Interview: Keith Little - Monster Energy / Kawasaki Factory ATV Racer

Will you be concentrating on the WPSA series again in’08?
Yes, the WPSA will be the team’s main focus, but we are going to do a few ATVA races as well. I may also go out and do more of the ATVA races on my own. Kawasaki is really flexible on letting us run other races as long as they don’t conflict with our main objective (the WPSA) so ideally, I would like to be able to do both series’.

Are you looking forward to racing with Josh Creamer and Russell Shumaker?
Josh and Russ are great guys and I’m really looking forward to racing with them. I haven’t got a chance to hang out with them a lot, so I’m really looking forward to that as well. We all have our strong points on the track and all have a lot to offer. I think if we work together, we will have a great year.

Keith Little & his new Kawasaki KFX 450R mechanic, Patrick Flannigan

Besides new teammates, you also have a new mechanic this year…
Yes. Patrick Flannigan is my new mechanic. He’s been doing a great job!

Have you been doing a lot of training during the off-season?
Yes, I have two great tracks behind my house here in Alabama that I practice on all the time, and I’ll also be going out to CA to do some more riding and testing for Kawasaki before the season starts.

You recently went out west and raced the opening round of the WORCS series. Even though it was your first WORCS race, and your first race with the Kawasaki Team you had an impressive second place finish. What was it like racing your KFX450 for the first time?
The bike was running awesome. I was really happy with it, but I didn’t get to practice and I wasn’t used to the taller tires used for the WORCS set up so I kind of bogged it off the start.

What was your overall impression of the WORCS race?
I love it! I loved the layout of the course. I liked the way it went through the MX section and then wound out through the desert. I really liked the desert racing and MX combination.

Keith little's Kawasaki KFX 450R racing debut in the WORCS Series was a mud fest, and despite never racing in a WORCS race, he finished an impressive 2nd place only three seconds behind Doug Eichner. Little also was the only racer to stay below 11 minutes a lap for the entire race as he closed a 30 second gap on Eichner in the final laps of the race

Do you plan to race anymore of the WORCS series?
I might race at Mesquite (round 2), but I’m still not sure about that because it’s getting pretty close to the opening of Nationals at Glen Helen and there may not be enough time to get the bikes set up for that, but if we do have time, I would love to do it!

Which series do you plan to focus on for 2008?
We plan to race the first couple of Nationals and then the WPSA, but if all goes well we may try to do both series’.

What are your goals for the 2008 season?
I would really like to win an MX championship. I’ve won TT championships, but never MX so that is definitely something I would like to do while I am still racing. I think if I can stay consistent, I have a shot at doing just that. I would like to hang on to that “Holeshot King” title as well, but I think consistency is going to be the most important factor.

I think that about wraps it up, is there anything you would like to add?
I’d like to thank Kawasaki for giving me this opportunity; they have been great to work with! I also want to thank everyone else that has stood behind me and supported me.

Thanks for talking to us Keith; we wish you the best for the upcoming season!
Thank you!