Scottish rider Shaun Simpson of the Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP team continues to work hard and progress. One of the riders who has a lot of experience, and can pull out a GP win when least expected.
Simpson didn’t have a brilliant preseason results wise, but he did work hard on getting his bike sorted. Along with his teammate, Arnaud Tonus, Shaun looks likely to be one of the riders pushing for top five positions.
He was kind enough to take our call, and as usual he had a lot to say about the coming season and his expectations.
Shaun, can you tell me how your preseason went?
Basically, the preseason has gone pretty well really, racing aside. We got out of the gate pretty quickly—got down to Spain on the fourth of January. We put in a lot of time at a spot down in the south of Spain. We had good tracks. Then we went up to Redsand and rode for there a few days. Then we headed back further south, and we were really just mixing it up. I felt really good with the bike and the team, and we were making progress. Unfortunately, the Redsand race got called off and that was a pity. Shortly after that, I had a bit of a tumble on the Sunday on a practice track, and I hurt my back. Landed on my right ass cheek, and my whole ass was black and blue and also the base of my back. We then headed down to Sardinia and I rode there with my sore back, and I also got flu two or three days before that race. I decided to race anyway, just to get some time on the bike. That race didn’t go that well for a couple of reasons, as I mentioned. Hawkstone Park the following week, my back was starting to get better, but the flu wasn’t shifting and it was really bad. After speaking to the doctor and other people around, it seemed to be something that was just going around. Hawkstone was a disaster from the get-go. I crashed at the start of the first race, and unfortunately Jake [Nicholls] had nowhere to go and ran into me, touching my back and re-injuring that again. Basically right before the French International I was starting to feel better. We had talked about maybe not doing all the races, but Sunday I started feeling better. That race was enjoyable, while the first two races I didn’t enjoy. It’s been a tough preseason—race-wise—but I feel like it has been a pretty good preparation outside the racing. Now I feel more recovered and energized than before I had the flu and I am ready for a hard weeks training before Qatar.
We have read about the new Yamaha from stories in America with Chad Reed and Cooper Webb. They struggled with setup, then they weren’t, then they were again. How do you find the Yamaha? Even if it’s a good bike, is it tricky to get right?
At the beginning I felt like that—like small adjustments made a big deal—but since we got our factory suspension, which we got rather late, I feel like that has really helped me. The front forks and the shock just transformed it. There are more clicks on the front fork, and it’s more like responsive to the clicks. Like one click on a factory suspension is like four clicks on normal suspension. You would think it’s harder to set up, but one or two fine clicks here and there, it really makes a difference and works wonders. The balance and the turning of the bike feels much better with it on. We had only done a few hours on it, because as I mentioned it turned up late. I am feeling really comfortable on it. Maybe Supercross is harder to set-up, or maybe those guys got lost, it does happen from time to time. I would say we are in a good position.
For me as a fan, or a media guy, I am thinking about the warm weather in Qatar and the nice hotels and Losail, the facility. I get pretty excited to head out there. Plus, the night race is fun to watch. How is it for you as a racer?
I guess so. Most years I get this question and most years I say the same thing. It’s nice going there. We all enjoy it, and I don’t think you can find anyone who goes there and doesn’t like it. Nobody is complaining about going there. The layout of the track is ok, just sometimes the preparation is less than expected. I mean the airport is close, and the hotels are beautiful. It’s well organized, plenty of money there, the facility is great, and the mechanics love it. I think if you compare it to what Indonesia is like, or Mexico or Argentina, those places are very basic. On the flip side, you do miss that atmosphere of the first GP if it was held in Europe. In my opinion, if you had the first GP in Europe, the atmosphere would be comparable to the MXoN. Everyone is buzzing, everyone wants to be at that first race. That is all it misses.
Looking at the preseason races, it seems like Antonio is back to his best. Are you surprised by that? A lot of people wrote him off and felt the young breed had taken over and Antonio was finished. Can we take a lot out of these pre-seasons, how his form is?
Shaun (#24) is teamed up with Arnaud Tonus (#4) in 2017. [/caption]
Its funny, because all the older guys won the preseason races, with Max Nagl, Clement Desalle and Antonio. You are one of the old guys, it’s a little like maybe the media or fans are wrong and that older group are not done yet?
Definitely not. Max Nagl is a great guy to look at. He won Hawkstone, but he looks average in France. I know at Qatar, he will be getting out of the gate, he will stay out of trouble and a good chance he will get two top fives. There is a guy who doesn’t get drawn into the press, doesn’t get too excited, he will be there come race day. That is experience and that is why he will be there all season. You see some of the younger guys coming back from an injury too soon, then getting reinjured and riding close to the limit and crashing. You have to be smart about it. It’s a funny old game and nice to look at that side of it, but you never know what will happen.
I did a statistic thing on my website, and noticed that from this year’s MXGP field, there are 266 GP wins. MX2 has won GP winner in Thomas Covington. 21 riders in MXGP have won a GP or more, that’s an amazing stat right there.
Oh, wow. Yes, defiantly. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that is the way Giuseppe (Luongo) has pushed it. There is now more than ever a premier class. I am actually looking forward to watching the MX2 class. As you mentioned only one guy has won a GP in MX2, but by season end I am sure there will be a bunch of riders with a win. Maybe five or six. It will be exciting. MXGP is stacked, more than ever and its getting more stacked. That is also going to be exciting. Last year we didn’t have too many injuries, touch wood that happens again in 2017. I think it is one of those things, for a team point of view, it is tough to get on a good team. I am fortunate to be in a great team and I am looking forward to it.
Last question. I watched that Mikey Neale video, and that is a brilliant piece of work, very motivational, goose bumps type of thing. How is it doing that and seeing the final product.
It always amazes me with video what they can come up with. Mikey and the guys doing it did an amazing job. Arnaud and I were both full of the flu, we had no motivation at all. Mikey said just gives us an hour of your time, each day and we did that. Flicking up roost and it was exciting knowing we did our best and then they just work their magic, and it’s so nice to see a really cool two or three-minute video. They had all the tools to do a good job and it is motivational to watch that and see how I look on the bike. I really enjoy it.
Massimo Zanzani images
