JUSTIN BRAYTON: INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

On Dec 15, 2015 Last updated Jul 30, 2016

BTO Sports KTM rider Justin Brayton had a rough go in 2015. He broke several vertebrae in his back before the Supercross series started. Then in Anaheim 2 heat crash he broke his collarbone and injured his shoulder. He missed eight rounds. Following a decent outdoor campaign, highlighted by an eighth place finish in the second moto at Muddy Creek, Brayton sustained a concussion at Millville. The lingering effects prevented the Iowa native from racing the final two Nationals of the year. It was not the year Justin Brayton or his KTM-supported team expected. However, Brayton rebounded during the offseason in a big way. The 31-year-old was crowned the King of Sofia (Bulgaria), the King of Genova (Italy), and the King of Geneva (Switzerland) for the fourth time in his career. Brayton is now in California making final preparations for his 2016 Supercross campaign. Hear what the veteran had to say about overseas Supercross and the upcoming Supercross season.

By Jim Kimball

Justin, you’ve chosen to do many of the bigger off-season Supercross events around the world and took lots of wins. Smart choice! Thank you. I’ve definitely had a lot of fun, as well as wins this off-season in Europe. The biggest thing for me was to keep racing after everything ended here in the States, especially as it’s my second year on the KTM. We have it pretty well dialed, and I don’t really have any significant testing to do. There’s no better environment than being at an actual race to gain further experience and momentum. There is still some time to fine-tune things before Anaheim 1. Plus, I have always liked to travel and experience all the different cultures in Europe.

There seem to be two mindsets when it comes to racing off-season Supercross events. Some believe they should continue to race, while others don’t want to take the chance on getting injured before the start of the Supercross series. Obviously you’re part of the former group. Yes. I can definitely see both ways of thinking. I have been on teams where they don’t really like you racing off-season events. I get it and can understand that attitude, but I don’t ever really like to think about worse-case scenarios. I like to think best-case scenarios, and that is exactly what happened these past few months. I got a lot of wins. As a result, BTO KTM received a lot of exposure and media attention. Along with that, I had a lot of seat time and saw a lot of gate drops. The racing has helped me both physically and mentally, as I have stayed sharp. It has been a win-win for everyone. You can get hurt at a test track, and really every time you are on a bike. I feel that actually there is more potential at a test track to crash and get hurt. During a race you are really focused, while often at a test track doing lap after lap it can get monotonous and you can lose focus. I am at my best when I am racing, rather than just riding, and putting in laps.

Is overseas travel hard on you? To be honest, I was a little scared at first about traveling to Bulgaria. It’s in Eastern Europe, and you sometimes hear bad things about that part of the world. In hindsight it was such an awesome place. The city of Sofia was very cool, and the track was awesome. After the race I ended up staying the week in Italy with Brian Hsu, and we rode Supercross every day. I got used to the time change and got onto the schedule over there pretty quickly, which really helped me. I caught a cold, but it wasn’t that bad. I was able to ride through it. Recently I left my home in North Carolina and came out to California. I dragged my wife and daughter, who is 18 months now, with me to California. The transition has gone pretty well. I think I will have a little traveler when my daughter grows up.

You’re originally from Iowa, moved to California, and then ended up in North Carolina when you raced for Joe Gibbs Racing. Now you’re back in California. Where do you call home? North Carolina is now my home, except for the three months that we may spend in California. Before that I had never been to North Carolina in my life. My wife is from North Carolina, and she has a lot of family there. It’s especially nice living there now that we have a daughter. Also, there is a great facility at ClubMX that I ride and train at. The travel from North Carolina is really nice, especially after the Supercross series starts moving eastward. It’s really good for the outdoor Nationals, too. There are three or four races that I can get home Saturday night and sleep in my own bed. Charlotte also somewhat reminds of where I grew up in Iowa, except for the cold winters.

“A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE THEN WITH THE BIKES, BUT THE ONE CONSTANT THEME HAS BEEN KTM’S DRIVE TO SUCCEED AND WIN. THEY MAY HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING A BIT FINANCIALLY BACK THEN, BUT AS A RIDER YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN IT. THEY DID EVERYTHING THAT THEY COULD TO HELP ME SUCCEED, AND THAT’S THE WAY THEY ARE TODAY.”

How close is your BTO Sports KTM race bike to what Ryan Dungey races on? My bike is built at KTM Factory Services where the bikes of Dungey, Dean Wilson, and Marvin Musquin’s are also built. The BTO race shop is essentially across from the KTM race shop. If we need anything then we can just cross the street. The guys there are awesome to work with, and honestly I could not ask for anything better. It’s pretty cool, because I can ride with any number of guys like Jessy Nelson and Dean Wilson at the KTM test track. I probably ride with the Troy Lee Designs guys the most. They are younger and all ride with a lot of aggression, so it keeps me on my toes. Everyone is riding very well, and I hope that both the KTM 250 and 450 guys have a great year.

You raced for KTM in 2008-’09. How has KTM changed since then? I raced for the MDK KTM team some years ago. A lot has changed since then with the bikes, but the one constant theme has been KTM’s drive to succeed and win. They may have been struggling a bit financially back then, but as a rider you would have never known it. They did everything that they could to help me succeed, and that’s the way they are today. I believe they now have the best bikes on the track, especially with Dungey winning both 450 championships, and Musquin winning a 250 Supercross championship. Right now they have all the right people and the best bikes. You can see where they are. I’m definitely excited to be here right now, especially after coming off a rough 2015 with a lot of injuries. I’m ready to be back up front and show everyone why they hired me.

Talk about your 2015 season. I would say that 2015 was probably my most difficult year with injuries. I got hurt two weeks before Supercross started when I crashed at the test track and broke two vertebrae. I didn’t want to miss the series opener, so I raced. Then at Anaheim 2 I crashed, broke my collarbone, and messed up my AC joint in my shoulder. I tried coming back from that, but then caught the flu and was throwing up for a week or two. It took me a long time to recover. Finally I did come back to racing, but I struggled. I don’t really have any excuses. I put lots of effort into getting ready for 2015, but I could never really get going. I truly feel like I did everything right, but it just wasn’t my year. Coming into the 2016 season I feel great and I am really looking forward to Supercross. I’m going to remember my 2015 season, but at the same time try to forget it!

What’s going through your mind as the 2016 Supercross series is only a few weeks away? My only real thought is that I have to be myself. I have to get good starts, ride near the front, and win some races. For many years I have always said I need to be a top-five guy, and every time I have said that I have done that. There is nothing more that I want to do than win a race this year, and every time that I line up to the gate that is what I will try to do. If it happens once that is awesome. If it happens five times then it’s even better! That is my goal. I think that I am going to surprise some people.

Every new season people talk about how stacked the 450 class is. Is the 2016 Supercross series the most stacked field ever? It’s funny, because every year people say that, but this year I really believe it. The 250 kids keep coming up, and the old guys keep getting better. You have the older guys like myself, Chad Reed and Andrew Short. We want to win races, and the new kids also want to win races. I think it’s an awesome time to be a part of Supercross. I am excited to get out there.