Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider opens up on 2025 season.
Prior to his third overall 250MX finish at the RedBud National on Saturday, Michael Mosiman last landed on the podium in Pro Motocross at Fox Raceway in September 2021, marking almost four years between visits. It’s been a tumultuous run for the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider in the time between, with Mosiman detailing his journey back in Conversation.
Michael, this is a great result for you. After the crash you had last year and where you were at in your career, what does it mean to be on the podium here?
Yeah, after taking so much time off, you wonder if you can still do it. Can you still get to that speed? Then there were plenty of days at the track where, you know, I was a ways off or even getting to the races and having to just re-learn. I mean, it’s been three years since I have raced outdoors for a whole season. So, yeah, it’s re-learning the tracks, re-learning where you stack up in the competition. I mean, so many guys have grown and developed. And, granted, here I am with three guys who I could have shared a podium with three years ago. But, yeah, ultimately you wonder, ‘Can I still do it?’ You question and doubt, but sticking to the work, trusting that it’s going to work out, trusting in what I’m doing, and obviously [now] it’s leading to good results. I just made a lot of smarter decisions throughout this year. And I still have a lot of room to grow, which is exciting because I think nobody here is like, ‘Michael’s about at his peak.’ I don’t think anyone would say that. So it’s just an exciting time. And I continue to try to be mature with when I push and when I, yeah, just bring it home.
Last week, Bobby Regan had some interesting comments about you. Are you going to make any phone calls to him this week? And just, I guess, what would you say to him?
That was a few weeks ago, he’s… Yeah, we’re on fine terms, Bobby and I, and I enjoy hanging out with him and spending time with him. Yeah, I think that, you know, things are looking better and better for me to stay there the more I perform. So that’s exciting. But, you know, [I’m] looking at my options, I’ve got to keep options open because it’s certainly not a done deal. And, yeah, he told me that I need to go out and perform. And I said, ‘That’s pretty much what I understood.’ You know, that’s how this works. So I’ve been performing and just trying to ride with a level head and put in consistent, solid rides and try not to overreach. And it’s been working for me. So I’m going to continue that and hopefully end up back there next year.
To expand on that question a bit, I know you’ve stated a few times that you are racing for a ride. You’re riding for a contract for next year. And it’s interesting because generally, you’ve been one of the top guys at Star. I have to believe that this race is going to cement that further.
Yeah, they want to see me prove it. They want to see me be consistent. I mean, they’re a top team, and they want people who they can count on for championships. They want me to be a consistent podium guy and show that they can count on me, show that I’m competitive, I’m ready to fight for wins. So it’s a fine time now for me. I’ve been on this plan to build, build, build, build, build. And part of that means that I wasn’t as good as I am now during the early bit of supercross. I wasn’t as good as I am now during the early bit of outdoors, and there has been a lot of testing and development. I think that I took the bike in a bit of a different direction than a lot of the other guys. Yeah, and so I think it’s just about building, and now they’re seeing the results and they’re seeing the plan come together, and I think that a few months ago, they weren’t seeing it.
Did you guys ever consider hitting the Laroccos Leap?
I mean, to be fair, I might not have a ride with Star next year because I didn’t jump it. But, yeah, I would like the 450 guys to be the superheroes, you know, leave the 250 guys out of it, let’s make it hard for them to jump where they’re not hitting every lap. That’s me. But also, you’re going to have every year, if they prep it right, we will send it. I’ve hit it some years before, and it’s just the way it is right now. It’s deep, and with that roller and the turn, it’s just really, really hard to get the drive to do it. I heard of three people who did it. I think Haiden [Deegan] clipped his rear wheel. I heard Tom Vialle faced it, and I heard JuJu Beaumer landed on top and bounced to the bottom. So that was enough data for me to know that it’s not for me.
Loretta’s is coming up. Can you elaborate and give us some tips, or give the kids a little bit of advice going into Loretta’s, and then even if they don’t do well at Loretta’s, what’s something they can try to keep in their head to make it so they can be a professional after that?
I would say don’t panic after practice. They bring in so much sand, and it’s so gnarly. Don’t panic after practice because the track changes and develops throughout the week. And the other one is, I don’t recommend going in the pool. That might end your pro career right there.