At the car wash with .... Justin Williamson

By Jenn Sheppard

A coworker and I were passing the Hess gas station on the way back from lunch today, and I spotted a dirtbike out of the corner of my eye. A quick double take determined the #11 Red Bull KTM ride of Justin Williamson inside the car wash, parked there after winning the XC2 Pro Lites class just yesterday in New York. I had just enough time to get back to the office before I pinned it back to the gas station, where I caught Justin just in time for a quick interview.

Justin arrived in Morgantown on Monday afternoon; his yellow box van parked conveniently at the gas station to service his bikes at the car wash.

“I just got back,” he said. “I’m on the road by myself. My uncle’s actually up in New York helping my grandma out for a week, so I’m just doing my own thing right now, washing my bikes and getting everything ready. I got a couple weeks before the next GNCC, so you can’t beat it.”

Though results list Justin as a Floridian, a life on the road has him turning to his friends for a home away from home.

“Well, I’m originally from Florida, he said, “but I never get back there. This year I got back for like two weeks, and now I’m just on the road. I just travel around and stay at friend’s places. Mainly, I’ve got some good friends down here in Morgantown and they help me out a lot. I hang out here quite a bit, but other than that, just travel around.”

Having grown up in Florida myself, I was curious as to Justin’s hometown.

“ Sanford,” he said.

No kidding, I’m from Winter Park.

“ Winter Park’s pretty close. Ed Bull’s there.”

Ed Bull? You know him, too?

“I was part of the Central Florida Trail Riders club.”

No kidding! My dad was VP!

Justin nodded, “I rode with your dad at Ed Bull’s house like six years ago or something like that. Back when I was racing a KDX200 in C200 class in Florida Trail Riders.”

I grew up racing Florida Trail riders!

“I won the B250 championship in 2001,” he told me.

That’s the same year I won the Women class championship.

“Yeah,” he smiled, “Good year.”

Look at you now.

“Yeah.”

So then what?

“Well I won the B there, then for some reason we had this bright idea that I was good, and we thought we’d race the national series. So I ran B class in GNCC and got smoked, you know? I barely finished in the top ten. I kept working at it and finally the next year I moved up to Four Stroke A and I started doing better and better. I did two years in Four Stroke A, then I ran 250 A and then I went to Pro class. This is my third year in Pro. I’ve been riding up north for so long now that I don’t even know I’m from Florida—just my license plate says it.”

Can you still ride in the sand?

“I like Florida; I like the sand. You know when I get back there, it’s a fun change, but after like two months of it, I’m like, ‘All right, enough sand. Let’s leave it ‘til next year.’”

You now have the point’s lead in the XC2 Pro Lites class with three races left. At 20 years old, do you think you are where you’re supposed to be for your age?

“I think so. I was pretty pumped last year [when I] I podiumed the Wisp GNCC, so I was definitely ahead of schedule there. The beginning of this year I’d kind of been slacking, but I kind of had a good reason. I had knee surgery at the beginning of the year [for] my ACL and MCL. I was off the bike for six months. I’d only ridden the bike for like one week before the first round at the Florida GNCC, so I was not really up to riding shape, but I’m good now and all ready to go.”

The air of confidence is genuine as Justin counts six straight podiums including two XC2 Lites wins inside the top ten overall.

“I feel good. The bike works awesome. I’ve been riding Yamaha’s all my life, but this first year on KTM and I’m really pumped. The bikes work good and this is my first year on a 250F, and I’m liking it, too.”

So, you prefer the 250F over a 125?

“Oh yeah. You got Kailub [Russell] and I guess Cole [Calkins] was on a 125 this time. Usually JT [Bennett] is on a 125. You’re probably good on the starts with a 125, but other than that, you’re lacking a little bit.”

After taking the win at Unadilla, Justin admitted from the podium that he trained less in the past week that what he is used to, perhaps proving the case for mind over matter.

“That’s the way it’s always been for me,” he said. “Like back in B250 in FTR. I started the year off slow; I got tenth the first race. Then I got third, and I’m like, ‘Ok, I can do this.’ Then I got second, and then I won one, and I won like four or five in a row, you know? Once I know I can win—this is my second win this year—I have tons of confidence right now. I’m kind of on top right now in my game at least. Two weekends ago at the National Harescramble, I just went out there and cruised, had a good time, and ended up beating Jason Raines by eight minutes.”

How do you stay motivated?
”Lately, I’ve been having fun to stay motivated. My whole life I’ve been training hard, and working hard, it got me up to a certain level. It just seems like lately, I was getting kind of worn out and tired of that, so lately I’ve been kind of working on my own stuff, washing my own stuff. Just staying calm and not doing as much training, riding every day but just a little bit—as much as I want—and not doing extra. The results have definitely proven.

I’d really like to thank the Red Bull KTM team and all the sponsors helping out. Michelin tires, Pro-X Oil, My team manager Antti, he’s been backing me all year. We just kind of had a slow start, but things are going really well now. I’d like to thank KTM Hard Equipment gear, Arai helmets, Scott goggles, my uncle and all the friends and people who have been cheering me on all year.”