MxLarge Story
Steven Frossard interview - GP victory
Interview Wednesday 21th July 2010 By Kawasaki
Winner two weeks ago of his first ever GP, Steven is ready to enter the last five MX2 races of his career, as the Frenchman turned 23 last week and will be forced to move into the MX1 class next year.
Steven, you had to wait for your 50th GP to celebrate your first win?
"I was waiting for this win a long time, but it didn’t come earlier. I missed several opportunities this season, for example in Portugal when I broke my handle bar in the qualifying race or in Spain when I crashed at the start of race two. But I knew that I could do it and never gave up, it was a great moment for me and for team CLS who supported me since I started racing the GP’s. I know that some riders such as Roczen or Herlings didn’t wait so long to win a GP, but like Christophe Pourcel these guys are phenomenal and that’s another story!”
You had the summer break to celebrate this victory?
“In fact we just went to the restaurant with the team members in Sweden, and then I had a French Elite round so there was no real time to rest. I just went for a couple of days at home, but now I’m back in the Netherlands to train and prepare the next GPs. I’m now second in the standings, tight with Roczen, and there’s still a chance to win the championship.”
How do you feel?
“Physically I’ve never been so fit, in Sweden I wasn’t tired at all. Since last winter I’m working with Willy Linden, and he told me that in summer I will be at my best. He was right, and I want to thank him. Mentally I’m confident, I always said since the beginning of the season that I was able to race with the fastest riders of this class and I proved it. In Sweden I had the first heat under control before Roczen retired, I knew that he was racing at the limit and for sure he would never passed me. The second race was different; I was focused on the overall win and let him pass, it was not necessary to take any risks.”
In the last three GPs you always finished your races in the top four; you seem stronger than at the beginning of the season?
“In the past I never got good results during the first GPs, so this year my goal was to ride safe and score points at the beginning of the season. I have finished all the heats right now, last year I had eleven DNFs and you have to be consistent if you want to be World Champion. In the first part of the season we had also to adapt the bike to the World Championship noise rules, and it took us some time; the Pro Circuit Kawasaki is different than my previous bikes, I had also to get used to the power at the start. During the week we don’t practice with our GP bikes, but now our training bikes are pretty similar.”
There are two sandy races in the last five rounds, how do you prepare them?
“I’m training in the sand with Kees Van Der Ven, as I did this winter. It was sometimes hard to go there for several weeks, but I was ready to do all the necessary sacrifices for my last MX2 season. I learnt a lot with Kees, and also just by watching Jeffrey Herlings. In Valkenswaard I got a podium and that was a great reward for me. The fact that I have a great bike also help me a lot in the sand, you need a powerful engine to be competitive there.”
You are also leading the French Elite series, how is it?
“This series is not a goal for me; I’m focused on the GP’s and don’t want to take any risk as the French Elite is an Open class and we race among the 450. I missed two rounds as we had too many races in a row, and after my class win in Iffendic I’m still leading the series before the final round scheduled between the Czech and Brazilian GPs. In fact it was important to do the first part of the season to prepare the GP; it was a great opportunity to get use to the bikes and also to know each other as there are new faces in the team staff this year.“
It’s your last season in the MX2 class, are you ready to move on a 450?
“At the moment I’m focused on the MX2, that’s the most important for me. I’m confident for the MX1 challenge, I did only one race in this class last year at the MX of Nations and everyone knows what I can do in this class, even if I didn’t practice so much on a 450 before this race. I will not have any disadvantage with my size and weight in this class, and I like this bike. I will have to stop working with team CLS as they are focused in the MX2 class; they have always been great with me, we are working together since 2007 and it’s like a second family for me. I was happy to offer them a GP win in Sweden, and hope to give them even better for the rest of my final season in MX2.”
You had the summer break to celebrate this victory?
“In fact we just went to the restaurant with the team members in Sweden, and then I had a French Elite round so there was no real time to rest. I just went for a couple of days at home, but now I’m back in the Netherlands to train and prepare the next GPs. I’m now second in the standings, tight with Roczen, and there’s still a chance to win the championship.”
How do you feel?
“Physically I’ve never been so fit, in Sweden I wasn’t tired at all. Since last winter I’m working with Willy Linden, and he told me that in summer I will be at my best. He was right, and I want to thank him. Mentally I’m confident, I always said since the beginning of the season that I was able to race with the fastest riders of this class and I proved it. In Sweden I had the first heat under control before Roczen retired, I knew that he was racing at the limit and for sure he would never passed me. The second race was different; I was focused on the overall win and let him pass, it was not necessary to take any risks.”
In the last three GPs you always finished your races in the top four; you seem stronger than at the beginning of the season?
“In the past I never got good results during the first GPs, so this year my goal was to ride safe and score points at the beginning of the season. I have finished all the heats right now, last year I had eleven DNFs and you have to be consistent if you want to be World Champion. In the first part of the season we had also to adapt the bike to the World Championship noise rules, and it took us some time; the Pro Circuit Kawasaki is different than my previous bikes, I had also to get used to the power at the start. During the week we don’t practice with our GP bikes, but now our training bikes are pretty similar.”
There are two sandy races in the last five rounds, how do you prepare them?
“I’m training in the sand with Kees Van Der Ven, as I did this winter. It was sometimes hard to go there for several weeks, but I was ready to do all the necessary sacrifices for my last MX2 season. I learnt a lot with Kees, and also just by watching Jeffrey Herlings. In Valkenswaard I got a podium and that was a great reward for me. The fact that I have a great bike also help me a lot in the sand, you need a powerful engine to be competitive there.”
You are also leading the French Elite series, how is it?
“This series is not a goal for me; I’m focused on the GP’s and don’t want to take any risk as the French Elite is an Open class and we race among the 450. I missed two rounds as we had too many races in a row, and after my class win in Iffendic I’m still leading the series before the final round scheduled between the Czech and Brazilian GPs. In fact it was important to do the first part of the season to prepare the GP; it was a great opportunity to get use to the bikes and also to know each other as there are new faces in the team staff this year.“
It’s your last season in the MX2 class, are you ready to move on a 450?
“At the moment I’m focused on the MX2, that’s the most important for me. I’m confident for the MX1 challenge, I did only one race in this class last year at the MX of Nations and everyone knows what I can do in this class, even if I didn’t practice so much on a 450 before this race. I will not have any disadvantage with my size and weight in this class, and I like this bike. I will have to stop working with team CLS as they are focused in the MX2 class; they have always been great with me, we are working together since 2007 and it’s like a second family for me. I was happy to offer them a GP win in Sweden, and hope to give them even better for the rest of my final season in MX2.”
Stanley Leroux Design
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