Colt Nichols Talks Honda, Canard, and the Excitement of Racing Again

I had the chance to chat with HRC Honda’s newest recruit Colt Nichols this week. Surprisingly, Colt and I have never had the chance to talk on the phone or have any kind of interaction to this point. I definitely had to change that.

Going into the interview I figured it would be a great one, just with how much he’s gone through this season, but I wasn’t sure if he’d be comfortable going into some personal things because he doesn’t know me. I was pleasantly surprised that he felt comfortable giving me a rundown on his life and his thoughts after his injury last January. Obviously riders are really just people trying to get through life, but sometimes they stay guarded. Not Colt, he’s real and he is motivated for 2023 with his new team behind him

We talked about a lot of topics that we’ll break down into two features. This week he told us about what it means to him to have Trey Canard on the team, testing, his 450 rookie season, and the emotions he went through this year dealing with the unknown.

vurbmoto: I talked to Trey (Canard) last month for an interview and he told me how excited he was having you on the team. He’s known you for a long time and I’m sure you’ve looked up to him. How cool has it been having him on the team? I know he’s been out with a broken arm, but have you had the chance to link up with him since you signed?
Nichols: Yeah, it was kind of funny, when I first came out here I went to the Honda track and Trey was out there riding. I got to see him riding a little bit for a few days, but then he got hurt shortly after that. It’s been very full circle because like you said, Trey was my idol growing up. Once I got to the point where I realized that this is what I wanted to do and how I wanted to go about doing it. He was a pretty damn good role model. He did everything really well and he’s just a good guy. A good, genuine guy. He’s from the midwest and being from Oklahoma, he was just a big inspiration for me. Now it’s kind of funny because we will have a big test day here and we’ll do a lot of crazy things with the bike. He’s very involved with the team going back and forth and the dialogue is always there to know this is what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. It’s been cool, man. We’ve been talking a lot about the bike and direction about things that I want to do, the order things need to go, and how Honda wants to test. I’m learning a lot, he’s been around this program a really long time, so he’s a pretty good person to learn from. It’s been full circle and I never thought that I’d be working with Trey in this capacity, but it’s been awesome. It’s been a dream so far. I’ve been pumped with it.

It’s your rookie 450 season and you have a lot of good stuff headed your way. You’ve got to be so excited to go racing again because it’s been a long time.
Yeah, I definitely am. It’s been an exciting offseason, a little stressful at first with the unknown. Now that we’re settled in here it’s been more about trying to get myself comfortable. I’m going from a completely different platform being on that Yamaha 250 around seven years. Now going to the Honda 450 it has a lot of different characteristics, so it’s been more or less about getting some time. I started riding this bike on October 11th or 12th was my first day riding outdoors. We rode outdoors for two weeks and jumped into Supercross. Yeah, I’m just trying to get comfy. At first I was like, man we’ve got a ways to go. I just felt slow as all hell. I kind of knew it was going to be like that, but it was just kind of an adjustment. I think I fit this 450 well, but also bike setup, and getting it comfortable for you is a lot more crucial on the 450 than the 250 class. It’s just figuring out how to do that. This is the longest little streak we’ve gone about two weeks without doing some crazy big test and stuff we’re trying to go over. I’ve actually just put in laps and started to feel comfy on the bike. I’m really happy where I am right now. I got to finally ride with Chase this past week and the Lawrence brothers. That was a good gauge so I can really kind of figure out where we are. I need these few weeks leading to A1, but I’m ecstatic to get to go race, ease into this thing, and kind of see where we fit into this 450 class. I’m looking forward to it man, I’m ready to go race, like you said it’s been a while. A1 last year was the last time I lined up on a gate, so we’re anxious to do that for sure.  

It’s got to be the longest streak that you’ve had between races in your career. It was an interesting year as far as racing, we’re not racing, we’re going to World Supercross, now we’re not. Life definitely has a weird way of working out. So, now you end up on your feet. Talk about the emotions that went into this year and what did you do to stay busy? 
Yeah, this was an emotional year to say the least, with everything that happened. It was a messy January, you know. It was a lot. I got hurt at A1. I felt like I had a really good offseason. The sacrifice and everything was obviously there in the offseason and I had made some really big gains on the bike that I hadn’t made in a few years. I was pretty excited about that, so going into A1 there was a lot of hope that I could go win a West title and be a two time 250 champ. Then to leave A1 in an ambulance and all of that was heartbreaking, like it always is. You work so hard and you end up in an ambulance with nothing to show for it. Then I didn’t get to race not only any Supercross, but no racing at all. So, it was just a tough year and I lost one of my friends in the month of January as well. It was just a weird emotional time during that month. I didn’t know what to do. I was just so deflated at first because I was like, “God, dude I did everything perfect in the offseason.” I was so dedicated. I did everything to a T and I didn’t get to show anything. It took a minute to just be like, dammit let’s get back on the saddle and get it going again. But, that feeling doesn’t last very long. You know, I was sitting there in the hospital bed at UCI Hospital right outside of A1 with two broken arms, a crack in one of my hip bones, and this big burn on my side. I’ve got my mom holding the phone in front of my face so that I can watch the race that night. It’s just the way we operate. I’m not sure if we’re that dedicated, or just really dumb, or a combination of both. That feeling doesn’t last very long and you want to start training and riding and doing everything you can to be prepared. My mindset was good after that, once I really got to start training and hopefully be back on the bike soon. I got to start riding again in May, but it was tough. It was just a weird thing. I figured if I had gotten there once and made that much progress in an offseason then surely I could do that again. After that I just didn’t know what lie ahead. The whole time being injured that’s what I thought about was an opportunity for the 450 class and I thought my opportunity kind of slipped by, just by being injured. Life just has a weird way of working out. A lot of uncertainty, a lot of unknowns, and the best possible scenario was being on HRC Honda, and that’s what happened. It was definitely rare that was the case, but I was definitely blessed and lucky to get the opportunity. I’m just trying to make the most of it. I’m trying to make these guys proud and I want to put my best foot forward, show I can race this 450 well. That’s what we intend to do.                                             

Main image: Honda HRC