Monster Energy Kawasaki test rider Broc Tickle is competing in select rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship for the manufacturer in an effort to “elevate the team’s KX450SR testing efforts in competitive conditions.” For the 34-year-old, who last took in an AMA Pro Racing event in Supercross in 2021, coming off the test tracks to compete against the best motocross racers the world over, was a very formidable challenge.
“Not only did the bike get tested, but I also got tested,” says Tickle, who guided the works No. 938 KX450SR to 12-15 moto scores for 13th overall in his debut at the RedBud National. The 2011 AMA Supercross 250 Western Regional championship winner for Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, Tickle was is eager to face the challenge of returning to world class racing, albeit somewhat shock and awed with the reality.
“Obviously, I’ve been around long enough to know what to expect, but obviously it has been a while,” says Tickle. “Those feelings came back up as it got closer to the race at RedBud. The nervousness and the typical stuff came up and that was something I had net experienced in a while, especially at this level. So for me, I was actually looking forward to that part of it, you know? I knew it was not going to be easy. I knew that there were going to be challenges along the way and, honestly, part of it was that I wanted to feel all of that again. I wanted to feel that challenged part. I wanted to be, and I guess the right word for it is that I wanted to be humbled by the situation because I felt like that would be good for me to be back in that position to learn form it and to help others down the road with that fresh experience and perspective from me.”
Incorporated into the Monster Energy Kawasaki team as an official test rider during the summer of 2021, Tickle has been at work on the KX450SR for the past three racing seasons.
“I have now seen another side of the racing perspective,” he says. “I’ve seen it from the crew side of things, I should say. I wanted to take that perspective into my experience at RedBud. I wanted to experience everything I could while I was there. You know, sitting on the line and looking out into the infield and seeing all the fans. You know when I was racing, that was something that I did not do. I was so zoned in on what I was doing. So for me it was cool to experience everything at RedBud and go through challenges that I did and yes, I’m happy I did it. We learned a lot about the motorcycle over those conditions and that was the main goal behind it all.
“Obviously I had some personal goals for myself going into it, but at the end of the day, I felt like it was a success for myself and the whole group here at Monster Energy Kawasaki. It is a full R&D project and I think it kind of hits the area that I kind of focus on personally. I wanted to go through those experiences again and that’s research and development from my side, too. It was great for all of us.”
Tickle explains what goes into his role as a former championship-contending racer to full-time research and development-themed test rider for Kawasaki.
“So I started here with the team in May 2021 right after Supercross,” relates Tickle of going to work on what would be the race equipment for Kawasaki factory team racers Jason Anderson and recently retired Adam Cianciarulo. “I just kind of got my feet wet with what they were looking for. It was hard for me in the beginning because I was used to setting up the bike for me and I had to learn that that is not what this is about over the first year or so. For me, it was just utilizing the resources we have and I think that is where we’ve taken off with this new bike. Obviously, we all know for manufacturers that a new bike can be a big challenge, but we’ve done a good job doing what we do and that consists of that fact that last summer we had this new bike.
“Basically we had a new bike with a new season coming up. What happened was that we did four to six weeks of testing motocross on it. We started completely stock and then started adding parts and getting comments and I think that’s where the value comes in with this position. That’s a lot of stuff to run through for a guy who races for a living and who is expected to win. So for us, we went all that and then we jumped into supercross and built a package and then Jason and Adam got on the bike basically with that base package that we developed and then they manipulated and changed some things to suit their riding styles.
“It is really cool to be involved. I have learned a lot and from my point of view, small changes can make a big difference in some results. I think that is why I’m so intrigued by it, as well. I am not only learning how the parts and how everything operates and how it can be read, but I’m also learning now that is all about putting the package together. Obviously, that cannot be done by yourself.”
As part of the Kawasaki testing process, Tickle works closely with factory race team crew chiefs Theo Lockwood and Oscar Wirdeman.
“The riders learn trust in their crew chiefs,” says Tickle. “Theo and Oscar are also involved in the testing. Those guys take over. We do the testing and that includes me and then they take what we do and they learn from me and use it for their riders. I am involved with the race team, but I’m really kind of a middleman at that point. I respect that. I give the feedback and those guys do their best work with their riders.”
On race day in Buchanan, Mich., Tickle went to the starting gate for the opening moto with the No. 938 affixed to the KX450SR race bike. His first time returning to the fray in nearly four years, the whole experience was akin to a clean sheet of white paper.
“The parade lap was cool,” remembers Tickle “Like I said, I wanted to soak in the experience as a whole. For me, to be in the position that I am in, I felt like it was necessary for me to take it all in and I did so and it was awesome. Moto-wise, my starts are what really held me back, to be honest with you. Fitness-wise, I felt OK. Cardio-wise, I felt good. Strength-wise, I felt a little week. Obviously, I had not ridden many tracks of that rough condition, of which RedBud was. All the guys were saying that the track was really gnarly. I knew it was gnarly, but I expected it. In the past, those were conditions I really thrived in, so for me, I looked forward to the challenge of kind of throwing myself out there.
“It was as raw as it gets. The team morale was awesome. Jason Anderson ended up third in the second moto and was close to a podium overall. Some of the changes I made and some of the comments I made were listened to. We did press day at RedBud. Even after press day, there were some changes made to Jason’s bike based off of my comments. Just to know that I was part of that and the crew made the decision to do so, was really good. There was a lot of good stuff happening there.”
As racing fate would have it, Tickle and his on-track feedback proved valuable to the team while at RedBud.
“I felt like we had some room for improvement on chassis. I ended up actually starting with a new fork with a new setting on Saturday. Engine-wise, I felt like in deeper stuff we could be better, so we got back to work this week and made some gains already and we already have stuff headed to Jason Anderson for this week,” he relates. “We’re taking everything we’ve learned and we’ve applied it and already worked on it. We are hoping Jason likes the changes that we offered and we see that No. 21 on the podium and maybe fighting for some wins by the end of the summer.”
Still, Tickle is savoring being back behind the starting gate and racing the No. 938 KX450SR.
“It’s all kind of surreal,” he smiled. “It took me a minute to accept it while I was there racing at RedBud, but it really did not matter what place I got. I wanted to perform a little better than I did. That is OK. That is the competitive side to me. As soon as I accepted the fact that, ‘Hey, dude, you’re not here to get a ride next year to race. You’re here to feel the bike out, and if there is anything that we need to work on, let’s bring up, let’s talk about it and let’s make it better.’ That’s kind of the mindset I had after I accepted everything. For me, that was a turning point on race day mentally. As soon as a I let that go, it changed my mind set and changed my purpose for the race.”
Next up for Tickle will be the Budds Creek National in Maryland set for Aug, 17.
“Part of me is like, ‘Hey dude, why don’t you go ask the guys if you can race this coming weekend?’ But you know what? I’m looking forward to Budds Creek,” he says. “We have some time as a group to work on the bike and I have some time to work on myself. It’s all about the team result here. If we can keep making progress on the bike and get Jason a little better here and there, let’s see some podiums and maybe a win before the end of the season. That’s what excites me. It all feeds the crop, you know? Let’s keep making progress and let’s all feed off it all together as a group.
“I’m in a new place than where I was when I was racing. For me, I haven’t been put in that position yet. So it was all new to me. Once I realized where I am at and what I am doing, it was easy for me to tune-in and focus on what was needed. I’m now looking forward to Budds Creek and I want to do everything I can and work with these guys and get the bike as good as we can for Jason for the rest of the year.”