There are not too many riders in the sports history that have the record of the great British rider, Dave Thorpe. Three world 500cc motocross championships in the golden era of the big bike class and winning those championships against the likes of Andre Malherbe, Eric Geboers, Hakan Carlqvist, Georges Jobe and many, many more.

While Thorpe also raced for the Kawasaki factory, his time at HRC are the years he made his legend and with five time world motocross champion, Jeffrey Herlings moving to HRC this year, I just had to give DT a call and ask him his opinion of the move and how it might compare to some signings in the 1980s, when Honda ruled the sport in the premier class.

Thorpe also leads the Crendon FASTRACK Honda team, Honda UK's official motocross squad, for 2026, featuring riders Conrad Mewse & Jamie Carpenter in MX1 and Jake Nicholls in MX2, competing in the British Motocross Championship, while Thorpe also runs an Off-Road Centre for training and adventure tours. The team continues its strong backing from Honda UK and major sponsors like Tru7 and Hitachi.

MXLarge: Obviously some big things for Honda recently and I wanted to wait until it was official about Herlings, before I called you, as you are a big Honda man and one of the legends of the golden era of HRC in the 500cc class. But first, how is it all going with the domestic scene for you and the team?

Thorpe: We are good, Conrad starts riding next week I think and Jamie is down in Spain riding and Jake is riding a little bit, but he will be more part time than he has ever been, because he is very much at the helm at his family business.

MXLarge: I understand Jeffrey (Herlings) will be doing some rounds of the British championship for Honda, will you be helping with that at all?

Thorpe: No, I think a lot of people think that, but when you are a HRC rider, you are not part time for somebody else. Of course, if Roger (Harvey) picks up the phone and they need something, then we are always there, but I cannot imagine we will be involved in anyway. When you are HRC, you are HRC and that’s it.

MXLarge: The news on Jeffrey, we have all known for months and months. For me, its one of the greatest things that has happened in the sport. You were a Honda rider and you saw riders like Eric (Geboers) come to Honda, or Georges (Jobe), both double world champions for other brands, but I get the feeling this is one of the biggest team changes the sport has seen. Maybe I overexaggerate things and you are a calmer person, but how do you see it?

Thorpe: Yes, I think so. Tim had been there a long time and done amazingly well, but with Jeffrey coming in, as a Honda man myself, I am really excited. In saying that, I am also excited about Tom (Vialle) joining Honda. He is a little bit in Jeffrey’s shadow, but the prospect of those two racing for HRC, it’s really good for the sport.

MXlarge: You raced in the golden era of Honda in Grand Prix, with like 12 world titles in a row in the 1980s, an era that will be near impossible with all the legends that won championship. All the Honda legends of that era had ridden for Honda before they came world champion, so at the time of their signings, you had all not won in the premier class. With Jeffrey, having won five world titles, two in MXGP, do you think this could be the biggest signing HRC have ever had?

Thorpe: In motocross, yes, I would say so. Because, when you have been like Jeffrey and as successful as he has been, and if you follow his career, without the injuries, he would be right up there with Stefan in number of titles. I would say and its exciting and it is going to be interesting to see how it all unfolds. It doesn’t matter who everyone rides for, it is a huge honour to race for HRC, just like for a footballer, you want to play for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, it is it. You know when you have arrived when you get there. There are like four or five top teams in MXGP and Garibaldi is one of the best, if not the best.

MXLarge: I assume you have watched a lot of the videos of Jeffrey on the Honda. At times he looks fast, at times it is like he is struggling, or slower than on the KTM in the sand at least. Have you watched the videos and what is your opinion of how he looks?

Thorpe: Yes, I have watched the videos and funnily enough, we were talking about it in the workshop today, but if you watch the video, you can see he is riding a stock bike, with a pipe. So, I think Honda have probably gone, just get a feel of what you have on a production bike, but I see now that the Japanese have arrived in Europe and now you will see the progress they will make. They will start to test properly, and we haven’t seen Jeffrey on a HRC factory bike, just getting used to the chassis and what not.

MXlarge: Speaking about the Japanese, there is a video with Jeffrey stopping after riding and there are like four or five Japanese walking towards him, which is a really cool video to see, the effort they will be putting into helping him sort the bike.

Thorpe: Yes, I mean, again, knowing HRC like I do, they are all in, or all out and when they are all in, as a rider, you cannot be in a better place.

MXLarge: It is impossible to know how he is going to do, because as he has said himself, it’s a completely different bike, team, everything is different. 2026, for me, it could be one of, if not, the best season ever. We have three former MX2 champions coming into the class, Tim on the Yamaha, Jeffrey on the Honda, then of course Romain vs Lucas again. What is your opinion of this year in MXGP?

Thorpe: On paper, there is no reason this season isn’t equal with any other era. As you said, there are so many world champions involved. There are a lot of young guns, who have had MX2 success coming into the big class and Romain, you cannot argue he wasn’t a deserved world champion and there is so much talent out there. I agree with you, 2026 will be amazing and there is a lot of depth.

MXLarge: When you raced for Honda and you had Eric come into the team. Eric came in with his 125 and 250 championships, which is similar to Tom (Vialle) coming into the class and being team-mates with Jeffrey.

Thorpe: Eric and I are a similar age; he is a month older than me and we got on really well. I think when you ride in a team, you need to get on with your team-mates, and you need to understand the. What is it they say, you need to keep your enemies close. Eric and I were great friends, and I learnt a lot from him, and I am sure he learnt a little bit from me, and I think being a team-mate, it’s about helping each other to the next level. I think when Jeffrey and Tom start riding together, I think the dynamic will be good.

MXLarge: Last question. Giuseppe Luongo retired recently, for me, the greatest promoter of all time. Maybe I am a bit bias, and a lot of people won’t agree with me, but what he did for the sport, to allow it to grow, not only with more factory teams than ever, but also the worldwide coverage on television. What is your opinion of Giuseppe?

Thorpe: For me, I sit in your corner, full of admiration for Giuseppe. It is never an easy journey, when you start where he started, but when you look to where he got to, you can only be impressed, with what is now the pinnacle of world motocross. I think he did a fantastic job. When you are in that position, then you will never please everybody and then they will pull you down and that is the nature of humans. On a personal level, he has always been very kind and respectful in what happened in the past and I have nothing but admiration for him. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea of where we are at, but I think everyone is looking forward to 2026 in MXGP.

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