Red Bull KTM Factory rider Liam Everts scored his fourth Grand Prix win in his rather short Grand Prix career last weekend at the very beautiful and technical Trentino circuit. The Belgian, who had missed the opening round in Argentina due to a thumb injury never expected to be winning this early, but due to consistent results and some bad luck from his opposition, Everts took advantage of the situation.

With Nestaan Husqvarna factory rider Kay De Wolf in such good form, and scoring major points every single GP so far this year, Everts had to make the most of the situation, where De Wolf crashed in the early going in the second moto in Trentino and suffered some minor injuries. 

Gaining points on the Dutchman until this round was near impossible and still a long way behind the series leader, Everts 53 points from the weekend sure helped in his quest for a World MX2 championship in 2024. Now a total of 128 points and seventh in the series standings, you just know that Trentino will have given him the boost he needs to close the gap on the six riders ahead of him in the title hunt.

A rider who no doubt has good people around him and is growing rapidly in his mental approach to his racing, I am always impressed whenever I get the chance to interview this very likeable Belgian (with a Kiwi accent). Not only a good kid, but a person with a very deep, intelligent side, which is taking him to places that will only help him win more GPs and hopefully one day a World motocross championship.

MXlarge: Firstly, congratulations. I mean, coming back from the injury, could you ever have imagined you would get a Grand Prix victory this quickly?

Everts: No, not at all. I was hoping for a podium, because last year I did well here and you have to be careful on the throttle here and it is a very technical track, which suits me, so, answering your question and looking back at it now, no, I didn’t expect to win the Grand Prix at all.

MXlarge: What did you expect from this weekend coming into the Grand Prix?

Everts: I just wanted to do better than Sardinia, I always go badly there. I wanted to get on the podium, get rid of that burden off my shoulders and this will give me a sense of freedom.

MXLarge: A perfect result and place to win the Grand Prix after your injury?

Everts: Yes, first of all, I wouldn’t call it perfect, but it got the job done and coming back from the injury, that wasn’t pleasant, but I worked hard and got back on the top and that is nice, especially at this iconic venue, where I took my first podium.

MXlarge: I was speaking to your dad after you got injured, and we talked about how the injury, while not great, could take a lot of pressure off you and you would enjoy the riding more because of that. Is that the case?

Everts: Obviously it wasn’t ideal, but it definitely took a lot of pressure off my shoulders. At the time, it wasn’t nice, but I got over it quickly, clicked that switch and had positive thoughts and then got on with it. That is what we did, came back in Spain after just two days on the bike, Sardinia struggled, like usual, came away from there with a fifth and then P1 here. Looking back on the results from last year and then the results this year, they have improved already, a lot, so that is good.

MXlarge: You did a lot of work mentally in the winter and we saw in those pre-season wins, that you looked a completely different rider, physically and mentally. How do you do that mental thing?

Everts: I think it is part the experience, but you have to also work on it. I have my personal phycologist and the people around me. I need to communicate well, what is bothering me, where we need to improve some things and just, growing up myself with a year already in this situation and it really brought me a lot of rest in my head. I knew what to expect on some weekends and what to expect.

MXlarge: Pretty awesome to make those type of developments at your age?

Everts: You have to. If you want to be at the top level, these are the details you have to work on and I want to be at that level, so I have to do it for my progress.

MXLarge: You mentioned after one of the races that you felt nervous, or you were not riding well?

Everts: Not sure, I was struggling the last 15 minutes. I knew I was in a position for a podium, and I didn’t know at the time it was for the win, but you don’t want to throw it away and you just want that burden gone and get on with the riding in those situations.

MXLarge: I saw when you cross the finish line you pumped your fist. Did you get a message on your pit board that you had won?

Everts: No, I was just really happy, and I was sure I was on the podium and pumped for that. I really didn’t know that I had won the overall.

MXLarge: When I was speaking to your dad, we talked about if you get one GP win, you could very easily go on and win a couple of a few in a row and get some momentum. Kay has been really good, but do you feel like if you can get some momentum, you can really go on a roll?

Everts: We will see in the future now. Obviously, everyone knows that Kay (De Wolf) has been very good, but then again, in my head, everyone is beatable, and you just have to find a way to do it. He had a difficult weekend, and you have to take advantage of that. One guy wins, the other guy loses, that is sport. You have to be focused on yourself and I am just trying to hustle my way back into this championship.

MXLarge: Are you now physically 100%?

Everts: Yes, I am. I was riding with tape around my thumb, just to protect it and this weekend was the first weekend without it and I didn’t have any pain on it, so let’s say I am 100%.

MXLarge: So, now you can enjoy the next rounds a little more and not have that burden you talked about?

Everts: Yes, sure. I am looking forward to the break, two weekends off and I will work hard and do what I have to do.

MXlarge: Then you have Portugal, and I am sure you look forward to that place a really nice track, also technical and hard work. It should suit you.

Everts: Yes, quite similar to Trentino really. Last year I liked it on the Saturday and the Sunday I did terrible, some things out of my control, but generally I like it.

Ray Archer/KTM images and Stefan Geukens (head shot)