Three time World 500cc motocross champion Dave Thorpe doesn't really need an introduction, as the greatest British motocross rider of all time. The legendary rider is now the team owner of the very tough Crendon Honda team, a team that contains defending British 450 champion Tommy Searle and another former GP rider Jake Nicolls.

With the 2021 British motocross championship now promoted by Gareth Hockey, with live streaming and a lot of changes, Thorpe is excited to see the series start up in a few weeks time. We caught up with Thorpe last week and here is the interview.

MXlarge: Dave, how is it going there for you there in the UK with lockdown and vaccines?

Thorpe: It hasn't been too bad. My Dad has had his first vaccine already and he got his second dose this week. I had my first vaccine and I get my second dose in the first week of June. We are allowed two households maximum of six people.

MXlarge: We have been closed down in Holland for all but two months last summer, and for the rest everyone has been indoors more or less.

Thorpe: Same here. As of the 12 of April, leisure centres will open, also gyms, with Covid restrictions and end of April pubs can open, but just outdoors and same with restaurants. May 17 all the pubs and bars can open, with Covid restrictions.

MXLarge: I really love a beer and I miss my local being open. Do you like a drink occasionally?

Thorpe: Yes, mate I do like a beer and before lockdown I could give or take going to the pub, unless we had something special with friends. Actually, I miss my Friday night with the boys from work. We used to go to the local on a Friday night after work and I really miss that.

MXlarge: With not a lot going on in the racing side, do you follow the supercross?

Thorpe: Always.

MXlarge: How have you found it?

Thorpe: Yes, Sunday morning I watch it. I actually watch the highlights on mxlarge. The first thing I do on a Sunday morning is turn onto mxlarge and I have really enjoyed watching. I find this year actually hasn’t been the exciting. There seems to be a lot of following and not much passing and I don’t know what that is. Supercross is a classic example, unless you are there and, on the ground, and you see how difficult it is, it is hard to judge. I probably enjoy the 250 class more than the 450 class.

MXlarge: I really love Cooper Webb, he is just so old school and so hard, but as a former racer, do you get a kick out of that side of it, the mental game?

Thorpe: I enjoy the mind games Webb plays, for a young man he is quick and sharp and as an ex-racer you can see what he is trying to achieve, and he is achieving it.

 

MXlarge: Obviously the British calendar is out and a lot of races in May and early June, obviously because we don’t know how busy the MXGP calendar will be once they get started. Are you happy with how the British schedule looks?

Thorpe: I mean, I think as a team and a series, we are happy to have a series, that is the most important thing. If you look at our country compared to anyone else, I always felt our sporting calendar would be ready before anyone else’s. Of course, I am happy. We have a lot of partners in the team, and they want to see us racing.

MXlarge: I was speaking to Shaun (Simpson) last week and he mentioned how he normally goes to Spain, but the weather in Scotland has been great. How about you guys, because you have Tommy and Jake who are both serious contenders, but also team-mates, so they take advantage of that or are they keeping secrets from each other.

Thorpe: I think the reality is, they don’t particularly like riding together, but as you know Jake has an amazing track, one of the best in Europe and during lockdown we were only allowed to ride on private tracks, because public tracks were not allowed to be open. Jakes track has been fantastic and also Tommy’s mate Ed, he also has a very good private track, so between both of them, we have been on some good training tracks. We also found one called Gale Common, and that was also helpful. Like Shaun we normally go to Spain, but have we missed it, probably not. We had a cold spell for two or three weeks, but after that it has been great.

MXlarge: Speaking about Ed and Tommy, those Vlogs are as funny as hell, and Tommy has such a great character. It is sometimes hard to know if Tommy is playing around, but whatever it is, he is a bit of a clown isn’t he. I love watching them for his humour.

Thorpe: I am a bit on the fence about it. I laugh along with everyone else about them. He enjoys doing them, which is part of what he wants to do, and we won’t stand in his way, but we also have big commercial sponsors and sometimes there is a fine line between wearing your corporate hat and having fun. I laugh until the phone rings.

MXlarge: It is interesting that the British championship contenders in 2021 are all veterans, be it Tommy, or Jake, or Shaun, or Bobryshev. Yet they are all good riders still and it should be a really exciting championship.

Thorpe: Yes, I think all the teams, baring Roger’s (KTM) team, that is a high-profile Grand Prix team, most of the teams in the UK that want to be competitive in MX1 in the UK have realized to be competitive against the GP boys, you need somebody of GP calibre that has fallen out of love with the GPs. If you bring on a younger rider and they start to do podiums, then somebody snaps them up to race GP and all the effort and expense you have put into them is nearly wasted. Now, I don’t ever feel bad for that person to achieve their goal of racing Grand Prix, because that is so many riders’ goals, but as a team in the UK, you want a guy on the podium at every round of the British championship and in MX1 in the UK, you really need a guy that is still GP level, but doesn’t do GP anymore.

MXLarge: You would also say those veterans have pretty good character, good personalities and know how to deal with the media. That is also important for a championship and maybe we see it less in MXGP, because it is more about winning and less about pleasing the fans or media?

Thorpe: Yes and no, I mean when you are at the highest level of GP you have a big corporate hat, and you have to wear it well. I think probably they have more to them, but they are very corporate. The guys in the British championship you have four or five guys who are rather the same and we should a really competitive British championship and that is what we want.

MXlarge: How do you feel about Gareth Hockey taking over?

Thorpe: I think it is a positive thing we have a promoter running it. What is against Gareth is historical things, where Gareth, organizations, clubs and tracks, or whoever haven’t always seen eye to eye. I hope everyone wipes that slate clean and we start from scratch and let him have a fair crack of the whip. The first round he won’t have spectators and then after that there is spectators. I just feel all the teams, the ACU and Gareth, if we all pull together, we can have a really good championship. I mean we might be the only country running properly in the next few months. It should make for some great racing.

MXlarge: I think if you look at Youthstream/Infront, they got a lot of stick from people, but just kept being positive and moving ahead and now it seems not too many people are negative about how the MXGP championships is. Is that where the British can end up, because the British championship over the last 10 or so years hasn’t been seen in the best light?

Thorpe: I think being positive is important for the partners and the media to be involved and create something. I think people need to understand, he has put his money where his mouth is and let’s make it work.

MXLarge: Obviously when you raced it the British championship was on another level, but of course you had a couple of factory teams based in the UK and a lot of really good British riders involved. Do you think it will ever get like that again?

Thorpe: No, I don’t. And the reason I say that the way budgets are set up, and the way GP is running with the volume of events, people who sign up for the MXGP championship won’t do domestic championships. I don’t think that is too far away and for us in the UK, I think we have the riders capable of still making a good domestic championship. Also, in places like the UK, we have the big shopping malls, we have everything open on a weekend. Go back 30 years and we didn’t have that we didn’t have shops open on the weekend, we didn’t have practice tracks, so people were looking for something to do. I don’t think it will ever come back to those days.