Three chosen talents and a ten-time motocross-world champion are obviously on the right track: Under Manager Stefan Everts Spanish rider Jorge Prado, Conrad Mewse from Great Britain and Josiah Natzke from New Zealand started strong in this season’s 125cc motocross EM. For Goldentyre this project is especially important since as sponsor and supplier we are part of the team. Goldentyre is particularly excited about 14-year-old KTM Junior Jorge Prado being in the overall lead after the first two events of the season. This is a good sign, and the team is headed in the right direction as team-manager Stefan Everts points out in this talk with Goldentyre.
Stefan Everts on his team’s sensational start into the season and current leader Jorge Prado:
I´m very satisfied, and I am also very surprised that Jorge is already on top, because he just moved to the 125 a couple of months ago. And he is still only 14 years old. He is still small, and therefore still needs to gain some muscles and some fitness. He has had a really good winter, and he has been training hard. He is a very super talented rider, which we have seen in the past when he was riding 85cc. And that’s also the reason why KTM signed a five-year-contract very early with him, because we noticed immediately that he is very good. This year is something new for him on the big bikes, but in the first event he already placed third overall. And at the second event in Valkenswaard the track condition was very, very difficult and extremely hard for the little boys. But he did very well. He got second overall and the red plate now. So, he has certainly made nice progress every weekend.
Stefan Everts on on the fact that victories are great, but they are not the only goal for the ‘KTM MX Juniors’:
We have three riders here and they come from different cultures, different countries and they all have great talent. And mainly, of course, they have been picked to come on this team to develop their riding skills and to help them to work in a good direction, to teach them to work in a professional way by slowly making positive steps forward. So for them it’s a great opportunity to work also with my father and myself and to have a proper structure behind them, to give them good material and to let them develop in a good way. Yes, for us it’s not only about winning – of course, it’s nice – but the main thing is to see the progress in every race.
Stefan Everts on the patience that is sometimes required when working with teenage-racers:
Yes, sometimes you need to tell the same story a few times. With some riders it’s easier, and with others it’s a bit more difficult. Some days you need to have some patience, and explain the same thing more than once. But if you are working with young kids, between 14 and 16 years old, you cannot expect that they are „working“ like an adult pro. Sometimes even a great talent needs to be given some time. And you have to be patient. That’s the way it is. For me, that’s maybe sometimes difficult, because I like to move fast. But from my side these are things that I have to learn.
Stefan Everts on what a ten-time world-champion can learn from his young racers:
It’s quite fun to be around them. They are still very young and it’s interesting to see how they are acting together and what they are speaking about – and the things that they can laugh about. They are still in some way kids. It has been quite funny so far. In a couple of years I will be in the same situation with my son. So for me it’s quite interesting. Of course, every person is different. Different character, different way. You need to try and find the way how to work really well with each different rider. Sometimes you need to search for a way and sometimes you cannot find it. For me it’s interesting to analyze the riders and to find out what makes them special. I’ve seen Herlings, I’ve seen Ken Roczen – I’ve worked with great, great talents and it’s exciting to find out what makes them different from the others.
Stefan Everts on the potential of Jorge Prado, Conrad Mewse and Josiah Natzke:
We’ve made a special selection and the guys who get the chance to ride in this team have great potential inside them. With some we will get there. With others we won’t. In racing you never know what’s happening. I hope that I can one day see them racing in the ,KTM Factory Team‘ and racing for the championship in MX2, maybe eventually in the MX1. This is their ambition and we look really carefully after each of these very young riders to determine which ones could be the next big champions. Hopefully, the three that we have on the team now will each be a champion one day.