Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider Thomas Kjer Olsen did something last weekend not many young rookies do, he won a Grand Prix in his rookie season. Two of the best EMX riders of all time, Ken Roczen won a Grand Prix in his fifth GP appearance and Jeffrey Herlings in his third, while Olsen in his ninth (he rode two GPs in 2016).
It took world champions like Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre a lot longer to win a GP than it did Olsen. Mind you, another of the MX2 class of 2017, Jorge Prado, also did it quickly—winning in his 8th GP. The future looks bright for not only the MX2 class, but also for Olsen and Prado.
While Roczen and Herlings were expected to win quickly, the performance of Olsen is rather a surprise. And while many of us—me included—rated him a good chance to win a GP in 2017, it came sooner rather than later.
Just 10 points off second placed Jeremy Seewer in the MX2 points standings, he still has a long way to go to get to the consistency of series leader Pauls Jonass—who is 52 points ahead of Olsen. The tall Danish rider with a big smile and quiet personality, talked to us after his win. Despite such a huge accomplishment, he remained calm and relaxed, which is just why he has every chance to be the next MX2 world champion.
How does it feel? Because you seem like such a lay-back guy and it’s hard to see excitement, but are you excited inside?
I am definitely excited inside, and I don’t show it as much as other guys, but it is just as enjoyable for me. I am just happy how the weekend came together. I was in the top five all weekend, with warm-up, pre-qualification, and qualification. I am happy with that, just being steady and being up front.
Obviously, you won a couple of qualification races before Sunday in Latvia, but to win a GP in in your rookie season. I mean, there are not too many guys who win a GP in their rookie season—maybe Jeffrey Herlings back in 2010 at Valkenswaard, but there are not too many I can remember.
For sure, it really is in my career (a milestone). I was not sure if I was ever going to get here. There is always hope and you always trying your best but you never know if it’s good enough. To do this in my rookie year is really an amazing feeling. Not many guys have come from the EMX and done so well.
I remember talking with you earlier in the year about your small mistakes and now it seems like you have really turned that around. How have you been able to do that so quickly?
I think—with the qualification races—I was showing myself that I can do it and I have this belief. Just being more confident and learning from my mistakes, that is what I wanted to do. In that second moto, I was back in 8th place and I was like, I want to get up there, but at the same time I didn’t want to make mistakes and that is what I did and I was calm riding.
Had you taken the idea of winning the Grand Prix out of your mind?
I was not thinking about it too much. Sure, I wanted to get on the podium, but I blocked it out a little bit and just tried to race forward and not think too much about it, then suddenly I was in second and that felt good.
Did you see [Julien] Lieber crash, because obviously he was in front of you and a long way ahead of you?
He was a little bit ahead. I just saw him on the ground.
So, you seen him on the ground? Do you then realize you are leading the GP or still not?
I would think that, but actually I didn’t think too much about it. The track was so tough that I was just racing against the track. I saw some guys making mistakes and Lieber went down and [Thomas] Covington went down, and I could see [Pauls] Jonass up ahead. That helped a lot, and I just tried to close the gap and move forward. I didn’t get on his rear wheel, but I closed in, and I am happy about that.
I didn’t see you cross the line, did you celebrate crossing the line? Will you celebrate tonight with the team?
I was celebrating a little bit and I had an idea that I had won the Grand Prix. Like you said, we are pretty laid back in the team. Maybe we get a meal—just a burger or something. Just a cheap meal.
It seems that your character really helps you in making calm decision on the track.
I don’t know if it helps, but I am trying to keep myself calm and I was really trying to stay calm between moto one and moto two. It was really hard to not get too excited, because the job wasn’t done yet. I think it did help me to get ready for that next moto. We didn’t celebrate too much after winning the first moto, we will celebrate now instead.
Obviously Teutschenthal is a really tough track—where experience is important—because you have to really concentrate hard there. Having won here and getting your confidence up, do you look forward to the next challenge in Germany?
Yes, I am. That track is really difficult. I raced there last year in the Europeans [EMX series] and I got second and third, so not too bad. I got on the podium here and I want to get on the podium again there, but I still have to remember what the goal was at the beginning of the season. That is to be top five on most rounds. We will be laid back and just do our best in Germany.
Juan Pablo Acevedo images
