For former World number two, and multiple GP winner Tommy Searle the last few years have been tough. Coming out of the 2012 MX2 championship where he battled Jeffrey Herlings week after week, many expected Searle to be a contender in MXGP, however injuries and a multitude of team changes have really dropped the veteran Brit off the top of the motocross World.

Being the most successful English rider since James Dobb won a World title back in 2001, Searle knows that there is still good results in his career and no doubt his overall victory last weekend at the second round of the British Motocross championship has given him some confidence heading into next months fifth round of the MXGP championship.

We caught up with the BOS Kawasaki rider and asked him about his victory last weekend, and in typical Tommy Searle humour it was at times a light hearted interview.

MXLarge: Tommy, congratulations on your weekend. Can you explain how the weekend went?

Searle: Yep, turned up, there were some bikes under the awning. I started riding them, and then we had times session and two races and at the end of the day, there was an overall winner, and that was me, and then I went home.

MXlarge: Did you get cash?

Searle: Yep, a grand more than I went with, so that was good. And I went to McDonalds on the way home.

MXlarge: You really had McDonalds?

Searle: Yes, but it was a chicken selects, because I was feeling a bit sick from the racing as I hadn’t eaten much.

MXLarge: The Maxxis is really just a battle between yourself and Shaun (Simpson), as you both seem pretty similar with speed, or not?

Searle: Yes, I agree, we also have Kullas though, who is also riding well, but he didn’t get starts this weekend. It is going to be between myself and Shaun though and I think it stays like that the whole season. I actually really enjoy racing him now in the British championship and even in the GPs we seem to find ourselves battling. I really enjoy racing the British championship, just to get some wins and a win is nice and I haven’t been doing that at GPs. Just to get that feeling back of winning and a bit of confidence. Also, we have really good tracks in England and the events are well run, just a one-day format.

MXLarge: Is it funny when you think about you and Shaun, you have like 14 GP wins in MX2, Shaun has I think four in MXGP, having said that and you haven’t had an MXGP overall win, but many probably would have put you ahead of Shaun in results over your whole careers, but at the moment there isn’t much in it is there?

Searle: Obviously, if you look over the span of my career, I am more successful. My Auntie sent me a stat thing that somebody had done, and I have had 47 podiums and 14 GP wins and that is a lot more than any other British rider over the past decade, so I have been more successful, but at the moment he has come on in the past five years and I haven’t had the best last five years. I think we are pretty similar at the moment, sometimes he beats me, sometimes I beat him. Sometimes at the British, we are going fast. At the GPs sometimes you get caught up mid-pack and you get lost. When you actually get a start and are out front, the speed is good. I was a little faster than Shaun this weekend and sometimes I ride better at the Maxxis than in GP, because when you don’t get a start in GP, it is hard, getting hit with the rocks, and you are mid-pack and can’t ride your own race.

MXlarge: I am not really a competitive person, and I don’t like going fast, but watching MXGP, sometimes I am watching and think to myself, there can’t be anything worse than racing this class if you are outside the top five or six, it just looks lethal and not much fun. Can you enjoy racing at this level when you are stuck in the pack?

Searle: There are races that are not fun, 100%, but some are fun, and you can enjoy it. I am working on intensity, because I lack that at the minute, but I think everyone is doing that. It is a bit risky, well, not risky, but you have to get used to it. I did a lot of sprints in practice and you get used to it, but I wouldn’t say it isn’t fun. I didn’t enjoy Arco, mentally it was tough, we had some problems there. I still enjoy racing and riding my bike and if it goes well, it is a good weekend.

MXlarge: You have finished top two in the World on a few occasions, maybe top three even more than that. You battled Herlings at the highest level. You have had a lot of injuries the last three or four years. Do you now need to change your goals?

Searle: Yes, is it that as well. I remember when I was in MX2, if I didn’t come into the GP expecting to win, or be able to win, I don’t know how I would have come into the GP. The goal was to win, and I remember going home in tears because I finished second and Jeffrey pulled away from me. The first year of MXGP, the goal was to win, and I think I won a couple of heat races and I had some third-place finishes in races. You are on a high still from MX2, but then I had injuries. I would come back from injuries and I would get top six, but it would wear you down. You might struggle with things inside the team, because they didn’t have the budget you are used to. They are doing the best they can, but they don’t have the budget to spend on things you want. Different circumstances, like having injuries and coming back too soon, then your results struggle. A lot happens and it isn’t like I changed the goals, but you have to realize, I got an eight on the weekend and I was happy with that, that’s good. Had I done that in MX2, it was a terrible weekend.

MXlarge: You race for the BOS Kawasaki team, who are French, but you race the Maxxis and not the French championship. How does that work?

Searle: In the British I work with Matt Hutchins from Evotech. He is a really good guy and does my engines for the British. We are obviously using the BOS suspension. It is almost a team within a team, and it is important to race it as my core fans base is here and I need to race in England to earn my money.

MXlarge: What do you have coming up before Mantova, another British round?

Searle: This coming weekend I will race the good Friday race for Mark Hucklebridge Memorial race. I think it is the Mike Browne Memorial, but also for Mark. Shaun is also racing it, and I thought I was going to have a nice easy weekend, but not now. It will be more competitive. Then we have another British round before Mantova. I will work hard and do some testing, because we need to be coming into Mantova.