Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 29, 2013 Heading into round five of the Supercross Series, Davi Millsaps still wears the red plate. was second in points last year. I wasn't in anything. I was pushed aside. But that was okay, I was able to focus on racing." Now he's doing the pushing, getting to the front of nearly every race held so far, surprising many by his new-found speed and stamina, which is something that he's never been really known for. Instead, he's been known to tire before the end of a long moto, but now he looks and seems more physically fit than ever before, showing that his hard work is paying off with top finishes and the points lead. "I didn't have a lot of off-season time because of being hurt and being on a new team," he said. "They gave me a new bike and they got me going as soon as I could, and I just ride every day and was being really consistent during the whole off-season, just ride and ride and ride. I was training some, too, with Ezra Lusk, but we still have some work to do. You can't get in shape in three months, so I'm getting better every time and just staying consistent." But perhaps the biggest difference for Millsaps this year compared to any other year is his new attitude, and that's something he says has really changed things around for him. "I'm trying to stay focused this year and have a good outlook," Millsaps said after his second- place finish at the Oakland Supercross. "There are 17 rounds you have to stay focused for and just do the best we can. This is my career, my job, and I have to do the best I can to provide for my family, and do the best I can for my team, too. I'm just trying to be as focused and as smart as I can and stay there for the whole 17 rounds, and just be up here on the podium. It's definitely a better feeling than I've had in the past, just to know that I belong up here." When asked what he thinks he's doing better on the track this year than in previous years, Millsaps quickly replies "everything!" "Starts is one area," Millsaps said. "I think I've always gotten good starts, but I'm getting them more consistently this year. I'm being more aggressive, too." Millsaps proved that by passing Trey Canard back to get the A1 win and passing Chad Reed back for third before sliding out at A2, letting a sure podium finish slip away through his fingers. "In the past, if someone passed me I just let them go. Now I fight back, so that's a big change for me. I also think people see that I still have heart and I'm putting a lot of heart into it and dedication." A true sign of his maturity is that now when Millsaps encounters a problem he tends to handle them better than he did earlier in his career. Even at Oakland, when he struggled with the track in practice, Millsaps kept his cool, and he and the team slowly made P47 changes until they got to where they needed to be for the final. "We made some changes every practice and we made changes before the heat race and even some before the main," said Millsaps. "The last changes we made seemed to help a lot and I felt a lot more comfortable. You kind of have to make the best of your bad days and dig deep and get out there and make something happen, so that's what I've been trying to do, and I'm pretty excited to be on the podium three times so far this season out of four races and hopefully we can keep it going." And while he knows it's going to be next to impossible to beat the red-hot and rapidly approaching Ryan Villopoto straight up right now, Millsaps is willing to chip away at the points and be consistent and put in the hard work that is needed to stay on the podium every week, and then just see where he ends up. And his results so far - a win, a third, a fourth and a second - seem to prove that he certainly has the speed and ability to challenge for this year's title. As of now, Millsaps holds a seven-point lead over Trey Canard and an eightpoint lead over Villopoto. "You know, I've just been taking it one step at a time and just putting my head down and giving it all I got, and I'm willing to keep doing that. This recent success gives me more motivation to work and train harder, knowing I can win." CN

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