"I Signed With Rocky Mtn. KTM, Then the Team Imploded" | Colt Nichols on Finding a Ride for "23

Quite possibly the biggest news of the off-season has been Honda HRC Racing and Ken Roczen parting ways. That situation opened the door for Colt Nichols who was still unsure what his 2023 season would look like. The former 250 East Supercross Champion has had a difficult year with no race results. Colt talked to us recently about this new opportunity and how he is approaching it.

For the full interview, check out the YouTube video right here. If you're interested in the condensed written version, scroll down just a bit further.

Jamie Guida – Vital MX: What's going on, Colt?

Colt Nichols: Not a whole lot, man. Just getting some things handled this morning on my day off and trying to soak it in a little bit before we get back on the bike and start doing some work. We're doing a lot better than we were.

Vital MX: Going back, you come off 2021 winning the 250 East Supercross Championship with the highest of highs. Then you go into 2022 and at the opening round, everything just falls apart and it’s the lowest of lows.

Colt: Yeah, that was honestly pretty tough on the emotional, mental toll that it took, mainly because I had an incredible 2021 pre-season. You know, at the end of 2020, going into ‘21 I felt like I did everything correctly and I was able to show it by winning that championship. Then going into the ‘22 season I would say I leveled up even more on the training and the physical side. I felt like I did everything I possibly could to go win another championship. I wanted to repeat and win a championship so bad. I just wanted to do it again so badly to prove to myself that I could win on either coast or against anybody. After I got injured, I was like, “Man, I just have dedicated this whole off season”. It emotionally hits you a little different because you've done all that work, and it feels like it's for nothing. But in a sense, it was also rewarding for me because I noticed myself level up even more. That was the biggest positive I could take away, I saw improvements in areas that I hadn't really made gains at before in my career. 

Vital MX: You broke both your arms in the opening round this year. How are they now?

Colt: Everything's good now. The right wrist was the biggest issue from the get-go. It was dislocated and I severed the tendons. The left side was pretty simple, you know, broken radius, go in there and put the screws and plate in it and call it good. The right side was difficult, though. It was a long recovery. It was a lot of therapy, just a lot of limited mobility in the wrist. I still to this day, don't have the movement of the other side, which is normal. But I actually got more movement back than they thought I would. I hit therapy pretty hard. I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to get as much movement and mobility back as I could. 

Vital MX: You announced earlier this year that you were parting ways with Star Yamaha Racing. At that time, what were your options? I don't feel like the situation looked as positive as it should have with your abilities.

Colt: I didn't feel like it did either, but that's our industry. Sometimes the things don't really work the way you want them to go. I made this big post on Instagram thanking Star and I was moving forward. I was supposed to race outdoors for those guys. That was the whole idea. I was doing everything I could to come back and race outdoors for them and it was just a weird period there. They implemented an injury clause and did all these things on me, which they hadn't done before, but I was aware that was going to happen. It's not like that was out of left field. In that position, I wasn't getting paid anymore and I wasn't going to whether I raced or not. So, we had an opportunity with an upcoming KTM team that was supposed to be a newly formed Rocky Mountain KTM team with Mark McKenzie. I was going to live at 83 Compound. I actually signed a deal with those guys, signed a contract, did all that. And then that team kind of imploded before we ever really got going. We were left scratching our heads like, “Well, what do we do now?” We were having these conversations with Honda and Gas Gas and all these teams about possibility riding for them. But once I did the deal I was done. I thought I was done for 2023 and everything was kind of good to go. But to get this outcome, I would do it all over again. This whole Honda situation was honestly the best possible outcome that I could have had for sure. It just seemed like such a farfetched idea. I thought for sure it wasn't going to work, you know? 

Vital MX: When did the Rick Ware racing situation come up for World Supercross? 

Colt: That was an interesting situation too, because I had an offer from Rick Ware and the whole team. This is prior to me taking the KTM deal. They offered me a position to race a 450 for those guys, and once I signed the KTM thing, I couldn't go race for Rick Ware anymore. Whenever the KTM deal imploded, I immediately got a call from Dave Antolak, which is a team manager for Rick Ware, and he said, “Hey, I heard that team folded. Do you have anything going on? We would still love for you to come ride for this team”. It was a 250 offer because that's all they had left. They'd already signed the two 450 guys and at this point I was like, “I'll race anything for any money. I don't care. I just need an opportunity to go race. I want to go race very badly, so let's try and make it happen”. So, we did. It was just a little late in the game. It wasn't anything on their end. We didn't get to do things as early or quickly as we wanted to. I did ride the bike about five days, and this was only about two weeks prior to the first race in Cardiff. I was at a point in my career where I didn't really want to chance showing up to a race after being off all year and not being prepared. I thought it would be more detrimental if it didn't go well. So, I made that decision to say, “Hey, I'm not ready”.  We were able to talk and hash things out and everything was fine. They were upset, of course, with me leaving at the 11th hour right before that race was scheduled to go. But they understood. 

Vital MX:  It seems as though it worked out. You recently got the call from Honda HRC. How did that offer get presented?

Colt: This whole situation has been a little interesting because my agent, Jimmy Button, has had conversations with Lars (Lindstrom) all the way back in February or March. But it was the same song and dance, “we don't know what we're doing because Kenny's contract is up. We would prefer to do something with Kenny, but we don't know what he wants to do. So, we're waiting”. Okay, I mean, that's fair. Obviously, that's their priority, trying to figure him out. Once he went on the Bubba's World podcast and kind of announced that he and Honda were splitting I immediately called Lars because I wanted to talk to him myself. I hadn't spoken with him on the phone or face to face. He ended up calling me back the next day. We had a really good conversation. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do. They're not like a lot of these other teams where they have a big title sponsor. They can go race with six guys, with one guy, with whatever. Lars was very honest with me from the get-go. He said, “If we are going to add a second guy, you are at the top of our list”.  The conversations just kept getting a little better. I was very surprised it went as well as it did. I didn't sign the deal with Honda until last Tuesday (10/11/22) when I showed up at Pala. He actually brought the contract to Pala. I signed it and I rode that day. This is going on my second week of being on the bike and I'm ecstatic to be a part of such a big legacy like Honda.

Vital MX: Lars has been very positive about you, saying he feels you will be a huge help in developing the bike. He also feels Honda is the perfect place for you to get back to where you are capable of being.

Colt: That's the part that was the coolest about all of this. They didn't have to, you know, but they wanted to. I tried to sell myself as much as I could saying, “Hey, if you guys want me to help develop this bike and get it a little better, I'll try my ass off. I'll buy a camper and I’ll park it at the Honda Test track, and I'll live there. I'll do whatever it takes to get this opportunity”. I can be a team player. I'm not naive to the sport and where I'm at in my career as opposed to Chase. He's won 450 races. You have to put him in the title category of guys that can actually legitimately win a championship. It's my rookie season. I've been off for a year. So I'm realistic about everything. But at the same time, I'm a racer. I want to be a championship guy and prove that I can race this 450 and race it really well. I'm going to do everything I can to show up prepared and ready. If I have to test a little more than the other guys, then so be it.

Vital MX: Is it a rebuild year or is it I need to go kick some ass so there are other opportunities?

Colt: Definitely both. Like I said, I'm not oblivious to where I'm at in my career. You have to look at it a little bit as a rebuild, simply because I haven't been there in so long. But at the same time, I want to make sure I'm there. I want to have a good base. I want to get into the season. It's hard for rookies to come in and be firing immediately and have the bike exactly where you want it. I want to get through these first few races and assess where we are and where we're lacking and where we can be better and maximize the parts that we're good at. I don't want to show up at Anaheim and feel like I have to get on the podium or top five or bust. 

Vital MX: You’ve had a couple weeks on the bike. How does it suit you?

Colt: Honestly, great. I'm working with Wil Hahn, he's my trainer and I've been around him for a long time. Now that we're working together again, it's been cool because he knows me pretty well. He knows my tendencies and things I like and don't like. He's like, “Man, I really feel like you fit this well”. My riding style fits a 450. I don't like to rev the bike. I like to keep it in a little lower RPM, carry a little more momentum around the track and not have to use so much on the edge 250 power, which is the way I don't like to ride. It's been very easy, a good transition. The rider triangle on a Honda, it's just a very comfy fit, you know. The foot pegs, the seat height, where you sit, where the bar is, I feel like everything is just a very comfortable feel. We've already done quite a bit of testing, just in the five days I've rode. They have endless things that they can do, which is pretty cool from a rider standpoint. 

Vital MX: You are Supercross only, but with the new format this year for SuperMotocross, you could possibly qualify for the play-offs. Have you guys talked about that?  

Colt: We haven't discussed anything past this Supercross. And to be honest, at the time I wasn't really worried about it. Just give me this opportunity here and we'll figure the rest out later. That's the approach that I had. I hope I can have a future here. We're pretty focused on the present and we're going day to day and focused on the now.