Hailing from Kamloops, British Columbia, Kris Foster is looking to become the second Canadian in as many years to make his debut in a Moto X discipline at the X Games. While fellow countryman Bruce Cook competed last year in Moto X Best Trick, Foster has his sights set on Speed & Style in 2013.
After a successful amateur racing career, Foster turned pro and rode in the Canadian Pro Nationals where he enjoyed moderate success. After deciding that the risk-to-reward ratio didn’t even come close to adding up for him to race as a pro on tour in Canada, the now 24-year-old decided to trade the arm pump for a tailgate full of riding buddies.
Foster returned to the where it began for him … the hills. Shortly after that, Foster got linked up with a ramp and the rest is history.
We caught up with Monster Energy rider last month to talk about life, Speed & Style, and his out-of-the-blue opportunity to return to pro racing under a factory tent this past summer for one race.
Kris Foster, how has the weather been up in British Columbia this winter?
Foster: Hey man, the weather has been pretty good, been getting some rain and snow, so that has kept the dirt nice.
Nice weather worked in your favor, because from what I understand … you were finishing up a video part with Monster Energy. How did that go?
Yeah, we worked into late fall to get what we needed to finish off the edit, I think it went awesome! I had a blast shooting with the guys from Monster and look forward to what we come up with for 2013!
I’ve seen the edit [see below] … it’s legit, you’ve definitely got skills on dirt, do you think your racing background helps you charge the natural terrain?
Thanks! Yeah, it does for sure, having spent a good amount of time charging corners and pushing myself to go faster on the track has definitely helped my riding all around. I don’t think I would have been able to flip that dirt jump if I couldn’t ride the whooped-out run in.
That was a pretty technical line to that dirt flip … you even raced a pro national in Canada this year just for something to do … most of us pass the time fishing, but you get off the couch and onto the line at a pro national. How did that go?
Walton [Ontario] was a fun trip for me. I was stoked to get out on a new track, and thanks to Leading Edge I had an awesome bike to ride, which made it a blast! The Canadian Nationals are always a good time! [Laughs]
Your summer wasn’t all good though, let’s talk about your injury.
I had to have three pins in my clutch finger. I was pretty bummed out to let a finger keep me down for so long, but I got a few things built in my downtime so it’s not all bad!
I was just going to say, I’d imagine with all the time you spent in the skid-steer, your track and jumps must be in good shape, no?
Yeah, with Ross at Horse Power Ranch providing a sick spot to build and ride at, we’ve been able to come up with a pretty rad compound so far. Hopefully Beats [Kyle Beaton] gets up here and builds an SX track for next season!
Speaking of Supercross, I’ve heard rumors of your name being thrown around as a potential selection for [this] year’s Speed and Style at X Games. What do you think about that?
I would love to get that opportunity. An X Games medal would be unreal! Guys like Twitch [Jeremy Stenberg] and Nate [Adams] don’t give up medals very easy, but I think I could put together a solid run!
And it probably doesn’t hurt you have major backing in the form of Monster Energy and Shift, how big is it having companies like that in your corner?
Having the help of Monster has definitely made it possible for me to do what I want when it comes to riding, they’re giving me a huge opportunity and I can’t thank them enough. Shift is unreal as well. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders not having to worry about gear and being able to trust it to do its job, plus their new stuff looks sick!
Fans got to see you jump at last year’s Toronto Supercross pit party, do you guys know yet if Feld [Motorsports] is having you back again in 2013?
It’s in the works, but not 100 percent sure yet.
Well, Kris, thank you. And I hope to see you in L.A. at X Games.
Yeah, for sure! And I got to give a big thanks to Blair at Monster Energy, the guys at Fox and Shift, Spy, Printwerx and Jason at Leading Edge!
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