Interview | Preston Masciangelo Set to Race 250 West SX

Interview | Preston Masciangelo Set to Race 250 West SX

By Billy Rainford

Preston Masciangelo from Brantford, Ontario, has been seen riding at Club MX, in Arizona, and last week at the practice tracks in southern California. The big news is that he is getting ready to line up at Round 1 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250 West series at Anaheim 1 on January 11, 2025.

We got in touch with him to talk about all these exciting things that are coming for the 18-year-old Canadian.

Direct Motocross: Hello, Preston. There’s a lot going on with you right now! Let’s back up a bit and talk about what you’ve been doing back on the bike since that ugly crash at Loretta Lynn’s.

Preston Masciangelo: I got hurt at Loretta’s so I was off for a bit. I returned to Club MX just at the beginning of October and pretty much right from when I got back I was on outdoors for another 2 1/2-3 weeks because I hadn’t ridden in a while. Then I got onto Supercross and rode there right up until about last week at the beginning of December.

We had a really good group of guys at Club. That helped me a ton. I was able to learn really quick. I was riding with a lot of experienced guys. I definitely helped. I have that base in SX but the fine tuning has always been something I’ve struggled with so getting to ride with everyone on the team – we had a few other very experienced dudes come in too – really helped me hone in on those skills.

And then we see you’re hanging out in Arizona. Can you tell everyone what that’s all about?

Arizona…ya. So, I’ e been in talks with the AJE GasGas team for a while now and we’re starting to get that all finalized so it looks like that’s what I’m gonna be doing for next season. So, I’m out in Arizona living with my mechanic right now, Blake McCarthy. He’s a super-well-known guy and has worked for some pretty cool people, so I’m living with him. He’s been helping me out a lot, so that’s what I’m doing out in Arizona.

And we saw you out at some Supercross practice tracks in California just last week.

From Phoenix to where we stayed in Temecula is only about a 5-hour trip so we went out there for 2 days to ride some different tracks. I rode Hemet SX on Monday and Fox Raceway on Tuesday just to get some seat time. I spent a lot of time on the road travelling out here so we made that trip to ride some different tracks.

I got to meet a lot of really cool people. I don’t get to spend a lot of time out on the west coast up until now, so that’s all been a really cool experience and a learning curve, for sure.

Are you on a GasGas that you brought out there or are you on one of their race bikes?

Not the race bike yet, but I am riding one of their practice bikes.

OK, so what are the Supercross plans coming up?

As of right now, we’re looking to do the whole west coast 250 Supercross circuit which I’m really excited for. I’m super grateful for this opportunity. I’ve gotten the chance to meet everyone out here and they’re super-great people and I’m really happy that I get to surround myself with these hard-working people.

I know they’re all going to do their best for me and I’m going to do my best for them, so I’ look forward to this great opportunity.

And what are your Christmas plans? Will you make it home?

I actually leave this Saturday. I’m going to go home for Christmas and then I’m right back out here. The race bikes are supposed to be all finalized by then, so we’re going to get some seat time on them and get everything ready for Anaheim 1. It’s really exciting stuff.

Any family members out there with you?

Blake has been showing me around but I’m out here by myself. They’re all back at home doing their own thing.

Does this plan involve summer at all?

As of right now, they’re just a west coast Supercross team. We are trying to figure some stuff out for me to do some east coast SX on a 350 in the 450 class, just to keep racing.

So, at this point, there’s no plan to come back and race in Canada?

Ya, we’re gonna see what happens. We’ve got a bit of a plan figured out to do the first rounds of the Pro Motocross series here and I think the plan is to try and do as many American outdoors as I can, if not all of them.

This story just keeps getting better!

Oh, I know, it is really exciting, for sure. I’ve been working really hard and I’m going to make this the best I can possibly make it.

How did you first get in contact with the AJE team?

I did the Salt Lake City Futures round under the AJE tent. They took an interest in me and I gelled really well with everybody, so we’ve been in talks ever since and they’re really happy to bring me along and it’s really exciting. I’m going to do the best I can for them.

What a great story. Thanks for talking to us today, Preston, and Merry Chistmas and Happy Holidays. Is it too early to ask you to thank sponsors?

Merry Christmas to you too. I’ve got to thank everybody at AJE for giving me the opportunity, my mechanic Blake for the season, he’s letting me stay at his house, my mom and dad for helping me get out here. I have so many people to be thankful for right now.

I’ll be staying with FXR. I’m pretty much sticking with the set up I have right now. We’re bringing 6D, FXR, Alpinestars boots. They designate numbers 100 through 110 for international riders, so we’re currently woking on trying to get #100 this season because I remember Colt (Colton Facciotti) back at Daytona ran 100 so I thought it would be pretty cool to run it too.