Seeing Red in 2014

was asked by MXP to write an article for the upcoming photo annual about GDR and our 2014 season. With social media outlets, such as Instagram and Twitter, now giving the world access to our daily lives, and media outlets such as MXP covering the series with such detail, it would be all too easy to regurgitate stories and details you’ve all heard before.

The fans on race day see a clean rig in the pits, race bikes that they dream of one day throwing a leg over, fresh TLD gear, and our mechanics Justin and Kyle going over every last detail in meticulous fashion. But what got us here? How does it all come together? Race day is the focus of the outside world, it is when the cameras turn on and the “Twitterverse” explodes with photos and interviews, but in all honesty that’s the easy day for us. The real story that defines our team is unfolding behind the scenes each and every day when the spotlight is gathering dust in the corner. At the end of the day we are human, we make mistakes, we argue, we bounce back, we make it happen…we are GDR. Enjoy.

Regardless of the track conditions in 2014, Colton Facciotti powered his Honda through it all en route to the MX1 title.

SEEING RED IN 2014

BY DEREK SCHUSTER

PHOTOS BY JAMES LISSIMORE

THE HONDA DEAL

I’ve discussed in the past how the whole Honda deal came together, but as I sat there watching the ink dry on that contract, I had one of those “oh damn” moments that will stick with me throughout my life. We’ve all had them; it’s that mixture of excitement, a feeling of accomplishment and pride, but with a big serving of anxiety and fear just to bring you back down to earth. It is one thing to put all these great ideas and promises down on paper, but it’s quite another to assemble the right team and deliver on them. Let’s face it, the 2013 season was a tough one for GDR. We had the basic framework of a team but myself and my go-to people behind the scenes knew it was not nearly enough. The right mix of riders, team members, sponsors and support staff was simply not quite right.

MAPLE SYRUP, BACON, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS & CANADIAN RACERS…

These are a few of my favourite things. I’ve mentioned this in the past but our contract and working relationship with Honda Canada is one in which any team north or south of the border would be envious. I’m not talking about dollars and cents here, rather it’s that mutual trust and understanding we have with one another that is so critical. It’s that unwavering confidence in one another that each knows they are going to do what

While other riders were making costly mistakes, Colton kept himself clean and out of trouble in 2014.

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they say 100% of the time, which forms the balanced foundation of our team. When it came down to riders there were no stipulations or restrictions limiting GDR as to who could or could not be on the team. We tossed around names of riders from the USA and beyond, but at the end of the day myself and the staff at Honda Canada had a certain vision of what we wanted. We kept coming back to the wealth of local Canadian talent, so it went without saying that this was the direction both parties wanted to pursue.

The signing of Colton Facciotti, “The Champ,” “Yotes,” “Colt45,” whatever you want to call him, I knew, no questions asked, he was one of those big pieces to the puzzle we were putting together here at GDR and I wanted to call him “our rider.” Let’s face it, I have been down this path before, mixing business and friendship. Tyler Medaglia, one of my best friends to this day and a premier Canadian racer, joined the team in 2011-2012 during what I will always look back at as the most defining year of our race program. It’s no secret how that ended, Tyler unexpectedly left the team a couple months before the start of his second season with us and it left a major void in the program. They say you learn more about yourself and business when your back is up against the wall and adversity is staring you square in the eye. You have that self-pity feeling as though everyone is trying to hold you down….well, it’s true. As a result of this, I approached Colton in August of 2013, armed with more knowledge, more understanding, and more confidence, but perhaps most importantly, more respect for how big of a decision it would be for a premier rider such as Colt. I also learned that if you want to get to the top you have to be prepared to accept some constructive criticism and be prepared to answer the tough questions. Colton and I have known each other for many years, both at the track and away from it. Naturally the concern was always our friendship, plus memories of 2012 with TM11 were circling through my head. You’ve heard me talk about this on various podcasts and how it all ends up to be a Cinderella story, but like many other teams and individuals out there we tend to want to make everything sound simplistic and straight forward. Let’s face it, Colt had concerns. How could he not?? Does

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this new and improved GDR Honda program have adequate funding and resources to follow through on the promises made in his proposed contract? How are we going to secure a high calibre mechanic to be his right hand man? Colt had spoken to past members of the team that told him all the crappy things that go along with working with and for me. I’m not perfect, and Colt would not be doing his job or his family justice if he didn’t probe for this info. Could GDR come together after a tough 2013 season to put together a team with the capability of winning a National title? I have trusted members of GDR behind the scenes that really have no direct expertise or involvement in the motocross world. Each help me to look at a different

way of doing things and not accept that everything has to be done the way successful teams of years past have done it. Some of these ideas and thoughts were a major departure out of Colt’s comfort zone. It may come as a surprise to many of you but I had concerns about Colt as well, and they were not injury related like most of you would assume. Those questions needed to be dealt with as well. As difficult as it was at times to go through this process, answer the tough questions and turn around to ask the tough questions back, I used this experience to learn and understand Colt on a level I had not known of him before. On December 16th, 2014, as you all know, Honda Canada GDR announced the signing of Colton Facciotti.

“ ONE THING YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT COLTON IS HE IS INCREDIBLY HANDY. HE IS A PROBLEM SOLVER, HE IS A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES, AND HE IS A PERFECTIONIST ON AND OFF THE TRACK. SO NATURALLY IT IS A BIT OF A DAUNTING TASK PAIRING HIM WITH THE RIGHT MECHANIC.”

The smiles say it all. These two friends came together to put Honda back on top in Canadian motocross.

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CHANGING OF THE GUARD: YOU CAN’T DO IT THAT WAY! YES WE CAN!

Many of the stories that other teams dare not tell are the ones I feel keep a certain disconnect between them and their fans. Race day is a showcase of big rigs, over the top dirt bikes, and rehearsed speeches thanking valued supporters and sponsors, and then we (GDR included) disappear into the abyss of the workweek and reappear at the following race weekend. Here are some of the stories you wouldn’t normally hear that shaped our team: As crazy as this may sound to many of you readers, one of my biggest concerns heading into the 2014 season was a term that has been affectionately coined “The Blackfoot Days.” I have nothing but the utmost respect for everyone involved in the Blackfoot racing program of the past. It was the epitome of professionalism and success, and certainly a dynasty program in CMRC racing. It was a different era then, whether it be bikes, riders, the state of the motorcycle industry, or most importantly, budget. The industry has changed, the race scene has evolved; so with that, teams have to evolve as well rather than try

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to operate in the same manner. Our biggest, initial hurdle was two-fold. 1. Colton is a creature of habit and it’s what makes him so successful. If you look around the pits, his program has been surrounded by the same key players for so many years. It has been a certain level of comfort for him and a recipe for success for this world-class champion, so why would we dare mess with it? Why break the cycle? Answer: There is a bigger picture. The 2014 CRF450R in stock form is a hell of a bike and Facciotti is one of the best, but to stay out front you need that extra edge in the form of a well built and well-tuned race bike. Upon announcing the deal with Honda Canada, many people in the industry falsely assumed money was falling from the heavens and “The Blackfoot Days” were back. Honda Canada GDR is not Blackfoot Racing, plain and simple, nor do we want to be. We want to carve our own unique identity. Andrew McClean of PRC is a premier engine builder and had been building engines and world-class race bikes throughout much of Colton’s career. There was a certain level of trust, respect, and obviously a huge level of comfort and stability on Colton’s part. We had a meeting with Andrew in December ’13 at the Gopher Dunes facility and treated it as part job interview/part open discussion forum. Similar to

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the talks I had with Colt, both sides aired out any dirty laundry, asked the tough questions, gave the tough answers, and talked more about personalities, dynamics, strategies, and personal and team goals than we did about motocross and engine development. At the end of the day, and what most struggled to understand, is GDR was/is prepared to make sacrifices and make tough decisions to ensure the team being formed was one that had a common vision and goal, as opposed to assembling one with impressive resumes or individual agendas. As scary as it was for Colt, it was a mindset we had to work on getting him on board with. It is no secret, we parted ways with Andrew and PRC shortly after this meeting, which marked the first major shake up to Colt’s program of days past, his comfort level and security.

Was it a scary decision to make? Heck ya. If we battled motor problems all year would we have ever heard the end of it? Nope. Although the decision was difficult, the reasons were really quite simple. We had a diff erent set of goals, a diff erent method to our madness, a diff erent understanding of Canadian racing. We wanted to do things a diff erent way, and at the end of the day the fi t simply was not there. It was time for GDR to boldly venture in a new direction.

COLT AND THE MECHANICS.

One thing you may or may not know about Colton is he is incredibly handy. He is a problem solver, he is a jack-of-all-trades, and he is a perfectionist on and off the track. So naturally it is a bit of a daunting task pairing him with the right mechanic. With the hype surrounding the team between our agreement with Honda Canada and the signing of Colton, there was really no shortage of resumes flooding into our mailbox. After hiring Matt Jory, formally of Lucas Oil Troy Lee Designs Honda and now Proven Moto, I was fully committed to carrying out the plan and instilling the mindset that we have been working on achieving for the team. Each member of GDR is equally as important as the next, but to me what is more important is how we all come together as a group, how we interact, how we respect each other, how we work together, how we enjoy down time and how we deal with diversity. It’s easy to hire someone based on experience and skill, it’s quite another to hire based on personality and character, trusting it will pay off in the end…enter, Justin Petker. By now many of you are likely familiar with Justin’s name. You may not necessarily remember seeing him at races or hearing about him in the press, but that’s because he quietly and methodically goes about his job. You barely know he is there except when he knows it’s his time to step up. Justin is a mechanic by trade, he has helped GDR behind the scenes for a few years, wrenched for Blake Savage for a few races during the 2012 season and for Nathan Bles in 2013. Colt really knew nothing of Justin. He was an unproven liability in his eyes, and to be perfectly honest, things didn’t get off to the start that I was hoping for. The first trial run for the two working together was at GPF during Colton’s offseason training. Long story short, Colt was texting me asking if I had alternatives for a mechanic. Justin

returned from GPF saying it was not a good fi t and suggested moving over to wrench for our yet to be named MX2 rider. At this point it was another one of those tough decisions facing the team. Despite how convinced I was of how the direction the team had to go, it was never easy to push back at a multi-time National Champion, especially with someone so critical as a mechanic. I would like to say it was my superior management skills and vision leading to this decision, but a deciding factor was that it was getting late in the preparation for ’14. I already had Justin preparing Colt’s race bikes and there was no turning back. Kudos to both Colton and Justin for accepting the decision and getting down to work to make it happen, despite that initial small bump in the road. I’ve learned that not everything always happens according to plan, and this is a perfect example. Watching the two of them interact throughout their championship-winning season was something really special to see, and it really helped me understand how important that bond and trust is between rider and mechanic.

After two years of injuries, Colton came into 2014 focused and ready to win.

THE NEXT BIG NAME: WESTEN WROZYNA

Westen has always been on my radar, even as far back as the inception of GDR. For those that don’t know Westen personally, you could not meet a nicer, more respectful kid. His desire to succeed is always evident and I’ve since come to learn it is, at times, to his detriment. The announcement of Westen’s signing gave the team another boost into the spotlight.

It was Colton the mentor and Westen, perhaps the next one to fill the Champs’ boots. There was a lot of publicity and questions about Westen throughout the year. It is no secret that he struggled tremendously in his rookie campaign. Being a high profile, upcoming rider, he likely felt the wrath of that more so than the average racer. I remember hearing for the first time rumours circulating that Westen’s ride on the GDR Honda was in jeopardy and that we were going to make a change mid-season. I can remember even more Westen’s reaction to hearing those very same rumblings. The rumour mill is a double edged sword: Entertaining to the fans but a potential dagger into the spirits of those involved in the gossip. Throughout MOTOCROSS PERFORMANCE · MXPMAG.COM

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not only in team and bike but in philosophy as well. I believe folks will see a renewed Jeremy Medaglia in 2015 both on and off the track.

MORE CANADIAN CONTENT? YUP! Even though it’s only one rider that goes on top of the podium, it takes a massive effort behind the scenes to bring home a championship.

After a long and stressful summer, GDR Honda Team owner Derek Schuster was all smiles after the fi nal moto at Walton Raceway.

the season I think the combination of turning pro, the internal desire to prove himself, and some of the rumours circulating were too much for him. He was never in the right frame of mind to do what he does best. At the end of the season, as I reflect back, I look at Westen the rookie who has an abundance of skill on a bike but is still a young kid. He wasn’t mentally prepared yet to make his next leap in progression, on and off the track. Likewise, I look at myself in what I will call my rookie season in the “big leagues” of operating a team, and understand that it was a learning experience to be a mentor and to get the most out of Westen during his struggles. No diff erently than any of my previous years operating GDR, I take all my experiences from the year previous and use them to come back bigger, better, badder the next year. I have no doubt Westen will do the same.

OFF-SEASON CHAOS & MX2 TITLE DREAMS

I use the term “off-season” very loosely because those involved in the sport know the span of time between the wrap up at Walton and Round 1 are perhaps some of the most chaotic and trying times. We’ve had some major product launches for the 2015 Honda CRF line so we’ve been attending events and getting the riders, the bikes and the team in front of the marketplace, something both GDR and Honda Canada feel is critical to both our success.

We are sifting through and analyzing data collected throughout the 2014 race season and working with our engine builder, Matt Jory from Proven Moto, on our all-new 2015 CRF450R power-plant. Then there is getting sponsors on board, building bikes, planning training regiments, talking to other riders, etc., etc.

The main piece to our off-season puzzle was getting a MX2 rider that can go out and win a title. It’s public knowledge now and it’s with great excitement that we welcome Jeremy Medaglia to the GDR camp. Yes, I’m well aware of the gossip, with people saying that Jeremy will be a problem, some question his commitment, the loyalty isn’t there because he jumps from bike to bike and team to team…in fact there was rumbling that he and father Derek were assembling their own MX bike because they had exhausted all the other brands! (I’m kidding). Jeremy and I spoke extensively leading up to the signing of this deal about all of this stuff. I know he is excited for the change, 36

Further capitalizing on momentum from ’14, I am very excited to announce that we are again ramping things up and adding a new sector to our team. The “Red Rider” Support program will see Westen Wrozyna returning to the team, plus we are excited to announce the addition of veteran Kyle Keast into the mix, riding in the MX1 class. I felt that putting Kyle and Westen together was a good fi t, because it will allow Westen to learn from Kyle’s hard work ethic.

There are many similarities between the two of them.

One that stands out to me is that Kyle was not an immediate success when first turning pro. For Kyle, he will be on the best prepped race bike he’s ever had, he’s got a winter training program in place and he is preparing to make a full return to the circuit. For Westen, the addition of Jeremy and Kyle will help him feel like the spotlight isn’t shining directly on him, which will let him get back to truly enjoying the sport, and going out and riding like we all know he can.

THE TEAM:

One thing you may or may not have noticed about our team is we are not the loudest, we aren’t the life of the party, and we are rarely seen scrambling around under the pits with last minute preparation…some may consider us boring. One thing I am the most proud of is we have a tight-knit team of truly remarkable people, each with a very specific and clearly defined duty that are left to do what they are best at without interference. No one person demands or wants the spotlight, each member of the team understands they are a critical part of a bigger vision and goal. I could not be more fortunate to have such great people as part of the team.

I want to thank those who make it all happen: Joe Skidd, who takes cares of our suspension development, and Matt Jory, our engine builder, are true professionals at their job and a huge reason why our bikes were so good this past year. Derek Farthing from Troy Lee Designs goes way above and beyond what any gear sponsor needs to do. Roger Berkel at Dyco Tool, who I relied on to make us up or fabricate several parts, which many times I asked him to do last minute, Matt Bannon has my back no matter what I do and is always available to bounce off whatever crazy idea I come up with, Denise Payne, Derek Verheyen and Jeff Stralak at Honda Canada have been amazing to work with, and my wife Kerri, who does more behind the scenes than most know, helping with budget stuff, travel arrangements, assisting with hospitality, and being a good person to vent to at the end of some days. I also want to thank our team sponsors; Honda Canada, Pro Honda Oils and Lubricants, Troy Lee Designs, Yoshimura, Dunlop, Atlas Brace, Adidas, Oakley, Proven Moto, SSS, Wiseco, Matrix, Works Connection, Xtrig rental, DT1, Dyco Tool, Limenine, Hinson, EBC, Toronto Digital Imaging, Snap On, Hammerhead Designs, Procrf, Motoseat, Dubya, CMT, Race Tech Titanium, Steahly, and New Era.

MOTOCROSS PERFORMANCE · MXPMAG.COM

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