MXlarge: Greg, so what are your plans for the coming week?

Atkins: Normally this week I should have been in Latvia for the Grand Prix, but I fly there for a couple of days and then fly back to Frankfurt to fly to Denver. Since they have the National there so we will fly there and see how their system works and what they have been doing. I have been there twice already and we have the plans for the track. We also have a meeting with Red Bull and THOR just to see how they want to do their advertising and that type of thing. Dave (track owner) has agreed on the changes we need to make on the track, and two or three weeks after being there I will make another visit.

MXlarge: What type of changes are you talking about?

Atkins: Generally the shape of the track runs well, but overall the track is too narrow. We saw that at Glen Helen when some of the riders were mentioning that it was narrow, but we actually made Glen Helen wider than it normally is. You can say the average width of Thunder Valley is six metres, while we run 10 metres, it’s a big difference.

MXlarge: Anything special you can talk about with the MXoN being run there?

Atkins: We will also do something different with the pit lane and start area, and that will be pretty unique, but you will have to wait and see for yourself. We have to arrange that also with Red Bull as it’s the grand finale with them as it’s their last event with us. They have been great to work with and they are coming with a big force for this race with two energy stations, three Red Bull bridges and some other stuff.

MXlarge: How would you describe Thunder Valley, I heard that it is a little euro?

Atkins: What do you call euro and what do you call American these days. If you look at the waves we do, I mean at Glen Helen they gave us the machinery and asked us to make the waves because they said they can’t make them like we make them. It’s nice to hear that and if you see that the American’s don’t ride our waves like the Grand Prix guys do.

MXlarge: That is pretty special that Glen Helen actually asked you to make some of the changes to the circuit?

Atkins: Our sport has grown a bit and apart from the machines they have to rip the circuits we are far superior now in our design work and everything. If you look at the speed of the tracks over there compared to what we deal with.

MXlarge: Do we need to slow the circuits down, I know a lot of riders mentioned about the speed of Glen Helen being too fast?

Atkins: I think it is more important, you need speed on a track, but you also need to keep the injury factor down. There is a fine line between rough and dangerous. I mean if you leave a track alone it will develop itself over the weekend. It’s not about jumps and technical things in it, but the flow of the track, how many corners and what they are doing, that is what kills the speed.