Clement Desalle is perched opposite us in the booth of a steakhouse. We’ve just finished dinner, the Belgian choosing the healthiest option on the vast menu of grilled chicken and vegetables. We were tempted by something far stickier here in the depths of southern California where the business of riding a dirt bike is almost as large as the portions that hit restaurant tables. Desalle skips the dessert but we get the impression that this revitalised racer is ready to have his cake and scoff it in 2016.
For the second year in a row ‘25’ looks physically prime (and almost proudly wears a new Monster Energy cap as the latest addition to the brand’s MXGP stable). He’s had enough time to get on-point with his prep after another devastating mid-season injury wrecked his aspirations of FIM World Championship glory in 2015.
Desalle is one of the fastest, most stylish and consistently potent motocrossers in the world. An athlete who has won Grands Prix every year since 2009 (with the exception of the dark 2015) and finished in the top three of the premier class five times from the last seven (two years of fourth and tenth when hit by injury). Desalle is also still a bit of a mystery for racing fans; an ‘old-school’ believer of plying his trade and swiftly exiting stage-left without any of the frippery involved in being a public figure. He rarely parades his activities on social media, is a private person, and wants little to do with the adoration and show on the periphery of racing.
It takes some time to understand Clement. For some, even including this journalist, a few years in fact. There is no disguising this ability on a motorcycle but his priorities when it comes to racing can puzzle media and fans. A struggle with English in his younger years earned him a reputation around the time of 2007-2008 of being aloof. His opinions on rivals, tracks and matters relating to his job are frank, honest and without fear. It is possible to draw parallels to riders such as Casey Stoner and Desalle’s sensitivity with a bike and capacity for success further increase the similarity.
In the past he has been aggressive on the track and prepared to show his peers little quarter. This means he has sometimes been painted as say the darker alter ego to perennial rival Tony Cairoli – the accessible, fun-loving and open former multi champion. Clement is actually well-mannered, respectful (to those who reciprocate), laughs easily and is passionate about his likes, such as animals, food, his friends and activities like attempting triathlons and local enduro events near his village in the Walloonie region of Belgium.
Desalle has been closely associated with factory Suzuki yellow since 2010 both in the landscape of MXGP and in the minds of its many fans and his somewhat surprising signature with Monster Energy Kawasaki – the transfer of the 2015 season – is arguably the most important contract of his career. Leaving the relatively safe confines of Suzuki where competitiveness for the title has been a virtual guarantee for over half a decade Desalle now carries the biggest question mark over his head since earning works rider status at the end of 2009. Resisting added punishment to his battered shoulders and making it through 2016 in good health will be one of the key ingredients for validation of his – and Kawasaki’s – choice for the future and in search of the elusive MXGP crown.
Draining his refill of Coke and clearly happier to chat far from the frantic and demanding environment of a Grand Prix paddock Clement is keen to expand on his refreshed view of MXGP…
I remember how devastated you looked last year when it became clear that another championship season had to end. What was that period like to deal with?
The Grands Prix in France and Italy, where I was injured and then tried to keep racing, were really difficult for me. I was really sad about the situation and it took me a long time to accept it – again – and to deal with more pain and to stop racing. At the time I was also thinking about how many points I’d lost in just two events and there was nothing I could do about it. I was so disappointed because I knew I’d done a good job and the start of the season had gone well. It was going as planned and I don’t mean just with results but also the feeling I had [on the bike, confidence]. I know I am doing a dangerous sport…but I was still down about what had happened. After a little while you have to be realistic. Things could be worse. I had to keep that in mind and it was important to do so.
Was it frustrating also that it was yet another shoulder injury…? Your third…
That’s true. When I get something it is often with the shoulders! Everything went wrong in France that weekend and I hurt my knee quite badly also. I had the same shoulder operated in 2011 but it was a ‘light’ operation; the damage inside was not that big so we decided for smaller surgery and it worked. I came back good and strong, but to crash hard again in France meant it came out again.
Do you question the sport and your part in it when injuries happen or reoccur? It was another setback and another loss of work, time and effort…
Yes, that comes quickly…but then your passion for the sport comes back. I love to ride my bike, without question. Thinking about it [the crash] was on a slow lap and I didn’t even want to jump the tabletop there in France. On that subject I have to come to the safety of the tracks. It is now a big point and everybody is talking about it, even Youthstream and the FIM, and last year it was not going in a good way. The top four MXGP riders all dropped away because of injury. France was the worst Grand Prix I have ever seen for track preparation. It was unbelievable. The lap before I saw [Evgeny] Bobryshev was down. In the past things between him and I have not been easy [Desalle was injured in a collision with the Russian at a Belgian Championship race in 2011 then Bobryshev suffered a broken leg in another coming-together in Italy last year] but I saw him on the floor and I just thought ‘because of this shit track the riders are going down hard’. It means pain and it is not good and not nice for the sport. Looking at some of the jump take-offs…[gestures disbelief]. There was a double at the top and on every lap I pushed into it and thought ‘I hope everything will be OK here’… When you start to say this to yourself then you know things are not well. I know it is a dangerous sport and you cannot take all the risks away but I would like to say that I hope they [MXGP overseers] think about the riders’ safety a bit more and minimise those risks.
It seems it might be heading that way. There is talk of more investment in track preparation and now Rui Gonçalves will be an official rider liaison…
I hope so…but I also hope it is not a way for them to protect themselves. Like they are ‘seen’ to be doing something but nothing actually gets done. I think Rui is a really good guy for this type of roll so let’s see what he will do.
After the operation you must have had a strange winter. For the last six years it has been the same people and same routine with Suzuki and now for the second time in your career there was a big change…
Of course…but for me negotiations for 2016 started very early. I knew that Kawasaki wanted me for quite a long time and Suzuki wanted to keep me. It was not a decision I made in, say, two days. I was thinking about it a lot, but I also didn’t want to! I wanted to keep concentrating on my riding because that was most important. In the end you simply have to consider your future. I had two options and like I say sometimes: “you know what you sell…but you don’t know what you buy”. Sometimes you buy something better, sometimes the same, sometimes worse. In the end I followed my feeling, and I looked at the balance of a new bike, new challenge, new people and with a good guy I know in the team. I have worked with Francois [Lemariey, Team Manager] in the past and I know him. In the other hand I had the same team, same bike and, well, not really the same people in the end! [in reference to Stefan Everts’ takeover as new General Manager of Suzuki]. I looked at all sides and decided to change. I wanted to test some new things and in the end I hope I have bought something better! As a rider you also have to bring something to the package. You need to work on it to make it good. You cannot just jump on a new bike and take off. At the moment I am working on it. [pauses] I would not say that this has given me extra motivation because I am always motivated for my sport and also because it was going very well with Suzuki but I wanted to try a new bike and keep feeling fresh. It sounds stupid but when you have a new bike it makes you feel cool, happy and excited. It is this feeling I was looking for. That was mainly why I moved.
I’ve seen you ride quickly on a Honda and a Suzuki. So what does a Kawasaki feel like?
When you look at a video of 2009 [his sole year on a Honda] then I think you can see that MXGP has improved! I think we are going much faster. I was fast on those bikes but I also felt good the first times on the Kawasaki. I was also coming back from injury and had to be careful and take it easy. There were some changes to deal with but my first impression was of a good bike and good base. As with every bike you have to personalise it and make it your way. I have a certain style and way I want the bike but I see potential there.
One of the biggest question marks in 2016 for many MXGP fans will be your speed on the Kawasaki and whether you can arrive to the same level. I’m sure you have similar thoughts…
It’s true, and it’s normal. I have never raced a Kawasaki so we will see. I will do the best I can-
Will it be important to keep calm in the first races and build into the season? That we should not expect too much right away?
Exactly. I think I have enough experience to tell myself this and I will take the time I need. If it goes well immediately then great. MXGP starts so early now and you have a short winter. I know I can still improve during 2016 and there is the fact that we have a new Kawasaki KX450F; the team also have to learn about it. There is a lot of work to be done but I chose this challenge.
It was exactly a year ago that I heard another person talking about things being ‘new’ and that was Romain Febvre. Many people wanted to know why and how he won that championship. I think he found a good setting, good crew and then built confidence and just took-off. That’s the magic formula isn’t it?
Sure, I’m searching for that too! Like I mentioned that was part of the reason to change – to try and find another package to give me a bit ‘extra’. The character of a new bike might fit my style better. It could go well…it could be worse. I’m searching.
Some riders don’t like – or want to take – that risk. For example Tony Cairoli has been working with Claudio de Carli since 2004…
Well, I’ve decided to take the risk. I want to improve. So many things are changing for me. The only things staying the same are my helmet and goggle brands…and my knee braces!
And you are wearing a new cap…
[smiles] I’m really excited about being a Monster Energy rider because in the past I was with an energy drink but it was just part of a team deal and I didn’t have anything to do with this company. Now it is very different and I am a Monster athlete. I heard about their philosophy and it was just something where I thought ‘cool’. They look like an easy-going company and I like how they see and treat their athletes. It’s a nice brand and something to be excited about.
What about a strategy for the championship? I remember in 2011 you won something like three from the first five rounds whereas say last year you were very consistent and only missed the podium once from the first seven GPs but missed a race victory. Can it get confusing to know how to tackle a championship and treat the bigger picture?
Yeah, last winter I actually had that 2011 season in my head and the feeling during the first rounds of 2015 were the same…sadly both championships finished the same way! It was bad. That’s the risk of the sport and no need to look back on it. It is difficult to answer that question and to know whether to attack directly or improve over the course of the races. I think it is something that comes automatically and it depends on how you feel at that time and that moment. In 2014 the first GP in Qatar did not go like I wanted and it was a bad weekend for me but into the second half of the season I was just eighteen points behind Antonio. The start of the season in 2014 was not as good as 2015 but it started going in a decent way. So, it is a good question but every year is different and we’ll see what comes this time. I want to prepare myself the best way and so that the bike will answer every demand I have of it.
Do you make MXGP exciting?
[laughs] Erm, on the bike: yes. When you look at the previous years then I have always been ‘there’ and with a lot of top threes and three times runner-up. When you make these results then perhaps I am important in the championship but to really answer your question maybe ‘no’. I don’t think I am arrogant. I don’t like to put myself at the front of the show.
So you are only a star when you are on the bike…
That’s a good way to put it. Off the bike? Hmmm. I think with social media sometimes riders make themselves important for the public, they show all sorts of things and it is all ‘blah, blah’. I don’t really like this. I like to race. I like to ride a bike. I appreciate that there needs to be a balance because I know it is important to fill the role of a professional rider but I just don’t like to be an actor. This is racing. I don’t want to change myself or my personality just because I do a job at a high level. When I stop the engine and I take my helmet off I want to stay myself. When things aren’t going my way or I am not happy with my race or something went wrong then I am not afraid to show it. I’m not scared to reveal my real feelings and maybe sometimes people do not understand that.
So you need to take a championship and you need that twentieth GP win but…is that all? I remember Jean-Michel Bayle saying that aside from the titles he just wanted someone to say that he was riding so good and so perfectly. Are you about ‘the numbers’ or is it important that some kid might see you leading everyone at Bastogne [site of the Belgian GP where he won in 2013] and be inspired…
That’s really nice to think about. Sometimes with my Dad, just being at home together walking the dog or something, we talk about it. I love that feeling of riding well, racing good and being fast: of being ‘there’. I like the example from Jean-Michel Bayle, that’s important, but at the same time I’m working to win, you know? Every time I go to the gate then it’s for that. I don’t race just to do well.
So everything then…
Yes! Both. It is nice to have your own style and that somebody likes it.