Digital Interview With Local Pro Rider Forrest Butler

Hello Forrest,

We know you just arrived back from Vegas, so we look forward to your perspective as a privateer icon, team manager, and local pro rider to give us the rundown on the supercross season and the upcoming nationals.

First, how are things going for you and your team?

Very good. Everybody stayed somewhat healthy the entire season, so that was good. SX is done now and work on the 06’ season already began about a month ago. We are going to be running a full semi truck for next season and will field 5 riders. I can’t say who the riders will be yet, but they are both 2-digit guys. The semi will actually start at Southwick in one month during the outdoors, and we are very excited about taking that step.

I noticed your team has grown a little this season. How many members does your team consist of now and who are they?

This year we had the three brothers, Karsten, Brandon and myself, and then we had Canadian rider Doug DeHaan. The team is my third job besides racing and it is my passion. Adding on Doug this year was one main thing and the other was contesting all 16 rounds of the series. I have 9 employees with the team now and I couldn’t be happier with any of them. Doug was only here for SX and I am not sure if I am going to have a 4^th rider on the team for Outdoors yet. Doug had a prior deal in Canada for their outdoor series and he actually headed back up there right after Vegas.

Karsten Butler

Brandon Butler

Doug DeHaan

You have made tremendous accomplishments in your career. Can you tell us a little about your career highlights?

Well, my bro’s and I started riding back in late 92’. I raced hare scrambles for two years and then moved into moto. I won my first Amateur title in 1997 in the B class. I won another that same year, but my biggest heartbreak came that summer when I lost a title at Loretta’s from a cracked radiator. I went 40-1-1 and had about a 15 second lead when my bike seized up in that first moto. That was in the Open B class which is now known as 4-stroke. Besides that, just lots of wins and moto wins in the A and Pro classes around the country. Sometimes some of those wins are just as memorable as the amateur titles just because of whom you beat that day or whom you battled with. I started racing AMA Pro in 2000 and last year (2003) was the first year I started doing those races only. Not cause I don’t like local and other MX stuff, just cause my schedule with the team, traveling and racing is just very busy. I bought a house in Dec. of 2003 and got married in March of 2004. Last time my wife and I tried to count how many weekends I had actually been home since we bought the house we figured it to be about 10 and that was just this past month. When I’m done racing and I’m just running the team, I will go back to racing amateur and local stuff for sure.

Forrest Butler

A lot of riders from the South Florida region can only fantasize about making the night show of a THQ AMA SX. With your experience, what does it feel like to be on the starting gate with the best riders on the planet?

SX is tough to understand cause a lot of local riders don’t realize how fast the guys just making the night show are. When I started back in 2000 I wasn’t half the speed in SX that I am now. I was probably about 15 seconds a lap off of Jeremy and Windham and them. The depth just wasn’t there, but since 2002 it has gotten pretty crazy. This year has been hands down the fastest year ever and the depth goes back 60 guys deep. My fastest race this year I was 6 ½ seconds off of the fastest lap which was turned by Carmichael. That is how it is for a lot of the 3 digit guys, it’s just hard to understand when you aren’t at the races or involved with the lap times. The tracks are gnarly in real life, nothing like they look on TV. Like whoops on the west coast are just retarded…at least on the east they build em big, but the rut up and get easier. But basically, we have two practice sessions and we have to have the whole track down and be throwing in triple combinations in the rhythm sections to even be on the pace. Nobody really got hurt and stayed out all year this season, so the depth never depleted. If we had going as fast as we did this year in 03’, we probably would have made at least half the 250 mains that season. To answer your question though, I don’t really think about it. When I line up for a heat race I am usually just focusing on trying to qualify. Sometimes you look over and see RC, but your focus is still on the track. Those top 4 guys are so fast now that it is stupid. I am just lucky that I’m getting to race on this level at what will probably be remembered as the some of the toughest seasons ever. One thing that I do notice though…when you are first walking out to the line for your heat, you look up at the crowd in the stadium and you are dumfounded sometimes. It is just amazing and you can hear the crowd going the whole time you are riding…it’s cool.

Can you tell us what your formula to gain such success was and what are your future riding career goals?

I never had a formula, when Brandon turned pro we found out we were the first 3 brothers to ever be on the AMA Pro level at the same time. We have actually even set some records. After we started getting more attention than other privateers that were the same speed as us, I started moving in this direction. Then last year, I decided to go after it and so far we are doing good. Working with the money side of the sport is hard, but the feeling of making of good living racing motorcycles makes every possible headache and roadblock worth it. It’s funny, the whole thing started so that I could find a way to earn enough money for all three of us to be able to race the East Coast SX series and build a practice track for us. In the past 2 years, we have taken everything with the team to a level I never thought we could get to, but the most important part (the practice track) still hasn’t been built! We are getting there though; if you know any good dirt people, hook a brother up! Never thought dirt would be so hard to come by in South FL…

We saw you on ESPN2 recently in a heat race that included James Stewart and Chad Reed. It was impressive to see you on the track with riders of that caliber. Who is your favorite rider (other than yourself and team mates) in the 250 Class and why?

Actually, that heat raced sucked! I hit a false neutral about 10 ft out of the gate and then I ate my ass in the whoops. Right after I got up, Bubba and Reed went by me on TV and I was puttering through the whoops. But, Reed and Bubba both fell that next lap, so I wasn’t the only one going down! Anyway, favorite rider? RC when he is riding like RC, not when he is riding like a pansy. When RC and Bubba go at it both 100%, Reed is so done. RC only rode 2/3’s of the season at 100%, but the media always leads people to believe something else cause they want to keep it all exciting.

Shed some light on the 2005 supercross season for us. Let’s start with RC. He is a champion without question … that is a given. Nevertheless, what do you think happened to RC from the Daytona SX on?

Ricky was hired to win that title and nothing else. If he didn’t do it, then he would have hung it up for next year probably. Even if Bubba had stayed healthy, Ricky would have won. At Anaheim 1, Ricky was so gone it was stupid. He ended up falling and Kevin won, but Ricky would have lapped Kevin in 2^nd in about 3 more laps. Ricky had the fastest lap time at Phoenix when James broke his arm, but the media posted that James did. Nothing changed in the entire season except for RC backed it down after Daytona. You have to remember that Decoster and all the other big dogs at Suzuki don’t care about the race wins, they care about the title for the American Suzuki and for Suzuki of Japan. When RC went down at Daytona and hit the concrete and then wrapped all those banners in his back end, it could have been a lot worse. From there on, he had over an entire race lead and it was time to start playing it safe. I’m sure you have read in interviews from Chad and Bubba when they say Ricky isn’t backing off and he is trying 100%, but that is all BS. Chad did not get faster at all, he stayed the same as he had been all year and our lap time charts prove that from comparing him to Windham and all the others behind him, but Ricky backed it off about 2 seconds a lap. Ricky was just ruining them by Atlanta and St. Louis, I mean like 2-3 seconds a lap faster than Chad and then the next guy would still be another second or two off. The money and the pressure for him were huge, he did the right thing and now you will see him back at 100% nuts for the Outdoors.

Chad Reed rides with a lot of heart. This is the second SX season that Reed has ended strong against RC. What do you think is responsible for this pattern?

Chad is extremely cocky at the races and not a rider favorite. He is also super dirty when it comes to racing with Ricky. When Ricky backed it off, Chad knew it and at just about every race he tried to take out Ricky. That is another reason Ricky would just settle behind him. I know this sounds like BS, but TV doesn’t show shit. Trust me, there was plenty of dirty crap going on and I think Ricky even says something about it in one or two TV interviews while on the podium. The same thing happened in 03’ that happened this year, RC backed it off cause he had the lead and it makes Chad look like he steps it up. Chad won the opening round in 03’, he started off just as good as he finished. If he were faster than Ricky, he would have been the champ in 03’ and this year.

James Stewart is lighting fast. We knew he was going to be. However, his inconsistency hampered his points this season. Do you think it was just "bad luck" or a "250 learning curve"?

Not bad luck, but yes on the learning curve. James likes to brag that he doesn’t train and all this, but he is going to have to start to win the 250 title. RC and Chad are in the sickest shape and James is not fast enough at the end. Like I said above, if he would have stayed healthy all season, he would not have won. If he raced Ricky at the beginning, he could have gotten out front and maybe pulled a little bit, but Ricky would have him by the half way mark. James can’t run that pace for 20 laps yet, it takes time to be that perfect. He never raced the real Ricky and Chad ran him down from way far back in each race he won. The only exception would be Houston, but Chad got into a little bang fest with Ricky for 3 laps and James pulled a gap. But, we are talking about this year, his rookie year. He will become the best no doubt. He will go on to either beat or get real close to beating all Ricky’s records. They are just the sickest two riders to ever ride a dirt bike.

And, remember this when talking about all three of these guys. They are all so close, that TV or sometimes even watching doesn’t show who is really the best. When they are all doing 20 perfect laps of 49 second lap times, one can get the hole shot while the next starts in 5^th and by lap 2 or 3 when they are 1,2,3 the better one can only go maybe 3 or 4 tenths of a second faster than the next minus a mistake. There just isn’t enough laps to make up that gap and that is why even though James is getting tired still and slowing at the end he is still pulling off wins. It is hard to explain, but those three guys are just so insanely gifted. When you are out there and throwing some sick ass triple combo in a section that is the same thing Larocco & Fonseca are doing and then those three start quading the same section.... man, it is retarded. You wouldn’t attempt it for $1,000,000 cause you would just die, you’d never get to see the money!!

There is a lot of talent and "hype" coming into the 125 class this upcoming season (2005 Outdoor Nationals). Who do you think will take home the title and why?

Either Millsaps or Langston. I hope like hell Millsaps wins it, but he needs to become 100% confident to do it. He is the fastest, no doubt…he can kill those guys, but he gets bad starts and there will be more faster guys to get through in outdoors. Langston is on Pro-Circuit and their bikes are sick and the team is sick. He will be there unless something happens and he will be extremely motivated from his SX title. Millsaps is the next Bubba and Ricky; he just hasn’t started off the same way. He will come around though and when he does, the other guys are screwed. He will also shine more once he gets to the 250 class, he weighs about 195 lbs already and that makes it real hard for him to get starts in the 125 class.

Pertaining to the upcoming 2005 Outdoor Nationals once again, do you think RC is capable of the perfect season one more time? Why?

Perfect no, James is going to win too. But one of them will have to crash out or start a lap down for someone else to win.

What do you prefer to race Forrest? MX or SX? Why? What are your strong points?

I like SX better. It is like a puzzle, it is more challenging. Plus, the series is just so much easier. Outdoors we don’t really get paid anything, so you make all your money in SX. SX is all about jumping combos and riding perfect, absolutely perfect. Outdoors is just like anything down here (except about 50 times rougher), but you still just hang it out. I think cause I’m getting older I tend to like SX more cause I get a little spooked to go down hard in Outdoors.

Will you (and team members) be participating at all the Outdoor events this upcoming season?

I’m starting the first two for sure, and then it all depends on how my knee is holding up and if I’m riding 100% confident. If I am, I’ll keep going, if I’m not I will pull out and get my knee fixed.

We recall you had some injuries at Orlando. How is your recovery? Did you need surgery for your ACL? Are you physically 100% at this time?
It’s alright, but I’ve only been riding SX and there aren’t many ruts on those tracks so you don’t have to put your foot down and risk snagging it. At Seattle when it was muddy and that bugged me a lot, but it was extremely bad. Anyway, I went down pretty hard right off the start of the first qualy at Orlando and twisted an already nagging knee. Then right before the finish line on the first lap of the LCQ I got squirrelly and put it down and I just popped it. All said and done I tore my ACL, PCL and meniscus. I have to get them both replaced, but for now I just keep riding with it. If it weren’t for my CTI braces it would be impossible, but with those on I am ok. I can sit down though and pop my knee out about an inch to the front and back, it’s pretty gnarly looking. I am only 29 and I have had 9 surgeries from racing so far, I really just don’t want to get set back with another one right now. A full knee is 4-5 months off the bike and a crap load of pain…hell; the painkillers are about the only good thing there is to look forward to!

We wish you and your team the very best for this upcoming season Forrest. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We look forward to talk with you again in the near future.

Thanks Philip, and we will be seeing a lot more of everyone now that outdoors have started. We are actually going to be out at the Seminole track this Sat and Sun riding outdoors for the first time since back in November. We look forward to seeing all our friends out there and relaxing a bit. We get a lot of fan mail through our web sight and a lot of it comes from local riders down here. We appreciate all that and love the fact that more and more people are riding down in the South FL area. Why don’t you bring yourself out this weekend and tear it up with us!! Later

5/19/05 CONTINUATION

After reading my interview from the South Florida Mx web sight, I realized I had left something not quite explained that could have easily been taken the wrong way. There have not been any negative things said about the article; I would just like to better explain some of the questions I answered. Here they are:

Please keep in mind when reading this that I spend every single weekend with these riders and on the same tracks as them. I answered more to the person that maybe also sees them ride week in and week out. I do not take back anything I said at all about RC, Reed or Stewart, however I would like to better explain them.

First off, remember that I am being extremely picky with all three of these riders. All of them are so extremely gifted and talented that they deserve everything they get from their salaries to their fame. There are also a few other riders that can step up and have that same unreal talent but are just having a tough time right now for different reasons. With all levels of racers, even theirs, anything from injuries to things just aren't clicking for a season or two can keep you off the leaders pace. Riders like Windham, Vuillemin, Ferry, Pastrana, etc., are all capable of battling at their level. To be on that pace though, they have to be perfect, every lap, every section and so many other factors as well.

Second: I called RC a panzy! I call him that like a friend would call another friend at the track when they aren't riding like they can. RC has been friends with my brothers and myself since 1996. When I say that I strictly mean it in a way that I want to see him ride his best against the other two, but I already explained why he had to back it off. And when I say back it off, he is barely backing it off. It is not even enough to let anyone know, but it is enough for him to not take any chances. He won when he had to and trust me, he did not get slower...he will be on 100% this weekend (5/22/05).

Third: Reed, when I said he was dirty it came off kind of harsh. None of those guys are actually dirty, but more "overly aggressive" at times. James is actually rougher than Reed, but Reed did make some overly aggressive moves on RC more than a couple of times towards the end of the season. Reed became more perfected at the end of the season, but also Bubba was not consistent and RC had backed it off a safety notch. So all and all, without them all going 100% it is hard to say Reed was the fastest at the end. Also, RC never rides dirty with Reed, he does not want to get booed for taking him out. Reed on the other hand, does not think about it and rides like he wants and never makes himself think about it

And finally: Bubba, when I say if he stayed healthy RC would have still won, that is my opinion. James finished outside the top 5 at round 1 and had a DNF, 3rd, 1st, 4th, 1st, DNF. He is sick fast, but he has to be top 2 or 3 every race to win. Like I said, he is sick, he will dominate soon. Reed started winning a lot right away because he has a different riding style than RC and Bubba. Reed is smooth and perfect. RC and Bubba are wide open, that is also why they are better outdoors. People tell them to slow down, but that is not what they do or need to. The faster they get the more they can turn it down just a tiny bit and not be on their edge. That is what will come to James, he will still get faster and that is also how RC became so perfect. Also, this is what is going to make outdoor so cool. Neither one of them has ever had to push over their limits outdoors until this year. Those two are going to make each other go faster than they have ever gone and it is going to be the coolest thing we have every gotten to witness in the sport of motocross...

FB out...