WA 14-year-old Caleb Grothues rides Monster Energy Cup
With a week for the memories to sink in, KTM Junior Motocross Racing Team rider Caleb Grothues has reflected on a Monster Energy Supercross experience that was pretty much a junior racer’s dream come true.
The well-spoken 14-year-old Western Australian walked the track with some of the very biggest names in the sport at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, before competing on the very same program.
While a technical hiccup in the first moto hampered the four-time Aussie junior champ, his brilliant Race 2 ride brought him up to eighth overall out of a 23-strong field, allowing the Aussie and his 105cc kitted KTM KTM85 big-wheel to make plenty of waves in the Super Mini class – despite the fact that he only started riding supercross this year!
Caleb Grothues: “The scene at the Monster Energy Cup was absolutely amazing.
“To be chosen to go and compete there was a wish come true. I was smiling every minute I was there.
“When he first got there we unpacked and put a new set of stickers with different numbers and colours, went through tech and got our AMA stickers and walked the track.
“On race day I went out for practice and it was a crazy track, everything was so steep and big! I had a big crash over the triple in my second qualifier, but came back and was all good.
“My first Moto didn’t go quite to plan as my holeshot button got stuck which pulled my front end down and I cased the double. The second was better and I came away with an eighth overall. It was the best experience and I hope to be able to do it again.
“The coolest thing was being able to walk the track with every pro rider, and I was still quite happy with how I went. It doesn’t look that crazy on TV but when you are coming up to a triple for example, it is so steep and big that it’s sometimes scary!”
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