"I'm Probably Going to Piss Some People Off" | Derek Kelley Check-In

AEO Powersport KTM's Derek Kelley had an up and down season in 2023 that saw his best individual race and overall season finishes in Supercross, but a disappointing pro motocross and SMX championship. DK made some changes and was preparing himself for take the next step up the ladder in '24 when a practice crash recently set him back. Vital MX recently checked-in with him to find out what happened, what his plan is for '24, and more.

For the full interview, check out the Vital MX podcast right here. If you're interested in the condensed written version, scroll down just a bit further.

Jamie Guida -Vital MX: DK, what's going on?

Derek Kelley: Not much. Just enjoying the off-season.

Vital MX: Are you enjoying it? 

DK: No.

Vital MX: Yeah, we have some things to discuss, but first, now that the '23 season is over, how do you feel about your results? You got ninth in the 250 West series, your best season so far. In the outdoors, you were 24th overall and SMX did not go well.

DK: I think we grew a lot, and I learned a lot. Supercross was my best season since I've been doing it. I had some personal best results, but it's always a growing process. Your goals only get higher the better you do. I'm not stoked about how SMX and outdoors went, but I was dealing with a lot of stuff. I can make excuses all day long, but at the end of the day, we didn't put in the results to qualify straight into the SMX. Then the LCQs kicked my butt. That's how it goes sometimes.

Vital MX: What do you feel you improved on as a rider in Supercross? Last year, you had a goal of making a top ten. This year, you got a career-best sixth in Glendale. The next step is a top five, but what did you improve on?

DK: I think I just got faster. I was faster and more consistent. I made a lot of gains at the end of '22 and coming into '23. I was at the top of my game, and you just get better. Results come with that. The new bike handled well in Supercross for me. That helped a lot. We grew as a team, but there are tons of factors that come into it. At the end of the day, I just got better at riding a dirt bike. 

Vital MX: What's the next step, and how do you get better? Do you feel you've peaked?

DK: I don't think you peak unless you're satisfied with where you are. This off-season, I was excited to get out and work on something I lacked in the outdoor season. I invested a lot into my personal health, such as Lasik and a couple of other procedures to help with the arm pump. I was 100% focused coming into this year. 

Vital MX: I want to go back to something you said. You said you were dealing with some things outdoors and in SMX. Do you want to tell us what that was?

DK: Outdoors started rough because at the final SX round in Salt Lake, I got landed on. It bruised my kidney, and I spent four days in the hospital. I had surgery, and it put me on the back foot coming into the outdoor season. We had suspension testing planned for the following week, and I missed it. So, I didn't have any testing coming into Pala. I was only on the bike twice before. Throughout the year, we struggled due to a lack of testing. We finally found a setting, and I started clicking off some results, but then we had bad luck. I developed an arm-pump problem out of nowhere, and it was just ridiculous. It felt like one thing after another.

Vital MX: I felt you started riding better as the outdoors went on. You got 18th at Ironman, which was your best result. The team seemed to be getting better with the new bike.

DK: We had a lot of work to do with the chassis for the outdoors. It meshed well with me in Supercross with the stiffer chassis, but I struggled to find a good balance for the outdoors. We busted our butts, and the team never quit or faltered. They stuck behind me through the outdoors even though I struggled more than ever since I turned pro. It was an awful year getting 25th or battling for 20th and asking myself, "What is my issue?" It was a stacked field with a ton of talent in the 250 class, and I am a bigger dude. The tracks were deep this year, and sometimes it's hard to compete.

Vital MX: You also mentioned the struggles with SuperMotocross. Did you like the new format, what they tried to do with the tracks, or anything about it?

DK: I just try to keep a positive attitude about it, and I think it has great potential. They need to make the tracks more technical because we are too good. Having the top 20 guys in each class battling on a kid's track or a track that isn't technical is not fun. All the riders know how to hit a rhythm section that only has one option, and the tracks were one-lined and easy. So, it came down to whose bike was faster. You couldn't make up time. You could only lose time. We saw a lot of that, especially in Chicago. Some riders went down in the first turn and could only pass two people in 20 minutes. I thought, "What is going on?" I know they are trying to add in the Futures stuff, but you're trying to have a premier motocross/Supercross championship. Why wouldn't you be focused on making the racing the best at the top level? Then, if those kids want to come race, they have to figure it out. Make them slow down. If they don't want to wad themselves, then don't hit it.

Vital MX: For 2024, you are still on the AEO Powersports KTM team. Unfortunately, you recently had an issue. Fill in everyone on what happened.

DK: Yeah, two weeks ago, I had a little issue that was out of my control, and I took a digger. I ended up busting my arm up pretty good, and it looks like we'll be missing a few rounds at the start of the season. They gave me a rough estimate on recovery time, but I haven't returned for my check-up. I'll know more at the end of this week how the healing is going. Then, we'll have a better picture the closer we get. It's still early, but I broke my radius and shattered the ulna. Dr. Alexander platted both of them, and now I'm just waiting. 

Vital MX: How is the pain two weeks later?

DK: Yeah, the first five days were rough, but I've completely weaned off the painkillers. The pain has subsided, and I can finally sleep through the night. This is tough. It's been about four years since the last time I had a fracture. I attribute most of my progress in the pros to staying healthy, but when stuff is out of your control, it's hard to swallow.

Vital MX: Going back to the AEO team, Jeremy Scism has put a lot of effort and money into improving the team each year. You have a couple of new teammates in Talon Hawkins and Ryder McNabb. Have you spent any time riding with them?

DK: I started training about two weeks before I got hurt, so I probably had four- or five days training with Talon at the supercross track. I was super excited coming into this year. It will still be a good year even though I'm missing a few rounds, but it will be a solid team. Talon is ripping and seems to be gelling with the REP suspension and the team. It's a good fit. I haven't had a chance to ride with Ryder, but he's the Canadian champion, and it will be awesome seeing him learn supercross. Then, coming into the outdoors, it'll be a gnarly team. 

Vital MX: Originally, you were scheduled to race 250 West in Supercross and then 450 outdoors. Is that still the plan? That would be your first time racing outdoors on a 450, right?

DK: No. I actually made my first professional race on a 450 outdoors. I raced five or six rounds in 2019 on a 450. I've made huge improvements since then, but that's still the plan. As I said, I'll know more about when I'll be back soon. I'd love to race some rounds of Supercross on a 450 if we have a chance because I'll be doing outdoors and SMX on a 450. I want to get as many points and experience as possible. Depending on when I come back, we were tossing around the idea of trying to put together an East Coast 250 effort and then race a 450 on the West Coast. That's all just us spitballing right now. We haven't figured out the logistics or funding. It's still so early with my injury. Who knows, maybe I'll go in, have some bone growth, and be back on the bike before A1. It's just such a bummer because I was so excited to get to training. I was just getting into the swing of things when it happened, but everything happens for a reason. It was a minor setback. 

Vital MX: In those two weeks leading up to the injury, were you 'riding the best you ever had?' That's what all you riders say every year. 

DK: I don't know if I was the fastest I've ever been, but I've made many improvements in areas I lacked before. I felt I had a good base started and was close to where I was at the end of this season. The new bike is better because we got a new engine package that was fast. I'm stoked to get back to training and get on the line with it.

Vital MX: What are those things you improved on? Give us an example.

DK: I was working on standing further into the corners. I'd often sit early, and it would upset me, and I'd lose momentum. So, standing longer and entering the bowl turns, I found a lot of speed and consistency. I was also excited to work on being less of a pussy. That was my biggest problem this year. I let people push me around, and I'm too big of a guy to worry or concede and not make a pass when I should. That's the biggest thing I'm going to change for next season. I'm probably going to piss some people off, but at the end of the day, I go out there to do a job. If you're in the way, it's not my problem. I'm not going to do anything dirty. I won't be out there T-boning people, but I will trade some paint and won't let people by without a fight.