Derek Kelley has had a wild last two weeks after getting the last-minute call to fill in for Marshal Weltin on PMG [Pipes Motorsport Group] in World Supercross. He flew to Cardiff, Wales, for the first round where he finished seventh in the SX2 class. He then flew back to California and jumped on a 125 to prepare for Red Bull Straight Rhythm this past weekend, where he finished up in third place. Now he’ll head back to Australia in the coming days for the final round of WSX to bookend a crazy three weeks.
He was still all smiles after his podium performance on the weekend though and we caught up with him at the end of the day to see what he thought about it all.
Racer X: Alright Derek Kelley here at the Red Bull Straight Rhythm on 125s. A little bit hard right to get used to a 125 and then race in a straight line for 40 seconds?
Kelley: Definitely, especially coming from Cardiff where I’m on a completely different bike on a 250 and I haven’t raced a 125 since I was like 16 years old. It was definitely an experience. I’m stoked to come out with third. I think next year if they have it again, I’m going to consider amputating a limb to save some weight.
Like you said, a whirlwind of a week. You go race the Suzuki in Cardiff and then come back here. How have you tried to manage all of that and still come out here and have a good time?
Yeah, you’ve just got to try to plan out your days and try to get as much sleep as you can. If you’re behind on sleep, that’s going to be a problem. I’m excited to go to Australia and I’m just stoked to keep racing. I think it’s going to be good in the next year not having such a long break in between racing and just staying fresh.
How much time did you have on the 125 before? A few days?
Yeah, I actually rode it three times before I got a call to go to race WSX. And then I got another two days on it before this. So I’m like four days in.
That’s better than some!
It’s better than zero!
Toward the end there with the rain it got slick. How difficult was it to change how you ride this track because of how gnarly it got with the rain coming down?
Yeah, the rain started coming in. It was just barely drizzling when we started our third-place race, and it got so slick. You couldn’t even ride up the ramp to get to the gates. It almost went from doing a supercross grate start to then doing a concrete start where you’re sitting on the rear fender. It was something you really had to adapt to and make it happen.
Did you slip off the gate at all then?
Yeah you were literally just spinning. I was just trying to spin in a straight line, so I didn’t come off that gate sideways.
A lot of people talk about when they ride a two-stroke and switch to a new bike, maybe the toughest thing to learn is timing again. Maybe like downsiding a triple or something like that. How difficult was it to get used to that in the four days you had before coming here?
It was kind of weird because it has a different power band. It almost has enough power in some circumstances to feel like a 250F, but then you get in other instances and you’re like, ‘Alright, this thing doesn’t have any power under it.’ So, you kind of just almost hit everything wide open. I think the biggest thing for me was finding my shift points because I’m in third, fourth, and fifth, instead of second and third on a 250. So, you’re definitely shifting up a lot higher and this is a learning experience. You have to adapt quick.
You never bogged off the wall jumps in third?
I mean I’m clicking fifth before the whoops, so I’m literally just pinned and then holding the clutch in trying to get it going.
How cool was jumping off the big tabletop? You look right, and the water is right there. That’s got to be pretty cool.
You’re definitely zoned in and racing in the moment so you’re not really taking a peek at the scenery [laughs]. But it was interesting. It was probably the most nervous I’ve been for a race in my entire life.
Just because you’re in your own little box in there?
Yeah, you’re one-v-one, you’ve got everybody looking at you, and you try not to think about it. But then it’s like you’re coming off cold and you have to sprint and you’re not quite ready with the track. They didn’t give us a whole lot of practice, so I’m still trying to learn the track. It’s just a lot coming at you at once.
How hard is it to stay in your lane in this race, because it looks like there was a lot of back and forth a little bit?
I honestly didn’t have any issues. I saw some people that were kind of skirting it. I almost just tried to stay to the right or left, instead of being close with it.
Whichever lane you were in, not be on that line.
Exactly. I’d rather flirt with jumping off the track than getting docked.
Lastly, like you said, you’re going to Australia now. How did the whole HEP thing come about? I know they had some last-minute switches. [Marshal] Weltin got hurt. When did they call you and when did you know it was a possibility?
Yeah, I got a call the Tuesday before we were supposed to leave. So yeah, Weltin ended up hurting his knee, I think. I don’t know the whole story with that. They needed a rider, and I was considering doing it. I hopped in the car, went up to Fresno, tested the bike, and then hopped on the plane.
How cool was the experience in Cardiff then?
It was interesting. I don’t know that I’m a huge fan of the food there. I like the format. I think they definitely have some learning to do with the track layout and whatnot. It almost kind of was like slot car racing and you’re dive bombing every corner. You couldn’t really flow. So I think if they learn how to set up the tracks, it’s going to become really good.
But the format was okay with back-to-back races? That wasn’t a problem?
I think we definitely need a couple more minutes than pull off the track and the two card is up. I didn’t struggle with it, but I think if you have a problem, then it’s going to be a problem. I think they should probably consider giving it like five or six minutes instead, or just go to a triple crown format where it’s one and one.
Did you learn anything from the first round that you’re going to do differently in Australia?
Everything went pretty smoothly. I think I’m going to put more of an emphasis on the heat race because you’re stuck with your gate. I hope the gate won’t be like it was in Cardiff where it was very inside dominant. I was 15th gate pick, so I was fighting to try to get inside of that top 10, and then the races are obviously six laps so the races are over before you can blink. So I think if I’m able to get a good heat race and a good gate position, I think I have a really good chance of getting on the podium.
