FSX Chats To MX1 Rider Clement ‘The MX Panda’ Desalle

Currently sat 55 points behind leader Antonio Cairoli in the 2012 MX1 World Championship, we caught up the Belgian rider Clement Desalle before the 13th round at Matterley Basin, UK, to talk about his season so far, the future and the origins of his nickname…

Over the last three years, you have finished in the top 3 in the MX1 GP Championships. Right now, you are just a thirty points behind Cairoli. Do you reckon that 2012 will be your year?

I’ll do my best and I’m looking really positive in the front to try to get the best results possible.

How did it feel to pick up your first double victory earlier in the year at Uddevalla?

It was a good feeling, not only of the results but also because my riding was really good!

After controlling much of 2011 season, your shoulder injury in Belgium meant the championship was snatched from you. How did that feel?

It’s a real bad feeling because I wanted to finish the season on the best level possible without injury.

How do you like to spend your time when you aren’t riding motocross?

I like to train for MX with different kind of sports, like running, cycling, swimming, and racketball. I like to have fun in my 4X4 with friends, pass time with my dogs (animals are the best!). Plus, I like to ride Enduro with friends and my dad during the winter.

Do you think that you would consider racing Motocross over in the States?

Yes, I wouldn’t put this option out of my head. But for me, MX is not only the sport, you know? I want to feel good in the life out of motocross too.

You’ve been nicknamed the ‘MX Panda’. How come? Do you love bamboo? 

My nickname came because I love to eat! It was in 2002 and I was with friends in the Futuroscope (a park in France) and they told me about a documentary about the panda and it said that pandas eat 14 hours in a day. It started from there!

Alongside the new addition this year, the 2013 calendar also features a new track in Thailand. What are your views on the new tracks and the championship reaching new parts of the world?

Honestly, I think it’s more about business than the riders. When you see the condition of some tracks we ride, I’ve had more fun on some practice tracks! I mean, it should be okay to ride in parts of the world like this, but the track should be really good. They should be more prepared for it!

Do you think that teams having to go further afield for racing will have any negative affect on championships? There is plenty of speculation as to why there were fewer competitors in Russia, for example…

I can’t really answer of this question because I don’t know how the teams work. We pay for so many things, it’s normal that some say no. Russia for example, it was really not cool to see only 21 riders on the entry list and 14 riders at the gate. What’s this mean for a World Championship?

What does it mean to you to be part of Fox Racing’s team of athletes?

It’s really good! The people I’ve met are really nice and I really like the design of Fox gear and sportswear!

Paul Bird Motorsport Rider Michael Laverty Chats Exclusively To Freestylextreme About His Dreams For His First Ever MotoGP Season!

PIC: www.speedweek.de

Michael Laverty has been a FreestyleXtreme sponsored athlete for many years so we may be a little bit biased. Even so, we couldn’t be more excited to see the Northern Irishman racing on the world stage alongside the likes of Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo. Michael very kindly took some time out before the first race at Qatar to talk to us about his hopes for the new season.

How is life in the MotoGP treating you, Michael?

Its been good, although Im not sure you get the full MotoGP experience from the Malaysia tests as the paddock is on quite a reduced scale without the Moto 2/3 teams and none of the GP infrastructure. However life inside my team and on track has been really positive. The travel and climate/cultural changes are something that I quite enjoy rather than seeing them as a pain like some do. Ive been away from home a lot already, so I miss Jodi and our dog but its all good, Im answering these questions with a sea view and sun on my back, no complaints here!

There is a huge amount of fan support behind you this year. We particularly like the ‘open letter’ article to you from SofaRacer. Have you noticed a difference in reaction from them since you started in MotoGP?

Its been quite interesting, Im not one to read fan forums but from what Ive been told by those close to me who do, there has been a major shift from the detractors originally to a lot of support. It has been surprising, BSB [British Superbike Championship] is a top national series but just the fact that you race MotoGP (albeit on a CRT machine) really seems to incite a lot of interest. I shall enjoy the support and like SofaRacer stated, enjoy every minute of being a MotoGP rider!

PIC: www.michaellaverty.com

Your testing in Sepang earlier in the year couldn’t have gone much better. Your confidence must be high after that performance?

Its nice, I wont lie - it feels good. Of course I felt that was roughly where I should be in theory but with no prior experience in GP there was a bit of guess work involved. With experience you learn to gauge things, like your level, the competition, their strengths and weaknesses although there can be things you havent accounted for. I like to analyse everything, I feel Im a realist so it wasnt a big surprise to me however it did seem to shock a lot of people.

Is it satisfying to prove to your detractors that you deserve to be on the world stage?

For sure, although I dont really get hung up on other people opinions, positive or negative, I dont really allow myself to take it on board unless it comes from a source whom I respect, you know? Arm chair critics cant ever have a true grasp of what is going on, but if I get praise or criticism from say my brothers my parents or my peers for example, thats a different story. It keeps your feet on the ground when you’re doing well and your chin off the floor when things get tough!

PIC: www.motogp.com

You must be getting on pretty well with your new bike then? What sort of things are you noticing as you spend more time with your CRT Aprilia?

Unfortunately Ive had a grand total of 30 laps on the bike I will race this season, and it was a very unrefined version with no electronics, etc. Sepang 1 I rode the ART bike that James Ellision rode last year, it was good as everything worked so it allowed me to just get on and ride it, learn all the nuances of MotoGP like the circuit, carbon brakes, Bridgestone tyres, electronics etc.

By the final day I was right on the pace with the top CRT [Claiming Rule Team] guys and finished up 2nd, I was really happy with the ART and felt comfortable on it.

We arrived at Sepang 2 with the new PBM [Paul Bird Motorsport] bike, it was a three day test and I didnt get to ride it until after lunch on the final day. It definitely was a test of patience, I felt I needed more track time to continue my learning process but it was important to get some data for the PBM bike, so rather than using the spare ART [Aprilia Racing Technologies] I let my team get on with finishing the new bike. All credit to them they worked harder and longer than any other team on pit lane to get it running and in the end it was very satisfying for them to put a brand new bike on circuit and get damn close to the necessary lap times with minimal track time.

PIC: www.michaellaverty.com

With the whole season ahead of you, what do you think you are looking forward to the most?

Not one thing in particular but the whole experience, riding on the best circuits in the world against the best riders on the best bikes in front of thousands of fans. It is the pinnacle of Motorcycle racing and I plan to enjoy being part of the show.

What are your hopes for Qatar? Have you or the team set any targets?

I have yes, but it may be a little bit unrealistic at the moment, I should know better what our level is after the final Jerez test this weekend. I want to be battling to win the CRT race, if I was on the ART bike I would say it confidently but as we still have a lot of work to do with the PBM bike just to reach the level of the ART bike in performance I am a little bit reluctant.

We also read recently that Paul Bird Motorsport landed a sponsorship with an adult movie subscription channel. Not a bad perk of the job, we assume?

Ha ha, yes there has been mixed reviews from fans on that one but I imagine the male fans wont mind a slightly different look from the promo girls! And no I havent been given a free subscription before you ask, lol.