"The Industry Kind of Turns a Blind Eye to GNCC." | Stu Baylor Check-In 2

Stu Baylor is widely regarded as a fan favorite in GNCC racing and the off-road community due to his tenacity on the course and no holds barred interviews. We checked-in with the first year team owner/manager of the Rocky Mountain/Red Bear/Kawasaki team to discuss the ups and downs of the season so far, his thoughts on the off-road industry, and some big news about the future of his team. 

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

Vital MX: What's up, Stu? What have you got going on during this rare weekend with no racing?

Steward Baylor: Not a whole lot. We're just trying to enjoy one of our very few off weekends. Trevor Bollinger and I are headed to Florida to do some fishing. Whenever we get the chance, we try to do something. It's funny; we're going down to Florida, and you get sick of riding in the sand during the off-season until you don't ride it for a bit. I looked at Trevor a bit ago and said, "Where are we going to ride this weekend?" Then I realized I didn't have my dirt bike with me, which is a weird feeling. If you race dirt bikes and you're traveling, you're traveling to race dirt bikes. As we get older, we realize something very important. We always lose the bikes, and we have to please the woman. So, they get a place to stay in Florida, and we go fishing. 

Vital MX: We are just over halfway through the first GNCC season with your new team, Rocky Mountain/Red Bear/Kawasaki. What are your thoughts so far on your riding this year? You're second in points and 29 points down on Johnny Girroir. 

Stu: So far, it's been good. We've had a few mechanical errors that set us back. It's a new bike with new changes. There were some new mechanics and some things we missed early on that were overlooked. It cost a couple of points. I was able to chip away with a couple of back-to-back wins. Then last weekend did not go as planned due to some small issues. I had some big crashes; from there, it was salvage points. It sucks, and you never want to be that far back, but we're still in it. As far as my riding, I think I'm up to par. There have been times when if my focus could be more on racing, I could be better. It is tough to juggle everything, but as a whole, I think it's going very well for the team and me. If you look at national podiums and podium counts, we're as good or better than anybody else. 

Vital MX: You just mentioned some things the team missed. Can you tell us what those are?

Stu: It's just a learning curve with a new bike. There are always changes you have to make and things you overlook. The Kawasaki was probably the easiest bike for me to get used to as far as riding, but once we got to racing, I noticed a couple of little things. For me, I had to change the clutch system we were running. I was using the Hinson five-spring system, which was tried and true. It didn't work for me. I went to the KTM Belleville washer style to get it to work the way I needed it to. In the first rounds, I was having a tough time with the clutch. It was just little things with the bike, so I could compete with it for three hours. Then, the bib disintegrated in Florida due to a lack of Moose gel. It was a slight learning curve for the mechanics to be able to wrench at the level they needed to be. It was also me, as a manager, getting those guys squared away and understanding what the team needed. 

Vital MX: As the team manager, you're in charge of seven riders, mechanics, and other personnel with different personalities. That could easily take away from your time and focus on prep and racing. Have you been able to find the balance?

Stu: There was a learning curve, but I've always kind of taken things and run with them myself. I've been good at that. Over the years, there have been teams where I was in a position where I could control the sponsors and places where it was more up to the rider. Like with the Yamaha team, I felt I had the privilege and power to run my own program. It worked out because there was some freedom where it was just my mechanic and me. I have always wanted to run a team, which was one of the reasons I left Yamaha to start my program last year. I felt I could do it better than pretty much anyone else was. I might sound arrogant, but I feel times are changing faster than teams are evolving. The motocross and Supercross programs are constantly evolving. The knowledge is out there to improve the bikes and have the program more united. I don't see it happening in off-road. I think we're stuck in a generation of 80's and 90's racers who manage teams and who, like me, started with the same imagination 20 years ago. Now, they are kind of getting passed by the times, and I feel change is needed. For me, that was a big piece. Yes, it's stressful, and there is a lot to pay attention to, but I'm very competitive. When I said I would do it, I intended to do it right. I can make the time. I like to work, and it doesn't bother me. 

Vital MX: You mentioned that the off-road teams have not changed with the times. What are some examples of what you'd like to see change?

Stu: Some of the small things that are actually the biggest are the manufacturers, who don't necessarily put as much money into off-road. That puts us in a position to have to look for money elsewhere. In many programs, I see the teams putting their riders on the suspension they choose because it's cheaper. Or they put their riders in lower-end gear because it pays the bills. Where it really gets ugly is when you get to performance parts. When you look at a quote-unquote factory off-road team, realistically, there is only one: KTM. Those guys make sure there is nothing that will hinder performance and that their guys can have success. Where all the other teams, and this is first-hand, there are a couple of guys trying to make a few bucks off of the team. It's not a true factory effort, and it's not like that in Supercross and motocross. It's something that needs to change. Every team must go for the best product, even if it costs money. There are things I've purchased out of my pocket, or my partner JD has purchased them because performance is key. I remember teams taking tire deals for $10,000, and the tires were terrible. As a rider, you're ending up on your head because the team needed to make that extra 10k. Nine times out of ten, whoever the team owner was, they were pretty well off. It never made sense to me. We need to win, so we will put the best tires and suspension on the bike. With my guys this year, I told every one of my riders, "You choose your suspension." Factory Connection are my guys, and they do great, but other riders on my program chose their local guy because of the relationship or because they had already done testing. I don't want to hinder performance, and that's the biggest thing I see in off-road. I hear, "Hey, let's throw these handlebars on the bikes. All the guys hate them, but we'll throw them on anyway." When people who don't do this hear it, they say, "Oh my God! He's such a prima donna. Shut up!" My response is if those same people showed up for work and their boss gave them the wrong tools and told them to get it done tomorrow the right way, they would look at them and say, "What the Hell are you thinking? I can't do that." If you give me the wrong tools but expect me to perform, how is that a realistic expectation? The industry also kind of turns a blind eye to GNCC. If you look at Supercross and motocross, they have 80 guys trying to qualify, and that is it. That's all the bikes; they are all on free or paid-for bikes. However, if you go to a GNCC, about 18 of us get paid and get free bikes, and there are 3000 racers. You're in a parking lot of your consumers who are buying motorcycles, and they are buying three or four if they are competing at the national level. I feel the manufacturers have majorly overlooked our industry, which makes it hard for us to do our jobs. 

Vital MX: Those are great points, and I hope you can make a change. As I said, the season seems to be going great. I'm looking at the team results, and Rachael Archer is winning the WXC, Caleb Wood is winning the YXC1, you're in 2nd in XC1, and your other riders are 4th or 5th in their classes. That's impressive. What's the next step? I've heard the rumor that in 2025, your team will get Factory Kawasaki support. Is there any truth to that?

Stu: Yes, the rumors are true. It's been tough to keep it under the hat. I felt I was doing a good job and would have this opportunity in the next few years, but I didn't expect it to present itself so soon. I'm stoked. My five-year goal has been accomplished in two, so I have to speed up and start running. I genuinely didn't expect to be where I am. I expected to have more issues with a new bike and team. It wasn't just a new manufacturer and a new bike from Kawasaki in 2024. It's a big learning curve when you get those new motorcycles because parts aren't available, and you're trying to figure out, "What do we need?" Off-road is so different. When the bike comes out, the first thing that hits is a couple of parts the moto guys will love, but the guards we need didn't exist. I found myself shipping radiators out to a company called Bullet Proof Designs and getting samples a few weeks later so we could build the bikes. It's a lot, and I know we have to get bigger and better next year. At this point, it's how can we evolve very fast? I need to find a team manager to take some off of myself because I know sometimes my other life gets in the way. I have a couple of other businesses, and I don't want it to ever disrupt the team. I want it to stay solid, and I know I'll need a manager, some mechanics, and some more badass riders.