Startalk

Who did inspire you to do MX?
My father used to ride Motocross and as a little kid I wanted to be like my father and do the same. He was actually pretty good, he had only one eye to see and won the German “OMK ­ Pokal” in 1975 and 1976. Because he couldn’t see with two eyes he wasn’t able to ride international cause the federation didn’t let him. He quit riding in 1982 and opened a motorcycle shop and very soon it was my turn to start..

How important is MX for you in your life?
I’m riding now since 20 years, so that sport was always with me in my life, I can’t imagine beeing without motocross or having started another sport. My parents were always behind me with all kinds of support and I don’t think that there can be anything better than riding a motocross bike.

What would you change to give the MX sport in Germany a better perspective?
First of all I’d change the championships, In my opinion two german championships, 125 and Open would be enough, both on the same date and place. With more races in the year, not only 5, what is really ridiculous here in Germany !! 2 heats each class with one superfinal. It works in other countries as well.. Then I’d try to get German motocross more popular with at least a small summary from the races in TV, shouldn’t be such a big problem when you can see curling for example or whatever for hours live in TV..

Tell me about your last big injury. How did it happen?
My last big injury has been also my biggest so far. I had a pretty good ride in 2002 on my 450 Sarholz Honda, I was 5. in the European championship, 2. in the Open DM and 6. in the DMX. Even I won the 250SX in Stuttgart. After Stuttgart I broke my arm at the SX in Dortmund. After a couple weeks I was ready again to start practise for the new season. I wanted to improve my 2002 results. I picked up a new 450 bike from Sarholz and went to Italy with a couple friends. The first track was Bellinzago, very bumpy and dusty. On the second lap, I wasn’t even warm, I didn’t see that big whole at the fastest part on the track and crashed in 4. gear. I think everybody knows how fast a 450 in 4. gear is.. Anyway I hit the ground very hard and couldn’t breathe, I thought that feeling would be gone after a while but it didn’t stop. I couldn’t move and couldn’t breathe, and had a lot of pain in my back. Well I had a surgery back in germany which was also very painful and I layed down on my back for 5 weeks, always looking on the roof.. In the first week for me it was sure to quit riding, but then it got better and better and my mind changed. Also I got a great support from the Sarholz Family and of course from my family and all my friends. I’m happy to walk again and even more happy still beeing able to ride motocross.

Was the way back to the top hard for you?
The way back was very hard, it took me one year, always being in therapy and always trying to get this crash out of my mind, but I’m still trying.. I did a couple races at the end of the 2003 season, but I was way behind my normal speed. I got all my metal out in Janury 2004 and from that point it used to be way better in all parts of riding, running and so on. Now I’m proud riding again on top in Germany and motivated for the rest of the season.

Is it important for you to ride with your buddies and is there a good cohesion between the riders?
Of course its important to ride with your buddies, but in my case I don’t get faster with them because they’re all amateurs, but its always a lot of fun what is very important. They also help me when I’m doing some serious practise sessions. They are very important for me.
I think there’s a big cohesion between all motocross riders, its like a big family.



You are also a good SX rider. Two years ago you almost won a SX final in Stuttgart. Is it possible to see you in some US SX Races the next years?
First of all I won two years ago in Stuttgart. It went pretty good in 2002, my riding was very good, my physical strength and I was a bit lucky. I’ve been in the US twice, 2001 and 2002 for each time a month. I stayed with my buddies Ryan Clark and Dustin Nelson, I met these guys at the German SX and so they gave me the chance to prctise in the US over the wintertime. I had a very good time there, in 2001 was riding the SX in Anaheim but I broke my wrist already in practise, so I never had the chance to race. In 2002 I competed two races of the western 4-stroke nationals. I did actually good, I was on the fourstroke for the first time and finished 8. and 9. Don Schneider, the promoter of those races, managed that I got from “Carmichael-Honda” a bike for free. The people there were very friendly and very excited about me. I really like to go there again, but I don’t think that I’m gonna ride the US-SX again. We’ll see what’s gonna happen, but at the moment I have no plans to go there again.

What are your goals for the future?
Well first of all I wanna stay healthy, I start working in August, so I don’t know how I’ll be able to ride.. My plans are to be good enough for the German races and to compete some GP’s or European races.

Have you ever thought about the life after MX?
Of course I thought about life after MX. Like I said I start working in August cause I won’t get rich with motocross. Everything is getting more expensive and every year there’s less money at the races. It is sad but as a normal person its really hard to pay, even to earn money with it. In the future I wanna stick to the sport, as rider, as a manager or whatever is possible. We’ll see.

Favorite location to ride?
I really like Portugal, there are many nice tracks for example Poutena. In Germany most tracks are boring cause most Clubs didn’t change the tracks for maybe 30 years. Maybe some people should watch the GP Tracks, they are completely different and way more technical. That’s why I have so many problems when I get the chance to ride a GP. I guess the other German’s too.

Does music push you to go bigger? What kind of music do you prefer?
Music does push me, especially when I practise. I really like Linkin Park and stuff like that.

What do think about the current situation of the global and the European MX scene?
I don’t know much about the MX in other countries. I just know that there’s a big boom in the United States. I think its because there’s a lot of TV-Action and a lot more races than here in Germany. In my opinion its getting worse in Germany year by year. There’s nothing in TV, too many different championships and way too less races. Also the young riders here don’t have to fight for something. Even before they do races, many of them have new bikes, a big truck and so on. There’s no need for them to improve there riding cause they get everything they want anyways. A big problem is also the money you can get, when you win a German championship, you barely get 350 Euro and the car fuel, food and stuff are not paid yet. Not a really good motivation..



Do you know some Links to interesting Websites that support the MX sport?
I’m just watching on mxlarge.com and some US-pages.

Any other comments or do you want to say something to your fellows, sponsors & fans?
Yes I really want to thank my sponsor Edith and Burkhardt Sarholz, they gave me a great support over years, even when my results were not so good. Also I’d like to thank my mom who always supports me, my mechanic Eddie who has been with me all the time and pushes me even when I'm in a bad condition. A special thank goes to my sweet girlfriend Dorothee who gives me a great support as well. She is always very close to me and keeps me beeing motivated.




Last words … please give the kids some basic tips, how they could start with MX easily, if they want to?
If kids wanna start with MX its very important that the parents don’t put pressure on them. They should have fun in the first years and not win championships in there first season. If they have fun with riding they’ll get better pretty soon.