Rob Fox – Amateur Motocross Support Manager for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires

Dale Spangler:

Welcome to Pit Pass Moto, the show that brings you deep dive interviews with the motorcycle industry insiders and racers that make the sport move.

I'm your host, Dale Spangler, and this episode's guest is Rob Fox, amateur motocross support manager for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires.

This episode of Pit Past Moto is brought to you by MotoAmerica. MotoAmerica is the home of AMA Superbike racing, and is North America's premier motorcycle road racing series. Rewatch every round of the 2022 series and revisit all the action with the MotoAmerica Live+ video-on-demand streaming service. Or visit the MotoAmerica YouTube Channel for race highlights and original video content.

To view the complete 2023 MotoAmerica race schedule, head over to motoamerica.com and be sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for real-time series updates.

Let's get started.

Rob Fox, welcome to Pit Pass Moto, really appreciate your time today. How's the year been for you so far? And second question, how about that Northern Ohio weather?

Rob Fox:

Yeah, thanks for reminding me. I get on these podcasts to try to forget where I'm at.

But no, the year's going great. I'm getting ready for head out pretty soon here for the Spring Nationals for amateur motocross and trying to get out of this weather to head down to Daytona, then over to Texas. So, looking forward to getting to those events.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. So, I mean, this is really probably like a loaded question, but you probably don't have a slow time, but if there is a time, it's probably right now, before you get going with these Spring Nationals, like you said. You got the RC Supercross coming up, the Spring-A-Ding, then I think you go straight into the JS7 at Freestone.

And then we also, have this new, (from what I just read recently) the new World Mini, that's by verb, that's going to be back on the calendar, so you got probably all those on the docket.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, no, it's pretty crazy even when I'm not traveling, even just getting prepared and dealing with sponsorships and orders and new stuff for the year definitely keeps me busy. Typically, December is much slow time, but lately, we've been doing some tires testing down south, so that's been keeping me busy.

And then January's full of new rider contracts, getting everything ready for the events, Supercross Futures and just getting prepared for the year. So, yeah, keeps me going, keeps me busy and I love it.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. Let's talk about your role in Team Dunlop Elite. So, this program's definitely something that's been kind of a leader in rider support for brands within the power sports industry, specifically, motocross.

Team Dunlop Elite for 2023, the 17th year of the program, I think you have eight riders this year. You have four that graduated up to big bikes and four that are on little bikes. So, tell us a little bit about your program coming into 2023.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, it's a pretty cool program that started just about 17 years ago with Mike Buckley, who was our vice president Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, as a way to give back to the mini bike riders in amateur motocross.

His kids was racing back in the day and were looking up to the riders as amateurs like Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac who are on our first-year program. Riders look up to them just as much as riders look up to pro top riders. So, why not give them some extra love, extra support and help them expand upon their racing activities.

So, that's kind of what started the whole program as this elite program that's handpicked by us, mini bike riders only, each year. The team varies in size depending on what's going on with budgets and who the riders are, but it's my job to work with my coworkers here to pick the top riders as an amateur level in the country.

So, it's pretty cool. A lot of other companies and manufacturers mimic it, which is awesome to see, to give back some extra support to these amateur kids that are just as impressive as the top pros.

I mean, look at Haiden Deegan. I mean, he was an Elite rider a couple years ago, went up to big bikes and now, he's getting fourth place finishes in Supercross. So, these amateur riders are just as good as these pros and they deserve just as much exposure.

So, we do special stuff with these riders, do a photo shoot at Spring-A-Ding, event at Underground in Texas. We do a team dinner, extra marketing stuff, special clothing, special logo they get to run. Something to give back to the riders as they progress to become pro.

Dale Spangler:

You had four riders that you said moved up and I think originally, like you just explained, it was really to focus on the younger riders, the mini riders. But now, this program's kind of expanding a little bit where you're following them up onto the big bikes and then into their pro career.

Like this year you have five-year member Kade Johnson; four-year member, Drew Andrews; two-year member, Kyleigh Stallings; and single-year member Tiger Woods. So, these are your riders that have graduated up to the big bikes, right?

Rob Fox:

Yeah. So, they were on the Elite program years past, and they graduate out of the program once they get on big bikes. And they're still supported by Dunlop, but they're not considered current team Dunlop Elite riders. They become Team Dunlop Elite alumni.

And that grouping goes, like I said, to Eli Tomac, Aaron Plessinger, Deegan, Casey Cochran on and on. They joined that group of alumni. So, it gives room to pick up four new riders.

So, this year we picked up Caden Dunney, Kade Nightingale, Lala Turner and Beckham Smith to keep it at eight riders who will be with Seth Dennis, Ryder Ellis, Eidan Steinbrecher, and Gavyn Welzien.

So, we try to keep it just for mini bikes and then once they get to big bikes, they graduate out, but are still supported, but not at that quote unquote “Elite” level. They become alumni as they graduate up to big bikes and then they eventually go pro.

Dale Spangler:

What's the process for you choosing these riders? Is it results or is it kind of just being a well-rounded racer, a good person off the bike? I'm just curious to know kind of your thought process there.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, there's a ton that go into it. First of all, they all sign up on our teamdunlop.com application website where we have different levels of support, but they all have to go through there. We look at their experience, look at what class they're in. We want to have it kind of spread out between 50cc riders and girls riders and super mini riders.

And then how they handle themselves on and off the track makes a big difference. A lot of riders are out there that may have the best results, but we want to have riders that represent the Dunlop brand the best.

Nowadays, social media is huge and having additional exposure definitely helps, but that's also, where Dunlop can come in to also help them expand upon their exposure levels. We do special interviews on Supercross with Race Day Live. They get to sit and talk to the guys on Race Day Live and get some experience and exposure that way.

And then also, we are here as an asset to help them if they have questions about events or sponsorship or other companies to work with or just advice in general. Since I've been doing this for over nine years with Dunlop, we kind of have an idea of how things work and can actually help them out, progress through the amateur ranks.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah, that's one of the things I think that really in my mind separates the Dunlop Elite program from others out there is just, it's not just product support. I mean, it is a relationship that you build. You teach riders how to be adults, how to be professionals and conduct themselves as a professional.

So, it seems to me like that to me, is the backbone of this program is it's more than just support. Obviously, it's excellent support, but it's also kind of that mentorship, if you will.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, it's cool to work with these young kids and riders and see them grow up. And like Austin Forkner was one of the first riders that I worked with that went pro. It's just cool to see them grow as a rider and a person and also, have relationships with their families.

I mean, we travel to all these races together. I leave my family at home to go be with my moto family and we all hang out. We see the same people all the time, the same events. We go out to eat, we hang out.

So, it's really fun to see how they grow and have this relationship, not just racing, but also, together being at the events.

Dale Spangler:

So, yeah, as you said earlier, I mean this is kind of a who's who that have graduated from this program. Like you said, Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton, Adam Cianciarulo, Colt Nichols. I mean, the list just goes on and on.

And now, as you said, we have riders like Haiden Deegan, Caden Braswell, Ryder DiFrancesco, Dax Bennick, that are all kind of like graduating up out of this program.

And as you mentioned, Haiden Deegan has just come out swinging. I mean, an absolutely incredible, two fourth place finishes in his first two Supercross and sits third in the points. So, it's got to be a good feeling to know that you've got to help support and mentor these riders as they have worked their way into the professional ranks.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I mean, just working on with them one-on-one on a personal level and even kind of getting more out of them about testing, we rely a lot of testing on these riders and we'll ask them for feedback at the events.

Even just change in tire pressure, and kind of gets them to also think about things like that. When they're younger they maybe just think about going fast, but there's a lot to that. And as they go pro, the teams ask more from the riders than just to go fast.

They want to know how the bike's handling, how the tires are. And kind of gets them in that mode of thinking about their product that they're using and everything.

So, it's a pretty cool full circle program. And we kind of hand them off to our pro support team, which is Broc Glover, who's my boss, and Brian Fleck. They've been doing this for over 20, 30 years. So, it's a really good program and package that we have to get these amateur kids going to their pro debut.

Dale Spangler:

You mentioned the testing aspect of it and I hadn't really thought about that much until you just brought it up, and like that's another good lesson to where I know like personally, coming up through the ranks, I never got exposed to any of that. And so, I never really had the opportunity to learn from it.

And so, a lot of these racers they get to a certain point in their career and maybe they're really good at that testing aspect and it gives them a career opportunity down the road. So, they're actually helping you develop the mini cycle tires in a lot of cases?

Rob Fox:

Yeah. No, and that's something that's really cool about the Dunlop brand. And product we offer is we don't offer the new latest and greatest just for big bikes. Our new MX14 that just came out, our in sand and mud tire, I helped with the development with some of our Elite riders to develop the minibike sizes. And we offer them 450s all the way up to big bikes.

So, to be able to get feedback from a seven or eight-year-old is a little bit harder than a 18, 19, 20, 25-year-old. So, I work with the kids with their test facility. Clark Stiles and Jesse Wentland are our test riders. They assist with it and we develop the product.

And sometimes it just, “Is this tire better than this one?” “Yes.” And it's sometimes it's very simple, but other times we try to get more from them and kind of think about the testing thing. And this last December, I tested some new product that's coming out too, that'll be mini bikes.

So, there's a lot to the sport. There's a lot to this Dunlop brand and it just makes me proud to be a part of this company.

Dale Spangler:

We'll get back to the conversation in one moment, but first, here's a word from our sponsor.

So, I'm curious to know, like I know this isn't your territory, like the pro side of it, but I'm just curious to know like a little bit of the inner workings of like a day like last weekend in Tampa where you've got a track, we've got weather that's kind of changing throughout the day. You've got a huge sand section.

What's the process to go about like deciding what tire to run like on a track like that? Do you put the scoop tire on for just for the sand section and the start potentially, and then suffering the rest of the track? Or is it the other way around?

It seems like it'd be very tough day for tire guys and goggle guys at a race like last weekend.

Rob Fox:

Yeah. It's kind of, unless if it's like a full-on mud fest where there's no jumping, most of the time they'll run a typical MX33 tire design. With Supercross, there's a base, so they're not going to get endless sand or mud or whatever where a scoop tire would help out.

Also, MX14 style doesn't work so well on big triple jumps and big sets of whoops. You just don't have as much drive up the face of the jump as you would with a normal typical MX33 pattern.

But when we go out to Daytona or some of the more the other tracks, Atlanta, where it's within a speedway where there is endless base, then you'll see some guys run a paddle scooped style MX14 tire maybe just for practice just to kind of get a quick lap in and try to get that drive.

So, a lot of it depends. But mostly inside the stadium, you won't see that scoop paddle MX14 style tire used. A lot of it too is bike setup. A lot of the guys are used to running that kind of tire with their suspension set up for the whoops, for the triples as compared to an outdoor setup or a deep sand, mud track set up.

So, they have plenty of options between front and rear. Maybe they'll change the front tire pattern, maybe a more widely spaced MX3S type front pattern to get more front-end bite. So, there's definitely different options. And pressures are huge too. You can change the tire pressure. A half a pound makes a big difference.

So, there's plenty of options that we offer to the amateur and pro riders to make them the most comfortable that they can be when the track changes or if there's different options.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. So, speaking of that, you guys are really transparent about that. Like I'd noticed you post on social media, your recommendations, especially for the amateur stuff. You make a recommendation for, “You go to Freestone, this is probably the tire to run and these air pressures front and rear.”

And so, that's got to be a huge help for just anybody out there, whether they're sponsored or not.

Rob Fox:

Yeah. We always have it posted at the rig, at the pro events and the amateur events, right on the door says a recommended front and rear tire and then the tire pressure. We want every rider that's racing on a Dunlop product to have the biggest advantage that they can and get the most performance out of their tire. And that goes down to tire pressure.

So, we always tell riders to check it every morning because overnight the temperatures change, which means the air inside your tube, inside the tire will fluctuate. So, there's a lot of different variables in the air that'll affect the tire pressure and then also, affect the performance of your tire. A half a pound makes a huge difference.

So, we're always there, have that posted. We also, encourage riders to come in under the tent and we can check the tire pressure with our gauges that are adjusted before each event to make sure it's accurate. One gauge may be off by a half a pound or a pound and that throws everything off.

So, there's a lot of variables in there and we're there to help with that to make sure that your tires perform the best they can so you can go out there and win.

Dale Spangler:

It always blows me away when I hear it, like they can feel like a half a pound difference in the air pressure, huh. That's just incredible to me.

Rob Fox:

No, I mean you and I can feel that. I mean, I was amazed that I was able to feel that when I did some tire testing. Like if you go out there and try to really concentrate on how the tire feels, a half a pound makes a big difference.

We see it with riders, with little kids, they can tell. You can also see it visually. We can measure the rim scrub, which is the amount of tire that flexes over the rim to see how much is worn off the rim, how the tire wears out, how it flexes. All that is a lot to do with tire pressure.

Front tire pressure is huge at how the bike feels if you want it to … if you're a rear-end steer guy or a front-end steer guy, you hear that all the time, you can adjust your pressure to your preferences. If you go too low and you have a big impact, you can get pinch flats, so now, there's a safety thing involved or if you get a flat.

So, there's a lot of things involved in the tire and the tire pressure to make for your bike to perform the best.

Dale Spangler:

For sure. That's really cool insight information though, for sure.

So, let's change gears a little bit and talk about, I'm curious to know what your thoughts are on the Supercross Futures programs because I feel like this has been an kind of an extension of amateur racing in a way.

And I think it's really giving some of these future Supercross stars a leg up on getting to know the whole super cost experience in the process. It seems like it's helping these amateurs make that transition a little easier.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, I agree. I think it is. I mean, back in the day, we had Arenacross Series, which was great, that's how you got your pro license and that was the feeder system. But as you and I know, Arenacross is a lot different than Supercross.

Dale Spangler:

Oh yeah.

Rob Fox:

So, nothing beats being there in the stadium on the same exact track as the pros that you're trying to race against will be on. For those riders, they get the chance to ride on that track and also, get that exposure. I mean, look how much exposure all these amateur kids got to be played live during the broadcast. I mean, that's awesome. I mean, it's cool to see Feld and AMA and all those guys working together to have this available.

A couple years ago, they did the futures racing on Sunday where they had all of the classes available, which I thought was cool too, because then anybody can go out there and go race in their respective class, which was fun.

But the track was a lot different. It wasn't the same for those top A and B amateur riders. It was really fast. They were jumping everything.

So, this is I think the best way to be able to get out there and see how you stack up against the pros you're going to race against. And obviously, there's a lot of riders that raced A2 and then went right pro.

I mean, Hawkins and Deegan, Casey Cochran was up there. He's not going to go pro, but he was right up there too. Just really gives you that taste of what it's like to be a pro. And I think that you can't beat that.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. And I think that made all the difference probably for Haiden coming into Tampa because at least he knew kind of like somewhat what the process was. But I think it has a lot to do with like this how well he's done because it's not a huge surprise, he's able to just go there and kind of like pick up where he left off from A2, so.

What are some of the most significant changes in your mind in the last 10 years to amateur racing? Things like their training regimens, they've got these facilities now, that they can go train year-round. And I'm just curious to know your take over the last 10 years, what's changed the most for you?

Rob Fox:

I mean, besides the obvious of the technology of the bikes, I mean, I'm used to mostly racing two-strokes and stuff and then we went to four-strokes and fuel injection. I mean, these bikes are so fast right now, and you can jump on a bone stock bike right off the dealership and go race and win a national championship. So, I think that's been the biggest thing.

And then for us as a tire company, we have to keep up with that kind of stuff. Our tires get more aggressive, they get a little bit beefier because they need to keep up with the needs of these motorcycles and how much power they make.

Obviously, the training facilities and all that stuff are all over and I think that helps. You need to balance that with your home life with the kids when they're younger.

So, I think it's all positive, all moving great. There's tons of events that are popping up that are huge and going to all of them this year and Daytona to Freestone to Spring-A-Ding, Ponca, obviously, Loretta's, Mini O’s, Mammoth, all these big events where these riders can go show their stuff, put Dunlops on top of the podium.

Dale Spangler:

Definitely. Well, as you mentioned I think even at the beginning of this, like this job for you it's more than just a job, I should say. It's definitely kind of a lifestyle. You fully embrace it. Like you said, you're there eating on the weekend with the families and getting to know them. And really just kind of like immersing yourself in that whole amateur scene. Which I think is imperative, like you're going to do a job like yours, that's what you have to do.

But talk about that more, like how you look at your job and how you treat it when you go to those races. Because you definitely seem like you take it very seriously and you're very professional about it.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, no, when people ask about my job, I call it a dream job. My technical title is amateur motocross support manager. I also handle our amateur flat track stuff and the support that we're starting to build there as well.

But I started straight up cleaning floors at the local dealership and cleaning bathrooms and worked my way up to behind the parts counter and to bike prep and receiving and shipping and worked my way all the way up to parts manager, service manager.

Then my family opened up a Kawasaki dealership down in Florida. I went to school, got a business degree. I opened up my own shop for a little bit. I worked with Nihilo Concepts, helped them start that company. And then this position opened up and I jumped on it.

They moved me from Florida up to here in Ohio. I met my wife up here. We have a two-year-old son and just really enjoying it. I get to travel to all the events that I would want to go to anyway, and I get paid to go do it. Get to work with all these families and riders and work for a company that has the best product out there.

I'm not trying to sell something on somebody. I know the product's great. I know all the work that goes into developing the product and makes my job easy. I mean, we've won almost every championship, the amateur and pro level and we're not stopping.

So, it's really cool to see and I really enjoy it. I love working with the kids and the families and go to all these different races throughout the whole country.

Dale Spangler:

I can kind of tell that your experience getting to this point with Dunlop, all those different jobs, sweeping the floor, like you said, to start out with, I think it's probably making you appreciate it a little differently than maybe if some of these things would've been given to you. So, I think you work for everything you earned and where you're at today, so I'm sure that makes you look at things a little bit differently.

Rob Fox:

Yeah. Without all those small little steps that I'm I made growing up and doing the right thing and making the right choices, I wouldn't be where I am today. Without my degree, I wouldn't be able to apply for this position. Without taking the chance to live on my own up here in Ohio, I wouldn't be where I'm at. So, it's pretty cool.

I mean, for me to sit back and I never would've thought I'd be working for Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, living in Ohio, traveling to all the amateur races. But here I am and I love it. I'm looking forward to the future and seeing what comes of it. I'm looking forward to sticking with Dunlop for the rest of my career.

Dale Spangler:

How many days are you on the road per year?

Rob Fox:

Not as much as it used to be before. COVID kind of put the brakes on everything. And then some budget cuts along the way have kind of reduced things down, but I think I was at hotels for like 80 or 90 days. But that doesn't include like small trips, so it's probably a 100 or so days, so a third of the year on the road.

But when I'm home, I'm home, I get to work from home so I don't have to go into an office. So, that makes a huge difference. So, I get to spend time with the family when I'm here. And then just this coming trip is the longest, three events in a row. But I got a great support system at home that makes it all possible.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. You take your son once in a while, right?

Rob Fox:

Yeah, yeah. He's two now, and he's fully into dirt bikes and wanting to go ride and it's fun. It's hard to get him away from … he is going to daycare, my wife's working, but whenever we get a chance to either go to a local event or try to get them on the plane to come down, we've taken them to different events. So, as much as we can, I try to involve them, but sometimes I got to go work. So, it's part of it, but I love it.

Dale Spangler:

What's your favorite event to go to each year? That's probably a tough one.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, I mean Loretta's is fun because it's just so big, but it's a lot of work. It's always hot. Mini O’s is fun just because it's down to Florida. I've been going there forever. But Spring-A-Ding at Underground, it's probably my favorite. We do our team Dunlop photo shoot and dinner there, so I always look forward to that. Spending some extra time with the team riders and families. So, that's probably my favorite and that's coming up here in a couple weeks.

Dale Spangler:

That's always such a nice place to be, that time of the year too, down in north Texas to where the weather's nice and it's just … yeah, I remember going to those events too and I always enjoyed them. Good vendor food too. I remember getting some like crawdad cakes and all kinds of different things that they had, some southern food, and I remember loving that.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, no, I always get a bounce around from family to family to see what they're cooking for dinner. They always invite us over. So, that's always fun and always makes the trip a little bit easier.

Dale Spangler:

Well, one final question before we wrap this up is, what's the most challenging aspect of your position with Dunlop?

Rob Fox:

Probably choosing the Elite riders. That takes weeks of deciding to try to fit in the riders that I would like to be on the program within the budget that we have or the parameters that we develop. So, that's always hard and it's always hard to let riders down when they're in the running or ask about it.

So, that probably takes the most toll, just to make sure I'm making the right decision. And also try not to hurt anybody's feelings. But at the end of the day, we've got to do what's best for Dunlop.

So, that definitely is the hardest every year. I look forward to it, but it's also most stressful to try to pick out the best riders because there's so many out there, so many classes and to make sure it's the best team that we can choose.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah, I'd imagine so. You're probably agonizing for weeks over that, like trying to decide, especially when it's eight riders. I mean, that really makes it difficult, for sure.

Rob Fox:

Yeah. I mean, the rewarding part of that is when I get to pick up the phone and call and try to make it a surprise with the rider after they come home from riding or school. Some are super chatty and excited and giggly. Some are super quiet, so it's hard to tell over the phone.

But to be able to put that Team Dunlop Elite sticker on their helmet and see their smile on their face is definitely all worth it.

Dale Spangler:

I can relate. I remember back in the day when I was an amateur and getting the call from, I believe it was Bruce Stjernstrom from Kawasaki Team Green, it was like the coolest feeling in the world. I was on a high for the rest of the week, I think, after I got that phone call.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, no, it's something that we definitely all understand and appreciate. It's also shows that this program works and is impactful to the riders and families and just try to make sure it's the most prestigious program that is out there for your amateurs.

Dale Spangler:

Well, Rob, really appreciate your time today and keep up the great work with what you're doing with Dunlop and helping those kids, mentoring those kids, coming up and moving on to the pro ranks. Any last words or shout outs you'd like to share right now? Now, would be the time.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, no, I just want to thank Dunlop for this position and everybody along the way that got me to here. And my wife of course, for letting me have this position and travel and do what I love. So, I'm looking forward to the years to come.

If you see me at the races, please say hi. Sometimes we're running around busy or look super serious, but we're all here to have fun and have a good time. So, if you see me or the guys at the rig, definitely stop by, say hello. And look forward to seeing you guys at the events.

Dale Spangler:

Awesome. Thanks so much for your time today, Rob.

Rob Fox:

Yeah, thanks, Dale.

[Music Playing]

Dale Spangler:

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I'm Dale Spangler. I hope you'll join us next week for another episode of Pit Pass Moto. Thanks for listening.