The KTM-GST motocross team is based in Berlin and this year will take part in the FIM MX3 World Championship.Their riders are German Christian Brockel (29) and Russian Timur Muratov (22); both made their MX3 debut at Valkenswaard and Muratov scored 28 points and is holding the sixth place in the championship.
The tall Russian showed good potential and surprised many with his speed, while his team mate Brockel struggled with technical problems and crashes several times. However, his lap times were among the top three, which show that he is as competitive as his team mate.
Question: Timur Muratov, you are the newcomer in the team, how did that happen?
Muratov: “I have been riding motocross since I was 12 and I moved to Germany in 2011. My hometown is Izhevsk in the Ural region (Russia) and the city is known by the production of Kalashnikov weapons. I have been pretty successful in my career back home with 6 titles in the Junior Cup and 1 title in the MX2. Last year I raced as a privateer in Germany and then I got the offer to move to this team.”
Muratov has been supported by former Russian motocross rider Sergey Garin. “I have a motocross school for Russian riders and we are based in Germany. We take the riders to different countries, and this year, for example we organized a month training camp in Sardinia (Italy),” Garin explained.
The first appearance of Muratov and Brockel in the first round of the FIM MX3 World Championship, which took place on the heavy sand track of Valkenswaard in the beginning of April, went quite well. However, after taking part in the main races they found out that racing at World Championship level is a tough game and they might need some experience.
“These guys are really on the gas during the opening laps so there is no time to relax at the beginning,” says Muratov. “In the beginning of the heat I had some trouble with arm pump, we are in the beginning of the season, so this is quite usual stuff. I made good starts and improved my result in the second moto when the track was heavier.”
Question: Christian Brockel, how long have been in the team?
Brockel: “This is my third year with KTM-GST and I am pleased with the next step into the World Championship. I have raced motocross since I was 8, a bit late I would say, as some kids start already at the age of 4. I reached top level in youth and junior classes. Last year I just missed the ADAC MX2 title due to injuries. I damaged my ankle and it cost me the lead in the championship.”
Question: Christian, you were not really lucky in the first round of the FIM MX3 World Championship, firstly with your mechanical problem in race one and your crashes in race two, but Timur you scored good points. What is your the target this year?
Muratov: “My goal is to be on top five or better on the podium, the same goal as the one I have for the Masters in Germany.”
Brockel: “It is hard to say, but I ride for a top five and maybe fight for the podium.”
Question: Sand tracks don’t seem to be a problem for both of you, how about hard tracks?
Muratov: “I rode a lot on sand, from 15th February to 15th March we spent one month in Sardinia and that’s is also sand, we were there with Cairoli and De Dicker. I expect not to have any problems for hard tracks, we are now going testing on hard tracks, so we will see.”
Brockel: “I train a lot on sand at home, I did 2 races in the Dutch Open, but I think I will also have good results on hard tracks, we will see in Bulgaria.”
Christoph Lessing, KTM-GST Berlin manager said:
“Having Christian and Timur in our team means that we have two irons in the fire. We are taking part in the FIM MX3 World Championship now and this is a good promotion for our business activities. I believe my riders are at a similar level and they can both finish in top 5 or higher, so we will see at the end of the season.”
Text and photo: Harry van Hemmen