Grant Harlan: Building Back to Form Ahead of SMX Playoffs

We caught up with Gizmo Mods/Rock River Yamaha 450SMX rider Grant Harlan ahead of the SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs. He talks about his 2024 season, returning from his gnarly broken pelvis crash from last year’s Motocross of Nations riding for Guam, building himself back to form from that injury, his outlook on the racing mindset, looking ahead to the SMX Playoffs, and much more. Here is the full interview:

Grant, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. After starting this season in Arlington and missing the first couple of rounds of Supercross, what was your thought process coming into that race?

Grant Harlan: Honestly, going into Dallas, I kind of figured I'd be pretty far off. I really just wanted to get back into race shape. I had thoughts like, "Maybe I should just wait till outdoors to make sure I'm fully healthy and in shape again." Even before Dallas, like the Wednesday before, I crashed pretty hard and got a black eye, which was definitely in my head a little bit. But I still went out there and tried to get some experience racing again, which from Dallas to Salt Lake, like, two laps into the heat race in Dallas, I was breathing hard and exhausted. Yeah, from Dallas to three or four main events. It helped me out. Maybe it hurt me a little bit in overall fitness, but I got a little bit of an advantage, than, if I didn’t race with the race craft and race fitness.

Yeah, and speaking on race fitness and missing those first nine rounds, it’s hard to just jump back in and try to be back where you were, right?

Grant Harlan: Yeah, it’s hard that way. From October to the middle of January, I didn’t get any ride time, and then Dallas was like the second or third week in February. So you can imagine the, like, I mean, I was on the bicycle doing very light rides maybe in December. So, it was pretty much a solid three months of really not doing too much and then three months of non-weight bearing on my left leg. And then, like, a month of actually being able to walk and do strength exercises, and then pretty much a month of riding after that. And then I was like, you know, let's go racing. And I figured Dallas would be the easiest one to show up and try, and if I’m not ready, you know, I'm not spending all this money, and you're not traveling super far. I mean, it's 45 minutes to the stadium, so yeah, easy to be like, okay, I have it, let's keep doing it, or I don’t have it, let's sit at home. Yeah, it's actually, you know, trying to get a little bit of a base, but yeah. Speaking of base, I had none. I still don’t really. I'm still working on it.

And during the week, do you ride two times a week or so?

Grant Harlan: Yeah.

And is that on a bike that's similar to your race bike, or is it more like a stock bike that you're riding?

Grant Harlan: I mean, race bike, practice bike, both stock. So, I mean, all I have on either bike is an ECU, suspension, and a clutch. Other than that, we're all stock.

So it's pretty easy because I know some riders who say the practice bike doesn’t feel the same, even though they might be the same. Do you think the same way?

Grant Harlan: Yeah, I mean, it definitely feels different.

Is it just because things are newer in it?

Grant Harlan: Yeah, I mean, or newer. So I was on the same race bike from the start of Supercross until Washougal and then had some issue, which I still really don't know what happened in the second moto, but I was like, you know what, we've been on this bike all year. We had a bike that was kind of my backup, with maybe five hours on it. So I switched from the old race bike to a new one, and I mean, even then, I could tell the difference with the chassis and everything. So yeah, a new bike definitely, there's definitely a difference between race bikes, just in the chassis feeling.

Talk about not racing and trying to get back into that physical shape and what you're still working on now. It's tough to be out of those races for so long, and you can do everything you can off the bike, but it's hard to get back into that race shape.

Grant Harlan: Yeah, it's hard to get back into race shape, which is why I got into Supercross when I did. Whether I made the main or not, it was good to be out there and get the kind of race shape and intensity from it. I could have sat at home for either the duration of Supercross or five or six more rounds and then jumped in, but I figured if I waited past Dallas and maybe hit round 14 or something, I’d feel like, you know, four rounds of Supercross, what am I out here for? Right. So I might as well try, and if I'm not ready, I'm not ready. I'll stay at home and try to get ready. But yeah, the race intensity, I think, helped me in some aspects, and not being as fit as I should have been hurt me in others.

As you are building back your race base and endurance, is it hard for you to get beat by riders you know in the back of your head that you can beat? How hard is it to swallow your pride and say, "Alright, man, I gotta work harder," and do that sort of thing? How does that make you feel, and does it give you a lot more motivation to keep going and grinding?

Grant Harlan: It's tough because, you know, all the races that I had that were really good this summer, I was right behind Phil (Nicoletti) and Freddie (Noren). And then the races that were not good, instead of being, you know, a few spots behind them or maybe like six or seven behind them like Millville first moto, Budds Creek, Southwick, I can't even score points. Right. So honestly, that is more typical for me to handle than, you know, a bad race where I got 16th or 15th, whatever. Because I feel, like I said, my good races were 9th to 12th, 13th. Right. And then the bad races were outside of points. Like, Budds Creek moto one, I straight up got 30th. Like 38 minutes on the track for 30th place, didn't crash. My start wasn't good, but my second moto start was about the same, and I got 14th, so I don't understand it. Those are kind of tough.

So, it is not more about the people that beat you; it's more about the position for you.

Grant Harlan: Yeah, I know where I should be, like I said, you know, when I ride like I should, around Phil and Freddie. Right. So unless I crash or have a mechanical or something like that, and it's out of my control, I’m not too worried about those. But when I don't crash, and there's no mechanical and I still, you know, getting beaten passed by guys that couldn't even be close to me, right, that, like I said, it's tough to just be like, okay, well, go home, try not to think about it, try again next weekend.

And I guess that’s pretty much your mindset, trying not to dig too deep into it, just kind of trying to forget about it and move on.

Grant Harlan: I mean, try to, but there's been a lot of texts like, "I'm done. I quit. This is it." And then, you know, next weekend, I show up, and we're back in 10th, and I'm like, okay, cool. Yeah, we're good. We're good. It’s kind of the ups and downs of the sport. Yeah. I kind of made a golf analogy, you know, I'm not very good, but every once in a while, you know, I get a birdie or par, and I'm like, “You know what, dude, I got it.” I just keep trying. That’s kind of like racing, you know, maybe a little bit on the flip side. We're like, oh, it's good. You know, I'm the man. Yeah. And then really bad, and I'm like, you know what, I suck. I'm done with this.

So, going into the outdoors, your main priority was to put in good results, get close to that top 10, and accumulate enough points to secure a spot in the SMX series without needing to go through the LCQ. Now that the Pro Motocross season is over, how will you approach these final three SMX rounds? Is there anything you learned from last year’s races that you can take into these next three races?

Grant Harlan: Well, last year, what I struggled with in the SMX series was that it was my first full year of 17 Supercross rounds, 11 outdoors, and then it was like, "Oh, we've got three more races." Honestly, by Budds Creek last year, I was kind of getting over it—a little bit smoked—and then by Ironman, I was really tired. Moving to Charlotte, the races there and in Chicago were just okay—not really great, not really bad. And then, in L.A., I got super sick. I didn’t even think I was going to be able to race. I had strep throat, and that was tough. But, honestly, I think I did better in L.A. being sick. I barely rode on Friday during the practice sessions because I physically couldn’t, and then I went 18-12. So, yeah, I think I’m going to be in a little better place this year. I got my sickness out of the way last weekend at Ironman, and I’m just hoping the body stays good for the three races. What I learned from last year is to try and start more upfront than set up the bike with Supercross suspension and hope for the best.

Is that what you are planning to do—running Supercross suspension throughout the series?

Grant Harlan: Yeah, looking at the track maps, Dallas and Charlotte are pretty Supercross-oriented. I’m not sure about Vegas; it might be a bit more open. But I don’t really have the resources to make big changes, so I’m just going to run the Supercross setup at all three rounds and hope for the best.

Last thing— you’ve been with the Rock River/Gizmo Mods team for the previous two seasons. Can you talk about how they’ve supported and been there for you during this time?

Grant Harlan: Yeah, so going into last year, I was honestly planning on being out of the van, at least for the first four rounds, because I stayed in California for a few weeks. But I figured things out after that, and I think it was in December when the spot opened up on the Rock River team because a rider was supposed to be on the team but ended up getting another deal. So, I was like, "You know what? Let's do it." I was able to get my bike transport and everything, and I had my best year. I stuck around again this year, and after the results I had, I got a little more help. The team stuck with me through the bad races in Supercross and the few ones we did outdoors. It's been good.

That’s awesome. I appreciate your time, Grant, and good luck with these final three races.

Grant Harlan: Yep, thank you.

Grant is qualified 19th leading into the 450SMX SuperMotocross Playoff Rounds with Round 1 starting September 7th at the zMax Dragway in Concord, NC.