Motocross

RYDER DIFRANCESCO INTERVIEW: HUNGRY FOR MORE THIS SEASON

February 1, 2024

RYDER DIFRANCESCO INTERVIEW: HUNGRY FOR MORE THIS SEASON

Bakersfield, California’s Ryder Difrancesco has been a mini-cycle prodigy for some time now. Known for his time with Kawasaki, first as Team Green Amatuer, and then Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki pro, DiFrancesco had high expectations of him. 2022 and 2023 saw him race in Supercross Futures, several outdoor nationals, and finally the inaugural SMX series. However, at the end of 2023 the eighteen-year-old parted ways with Kawasaki and joined the Red Bull GasGas team, making his full-time Supercross debut in 2024. Winning his heat race at San Francisco may be his highlight to date, but Ryder wants more.

by: JIM KIMBALL

2024 ANAHEIM 2 SUPERCROSS // FULL COVERAGE

RYDER, LET’S BEGIN WITH YOUR HEAT RACE WIN AT SAN FRANCISCO, THAT WAS PRETTY HUGE. Yes, it was. Obviously getting the start was big, and we were dominant, which I felt like could have transferred into the main event. But obviously, we did not get to show that. Unfortunate events happen, it is racing. But I felt like that if we carried that into the main event, we maybe could have pulled off a win that night.

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT YOU ARE DIALED IN PRETTY WELL ON THE NEW BIKE. It took a couple of weeks once I first got on it to get comfortable with it, but once December hit, it has been game on. Ever since then, we have not really changed much on the bike. The past few weeks we have just been racing and every time I show up, I feel more and more comfortable.

Ryder has been building momentum and was able to score a fifth in the first main at Anaheim 2

MONSTER ENERGY PRO CIRCUIT KAWASAKI WAS STRICTLY A 250 TEAM WHILE NOW YOU HAVE 450 GUYS THAT YOU ARE TEAMED UP WITH, WHAT IS THAT LIKE? Yes, there are a lot of riders, and resources that I have because it is KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas. We are all pretty much under one tent. At the practice track, it is nice. But I also had Jason Anderson to ride with when I was at Kawasaki too, so it is not too much of a difference. It is nice to not have any egos around our tent because I am not racing against anybody under the tent, as I did at Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Although outdoors will come soon enough, and I will have to deal with Pierce (Brown), he is one of the cooler teammates that I’ve had, so it is nice.

New to the Troy Lee Designs GasGas team this year Ryder has high expectations of results.

LETS MOVE TO SAN DIGO. YOU LOOKED DECENT IN YOUR HEAT RACE BUT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE LIKED TO FINISH BETTER IN THE MAIN. Yes, I took fourth in my heat race, which I was happy with. My start in the main was pretty good, but I just had some immediate problems and made some mistakes. I was then shuffled back some. I finished ninth, which is not where I want to be. It was another tough track, and the muddy conditions were difficult. I’m already looking forward to Anaheim 2.

TO FINISH UP, IT IS YOUR ROOKIE SUPERCROSS SEASON, WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE IN MIND? After San Francisco, I knew that I could win now, even if it was a mud race. I don’t really see any difference from last week into this next weekend. My goal is to finish in the top five the rest of the season, fight my way back into a good point position, and just go weekend by weekend.

Ryder DiFrancesco won his first heat race at San Francisco.