Photos by: Justin Westhead
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 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 guys just hoping to become regulars in the big show. 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” interview is with Traders Racing / Kawasaki’s Anthony Rodriguez. Landing in America from Venezuela at just thirteen years-old, Anthony—with help from Colleen Millsaps and MTF [Millsaps Training Facilty]—put his head down and worked up to being one of the most highly-touted amateurs in the country. In a foreign land away from family and friends, the Venezuelan became a Loretta Lynn’s Champion against the best America had to offer, and factory Yamaha signed him to debut in Monster Energy Supercross and the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with the Star Racing squad.
Like so many young prodigies before him, Anthony’s first two years in the pros were hampered by bad luck and injuries and, with that, mediocre results. On the top 250 teams, you get one, maybe two years to get podiums, wins or championships, and with none of the above accomplished, Anthony was on the outside looking in after 2015.
While preparing to go the full on privateer route and time winding down before the Monster Energy Supercross season, the national #48 got a call from Traders Racing and was offered a Kawasaki for the 2016 season. Anthony jumped on the opportunity to rebuild himself with a good bike and has run with it. Anthony got off to a slow start, but in the last two rounds, he has put himself solidly inside the top ten and is on the cusp of breaking back into the top five. With that, he is tied with Matt Bisceglia for the top privateer and for tenth overall in the Championship. It’s not where a kid who traveled all the way from Venezuela to race wants to be, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.
After Anthony’s impressive sixth at the St. Louis SX, we decided to do a proper “Privateer Showcase” interview with him to get to know him a bit better.
Anthony, you said you were riding and training earlier. Where are you living and training now?
I’m in Cairo, Georgia at MTF. I’ve been here for six years, since 2009.
When you first moved here from Venezuela, you moved right to MTF [Millsaps Training Facility] in Cairo, correct?
Yeah, it was hard for my family to get a house and a place to live at so they found this place with the help of some friends. They talked to Colleen [Millsaps] and the only way they could leave me here is if they continued to work at home. They couldn’t get a job here because they couldn’t speak any English. This was pretty much the only place a thirteen year-old could stay by himself. Thanks to Colleen, I am where I’m at.
Where exactly are you from in Venezuela?
It’s a city called Los Teques. It’s pretty close to Caracas in Venezuela.
How did you get into moto as a kid? I mean, Venezuela obviously isn’t exactly the hot bed for producing top motocross talent.
Well, my dad used to race street bikes. He got a few top three’s in the Venezuela Championships. Then, he started racing Enduro and he got a few National Championships, so pretty much since I was in my mom’s stomach I’ve been into dirt bikes. Yeah, when I turned four years-old, I got my first dirt bike, and it was love at first sight.
What’s the racing scene like in Venezuela?
Man, I have no idea how myself, coming from there, got here. My dad built a track at home, and he did the first round of the Jr. Championships and, I believe, under fifty riders showed up from classes from 50cc to 125cc. So you can imagine how small it is. The tracks are pretty small as well. It’s probably one of the smallest motocross industries in the world.
At what point did your dad see you had something special, and how did he get you to that next level in such a small scene?
See my dad used to take me training three days a week. I would always do thirty-minute motos and at least two or three a day. He would always go out there with the pit board and push me. Another thing that got me to the level I am is, we never repeated a year in a class. I went from 50’s to 60’s, always rushing it through. I was really never a top guy. I was always trying to catch other people. Every time I was moving up in a class—pretty much every year—I was like seven years-old competing with nine year-olds that were faster than me, and that’s what got me to where I am.
How old were you when your dad decided to take you out of the country to really push you? When did you start chasing Loretta Lynn’s titles here?
Yeah, finally at the age of thirteen, my dad decided to make the full on move to the US and try to make a living at this. In 2009, I went to Loretta’s, but I broke my knee and did not perform really well. The year after that I got eighth, but I was coming out of the surgery from my knee. The year after that I got a second in the Schoolboy 2 class. Then the next year—in 2012—I won the 450B class, and in 250B class I won the first moto and got a flat tire in the second moto. I got a third in the third moto.
That’s when I started hearing about you and seeing your name near the front of the results a lot. You win the 250B class at Loretta’s, and you are officially on the map.
Yeah, it was stacked that year too—Cooper Webb, Shane McElrath, Colt Nichols and Matt Bisceglia as well.
Fast forward to 2016 now. You graduated to the pros in 2014 with a Factory Yamaha deal with Star Racing, but that deal ended at the end of 2015 and now you’re with the privateer Kawasaki effort over at Traders Racing. Can you talk about the first two years with Star and how that came to an end?
Those two years were full of injuries. I have to say most of those were not my fault, but Star was having the best guys—guys winning Championships in motocross and Supercross—and they weren’t willing to deal with that. They really didn’t show much interest in me even though I finished sixth in the [250SX East] Championship just a point away from fifth. I’m really happy where I’m at now, though. There were nice people there and there were some that were not so nice. Overall, it wasn’t the worst or the best experience either.
How did you hook up with the guys from Traders Racing? .
I was going to go for Supercross as a complete privateer, but I wasn’t too sure I was going to have what I needed to race the whole season when it came to the money side. I didn’t know if I was going to have the best equipment out there. I met Gary [Luckett]—the team owner at Traders Racing—at Mini O’s and I explained to him what I was planning on doing. Two weeks later, I got an email that they were interested in me and they wanted to talk to me about it. That was almost like winning the lottery, because I was really stressed about doing the whole deal by myself. I didn’t have the help of a parent here to book my flights or hotels. I didn’t have a mechanic or anything, so I was pretty lost to be honest.
Let’s talk about this year. You come into 2016 with a new bike, new team and looking to prove you’re still a guy that should be near the front. You started out slow, but over the last three rounds you’ve gone 11-7-6. How are you feeling about the year so far?
It’s going well. I’ve had to deal with some adversity. I had to go back to Venezuela and renew my visa, and when I came home to MTF—I call MTF home now—I didn’t have a bike to ride. I went three weeks without a bike, so I went and bought my own bike, got my suspension done and rode my personal bike for about a week. Then I got the call from Traders and got the Kawasaki, but I only had three weeks to get used to it, the suspension and stuff, before the first round. It’s going well, and I knew I still had the speed in me and my fitness is still there, but you need a little bit of confidence to go with that. Unfortunately, the week before Atlanta I crashed in the whoops. The bike landed on my arm and I got second degree—almost third degree—burns. It was on the throttle side, I was getting arm pump and I couldn’t really close my hand. I feel like a lot of riders wouldn’t have raced the first round, but I wanted to get some points, and I got one point. (laughs) In the second race, with just three more days of training, I got a thirteenth. It’s going good; I’m coming back. It wasn’t good like a fifth place from last year, but I still knew what I was able to do. Unfortunately, at the third round I didn’t have any rear brakes from lap one of the main event, so I got fourteenth. Then I got the eleventh, and I knew, man, that race was terrible. That was one of my worst races and on one side it was good.
Yeah, that’s a confidence booster to know when you feel you rode bad, you still almost get a top ten.
Yeah, correct. And then the next weekend, I got seventh, and this weekend, I got a sixth—and to be honest, I was not happy with that race at all. My speed on the first few laps was not as fast as it needs to be. I’m still getting used to this bike and some people might say, “He’s been on it for a month now, he should be used to it.” It’s just hard, because I’ve been on a Yamaha since 2009. The Kawasaki is an amazing bike and I love it, but it’s different. I’m pretty close to being used to it, and finally me and the team have a good setup. We were running behind, but now everything aligned.
What do you think your ceiling in Supercross is if you have a perfect day?
If I get a good start and ride 100% the way I know how to ride, I think I have the speed and endurance for a podium. But man, I know that’s going to be hard because the guys that are winning and getting podiums, all those guys are super strong right now. Kudos to those guys, because they are killing it. I think I can get a few top fives before the end of the season because I’m feeling much better.
Nice, are we going to see you outdoors with Traders?
Yeah, we’re going outdoors with Traders. We haven’t done any motocross testing yet, but I do have a set of stock forks and stuff. Today was my first thirty-minute moto, and it felt really good.
Alright, well, thanks for talking with us. Shoot us a list of all the companies helping you out this year.
Traders Kawasaki, Millsaps training facility, Oneal, Bell, Gaerne, Vonzipper, Pro Circuit, Under Armour, DVS, Renthal, Dunlop, Phxtreme, VP, Moto tape and Limited graphics.
