good. I’m really happy with it.
You improved from 17th in the first moto to 15th in moto two. Were you pretty nervous heading into the first moto today?
I was definitely a little nervous and riding kind of tight in the first couple of laps. I just tried to get into a flow and ride smooth.
After shaking the nerves off, you looked a lot better in the second moto, but the track was rough. What did you think of your first national track?
The track was gnarly; it was rough. The jumps here are huge, but it’s really, really fun. This is probably my favorite track now. I loved it. It was the best track I’ve ever ridden.
The track seemed to change a lot too. In the morning it was super wet, but the sun came out, dried the track up and, of course, it got gnarly rough. Did you guys make a lot of bike changes to adjust throughout the day?
I didn’t really change my bike at all. I felt like it was pretty good in the first moto. In the second moto, the track was kind of the same. It was a little bit different in how the ruts were formed with hooks in them but pretty much the same bumps. It was still pretty good.
What would you say the biggest differences are when comparing Loretta Lynn’s to a professional national?
Thirty minutes plus two laps with the best riders in the world.
How was your fitness today?
My fitness was pretty good. It could for sure be better, but overall I think it was pretty good.
I know you were expected to make your debut the weekend after Loretta’s at Unadilla, but we heard you crashed and suffered a concussion heading into ‘Dilla. What happened there?
Yeah, I hit my head. I had a little practice crash and hit my head. I took a week off, but I’ve been training for the past two weeks to get ready. I decided to skip Utah and make my debut in Indiana.
I’m standing next to you, and you are towering over me, so you’re obviously a tall guy. Is your height why you’ve chosen to debut on the 450 rather than on the 250?
Yeah, I’m a little bit of a bigger guy, and for the 250 class, you have to have a really fast bike to be able to even come close to competing. I don’t really have a ride yet, so we figured we would just go with the 450. It’s cheaper, it’s better, it’s faster, and I think I ride it better. And, yes, I am taller and heavier. (laughs)
Heading into the 2016 season, do you have anything lined up at all with a team for Monster Energy Supercross?
Right now, I have absolutely no idea. I have nothing lined up, and I haven’t really even talked to anybody.
I know you’ve done the Amateur All-Star class at the Monster Energy Cup and had some success. Are you looking forward to racing Monster Energy Supercross in the future?
I’m very much looking forward to Supercross. I really like it. It’s fun, and I love to jump. Obviously there are a lot of jumps in Supercross. I only raced Monster Cup one year, and I ended up 3rd. I felt like that was pretty good for my only time there.
Do you think you will be racing a 450 or 250 when you line up for Supercross in ’16?
It doesn’t really matter to me, but I’ll definitely be on a 250 for Supercross and probably outdoors too.
Alright, well, thank you for your time, Benny, and congrats on the solid debut today.
Thank you.
