ICYMI | Catching Up with Colton Facciotti
By Billy Rainford
Colton Facciotti is the winningest Motocross rider one modern Canadian history. He did what few professional riders are able to do – he went out on top and on his own terms. Ask any retired racer and I bet they’ll all agree that that would be the ideal way to hang up the leathers.
Colton is actually out here in his home province of BC to help with the MX schools going on at the Future West Moto Canadian Arenacross Championships with Ryan Lockhart and Kyle Beaton.
Not only that but Colton is now a Mini Dad and his son, Keagan Facciotti, will be lining up in the barn just like his father did for so many years.
I have some plans for a retirement piece with Colt, so I didn’t make this Intro Interview too in depth when talking about his full career. I did, of course, have to ask a coupe biography-style questions.
(I didn’t bring my hard drives out to BC with me so I had an issue finding photos for this interview and had to make due with some screengrabs)
Here’s what Colton has to say when we got in touch with him as he was preparing to leave Ontario to return to the Lower Mainland:
Direct Motocross: Hello, Colton. Thanks for talking with us today. We’ve gone over your past before so I won’t ask you to take a long walk down memory lane. I will ask you who your biggest rival was back in your amateur days out in BC?
Colton Facciotti: No problem, Billy! There isn’t any that really stand out. Beats (Kyle Beaton) and I had a few good battles but I was always a year ahead of him moving up to the bigger bikes. We were pretty good buddies through the years so it was a good kind of rivalry, I guess you could say.
You famously turned Pro at the tender age of 14. Looking back, was that too young? What would you do differently if you were getting rolling today?
That’s a tough one and I get asked that a lot! My answer has probably changed about 30 times. So many factors involved in that but I think for myself it wouldn’t have mattered either way. I do think I gained valuable experience those first couple years, even if it was good or bad. If I waited a year or 2 I might have been able to come in with some more confidence and more smarts but hindsight is 20/20 and I’m happy with the choices we made.
I will ask you one biography-type question: Of all the big races you’ve been in, what is the biggest and best race you ever did?
For sure MXON at Red Bud. It was insane and the amount of Canadian fans we had there was pretty cool. I got an awesome start and was running in the top 5 for a bit, so that feeling was something I won’t forget.
OK, one more. First or last, which championship meant more and why?
First was easiest. 100% I feel like at that point in my life I just twisted the throttle. Haha. As you get older, I think you lose that raw speed and don’t want to take those extra risks… so I had to be smarter and more strategic when it came to every little aspect.
You were able to grab your 6th Canadian 450 MX title in your final year. We spoke before and you said it was difficult for you to keep pushing through all the training. How tough was that final title on you?
It was tough, especially when I announced that it was going to be my last year racing before the season started. I didn’t really think it would add any pressure but it’s hard to go out on a bad note. Maybe that gave me the extra motivation to get me through the year and some of those tough times riding through injuries and such. I did know at round one that I made the right choice to retire and was counting down how many races were left, one by one.
And now you’re doing Superior Suspension Settings (SSS) work. How has that been going? Are you as busy as you want to be?
It has been going awesome and I have one of the smartest guys in the business to learn from (Joe Skidd). I’ve always enjoyed setting a bike up and suspension so it’s one of those things that doesn’t feel like a job for me, somewhat how moto was for me.
And I also saw you having to console young Keagan when he crashed pretty hard during SX at Gopher Dunes this fall. How are you handling being a Moto Dad? Do you now talk you your parents about all the things you put them through?
Ya, I didn’t really see the crash but he’s giving me a lot of grey hair. My old man is bald so I can see that coming shortly. It’s tough to see him get hurt but he loves it so much. I don’t push him at all at this point so it’s all up to him if he wants to ride or not.
Do you ever get on a bike these days? When and where is the last place you rode? And what were you on?
Well….. I had a bike at the beginning of the year. I put three maybe four hours on it, COVID hit, and Dylan (Wright) stole my bike when his broke. Haha. So, since then I think I spun a couple laps on some race bikes to help the guys with testing.
And you’re a mentor for the GDR Honda Fox Racing Team. How do you like things from this side of the fence.
It’s been really good and has been a good transition for me. What I like best about it is that I still get to go to the races, my body doesn’t hurt, and I think I can share some of my valuable experience with the riders on the team.
You’re going to be in Chilliwack to help with the schools and Keagan will be racing. Are you looking forward to getting back to your old stomping grounds?
Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve been back in BC so I’m really looking forward to it. Also, it’s a bonus to fit in Keagan racing as well as do a school for some kids.
Last thing. You’ve pretty much done it all, but do you have any regrets when you look back over your career?
I wouldn’t say I regret anything. Change on the other hand I might have attempted a couple more Supercross races and hit my goal of making a 450 SX main. I missed out on this by one spot. How the schedule worked that year it was really the only one I could make happen. There’s probably few other things like that but I’m proud of what I accomplished and happy to retire healthy and safe.
OK, Colton, I appreciate your time with this. See you in Chilliwack. Would you like to thank anyone while we’ve got you here?
All my supporters and sponsors that have helped me out throughout the years, my parents and the old lady for putting up with all the shenanigans… thank you!
