MxLarge Story
Broc Tickle interview - Monster Energy Charger
Interview Friday 03rd February 2011 By Eric Johnson
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle is putting together the best season he’s ever had right now in the Lites West SX Series. He has been all over the podium, and just secured his first win of 2011 – and second of his career – in Oakland over the weekend. He’s now one point behind teammate Josh Hansen in the championship. We talked to him yesterday.
Broc take us through it, because I know you’ve been right there challenging Josh Hansen. The last couple times you guys went 1-2, he was the 1 and you were the 2. What changed this week?
Broc Tickle: It just kind of took everything... Obviously, I’ve struggled with starts in years past and getting starts the first couple times and actually battling for the lead is hard when you haven’t done it that much. So it was just a learning curve, I think, and I just needed to be able to handle pressure a little bit better. I think everything came together for me, and I was feeling really good the week before. Last week was a really good week for me.
Well, you’ve got a potential problem in being labeled as a mud rider now because it wasn’t really as muddy as your last win in Seattle last year was, but it certainly wasn’t dry...
As soon as it started, I knew the rain was going to be off and on all day and it definitely did the most right before our main. I honestly was thinking, “Why not rain? Why can’t we have rain?” [Laughs] So I definitely liked that it rained, but I felt really, really good. I was so focused and riding really smooth, no mistakes, and just being smart and I think that’s what paid off for me. Because the track was honestly really hard to ride and it was tricky. It was tacky and slippery at the same time and you just had to be really cautious. So I think I just rode smart and rode smooth and that’s what came together for me. It paid off because in the beginning of the race I was down pretty far. At one point I think I was probably 5 or 6 seconds off of the lead. Then, all of a sudden, I’m in third and the guys are right in front of me. I’m like, “Man, I can win this,” and I kind of just kept doing what was doing. This is honestly how focused I was: I remember passing Hansen but I didn’t remember where it was until I watched it on the broadcast, and I don’t remember passing Roczen. So I think it was just a combination of me being 100-percent focused and riding to my full potential. And that’s what I need to keep doing, which is obviously feeling that way every weekend, and if I do that I think good things will definitely keep coming.
I know that was your goal in switching to the Pro Circuit team this year; to do exactly what you just did. In the larger picture, though, you’re now one point out of the points lead. It’s more or less the halfway point in the championship. You haven’t really been in that position before. What do you think about how that’s coming around?
I mean, it’s great! My goal is sitting right in front of me and I’m hungry and I want it. At the same time, I just have to go race-by-race. I can’t try too hard to get to my goal, I need to let it come to me more than try to go get it, I think. It’s just all about being patient, I believe. I mean, it’s good that I’ve had experience. I’ve had four years of a big learning curve and I feel like I’m really smart this year. I feel like I can make the best decisions I can for the championship and to be in the right place at the right time.
Have you paid a lot of attention to other championships in the past when you weren’t necessarily up in the points? Have you paid attention to the good and the bad and what’s happened with other guys?
Yeah, and that’s kind of what being part of the team and everybody, from Mitch [Payton] on down, they know what it takes to win championships and that’s going to help me. So I think that being a factor and me just knowing that it’s not won at the first couple races, it’s won later on in the season, those things will help. I just have to stay smart and keep it going.
It was actually kind of funny in Oakland; you won your heat race and went up there and got all tongue-tied on the podium, and then you did it again after the main. What was going on?
Well, I’m not used to the [audio] delay. So, whenever I’d be like, “Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki”, I would say Monster Energy and then start saying Kawasaki, but I’d hear Monster Energy start playing. So it was messing me up in the head, like I didn’t know what I was saying. I was just hearing it. [Laughs]
Finally, I know you were a late pick-up in the off-season for Pro Circuit. With how the season has gone so far, what has Mitch and those guys had to say to you, especially after your first win with them?
It’s just support. I mean, they haven’t said much, they’ve just been letting me do what I do. It’s better to not say much at all than to say something that they don’t know will hurt me. I think that once they get to know me they’ll be able to figure out what helps me and what doesn’t, so I think I’m at that point right now with that. It’s been really cool working with Mitch. He always has something positive to say, so that’s the good side of it.
That is good to have guys like that in your corner. What’s your bonus when you win a race? I mean, what do you reward yourself with? Do you just buy the dog a new coat?
[Laughs] Yeah, it’s all for the dog. That bonus is going all for the dog. I’m actually going to build him his own house in the backyard. A two-story so that way he has a playroom and another place where he sleeps. No, I don’t buy much, really. I’m just saving my money because we don’t have that long of a career and I’ve seen it happen over and over again that guys spend all their money. So, I’m just trying to be smart about it and not even worry about the money. It’s honestly so weird because I remember when I was younger dreaming about winning my first Supercross and winning more than one Supercross, and it’s here. It almost feels like déjà vu...
It’s nice also, for fans and stuff, to know that’s how you look at things, because a lot of them had those dreams when they were kids and never quite made it.
Yeah, exactly... It’s cool to finally be in there and be in the right spot for that opportunity. So I think that everything is coming together, but I just need to keep doing what I’m doing because it’s working, I feel, and I’ve been working hard and learning. Every weekend, I learn something, and I’m making sure that I learn from it right then and take it in right then so that way I don’t have a delay and won’t have to make the same mistakes twice.
Stanley Leroux Design
