Troy Dog
HEP Suzuki’s Marshal Weltin is heading into the 250SX East Region with a lot less to worry about this season. He recently moved to Fresno to be closer to the team that gave him a shot at a fill-in ride during last summer’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. He awarded the team with his first ever top ten overall in the 450 class at RedBud and finished the series 15th in points. No longer a privateer in 2023, Weltin finally has the team support around him, new goals, and he’s not about to let this opportunity go to waste. I spoke with Weltin around the time that he signed his deal to get his insight on his new deal, expectations, the growth of HEP Suzuki, and his new team manager Larry Brooks.
Vurbmoto: I haven’t seen you since RedBud, we did a little interview there, and I might still be struggling from that pool of sweat of yours that I jumped in. Let’s start there and whether or not you think I’m going to make it or not.
Weltin: I do believe that you’re going to bounce back from RedBud. The pool was for sure clean. I can guarantee that. There was no sweat or dirt in it (Author’s note: Then what was in it?). I think you’ll be alright. I think you’ll have to tough that one out. It’s been a bit of a rocky road since RedBud. I had a few peaks and valleys, but I think we’re getting close to a peak again.
RedBud was your first top ten overall in the 450 class and you were on top of the world that day. The rest of the season it seemed like you were just having so much fun. Talk about your season and filling in for HEP Suzuki.
It was a great season and one of my best summers I would have to say. RedBud kickstarted a lot of motivation for me. I never quite made a top ten overall again, but I did have some 11ths and 12ths. That field was really deep and it’s tough accepting battling for that position when that is where you’re at. I just kind of shifted my mindset and was like, “This is my goal right now and that’s what I’m shooting for,” and it was a really great summer. I’m grateful for the opportunity that HEP gave to me. They gave me full and undivided attention all year with the bike and training. They gave me whatever I needed so that I could succeed. I have nothing but good things to say about that. I’m stoked to be coming into 2023 with them.
Right, so you sign your deal in December and it was a little quiet there for a little bit. You were supposed to do some World Supercross Championship. What happened there?
Yeah, unfortunately I had an injury right before WSX.
So, you have success in Canada, and then last year you come home, bet on yourself, make your own program, have success and pick up the team ride. It was kind of the best decision that you ever made.
That was the goal with betting on myself like that. My personal sponsors, my family, and myself–we all made a collective decision. We set a two year goal and the goal was to throw everything I had into a privateer program and give myself the best opportunity that I could. I needed to focus on the things that were important, like riding and making sure I’m in a good head space for a race. I was there every weekend. My support system was just awesome. After that my goal was to put myself into a good position to get a fill-in ride with a team. We checked all of those boxes from where we started and it’s a cool feeling to manifest that and execute. I was really fortunate to stay healthy all year too. That’s more of a battle than anything, just dealing with the health adversities that are thrown at you along the way. I was fortunate enough to race every race this season. That was also another goal. When you give yourself a true 100% into something, then good things come from it. It’s a good reflection moment. The goal for 2023 is to transition my goals into more results. I’m giving this everything I’ve got and I hope I can make something out of it.
Not only are you with just any team, but you’re with a team that has truly grown substantially in the offseason. The team added Roczen, a 250 program, two semis, Larry Brooks as a team manager, WSX. There is a lot going on and a lot of options of where you can race.
Yeah, that’s what is awesome about the team and I’d also like to give a big kudos to Dustin (Pipes). He takes this stuff and faces it head on. He’s not scared to give anyone a chance or an opportunity. Hence the Roczen deal, even when I was talking to him about it a little before it happened, there was no hesitation in his voice. He was like, I want this and I know it would be great for the team, and there was no second guessing if the team could handle the situation. He is always finding ways to make things happen, so I really give him and Aaron, as well as everyone else in management with the team kudos. That’s how they approach it, they just make it happen.
It’s still a fairly young team and this is just like the next phase of growth. Do you get to choose what you want to race or do they have a plan set in place for you already?
That is more of a team decision and we’re kind of taking that how it comes. There is nothing set in stone yet, but that is kind of a team decision on where they want to put me. It’s their decision, but I feel like I have a little bit of input.
Is your locker next to mine in the semi?
Honestly, I think it might be.
I just wanted to remind you that we are teammates. I wanted to make sure that we were in the same semi. I figured they’d start with that when you were putting your deal together.
I know. Yeah, they just said , “we want you to know that Troy has been here.”
With Larry coming over and who he’s worked with back in the day to McGrath and all of the heritage. How exciting is that for you?
Yeah, Larry has a badass track record and I’m really excited to work with him. You feel his presence when you meet him and how he’s all in on every aspect in racing, from the bike, to analytics, to making things work. I’ve heard nothing but great things about him.
So, this is the biggest deal that you’ve ever had in the sport. I think I remember back in the day that you had help from Barcia at some point. From where you have come from and all that you’ve been through as a privateer, did you ever think that you would get an opportunity like this?
I think if I didn’t think it would, then it would never happen. I always wanted this and it’s something that I really worked a long time for. I’ve had a lot of injuries along the way as well, which put a hiccup in a lot of situations. I do believe that if I didn’t see myself doing this then I don’t know if I would have had this opportunity. I think that’s a very important part about finding yourself in situations like this. You just have to believe in yourself. Not in a cocky or arrogant way, it’s just if you don’t believe in yourself or think it’s going to happen, then it’s probably not going to happen.
At one part of the season last year you didn’t even have graphics on your bike.
That was a flaw on my part and no one else’s. Not the graphic guy. I went into that race with so much attention on the PulpMx race. I completely overlooked the fact that I was racing a 250 in the 450 class. I had graphics on my bike and then I was like wait a minute. Someone pointed it out to me and I just felt like the biggest idiot. I was a rider and mechanic at that point just putting everything together. It’s an embarrassing story to tell now.
It kind of worked out, because didn’t Sam from SKDA reached out to you after that and offer some help for the outdoors?
Yeah, that was a big part of it too and same with John Kuzo too. He’s been a big part of my program along the way. John is tight with Sam. I have to give credit to Bryar Perry with 180 Designs, he’s supported me my whole career. He’s always treated me great.
With Sam, we linked up for the first few rounds and he’s also a great dude, so I honestly have great relationships with the graphics guys (laughs). Sometimes you just overlook things when you’re booking your own travel as well as other things. That was the case right there.
This year, you aren’t the fill-in anymore. This is your deal. Where do you envision yourself once the season starts?
My goal for the year is to get close to that top five range. I was a 10-14 guy in the mains last year. I had an 11th and a 14th and a few others back in the pack. I think my worst results last year were a source of being in last place on lap one. Or, I had a crash on the first couple of laps that put me out of position. It wasn’t because I was in 18th place. I had just taken myself out of the race before I even started. I think realistically if I can start to build like I did last year I’d like to see myself in the 5-9 range or better.
You don’t have to worry about anything except getting to the races. You’ve never had this before, so I think this could be a fresh start for you.
A lot of it is headspace too. I’m excited to just channel my focus into things that matter. I don’t have to worry about all the little things, like travel, or how am I going to get my mechanic to the race and get him a pass. Or even, who is my mechanic for the weekend? Did my mechanic change my clutch? Then I just end up changing my clutch on my own because I don’t trust who I have working for me. I don’t want to worry about all that other dumb things that I shouldn’t have to worry about. I don’t want to worry if my tire pressure is checked. There was a funny situation at Salt Lake last year. I have the greatest friends I really do. They came out just to support me and watch me race. Well, they put SC1 on my entire bike while I was taking a nap in the rental car between races. I got my gear on and sat on my bike and it was ten minutes before I had to go to staging and I was panicking, scrubbing dirt and brake cleaner on my bike in the parking lot. It’s like everything is fine and then I’m panicking. It’ll be nice not to have that. Not that it was a problem, everything is fine.
Main image: Suzuki
