FULL GAS:
DILON BLECHA
Dilon Blecha had some strong finishes across the 2019 season in the younger 85cc classes, steadily building up his confidence and speed on the bike throughout the year. The Colorado native landed inside the top five in both of the 85cc (10-12) classes at the Cal Classic in April and continued the same form at Mammoth a few months later, repeating the same top-five finish in the same class. Blecha really stepped it up to the next level at The Motoplayground Race at Ponca City, thriving in the rough and rutted conditions as he put himself on the podium in the 85cc (9-12) class in addition to more moto podium finishes. The KTM rider did the same at AZ Open with more consistent results on the box, gathering some solid momentum moving into 2020 as he takes on the Mini Sr classes. We hopped on the phone with Dilon while he was getting ready for a weekend getaway with the family to talk about what he’s been doing during the lockdown, his fanaticism for Rubik’s Cubes, and his mindset for Loretta’s this year.
Your dad mentioned that you guys are headed up to Lake Powell this weekend, what're you going to be doing up there?
Oh yeah, we've been putting in the work these past couple weeks training for regionals and we're gonna rest and recuperate, have some fun at the lake. We normally have a houseboat but this is more of a quick trip so we're just beach camping. We spend most of our time up there wake surfing and playing around on the water and just hangin' out on the beach.
Do you do any riding up there or is this about getting some time away from the dirt bikes for a while?
Yeah, this is just kind of like a mini-vacation.
What have you been doing to keep yourself active and busy the last couple of months during the lockdown?
Well, we wake up in the morning and go ride, put some work in, and then have the rest of the day free. Normally we just go hang out with some friends or just chill.
What do you like to do for fun when you're not riding and training?
Yeah, I'm a big Rubik's Cube fanatic so I have a ton of those that I like to play with.
What's the biggest one that you have?
Yeah, I have a Megaminx which has like twelve sides and I have a regular 7x7 which is like a regular Rubik's Cube but a lot bigger.
How fast can you put a normal one together?
On a regular 3x3 my record is like 18.4 seconds.
What's your riding situation been like out there lately? You do most of your riding at your own Station 5 property, right?
Yeah, well we usually go out in the morning and Dad goes out and preps or sometimes we go out the night before to help him prep the track. Then we ride the big track or the turn track and put some good motos in.
When you go out and prep the track, what's your responsibility?
My job when I go out is mostly to till on the tractor. It's fun but it's a long process though.
At the beginning of this season at one of the LLAQ races, you raced in the Supermini 1 class. Have you been riding the bigger bike quite a bit lately?
We have a stock 105cc that we've been riding to get some good practice in on the supermini. We're trying to split it 50/50 right now, we've been training a lot on the supermini but going into Regionals here I've been training on the 85 a lot more.
What's it like for you to play that big brother role with Cole and help him out with his racing?
Yeah, obviously we both push each other at the practice track all the time. We always kind of joke that since I've been on the bikes before we have everything dialed so he can just get on it and rip it. But yeah, it's always good to have a training partner.
You ended up coming away with an overall podium at The Motoplayground Race at Ponca City. How'd your weekend go there?
Yeah, Ponca is one of our family's favorite tracks. The venue is really good and it's a fun event with an awesome track. The track crew always puts together a good track and we just really like it there, it's always a fun time. I was super stoked to get a podium there at a Featured Event and with Cole gettin' some wins, it was a good time.
After that you went onto AZ Open and ended up with a podium there in Mini Sr. 1, how was your weekend in Arizona?
The AZ Open was kind of a salvage race. It started out good but we had some bike problems that we were struggling with, so we salvaged a podium in one class and I think just missed the podium in another.
Is it tough when you're having problems with the bike like that to put it out of your head during the race?
Yeah, it's hard to put one hundred percent trust in it but you have to if you're going to run up there.
What was Supercross Futures at Glendale like for you at the beginning of this season?
Glendale was a piece of work because me and my brother were both super sick and the family was just kind of drained. But we pushed through it and tried to get through the weekend safe...that was a hard weekend. It's always awesome to get to race in the same stadium as the pros, it's really fun. The biggest difference is all the stands are empty and the energy's a lot different with the pros but it's still fun to get to race on pretty much the same track.
You got the experience of what it will be like for them at Salt Lake City these next few weeks. Fast forward to Spring A Ding Ding this year, you came away with some top tens in a stacked 85cc and Mini Sr classes. How was your weekend in Texas?
Yeah, Spring A Ding (Ding) has always been a fun race these past couple of years. It's been fun and the track is challenging so you've gotta be really focused the whole time. It was a pretty good race for me, I'm happy with some top tens but I'm always looking to get a little more.
What's the intensity like in the Mini Sr. classes this year?
You're always on the gas. Mine and Cole's classes, especially mine, are stacked. We always talk about how it's like it used to be with so many fast kids in every class.
What're your thoughts on the Super Regional format for Loretta's this year?
Yeah, it's not gonna be much different. Most kids that wanna go to a Regional get to go as an alternate even if they don't make it and all the fast kids are obviously gonna be there. It's not going to be a ton different but it's still a little different 'cause of the whole thing that's going on.
What're your plans for Loretta's this year?
Yeah, when I'm at Loretta's I'm probably just gonna do the Mini Sr. classes.
Do you have any goals or expectations for yourself?
Yeah, top tens all day, every day. (laughs)