Antti Pyrhonen the team manager of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team is without question one of the most positive team managers in the MXGP paddock. Always with a smile and a handshake the former Grand Prix racer enjoys his job and working within the sport, a sport that saw him have some success and also some pain of injuries and disappointment.

We decided to give Antti a call and ask him about his rider Arminas Jasikonis, and also about many other things, including the 2021 MXGP calendar and his new rider Thomas Olsen.

MXlarge: Antti, I hope you are well. Can you give me an update on Arminas, how he is doing?

Pyrhonen: So, AJ is basically recovering really well. It was a very serious accident, and he was in a severe condition after the crash in Mantova. He had heavy impact to the head, and he was due to that two and a half days in a medical coma. When he woke up on Tuesday afternoon, he did a very good recovery and an unbelievable recovery actually. He could leave the hospital after a week and then he could travel back to Lithuanian and he didn’t need to go back to hospital or any recovery centre. He moved back home and was living with his girlfriend and doing some physical training and he can now drive his car.

MXlarge: It is amazing how those type of injuries are, because it could go either way, but if it goes the good way, the recovery seems rather quick?

Pyrhonen: Yes, indeed and it was serious and the recovery at the moment he can live a normal life, but when he returned to riding a motocross bike, that is unknown at the moment and when the moment is correct, he wants himself to return back to the bike and do that when he feels like that. When that moment is there, we still don’t know.

MXlarge: I can imagine he needs to feel 100% and feel 100% for some time before he even thinks about getting back on a bike?

Pyrhonen: Indeed and he needs that and when the moment is there he needs to go step by step and training and then serious physical training and then we need to see how he reacts, how his brain reacts and how his body reacts. When we see that and it goes well, then he can go into more intense training. We will take time and all in all we are super positive and blessed that he has done so well already. It was a very serious accident, and he was in a bad shape and it could have been really bad and we are very thankful he is back to a normal life, and that is the first goal.

MXLarge: We talk a lot about the speed of the 450 and the danger involved with the MXGP class because everyone is pushing so hard, but the accidents with Glenn Coldenhoff, Jeffrey Herlings and Arminas were not high-speed wild crashes. They just fell incorrectly.

Pyrhonen: Yes, it is always you know, we have been in this sport a long time and we have seen some big crashes, like Bobryshev in Mantova, where it was one of the worst crashes I have seen, but he survived with light injuries. Sometimes we see a small crash where you twist your knee and you are six months out, so you never know how serious some twisting or a big or small crash. At the end of the day you need some luck and for sure, we need that, but then you have crashes like Glenn, Jeffrey or AJ, when you fall on your neck or head, those are the worst ones. You can then damage your neck and brain, but even with those accidents, we had a lot of good luck, because all those riders will recover.

MXlarge: I remember years ago you telling me about an accident you had. Didn’t you also break your back once?

Pyrhonen: Yes, it was the year 2000 and I had just won the European 125cc championship. I also crashed, just dropping onto my head and I broke three vertebrae and I still have 12cm of titanium parts in my back.

MXlarge: I remember you telling me, but did you lose feeling?

Pyrhonen: I had some tingling on the toes and fingers, and for sure it was a serious accident, but luckily, I recovered.

MXlarge: I guess with Arminas, his injury, the brain isn’t something you can put a time on to say he will recover after two months or six months. More so you just have to gauge how he feels and go from there. Do you know if he will start training for the 2021 season?

Pyrhonen: We hope so of course, but he needs time, and we need to give time. We give him all the time he needs and I have told him the team and the bikes will be ready when he feels he is ready to come back and we will stand behind him for sure. The call will be his and when he feels he has been doing months of physical training and he feels good, then he can go on a bike. So, we just wait and see and give him the time he needs.

MXlarge: You obviously signed Thomas (Olsen, and I saw a video this morning of him training. How has he looked?

Pyrhonen: He actually looks really good and that is what we expected. On a 250 he was always riding it like it was a 450, with more lower RPM’s and when he jumped on the 450 he looked like he has been on that bike for ages and it is looking really positive. We did some days testing, and we have good feedback and he started well.

MXlarge: Obviously MXGP has lost Paulin, Desalle, Leok and maybe more guys, but we do get Thomas and also Ben Watson. I think many of us feel both these guys will be good in MXGP and it is like we replaced the old guys with the new guys, and everything continues on with MXGP?

Pyrhonen: I am excited and it is like that all the time, and logical that guys like Gautier and Clement have been racing for many years and they don’t just want to be around, they want to be on top and they want to quit on top and they did that. They both had great success and rode for a lot of teams and I think it is natural they want to see the other side of life and life after a career. I don’t think it will effect the level of the sport, because new guys are always coming, like Prado this year and going into a GP winning and the depth will still be there and it is every year tougher and tougher the competition. Everybody is on point with preparation and it is a heavy championship. The only challenge the class has is the injuries, because it really effects the class at the end of the season. At the start of the season it is really hard to get a top ten spot, but when six or seven guys are injured, then of course it effects the level of the class. The key is you need to manage the season and stay healthy until the end and race all 20 rounds.

MXlarge: The new calendar is out for 2021 and obviously we don’t know if it can remain the same with COVID 19, but what do you think of the original calendar?

Pyrhonen: Yes, sure, I like it. It is very complete and we have good tracks in Europe, all the rounds in Europe and we have the overseas and I like it a lot and I hope we can have this calendar, but we all need to wait and see how the COVID 19 situation is. For sure we all learnt a lot this season and Infront managed it well with the protocol, but I hope we can have some public on site in 2021.

MXlarge: Do you know much about the Finnish round, because I am guessing it will be a sand track similar to Assen, and close to the road racing facility?

Pyrhonen: Yes, I know a lot about it. I know the place they will have the track and it will be typically Finnish sand and the facility is awesome, a brand-new road racing facility. When we can spend the whole GP paddock in Finland you will enjoy it. Good training tracks and a great place.

MXlarge: Will it be close to the big road racing grandstands, or a little away from the bigger stands?

Phyrhonen: I think it isn’t as close as Assen to the big grandstands, but it is close to the circuit and the MotoGP paddock, but they are building grandstands around the circuit and just for that race. When I saw the lay-out it looks really nice.

MXlarge: Obviously then a week later at another road racing facility in Russia and just 200 kilometres up the road from the Finnish round, so a nice week for the GP paddock.

Phyrhonen: Yes, it will be a nice week and I checked out that Russian event and it is close to the border.

MXLarge: Okay, thanks and have a great winter.

Phyrhonen: You too Geoff and let’s keep in touch.