Larry Brooks went from being a long-time pro rider in the 80s and 90s to managing the rider he used to race, the king of supercross, Jeremy McGrath, before working with Chad Reed, then Reed’s rival James Stewart and now one of the most talented riders ever, Ken Roczen. We asked Larry for his view on all four riders who are all legends of the sport in their own right.
Working with Ken Roczen…
I mean, if you look at the talent, Ken’s amazing on the motorcycle. I’ve never seen somebody ride the way he does and I’ve worked with some really good guys. He does some things on the motorcycle that none of those other guys did and it’s pretty amazing. The sport has evolved quite a bit since Jeremy was racing and Jeremy was one of the most amazing riders I ever worked with. Then I got to work with Chad Reed and then James Stewart and now Ken Roczen that, you know, they’re all kind of independent on how they do it and what they do on the track. But, you know, Ken is an amazing rider and really fun to work with.
I mean, they all have a lot of natural talent (Roczen, McGrath, Stewart Reed), obviously, they were able to develop their riding skills to the highest level. But it’s kind of their confidence, you know, and how they they present themselves and carry themselves at the races. The better the rider, the more confident usually they are. But, you know, Ken is very confident on the motorcycle, but he’s such a good person off the track.
Ken is a special guy. Even if the day is not going great, he just says, wait for the race, you know, and and even if the heat race doesn’t go that good, he’s like, it’s OK, you know, I don’t get points until the main event. So he would wait until the money was on the line and then he would put it down. They’re all kind of special in their own way. Ken is really fun to work with and and he doesn’t let all the pressure get to him and he just kind of waits until the points are on the line. Then he really lays it down.
Working with Jeremy McGrath.
He was just a normal guy, you know, he was just like you and I standing here talking. He was just mellow and just a good person. So he was fun to work with. You know, that was really my first good rider that I had worked with. I was so amazed by the way that he carried himself and and was with the fans and just the team and everything. Just the normal guy, you know. When he got that helmet on, he was he was special. He was this very special guy. So it was more amazing that they could be normal people and and be so good on a motorcycle, it was amazing.
I remember days with him and Kevin Windham riding at the Yamaha track and and jumping these jumps that I’m just like, they’re going to die, you know?! And they would make it no problem! It was really fun. I raced for a long time and I learned more in those few years that I worked with Jeremy than I ever knew that even existed in racing. So, yeah, the way that they they just did their job, you know, and I didn’t think that I was always thinking harder, harder, harder. But they were almost like, you know, they would mellow out and just ride with their skill and and not let the pressure get to them. That was probably the biggest thing.
Like I said, I learned more working with Jeremy than I than I had over the whole career, my 14 years of racing pro from the mental side. If I approach stuff or just the technical stuff I get on the bike. Well, the technical side was really special, you know, like he could do things a lot of guys couldn’t do. But the mental side I was more impressed with of how he carried himself and how he didn’t let the pressure get to him. He would go to the line and just the game would drop and he just knew he should be in the lead. He would go right to it, you know. It was pretty fun to watch and definitely educational for me.
Working with James Stewart
James was different. You know, he just did it with pure speed and determination. He wanted to win really bad, you know, he would go to the race and he never raced for second place and that was one thing Jeremy would do. If he wasn’t quite the best guy that day or if he had to settle then he would. James would not, he would go until the wheels fell off. You know, he was an amazing rider and really fun to work with also.
Working with Chad Reed
Chad was determined, but he would ride in his comfort zone. He wouldn’t override the motorcycle. He wouldn’t push himself into a danger zone or anything. He would ride to his ability. I mean, he was on the podium for weeks and weeks and weeks. So, you know, the way he did it was pretty cool. It was a championship machine.
Chad was pretty direct as far as a test rider and saying, OK, I need to do this or I need that on my motorcycle and he would push the team really hard. But I think that’s good, I enjoyed that. I enjoy being challenged and the rider wanting something that you might not be able to give them and you have to work really hard. That was fun.
Watch the full interview with Larry below:
