Simpson is one of the true gentlemen on the Grand Prix scene, always with a smile and despite his young age a rider with a lot of experience and common sense. A little over a week ago Simpson made the decision not to ride for Team Great Britain at the MXoN, it was a tough call, but one he feels confident about.

Also looking for a new ride for 2011 the Scotsman is at the top of many teams shopping list and will without a doubt find himself in a good position for his battle for the MX1 or MX2 World Motocross Championship next year.

MXlarge: Shaun, so can you tell me why you can’t race the des Nations?

Simpson: Basically we took the decision just on the fact it’s possible to ride with my shoulder the way it is, but it’s not in the best condition at the moment. There is damage to the bone from it slipping out four times in my life already. I had surgery last year to repair the ligament damage, and we decided the bone was in good enough shape to not need surgery.

MXlarge: That must have been a really tough call for you?

Simpson: We took the decision because I don’t want to get to after Fermo and the condition deteriorates  and then say I can’t ride, I mean they need to get cloths ready and helmets ready, send  the bikes over , flights, hotels and everything organized. If I decided at that late stage it messed it up for the team completely, so I thought if I tell Steve at this point it would be better. I think I made the right decision, but I am gutted to not be riding, it is always tough to make that type of decision, and I hope next year I can be in.

MXlarge: How is the shoulder at the moment?

Simpson: At the moment the bone is damaged, but the ligaments are fine, which is good news, but also bad news. You can’t fix the ball of the shoulder, you need to fix the socket, and you need to add a little bit of bone to the edge of the socket. The socket isn’t like a socket, it’s a flat piece and the ball of the shoulder rotates on that, so we need to add a bit to the side so it can’t slip out. I strapped it my shoulder so I can’t move it too much and I have a shoulder brace, so it shouldn’t come out.

MXlarge: You are still top British rider this year, but you wanted a lot more from this season didn’t you? Can you run with guys like Roczen and Herlings?

Simpson: I feel I can run with those guys for 10 or 15 minutes, but I had some issues with things I was doing, my training or my blood not being good. I know I have the speed, no question about that, when I ride smooth I am fast. As for doing that for 40 minutes, I feel sad that I can’t show I can do that, because I know I can. In practice I can do it all day long, but then I come to the race and maybe a little added pressure from my part and little things like with my body. I didn’t know what that was and I would go home tired and then go home and train harder, but it was getting worse.

MXlarge: It’s like a domino effect isn’t it?

MXlarge: Like with my finger at the start of the year, I came back from that and was training harder than ever, but I lost out. I’ve learnt from this season for sure.

MXlarge: Still you are scoring some good results and your position in the MX2 Championship isn’t that bad?

Simpson: As far as this season, if you compare it to my best season so far, it’s been similar and we were delighted with that season, but I am not happy with the season so far, I wanted to be running top three at least. I have slipped back to seventh, but fourth place is still possible.  I am not overly disappointed, but it’s not what I wanted and it’s not what KTM wanted.

MXlarge: What about next year?

Simpson: Looking for something for next year it’s now more difficult because I am not where I wanted to be. I can stay in MX2, I have one more year. I think at the moment I am split, I am open to negotiation, I think I would suit a big bike better, at the same time, you can never turn back time, if I got to MX1 then I miss my last chance to be in MX2, so it’s a tough decision. We are in the middle of making talks to people, so we see how that turns out.