After winning both motos at the opening round of the 2013 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals in Nanaimo, BC, Colton Facciotti laid the foundation for what was supposed to be a very successful summer aboard his Red Bull Royal Distributing Fox KTM. However, while running a very close second to Brett Metcalfe at round two in Kamloops disaster struck and Colton ended up on the ground with a badly broken leg. It has been almost three weeks since Colton’s crash and we wanted to see how he was doing. Here is the conversation we had.
A: Yes, I’m starting to feel better and I seem to be on the road to recovery. The first week after the crash was pretty rough but things are slowly improving. I had to spend almost a week in the hospital so you can imagine how much fun that was. I’m home now so things are a lot better.
Q: I was speaking to your trainer Todd Schumlick on Sunday and he said that as bad as your injuries are, you will make a full recovery relatively quickly.
A: Yes, that’s what they tell me. For how bad it was at the time, the breaks were all clean and they got fixed properly so I should be okay in a few months. The injuries to my hand were actually harder to fix but it should be alright as well, it’s only a hand (laughs).
Q: Can you take us through what happened in Kamloops. One minute you were chasing Metcalfe and the next your season was over.
A: That’s pretty much how it felt to me also. I was just cruising in second and trying to find some good lines, and then I had a little swap out that I thought I had saved but I ended up going down. It was no big deal but as I was getting up and trying to get going that’s when the real bad stuff happened. I think I had my bike already started when Tyler came over and hit my front wheel and I fell over again, I thought “okay let’s try this again”, and I got up and just then Teddy came over and hit me really hard. At that moment I knew my leg was broken but before I could even process that a few riders ran me over so I was in pretty bad shape.
Q: Was the leg that broke planted on the ground as you were trying to get going?
A: No, it was on my footpeg so it was somewhat protected. I guess I just got hit really hard and in the perfect spot.
Q: Over the last few weeks I’ve heard at least four different stories about what happened to you. Your rendition is by far the worst. That sounds like just an awful situation Colton.
A: Yes, it was pretty bad and pretty unbelievable to say the least. It was by far the most pain I’ve had to deal. Right after it happened when I was lying there, all I could think was “that’s it, I’m done!” You know how athletes are: once a few days go by and the pain gets less and less, all you think about is recovering and getting back out there. That’s where I am now. I just want to get back on the bike.
Q: Trust me, everyone in Canadian motocross can’t wait for you to get back out there. One of the things that amazes me about you is how laid back you are off the bike, and then when the gate drops it’s a different Colton Facciotti. That was very evident at round one in Nanaimo. Before the race you were just completely chilled out, then you go out and put on a riding clinic?
A: I guess that’s just the way I am. It isn’t the first time I’ve heard that. The first round went good for us. I wasn’t too worried coming into it because it was just round one and anything can happen there. The race was actually closer than it looked. I was only maybe half a second a lap faster than those guys and they were all riding so good. The difference was just a few little things here and there that allowed me to win both motos. I think it would’ve been a good summer, but now I just have to deal with it and get back out there when I can.
Q: So now it’s just heal up, start some therapy and then take over the local RC Car circuit?
A: Yes, exactly (laughs). Actually Dig came and picked me up and took me to the RC track so it was good to get out of the house. Right now I have to wait for a few more weeks and then I get the pins out of the hand. The leg is good so far. It’s an injury that the doctors have to keep an eye on but they said I could probably start to walk on it after seven or eight weeks. There isn’t a hurry to get back so I’ll just let it heal properly and then try and go again. I’m not too worried, Todd will get me back in shape.
Q: Well, Colton, thanks for talking to us. I guess we’ll see you in a few weeks at Gopher Dunes?
A: Oh definitely, I’ll be there cheering on my teammates. I should be good and mobile by then. Thanks for calling and thanks everyone for their support.
