EIGHT-TIME GNCC CHAMPION KAILUB RUSSELL
P102
INTERVIEW
In 2021, Kailub Russell, who has
been with KTM throughout his entire
professional racing career, wants to join
an elite group of racers/athletes who
have been successful in both moto-
cross and off-road. Having just retired
from an off-road career that saw him
win eight Grand National Cross-Country
titles, Russell will be competing under
the factory KTM tent, where he hopes
to make yet another mark for himself.
"With my success in off-road, KTM
is affording me the opportunity to live
out a lifelong dream," says Russell
who is realistic about his goals. "I feel
like it's taken me five years to get to
this point and ride at a high level on a
motocross track. I still don't think that
level is capable of being a top-five guy.
I'm just hoping for a few mud races to
get up there and throw it in, but I think I
am capable enough to have some good
results and show some potential."
Separating himself from former "dual
threats" like Rodney Smith and Mike
Brown, Russell will be transitioning
from off-road to motocross, instead of
from motocross to off-road.
"Back in the day when I was grow-
ing up, riding off-road, nobody really
rode motocross," says Russell. "The
'90s and early 2000s were weird for
off-road. There wasn't the surplus of
motocross tracks either like there are
now. So off-road, it's just different,
and I'm hoping to break out of that off-
road mold and into motocross. Now,
everyone trains on a moto track."
Off-road racing has always seemed
to take a back seat to motocross, but
Russell hopes to bring some credibility
to off-road where it's long overdue.
Sure, off-road racers compete at an in-
credible level, but are they at the same
level as motocross? Time will tell.
"To go fast in the woods, it doesn't
really translate into going fast on a mo-
tocross track," says Russell. "Woods
riding actually breeds a lot of bad
habits. I even have to be mindful of this,
and I work on it a lot. I'm always cover-
ing my brake in the woods because,
especially the first couple laps, you
don't know where you're going be-
cause we don't practice the track. It's
hard to break those habits once you
get to a certain age. I think that's why
the translation from woods to moto is
so much harder. The guys that ride
"I THINK I AM CAPABLE ENOUGH
TO HAVE SOME GOOD RESULTS AND
SHOW SOME POTENTIAL."
