Ontario’s Kyle Keast is making his NexTrax Arena Supercross debut this weekend. We caught up with Keast as he packed his bags for the journey west.
Hey Kyle. What’s up?
I’m just at Machine Racing, saying goodbye to John before I go.
Are you excited?
Oh yeah, I am really excited. I’ve never done it before so it’s going to be really fun.
Tell us about how the RTR Honda deal came about?
Well, Lockhart brought it up at Walton a bit and he said that they might have some guys riding for the shop.
We talked a little bit and he mentioned a few guys he was going to ask, and I said ‘Well, I’d like to do it’. I’ve never been out there before and and it looks really fun. I never usually do anything in the winter so I called him after Walton to remind him. I’m not sure why he forgot ... (laughs) but I reminded him and he followed up on it. I guess RTR was interested in having a Honda rider this year in addition to their KTM riders. So he said I’d be their Honda guy, fly out, make some money, have some fun, and keep riding during the winter, which is a bonus for me.
What are your expectations for the Nex Trax series? What have you heard about it?
Well I always see the photos online, I don’t really read too much obviously (laughs), but yeah, I look at pictures and see who’s racing. It looks fun since it’s the same guys that ride the National series. After going out to Sackville last year and having fun out there I am feeling more comfortable inside, especially on a 250F. I hope to do well, I want to go out there and do well and be a top contender every weekend
Keast in Montreal this year. He's improved his indoor skills in recent years with events like Toronto, Montreal, Sackville and some U.S. Arenacrosses.
You’ll be banging bars with some AX regulars, Beaton, Klatt, Sheren. What will it take to be in the mix?
To be in there, it’s going to take starts. That’s going to be the main thing. I haven’t really seen the tracks but Ryan said they are not super technical so, that’s a bonus for me. They are fast and the main thing is the whoops. If you get the whoops dialed in, and get good starts and be really, really aggressive, which I’m kind of planning on, it should be pretty fun and exciting.
Are you racing all the events? Are you staying in BC?
Yes as far as I know, 10 rounds in five weekends.
You aren’t exactly known as an indoor specialist but you’ve actually worked pretty hard to gain experience in the last few years.
Yes, just doing Toronto and Montreal mainly. I don’t really get to practice on that stuff so I just show up and ride. Sackville was really fun, and I am pretty sure the tracks are pretty similar and I think good starts are going to pay off. Back in 2008 I did some U.S. Arenacross stuff, four rounds, and that was a big help for me, riding with those guys and seeing how aggressive they are. I feel way more confident inside than I used to.
There’s been some buzz about your plans for next year. Are you any closer to having any firm plans?
Yeah, it’s still all just up in the air. I’ve just been talking about what my plans are, and finding out what the other teams have planned. It’s all just talk right now but hopefully something will come out of it.
How did you feel about your outdoor season overall and what would you still like to achieve in Canada?
Obviously, I was happy with my overall finish. I was happy with the way I rode out west, it was the best I’ve done. Morden was a bit of a disappointment, because I usually really like that track and do well there, but I crashed there so. When I was coming out east though, I was sort of expecting more, I was expecting to do a lot better than I did. Crashing at Ste Julie set me back, Gopher Dunes was good, I rode as well as I could but then had some bad luck obviously, Sand Del Lee was a good weekend but I wanted to win there. It wasn’t what I wanted at the end of the season, I was really excited to come back east and then it seemed like I had bad luck at every round. The overall was good but I am looking for a way better season next year.
What do you think it will take for you to take it to the next level, and start racing for wins, next year?
What do I think? (laughs) I think everyone knows what I want to do and the one thing I need. But I’m not going to say right now (laughs). I think you know.
Yes, I guess I do (laughs). After MXDN there was some talk about you wanting to race in the U.S. more. What are your thoughts on that?
I do really want to. At Des Nations, I was there and I rode well and I was really comfortable with everything. Normally, when I see a track like that with jumps like that I wouldn’t usually enjoy it, but you could tell that they had put in so much effort, with the track prep, and the time that the AMA and the FIM put into the track. It just makes a rider feel better. I felt like they actually cared, they made the track so amazing for everybody that you actually just felt comfortable out there. There were so many lines, and it got rough, exactly what I like, it got rough and choppy. I didn’t ride quite how I could have. I don’t know why, there were sections out there that I could have gone faster in, but I backed off a bit. I was thinking about not crashing, and not shaking things up, and I just really wanted to stay consistent for the team. I really want to do some rounds where I don’t really care if I cartwheel my brains out or crash really hard. I want to give it 100 percent, and after seeing how they prep their tracks, and just the whole atmosphere, I’d love to go down and do some U.S. tracks that get really rough with lines like that. That’s what I’m looking forward to … if it’s not next year, then it will be soon. Without a doubt I am going down there to do some rounds, but I will have to wait and see which deals are coming up first.
Thanks a lot Kyle. Have an awesome time. I think you’re really going to like Chilliwack. They have great fans and the event has a really grassroots feel to it.
Thanks. I am hoping it has a real hometown feel. I am really looking forward to it.
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