Tommy Searle seems to be slowly climbing back to where he was in his MX2 days. Unlike Romain Febvre or Tim Gajser, the move to MXGP wasn’t what the talented British rider had hoped for. Massive injuries dropped him from being factory rider, and he now finds himself on the privately owned team of Steve Dixon.
The Dixon effort has support from Kawasaki and Monster Energy and has a bunch of GP wins to their name. Riders like Zach Osborne, Dean Ferris, Billy Mackenzie and many more have enjoyed their time with Dixon’s outfit, and it seems to be working well for Searle.
We caught up with Searle and asked him about his British championship victory yesterday, and how much it has helped in his return to the very top of the GP list.
Tommy, can you explain the two races for me?
First moto I got an ok start and was third and then went off the track and moved into 8th. Then, I re-passed Shaun [Simpson] again and pulled a 20-second lead. I just settled down and relaxed. The second one, I got the holeshot—it’s probably the first holeshot I have had on the 450—and I never even had a holeshot in Britain before. That was nice. I just put in some decent laps and got the lead up to 18-seconds and won that one as well. It was a nice day, but it wasn’t an easy day. I had to push all day.
I remember talking with you in Qatar, and you seemed really happy with where you are at. How much has that helped get you back on track?
Yes, it’s a big point. I haven’t been going to the race nervous or anything, putting pressure on myself, like I was the last couple of years. I like where I am at, and I think there are a lot of things we can improve with the team and my bike. It’s been very late with everything so a lot of room for improvement, also with suspension, so we will work on that this week. Obviously, starts are important at the GP’s, but I am happy where we are at, at the moment.
Everyone knows that Tommy Searle has talent, and that you are a top quality rider. Of the MXGP riders you probably have one of, if not the best technique. That has to give you confidence in yourself or not?
I have always been a confident person, and I know I am capable of doing it. Even in the last couple of years, that have been tough, but then actually doing it. Something has to click, and I only won a round of the British championship yesterday, so we don’t want to get too excited. Obviously, it’s nice to win it and Shaun is riding well, so there is decent competition. The British boys are also riding well. It was also a good track for preparation for Valkenswaard.
The last two years must have been murder for you coming off that great MX2 season against Jeffrey Herlings?
I don’t know; it just feels different this year. At the moment, I’m going to races and looking forward to racing. The last couple of years it’s been a drag going because of the injuries and stuff. I enjoyed riding during the week, but I was going to the races and couldn’t wait to get home. It’s unfortunate it was like that, but it was. Now I look forward to it again, which is a nice place to be, and it makes life enjoyable. It’s nice not having to worry about the weekend.
Obviously Shaun has taken over the role of “the best Brit”. Winning yesterday was great for you. Does being the best Brit mean anything to you?
Obviously it is nice, and it’s nice to have some British riders in the class, and that the country isn’t just relying on one rider. When I first came into GPs, you had Swordy [Stephen Sword], Carl Nunn, Billy Mackenzie and everyone was always on about top Brit. I kept thinking to myself, I wasn’t really fussed. I mean I didn’t really worry about it. It’s nice, but it was different before I was winning a lot in MX2 and Shaun has now come strong and is riding the best in his career. It’s nice to have two guys in the MXGP class.
Steve (Dixon) is very lay-back, relaxed, doesn’t seem to get angry with bad results just lets it roll. You also seem like a pretty chill guy. Do you two mesh well together?
I am lay back for sure, but in some things I want them right. I have ridden for factory teams in the past, and I know how things should be. So when things are not going like that, it winds me up a bit and I am like; sort it out. I talk to Steve and I feel like we shouldn’t be having these conversations, but he is so lay back. Sometimes it annoys me that it isn’t as organized as I hoped. He is lay back and he said he isn’t worried about pre-season races and didn’t worry about the first couple of GP’s. He didn’t want me to race the pre-season in Hawkstone and he didn’t say much at Qatar or Thailand. He was just happy I was coming home in one piece. He knows what he is on about. Some people come in and run a team for a few years, but Steve has been doing it for a very long time. That obviously says something.
Steve also seems to have a lot of riders who perform, when not expected to. He has pulled a lot of riders careers around. Do you know his secret?
He gives the riders a lot of freedom—with everything really—and he doesn’t say you have to be here or there. Sometimes the young ones might need some direction, and I can’t really see what he does to make it work. He is just being himself and sometimes you think, “why doesn’t he sort this out”, but I do feel happy with him and the team. He obviously does something that works.
Last question. What is the goal for Valkenswaard?
I just will do it like the other races. I have no expectation, I want to get good starts and just race. I want to step it up a little from the first two because I was riding well inside my limitations in Qatar and Thailand. I felt I can push harder, but I think something in my head just wanted me to get past those two. I want to race with the top guys and get that experience, and that obviously comes with a good start. The first thing is I need good starts, otherwise it’s nearly impossible to reel those guys in from a bad start, at least at the moment.
