Five Minutes with ... Colton Facciotti
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007

Facciotti waits for his first moto at the Budds Creek MXdN.

 

By Allison Kennedy 

When Team Canada headed to Budds Creek, Colton Facciotti was a replacement rider for an injured Dusty Klatt. After finishing second overall in the MX1 series, Facciotti hadn’t had much time on the little bike. But Facciotti put in a some hard work on the 250F after Walton, and put in the most impressive ride as the youngest member of the veteran Team Canada. He finished fifth overall in the MX2 class at the MXdN. We caught up with him at the end of the day to see how he felt about playing a big role in Canada’s 10th place finish.

You have to be very impressed with yourself after today.
Yeah, it was a pretty good day for me and Canada. Blair had a little bit of bad luck but JSR rode good, I rode fairly good. I could have done a little bit better but there’s always room for improvement.

Can you take us through each of your races?
I got 32nd gate pick in the first moto, I gave Blair and JSR first gate pick so I was way back there, and I just kind of let everybody go and cut to the inside and each moto I came out pretty decent so I was happy about that, and I just kept on going. The bike was working awesome, Joe had the suspension dialed like usual and I am just getting more and more used to the 250F over the weekend and I was just trying to have fun with it.

I know you rode a 250F for practice this summer, but it’s been a while since you’ve raced one, hasn’t it?
Yeah, I haven’t raced one since 2004 or 2005, but I’ve had one at home and I’ve been practicing on it at home, trying to put some long motos in, and I think it paid off this weekend for sure.

Were you surprised you were able to pull off a 12th in the Open and MX2 combined class with the big bikes?
I was pretty happy about that. My goal was to get in to the top 10, I didn’t quite do it, but I had a couple of problems out there that moto and I was right behind 11th and 10th and just faded back a little bit, just decided to finish the moto without getting injured before Montreal. All in all, it was a good day.

 

Facciotti rode his way to an impressive fifth overall in the MX2 class.

 

It’s kind of crazy that you were the alternate, you weren’t even supposed to be here, and really, you are the one who came through the biggest for the team.
It’s a team effort, Blair and JSR rode good, Blair had some bad luck, but I was glad I could help put Canada up top there for sure.

What was the difference between riding for the team last year in England and this year, that helped make better your results?
Well, I had a used bike and the team had some problems over there. This year, Blackfoot really stepped it up, bringing the semi down and I don’t think I could have done nearly as well without them. I just want to thank them for doing that. It’s not every MXDN you get your own team, and your own bike, and it just worked out really well.

Now with Montreal next weekend, is there a chance that you’ll ride both classes?
I’m not too sure yet but I think that’s the plan. I feel pretty good on a 250F and hopefully I can. We’ll see how it goes, see how much work they want to do on the bike to get it ready, but I hope to ride both classes.

Is there anything different when you show up to ride for Canada, or is it just another race?
I just kind of took the weekend as just another race, I just wanted to have fun. This is probably the most fun race we go to all year, and to represent your country is just a  bonus.

What makes it so much fun?
Just the crowd, the crowds are crazy out there. I saw a lot of Canadian flags out there, I was surprised. Last year in Europe, I don’t think I saw one. There were a lot of flags out there and a lot of people cheering for me, I was pumped.

Would you say that you’d like to ride for Team Canada again in the years to come?
Yeah for sure, I’d like to keep on going every year with it if I can.

You came a long way this year. What do you think made it all come together for you?
I think it’s just a combination of a few things. Blackfoot is an awesome team and I really worked hard this year and I got a trainer and all that, and I was working hard. If you keep on chiseling away, you are going to get some good results sooner or later. It’s been nice to get those good results, and this has been kind of my break out year I guess.

Congrats again Colt and we’ll see you in Montreal.
Thanks.