Trevor Stewart | Off-Road’s Young Blood

INSTAGRAM | @trevorstewart75

When we sat down to scratch out the plan for Swapmoto Live, it was clear that off-road riding was going to get some much-need attention. The dedicated followers of the discipline have always been around, but over the last few years, the interest has increased and a number of motocross riders have lined up at GNCC, Big 6, WORCS, and Hare & Hound events. With that said, expect more interviews, bike reviews, and race coverage from the off-road segment on our site…

It was impossible to miss Trevor Stewart. While most on the fenceline at Fox Raceway last Tuesday had their sights on the riders and teams that were testing for the upcoming Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, I kept an eye on the JCR Honda with blue number plate backgrounds and an oversized tank. Stewart’s line choices were a bit unorthodox compared to the motocross-minded riders, as he hunched his shoulders over the handlebars and made every effort to lift the front wheel over obstacles that were on the track. But by the eye test, the 2018 AMA WCGP Big6 GP champion was hauling ass and he looked just as comfortable as anyone else. When his training moto was cut short for a mini bike only practice session, I sat down with Stewart and discussed the differences he sees from motocross to off-road, how he is one of the young riders bringing new attention to discipline, the smart decision to hire a full-time filmer for an online video series, and what his career goals are. Stewart was so well spoken that there’s no need to read the questions before the answers, so here’s a twelve-minute talk with no interruptions.

I started out as a local kid that only raced at Glen Helen and lived fifteen minutes away in Rancho Cucamonga. My dad got into Big 6, which is the series that I race professionally now and my first actual race was a Big 6 race, so I’ve been familiar with it. I went back and forth between off-road and motocross, but my initial start with motorcycles was off-road. That was my dad’s deal because he loved it and wanted to be a part of it. He wanted me to be a person that grows the sport and I think it’s still unfamiliar with a lot of people, they don’t get the big tank or what’s going on.

I felt like I had some sort of speed and talent with motocross, so even though I didn’t have the money, I wanted to pursue it and see where it took me. As far as a skillset on a motocross track, it’s huge, especially with the racing that I do now because it’s kind of like a long motocross track with fast straightaways. It’s become extremely popular in the last couple of years and we’ve seen a lot of guys come over.

I had a very short stint of an amateur career in motocross. I had a two-stroke that I would go rip around and I remember I got second at a Mammoth qualifier against every fast kid you could think of and I was on a 2007 YZ250. It was the lowest style of racing that we could do, but it was so much fun. I figured that I could use my skills on a two-stroke and put that to off-road racing, and that’s what we did. I got a new Yamaha that we ripped for three years, just rebuilt it because the thing was a tank, and in 2015 I started racing off-road again. That was when I started to gain some traction and did well with just a couple of key people behind me, some of the sponsors that I still have. It was still very low budget, but we went and had a good time. Now it’s very different from that and I’m fighting for a championship with some of the baddest dudes on the West Coast. I don’t think people understand how gnarly and grueling off-road racing is, but at the same time, some have taken notice.

I feel like myself and Zach Bell have been some of the key people to West Coast off-road. In December I won my first major championship on a big bike; I was twenty-one years old and I think I was the youngest to do that. It was huge for me and the team.

The amount of dual sport bikes and off-road bikes that I see everywhere is insane. I don’t think that I’m an impact on that, but to see some moto kids try off-road and dig it, I feel like I have a slight part in that. I feel like I’ve kind of done something [Laughs]!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m five seconds off the pace of every pro motocross racer here (at Fox Raceway), but this isn’t my thing. I go out and ride hard pack or places like Nuevo (Southern California’s unofficial sand track), but when I ride a moto track, I try to take advantage of it because I can learn a lot and put it to off-road.

I’ve been known for riding a gear up and standing everywhere. That’s big for me because it’s how I save myself in the long races. You have to have gnarly strength and legs, so standing up helps me. If I can work on my craft for that when I’m riding here or vice versa, it helps a lot.

I’m defending my championship this year, which hasn’t been the easiest thing. I’m leading the points now, but it’s been a slow start and a struggle. I’m finally gaining traction. After winning the championship last year, it was huge for the entire JCR Honda team because I was expecting it, but I don’t think that a lot of other people were. When I went to the first round last year, I put on a clinic and I don’t think anyone was ready for it. I felt so prepared and I knew it was my year. In 2017 I got second, so I put my head down and knew it’s time for me to win. I had an outstanding year last year and this year, we’re four rounds in and I have the points lead by fourteen. It’s been a damn good year for me and I’m going to try to keep doing my thing.

What’s weird for us is that we will race in May, the same weekend as Supercross but on Sunday in Primm, but then we get a four-month break with the whole summer off and start up again in October. It’s not like the season is over with, but we get a huge break to sit around and it’s weird for me. I have gone to Japan for the last few years to do R&D testing for Honda and that really keeps me busy over the summer. I will be gone for a few months at a time, basically living over there, and that keeps me busy and on my toes. I feel like I can come into the last rounds of the season strong and that’s what I plan to do this year. I plan to get back to back championships this year, but the ultimate goal is to keep building the sport. It’s very different from motocross racing and I want to keep pushing that. For the guys that are out there and kind of lost in motocross, that’s how I was, but when I made the switch to off-road it became home for me. It’s something fun to do and I think that everyone should try it. I’ve never experienced grueling pain like I have riding off-road, and it took a long time to overcome that with mental strength. I think any dude that gets top-ten in an outdoor National couldn’t go win an off-road race, it’s a totally different thing. And that’s what’s cool about it, that it’s so different and it’s respectable.

Bringing Medium (Eli Steria) on was part of building the off-road scene. Medium is a bitchin’ filmer for me and he has quite the platform. It helps me and everyone that wants to know about off-road, so it’s gained a lot of traction. It’s all part of showing something different. I don’t want to show the same old shit. I like to be different and be real about it, so people know what’s actually going on and not something sugar-coated.

Dakar is the end goal, for sure. It’s a long way away and for a lot of people that don’t understand what kind of racing that is, that is the gnarliest thing anyone could do. It’s unbelievable and that’s the end goal. It’s a long time from now that I plan to do it, but I hope I can keep doing what I’m doing and get there one day. As an off-road racer with motocross, as soon as that Glen Helen National comes back, I want to be there. I think I could do pretty damn good [Laughs]!”