PIERCE BROWN INTERVIEW: THE POSSIBILITY OF SWITCHING TEAMS FOR 2025

 Landing in at eighth overall in the 250 Motocross championships was Utah native Pierce Brown. It could have been seventh except for a second Moto crash and subsequent DNF. But in Supermotocross he is seventh in points. and Supercross is more of Brown’s forte than motocross. I can still recall seeing Brown at his debut pro race in Florida back when his jersey read number “363”. And through the years have truly been expecting him to become a breakout championship contender – which I still do. Now, with a rumored team change leaving TLD after five seasons, maybe his new surroundings ( Monster Energy Star Racing Yamaha is rumored 2025 home) will give him what he needs.

BY JIM M KIMBALL

PIERCE, LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR OUTDOOR SEASON.  IT’S BEEN QUIET, BUT YOU HAVE FINISHED WELL. Yes, I could agree with that. I have had a couple of good rides. The starts have also been getting better as the seasons progress.  In the last couple of weeks, I have been able to be up in the top five range which has been my goal. I was happy with that.  It has just been quiet all summer. But I’m just happy to make all the rounds and progress, and I think that showed. In SMX points, I am in seventh right now.  If you were to tell me at the beginning of the year, I would be stoked to make it to all the rounds, and just be progressing.  I am happy with that.  It has been quiet but decent for sure. 

Pierce Brown finished eighth overall this motocross season.

IT APPEARS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN MORE AGGRESSIVE ON THE TRACK. Thank you. I have been putting in the work. I think we have been able to simplify during the week and work on what we need to so we can show it on the weekends. Now that we are in the ballpark where we want to be, we have just little things here and there that we can improve on. That is what we have been working on, and has been good.

YOU MAY BE ONE OF THE FEW RIDERS THAT IS NOT RIDING WITH A REGULAR BIG GROUP; IS THAT GOOD OR BAD? That is one thing that has been good and bad. Obviously, it has been me and Ryder all year.  We rode with Colt Nichols a little bit during Supercross, but it was mainly just us two out at the track. Then we would ride with KTM boys like Juju Beaumer whenever we could. Being in California it is tougher to have a big group that you train with every day.   It is not so much a signified regimen as Star Yamaha is. It has been good. Lately, it has been a little bit for lack of better words, like “looser” which has helped me. Ryder has been at Bakersfield for a couple of weeks of the outdoors, while I ended up going up to Utah for a week and riding at home. It brought the fun back into it.  Just having the freedom to do what I need to do has been nice and not having to do what everybody else is doing. Later in the year as everybody’s bodies are breaking down, it is hard to make a program that fits everybody, and you must do your own thing occasionally, and Wil Hahn has been good at letting us do that. 

After a few good rounds in Supercross, it seemed Pierce would be a championship contender as they moved into motocross.

HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT SUPERMOTOCROSS PLAYOFFS COMING UP? I do feel like I am a lot better in Supercross than outdoors, and that is where my ability shines. I would like to think that I am a good outdoor guy too, but it’s a lot more work for me. With me being a bigger kid, it is hard to bridge the gap with some of these younger kids who are on good bikes. It has been fun because we have been back on Supercross. We rode Supercross this week and just getting back on it brought the fun back to it. I am excited about SMX. I know, it is probably going to be a lot like last year was and how this whole summer has been, start dependent but I am excited. I think that is where my ability shines.

THE AUSTRIAN BRAND HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS ABOUT TEAM CONSOLIDATION. DOES THAT AFFECT YOUR MINDSET? No, but  I think it is easy to get wrapped in that stuff hearing rumors here and there. I don’t know if anybody knows exactly what the plan is for next year.  They don’t have a set plan.  For me, it does not really affect me. I am just doing my weekend to weekend. I am just having fun.  I think that is the main thing. I have a great team behind me and a good teammate, and we are just doing the work on our own and whatever happens, happens. All that stuff really does not bother me.  

Pierce speaks about the possibility of changing teams for 2025.

IT LIKELY DOESN’T AFFECT YOU, AS I HEAR YOU ARE CHANGING TEAMS. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WERE PRETTY SOUGHT AFTER BY A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TEAMS FOR 2025; CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? I have been on this team for a while. It has been five years of a mix of Amateur and Pro.  I am not sure how many years I have been on the Pro team, but it has been a while, a long time and everybody is like family here. I love it here, but, it is just to the point where I would like a change. I don’t know what that change would be, but just something different. A different change in environment during the week and then I don’t know, just different staff. Even though everybody here is like family to me, it would benefit me to kind of break out of my comfort zone and get used to something else.  

THE AUSTRIAN BIKES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD, BUT IT APPEARS THAT 2023/2024 MODELS  HAD SOME STRUGGLES. I know the frame was a big talk at the beginning of this year.  Everybody had an option on what frame they wanted. I don’t know what the difference of the two were, but I know for me, it takes a good couple of years to really get a bike figured out and get it to the point where you can eliminate all the options of parts. Every first year of a new bike is always going to be a struggle and with the Gas-Gas brand, it has been a benefit to us because we have gotten the new model a year after KTM and Husky, so we were able to bridge that gap a little bit quicker.

A good season for Brown but we will see what he can do in the upcoming SMX races.

ANY BIG PLANS AFTER SUPERMOTOCROSS? We don’t have much time at all. I don’t have a set plan yet.  I have a couple of weddings to attend. It will be fun to just unwind and hang out with some of my buddies and get away from the grind. It has been a long season. We are going from October through basically December, so there is not much time for us to really take off. For our bodies, it is hard to keep them fresh all year, but I think with this being the second year of SMX, everybody is figuring out that you must plan ahead. In January and February training is not as intensive as it would be normally because you must sustain that all year long. That is what we have been able to figure out this year.  My body is in a good spot right now.  I am excited. Obviously, there are little injuries here and there, but I am just looking forward to a mental reset more than anything. I think the travel gets to you and yeah you never really get a break. I am excited. I don’t know what I am doing yet but I am going to figure something out.