By Brett Dailey

New Brunswick’s Johnny Montes turned pro in 1993 when he was only 15 years old. Now 29 years old, Montes has won Atlantic Pro championships in every year except one since he joined the pro ranks. Now a member of the Stoneridge, KTM, Royal team this year, Montes seems to be riding better than ever. He’s confident heading into this weekend’s opener in Ste-Julie and we caught up with him after a Thursday testing session just outside Montreal.

RXC: How did you feel after the Riviere du Loup Arenacross? That was a good weekend for you.
Yes, I was really excited. I put a lot of effort into Riviere du Loup every year just because there are so many Americans and there is a lot of competition. I felt really confident coming out of there and I podiumed in three out of four mains. I should have been on the podium in the last main but I just stalled my bike. That’s racing and I was pretty happy with my results overall.

How did the arenacross go this past weekend in Chicoutimi?
Um, it went horrible. I was leading both main events but I had some bad luck. The track was really rutted up and my footpegs got stuck and I went over the handlebars in the 125 main. In the 250 main, mud got clogged in my rear brake so I had no rear brake and I went over the berm and crashed. I worked my way from last to third with no rear brake. It wasn’t the weekend I had planned on but hopefully I got my bad luck out of the way last weekend so it wasn’t too bad.

Where did you end up in the 125 main?
I got seventh in the 125 and third in the 250. So, we don’t even need to talk about that race [laughs].

What did you do over the winter?
I went and stayed with the Thompsons down in Florida near Panama City. I rode at County Line all winter long and I really want to thank some people that helped me out all winter like Base Racing and Mike’s Transport and the Thompsons. Those three together made it possible for me to be there all winter-long. I put a lot of hard work in this winter. I had a game plan before I went down there and I just worked really hard at it and so far it’s been paying off.

Didn’t you stay in British Columbia the prior winter?
Yes, I rode the arenacross races out in BC. That was a big help as well; it started a lot for me. The problem last winter was that we couldn’t practice a lot—we just raced every weekend. I didn’t want to go out there and not ride all week, I wanted to practice and get ready for the outdoors. I really have a big opportunity with this team this year and I really wanted to focus on the whole outdoor aspect. A couple of my friends went and rode supercross and I don’t feel that they are where I am at this point going into the outdoors.

Your speed and fitness looked good at Moncton and Riviere du Loup this year. How are you feeling coming into Ste-Julie in two days?
I’m really confident coming into this weekend. I worked on my fitness and I worked on my speed and I feel this year I should be top five every moto and I have a real good shot at putting it on the podium. I have a couple of rounds that I feel confident about from last year and I’m on a bike that I can get really good starts in every moto so it’s all up to me.

What are the tracks you are confident about then?
I like Riverglade in Moncton, obviously, it’s an hour from my house. But I like this weekend, Ste-Julie as well. I ride well there. I had some bad luck last year at Gopher Dunes but I think that was just due to pressure I put on myself because I ride the sand pretty well. I have never been to Sand-Del-Lee but we’ll see what happens.

I was going to ask about Gopher Dunes. That was a bummer last year when you didn’t qualify at the MX2 East opener. Will that play on your mind this year? What’s your strategy?
Well, this year, I just need to be consistent in every moto and just try to get as many points as I can. Usually, every year, I’m a little inconsistent. I want to be more consistent and I think if I do well this weekend in Ste-Julie, the rest of the series is going to be really easy for me. So, I’m not too worried about Gopher. Last year I knew what I did wrong. I rode the 250 West all spring and I was ready for it but I just put too much pressure on myself because I thought I had a shot at putting it on the podium and then at Gopher Dunes I just rode over my head and made too many mistakes. But that was last year and this year I don’t even think about the stress and the racing. I have a good team around me; my team mates and I seem to feed off each other. The couple of races I have done with the team—even Riviere du Loup, which is one of the biggest races for me—I didn’t even think about who was there or anything. We just laugh and we get along so well that by the time you start thinking about the races, it’s already over. And that’s great for me because I don’t need the stress. I’ve been around this game for a while now so I just want to have some fun and do the best I can.

That sounds good. What is your impression of Atlantic motocross right now?
It’s getting better. There are a couple of things that need to be changed to get the interest back in it for the pros but the entry level classes are way beyond expectations for everyone. It’s getting a little stressful for some people but nobody expected the numbers that they are getting so I think we all have to deal with it for right now and figure out a way to make suggestions and figure out a way to solve any issues. But it’s growing huge and the sponsors are getting behind everyone and it just couldn’t be better. We have five guys that have national numbers from last year and this year I think we have a couple more riders that I think could get national numbers. So it’s definitely on the rise and it’s definitely going where it should be going.

Any riders impressing you right now? How about some of the younger Intermediate riders?
It’s hard to say because I haven’t really watched those guys, I’m usually on the track at the same time. Davey Fraser is riding really well, he just needs to calm down a little bit and he will get some good results. Nathan Slater is really going fast and I hope he does well at Walton. Brandon Wyman is doing well in the Junior class. Levi Smith is riding really well. We have some good kids that are up-and-coming that have a good shot at putting it on the podium at Walton which we can’t ask for anything more than that from the Maritimes.

Okay, good luck on Saturday and Sunday.
Thanks. I just want to thank the Stoneridge, KTM, Royal team and thank everyone for giving me the opportunity this year and I just hope it keeps going the way it’s been going.