MXP Chatter With Cole Thompson Presented By Leatt

Heading into the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Series, Cole Thompson was excited for several reasons. First, Cole was coming off a very successful campaign in the Australian SX Series, which saw him win the final round. Second, he was now part of the Heartbeat Hot Sauce Solitaire Yamaha Team in the 250SX West class. Cole had a solid start to the SX Series with decent finishes in the opening two rounds in Anaheim and San Diego. Then, this past weekend at Anaheim 2, Cole showed some great speed but suffered a few untimely crashes. Now, with a two-week break in the 250SX West Series, Cole is currently in Texas preparing to race his 250 this weekend. We caught up with Cole to see how he was feeling and how Anaheim 2 went.

MXP: Hey Cole! How are things?

CT: Everything is good right now. We finally made it to Texas after driving here from California right after A2. The drive was smooth until we arrived in Texas during the ice storm. It was exciting, that’s for sure!

I saw that on the news, and it looked terrible. It’s bad enough having to drive yourself in those conditions, but the other cars on the road make it even worse.

For sure! People here don’t drive in these conditions very often, so you have to watch out for them. But we’re here, and we’re safe, and the power is still on, so that is great news.

So talk to us about the first three rounds of SX and in particular, Saturday night in Anaheim. Are you satisfied with how everything has gone thus far?

Yes and no really. I was happy to make it out of A2 in one piece as the Triple Crown format was tough on a lot of riders. I ended up having a big crash on the final lap of the final main event, and I was lucky to remount and finish. I also went down in the second main event, so it was an eventful night, and my results don’t reflect how well I felt on the bike. I rode well on Saturday, but my starts put me in a difficult position in each main event.

Yeah thankfully, we don’t see you crash that often, especially in spectacular fashion like that. Was that crash caused by the track, or was more rider error?

The track was breaking down by that point, but I felt good in those final few laps and was able to make some passes. I knew if I got passed Walsh, I would’ve finished tenth in that race and 10th overall. The track was rutted, but that crash was from me just going for it. I came out of that corner and was a little crooked going into the jump face, but I just went for it and ended up going sideways. It couldn’t be worse but I ended up landing kind of soft.

Your crash was like Tomac’s in that you landed about as good as you possibly could. You mentioned your starts and that you weren’t happy with them. You had a lot of time to think about it on your drive to Texas (laughs). You’ve always been a good starter; what is going on?

That is a good question, as I’m not entirely sure. The main issue is that I’m just getting too much traction off the gate, and then I have to clutch it so much that I lose drive over the gate. It’s frustrating because I can nail them all day long during the week when I practice starts. We (the team) spoke after the race, and I think we’re headed in a good direction as we prepare for Oakland in a few weeks.

There is always a lot of reasons why riders can nail things like starts during the week at the practice but then struggle with those very same things on Saturday night. Is your practice bike, at the very least, a little different from your race bike?

Yes for sure it is. Whether it’s the mapping, fuel, or tires, there are a few things different. But I also feel like it’s on me, as maybe I’m just too excited in the main events. As you know, once you get a couple of bad starts you begin to press a little and try too hard. If you look at the 250SX West class and take a rider like Phil [Nicoletti], when he gets a good start he runs up front, when he doesn’t get a good start, he struggles. It’s the same with almost every rider in the class. I got a great start in my San Diego heat race and ended up 4th! We’ll get it figured out. I’m sure of it!

I’m sure you will. Okay, a final question about Saturday night. Do you like the Triple Crown format or do you like the traditional format?

I’m a traditional guy and I like the normal format. The Triple Crown format is exciting I’m sure for the fans, but for the riders, it’s honestly just too hectic. There is little to no time to focus or regroup before your next race is up. It’s just go-go-go, and I think that it is one reason you see so many crashes. I wouldn’t mind it if it was just two main events in a night, but three is a little too much, in my opinion.

So what is the plan moving forward? Are you going to be racing a 450 in a few of the east coast SX rounds?

I don’t have 450 yet, but as of right now, the plan is to race my 250 this weekend and maybe next weekend in the 450SX class. Obviously, I’ll be down on power, but other than maybe the start, I don’t know if it’s that much of a disadvantage. From there, I’m not sure if I’ll go to Tampa, but after that is the next 250SX West round in Oakland.

Maybe riding in the 450SX class this weekend will allow you to test a few things on your 250 without the pressure of having to get a solid 250SX West Series result?

You’re right; that would be useful for sure moving forward.

We’ve seen on Social Media that in recent weeks you were able to ride with Tomac and Ferrandis at the Yamaha test track. What has it been like riding with those two, especially Eli Tomac?

It’s been a lot of fun and an unforgettable experience. At first, I didn’t want to bother them while I was there as we were all there to do a job, but I was surprised at how nice both of them are. Tomac is pretty chilled out and he had no issue with me jumping in behind him while he was doing motos. I think he actually liked having someone to ride with, as he and Ferrandis weren’t there on the same day. It was a cool experience and something I’ll remember for a long time. Hopefully, I’ll get to do it again before the series ends.

That is very cool, and I’m sure it helped your confidence to see that you weren’t far off their pace?

Definitely! Tomac was really quick but overall, I was only off Ferrandis by about a second, so I was happy with that.

Well, that is great stuff Cole! Last question for you, how is everything going with the Heartbeat Hot Sauce Solitaire Yamaha Team?

Everything is great and I hope to get them some better results in the next few rounds. The team works hard, and we have a great crew so I want to reward them with some good results. We’re close, I just need some better starts.

You sound like you’re in a good spot, and I love the Canadian content on your team. Between you, the Heartbeat Hot Sauce Company, and team owner Chris Elliot, Canada is well represented. Thank you for doing this Cole, and good luck this weekend in Houston!

Thanks Palms! And thank you for reaching out. Take care, and say hi to everyone in Canada for me.