It would be easy to write 2012 250 MX National Champion Blake Baggett off as an outdoor motocross specialist. Renowned for his prowess on natural terrain racetracks, Baggett is feared on the National tracks for both his “everything must go” come from behind charges and his on-bike and on-track ferocity. The truth of the matter is, however, that Blake Baggett is also a damn fine supercross rider. That fact may be lost on fans and industry insiders the world over as bad luck, crashes, first-turn pileups and, gasp, one injury after another have all conspired to wreak havoc on the Californian’s stadium motocross career. But Baggett can win in the football and baseball stadiums of this nation and he’s proved that via a multitude of podium finishes – including three main event wins – during the past four years. (2013 can’t even really be counted as a first turn yard sale at Anaheim 1 promptly put him on the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki injured reserve list for the entire season). For Baggett it was full speed ahead in testing and training for the 2014 West Region Supercross Series, but a wicked foot injury suffered in a practice shunt ran his freight train right off the rails. (Baggett: “Out of four bones I broke in my foot I had nine breaks. I also busted my heel all the way through. It was one of those freak things. It bummed me out, but we were able to regroup and look to Dallas.”) Once again Blake was, understandably, put in a deep blue deep freeze funk. Baggett didn’t give up. And after seeing a few doctors – and after he shook off the disappointment – he remained in shape, Mitch Payton built him and excellent 2014 KX250F and the calendar gods were able to buy him some time to where, as of the last week, he’s been on the bike and hurriedly been logging in as many practice laps as possible. And so now Blake Baggett is ready as can be expected. Tomorrow he’ll board a jumbo jet to which will deliver him to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, site of the opening round of the East Region SX Series. This evening, Monster spoke with Baggett.
Blake, it’s Tuesday and the East Region Series opener is but four days away. Were you able to ride today and are you all set to get things rolling?
Yeah, I did little bit of riding today to just get back in the swing of things, basically. With my injury I got released to ride two weeks ago so I’ve got a total of, I don’t know, maybe like seven days on the bike. I’m just getting into the swing of things and trying to get up to speed and basically just trying to be as prepared as possible.
How is your fitness?
My fitness feels pretty good. I tried to stay in as best shape as I could when I was hurt, but it was pretty tough considering you can’t do much walking. I’ve been off my foot for quite a few weeks. I started walking on it around five weeks ago and I rode at week six. I’m cutting it a little bit short but I’m definitely feeling good. I’m just trying to get lots of laps logged. Maybe they’re not the fastest laps, but I’m just trying to get laps logged because that way I can feel a little more comfortable. As you ride things end to slow down and not happen as fast and you can kind of get in your groove and start pushing the limits a little bit.
I’m going to be presumptuous here and assume the broken foot really bummed you out. I mean you’ve really been pegged with injuries during the past years. However, and I guess staying on the optimistic side of things here, you were still able to get ready for Dallas and the opening round of the East Region series, huh?
Yeah, yeah. Exactly. It was one of those things where I was just starting to get back on the bike. I took quite a bit of time off after the outdoors to let my writ heal up a little bit because it was just so sore after abusing it through all 12 outdoor races. I took some time off and I was starting to feel comfortable on the bike again and I was getting into the supercross groove as I was out all last year (Note: Baggett was injured in a first turn pileup at Anaheim 1) and then I had one of those freak accidents to bust a foot. It bummed me out, but it was like, “Okay, we’ll still have enough time. If I can still get on the bike in six weeks, we’ll have a little bit of time on the bike and we’ll go to Dallas.” So that’s basically the plan that we’re running with.
I spoke with Mitch Payton and Zach White and the rest of the Pro Circuit crew at last Saturday’s San Diego race and they were saying, despite the lack of serious seat time, that you really looked loose, smooth and confident on the bike. In fact Zach said he’s never seen you ride supercross better.
I was feeling pretty good on the bike and running right with those guys before I broke my foot. But a little bit of time off has basically allowed for a regroup. I regrouped and, yeah, I would have to say that I probably feel the best I ever have on the supercross track, even with only seven days on the bike. I’m excited to go racing. I wish I could have had a little bit more time on the bike, but I’m really happy with where we are at with the bike and how I feel. Every day I get a little bit more confident in just the riding aspect of it. I don’t think we should have any problems going to Dallas here. I fly out on Wednesday and we’ll have a little press day on Thursday and we’ll see what we got on Saturday.
Dallas has been good to you. You won your first professional race there in 2010, right?
Yeah, in 2010 I won my first race there. I had a pretty rough night (laughter). I had to go to the LCQ and stuff, but I ended up pulling it out. I got my first win there and then I was just kind of on a high from there. I ended up going to the next race at Houston and got second. It’s definitely time to go back to Dallas where we can expect a big set of whoops and the track to be hardpacked for the main. It’s a great venue and I like going there and we’ll see what we can do again.
I went back and looked at all of your supercross results and you’ve actually done really well in your short-lived career. You have wins and podiums all over the place. If not for bad luck and injuries you very well could have had a shot at a title. To that end, can this year be your year in SX?
Yeah, exactly. Quite a few people have written me off on the supercross side of things. It’s just the way things go. It’s just the way my cards were dealt, you know? I definitely need to turn in a solid supercross season to try and turn things around in some people’s eyes. But you know riding a motorcycle is riding a motorcycle. If I can do it outdoors, I can do it indoors. It’s still riding on dirt. I’ve done it before so there’s no reason why I can’t do it again. I just need to get through the first few rounds and just stay put of chaos. 2013 and 2012 I was in first turn pileups and pretty much DNFed both of those races. Things just didn’t start off too good the past two years. So the plan is to get through the first few rounds and just try to be on the podium and stay out of the carnage because everybody gets a little gung-ho on things and gets a little crazy and I tend to be the bottom of it.
Well, you certainly know how to win. You’re a former National Champion. You’ve won supercross main events. You even won the ’13 Budds Creek National with a torn up wrist. Knowing you can win has to make a huge difference…
Yeah, exactly. And that’s kind of the thought I put into my own head: I’ve done it before; I know how to win; I know how to get it done – even on the bad days. If stuff isn’t going right, I’ve been able to get it done. It’s basically a mindset and just putting it together again. Once you get the ball rolling, it’s pretty easy to get the momentum going. You have to get it rolling and get it going and prove that you can do it and do it in an outstanding fashion. If you can do that, you tend to build more confidence in yourself and in the guys in the team.
Your gritty, determined rides in the Nationals – quite often starting at the back of the pack – are amazing. You seem to get faster with each given lap – a rarity in MX. Does this approach work for you in supercross?
Supercross is just, well, it’s supercross. It’s kind of hard to explain it. It’s supercross. You have a much shorter period of time to work with. Supercross tracks have a lot less lines and that doesn’t separate the riders as much and you can’t make as much happen because in the outdoors there might be 15 deep ruts in a turn. In supercross, you go to the inside or the outside. You might have to ruts in a bowl turn, but that’s about it. I can definitely say that what I can do in the outdoors, I don’t know if it can be done in supercross. I just want to go out there and basically achieve my ways, I guess you would say. In supercross I just want to get out there and try and get a holeshot and run right off the start. I want to do my sprint laps right off the start and then go from there. That’s my goal this in supercross: To get out and just hammer away right off the bat.
Okay Blake. Can you win this thing?
Yeah, I think I can win it. I definitely believe in myself and that I can win it. I’ve got the talent and the skill and I’ve got the determination and the heart to dig deep into it. Now it’s just about putting all my little pieces together. And you always have a little bit of luck. I don’t like to say luck, but it’s nice when things go right and you just think they work.
Would winning a supercross title be as important to you as winning a National Championship?
Yeah, I definitely think it would. It would definitely be as important, and if I look at it right now, it would probably be more important. Just because a lot of people set their sights on supercross. I’m trying to get a supercross win this year and then we’ll go from there. But right now, our sights are definitely set on supercross.