Five Minutes with Privateer Josh Bagge

Josh Bagge (sounds like bag) is the new kid on the block. A local favorite, Josh grew up out by Magic Mountain. He frequented the hillsides out behind the amusement park and the local tracks (some legal, some we’re not sure about, some we KNOW aren’t). Early on Bagge caught the eye of locals who urged him to follow his passion and race professionally. Last year Bagge emptied his piggy bank, hired a mechanic, got a Funmover, and hit the road to challenge the entire THQ Supercross 250 series. I caught up with Josh at the San Diego SX race.

MTM: Hey Josh what's up?

JB: Not much, just waiting for the qualifiers.

MTM: Josh, you've already done one full season of Supercross and this is your second. So, what’s the hardest part of a supercross track?

JB: The whoops, they’re the hardest because they are scarier then anything else. It's a total head game.

MTM: Where do you feel confident enough on the track to make up speed, how do you catch up to some of these guys?

JB: You don’t, you wait for them to lap you. Then you get to see them for a split second and try and stay with them and learn from their lines.

MTM: Why did you become a SX racer?

JB: I decided to do this because I don’t have to work a regular job. I can go to the gym everyday, ride my motorcycle everyday, train and have fun every day.

MTM: Are you having fun out there?

JB: I have fun when I ride good.

MTM: What makes you ride well?

JB: Usually if I get myself worked up, I won’t ride good. I need to be just relaxing and trying to have fun.

MTM: So it would bother you to be lined up next to Chad or Ricky?

JB: Oh, no. That wouldn’t bother me unless they jacked me up and I got a bad start.

MTM: What does your mom think?

JB: She thinks I do a great job. Even when I lose, she thinks I did a great job.

MTM: What is she thinking or doing while you are out there on the track?

JB: She knits sweaters for the dog. She doesn’t like to watch cause she’s afraid for me. Or maybe she just likes the dog.

MTM: So, Josh, if you could ride with three guys, past or present, who would it be?

JB: Damon Huffman, Mike Healy, Darren Stoffer, Eric Kehoe.

MTM: Hey, Damon (Huffman), you've been here hiding out in Josh's rig listening to all of this. What do you say, who would you ride with?

DH: Johnny O’Mara, Buddy Vince, Darren Stoffer.

MTM: Well, good luck to both of you. Keep the rubber side down!