Five Minutes with ... Colton Facciotti
JUNE 27, 2007

Colton Facciotti was all smiles on the Regina podium.

By Allison Kennedy

Colton Facciotti has had the speed to win for a while now, but like all young riders, it takes time for everything to come together. For Facciotti, that happened in the first MX1 moto in Regina. Facciotti pulled a 28-second lead on Jeff Gibson for his first MX1 win and looked set to do it again in the second moto, until a crash on the last lap forced him to settle for fourth. We caught up with the Team Toyota/Yamaha/Blackfootdirect.com Fox Racing rider to see how he felt about the biggest win of his career so far.
 
RXC: First of all, how good did that feel?
Colton Facciotti: Pretty darn good. It’s hard to explain …but pretty darn good. (laughs)

You didn’t just win the first moto, you checked out. Tell us about that.
I just got a half decent start and moved up quick and I was just kind of riding my own race. That was probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time, I was riding awesome I felt. I was going good and I had fun.

Were they letting you know how far ahead you were?
Yeah, each lap it was 1 or 2 seconds more so I was getting a bit more comfortable and I was riding good. It was 28 seconds by the end. Hopefully I can do a few more of those this year.

Everyone has known you have the speed to take a win since Ste-Julie, what did it take to put it all together?
I think it’s just time. I just kind of needed the time. I am still young and I haven’t really had the best luck, luck was just a little bit more on my side today. Everything is working well, the team is working well, and I can’t thank them enough for giving me the chance to be on their team this year.

The team has a lot of faith in you. How does that feel?
Yeah, it’s pretty nice knowing your whole team is behind you and all the guys there are great. There’s not one guy I don’t like; they are all cool people.

You said on the podium you would call your mom first. How did that go?
It was funny. I was like, ‘Mom, I won!’ She was like, ‘What? Are you sure?’ I was like, ‘Yes, Mom.’ She was like, ‘You won? Are you sure?’ (laughs) Then she just started crying she was so happy for me.

 

Facciotti leads JSR in the second MX1 moto.

 

You had the lead for most of the second moto as well. What happened there?
I didn’t get the greatest start but I kind of just jumped through the corner and came out third and then moved up on JSR and got by him. I stayed four or five seconds ahead of him the whole moto until the last lap and it was just one of those things that happens. I was taking my time and I thought everything was good, but I just hit a kicker wrong and it sent me over the bars. I tried to get up as fast as I could. I wanted that overall for the weekend and I just squeaked ‘er in with that fourth place. I was happy with that.

You must have gotten up pretty fast.
Yeah, I didn’t really want to get up (laughs) that hurt. Head first down a big downhill isn’t very good. Not feeling too good right now but nothing a little Advil can’t fix.

You did well here last year too, right?
Yeah, last year I got a podium, I was right behind JSR the whole moto. I like all the tracks coming up too so hopefully I can keep it going and build some stamina and all of that.

Your first MX1 win and your first overall, you’ve got to be feeling pretty good. What are you going to do tonight?
Well, I’m not really feeling that well … I wish I was (laughs). I will probably just go out for dinner and enjoy the success I had. I’ll train hard this week and come out swinging at Calgary.

Congrats Colton.
Thanks.