Five minutes with Pit Beirer

IIn 1999, Pit Beirer fought for the 250cc world title for a whole season. In the end, he was narrowly defeated by Fred Bolley. After his career, Beirer developed into a successful manager. How does the KTM Motorsport director experience the most exciting MXGP World Championship ever?

With two GPs to go, Febvre currently leads the race with one point ahead of Tim Gajser. Despite all the setbacks he faced, KTM legend Jeffrey Herlings is still very much in the running. After all, The Bullet follows three points from Febvre. Jorge Prado follows at a considerable distance in fourth.

The level of the races, all the dramatic developments... Have you ever experienced this before?
Pit Beirer: “This is a great season, and it's motocross at the absolute highest level. No, actually I can't remember such a super exciting and intense championship.”

Jorge Prado did not make it easy for Jeffrey in race one on Sunday and Febvre got away well. Was anything said between heats? Jorge was slightly more accommodating in the second moto and Tony also played it safe with Jeffrey.
Beier: “Motorcross is an individual sport and you cannot ask your team members to ride for each other. Unless in a specific situation in the very last race. Jorge (Prado) is a rider who is very difficult to pass. For KTM riders but also for every other rider in the world. No, we didn't exchange a word with him between the heats. That's something the drivers have to figure out for themselves.

As a team owner, it is less fun to see that your own drivers have difficulty passing each other. But on the other hand, Jorge made it very difficult for our direct competitors, which helped us as a team. Jorge has a very clear strategy for his race, “catch me, if you can…..” I want to underline that there was no team order. What has happened so far has happened between the drivers themselves.”

How is Jeffrey doing now after the last GP? His comeback after that big second crash was astonishing. Have you ever seen someone toil and fight with such determination?
Beier: “Jeffrey after the last race in Arco di Trento? Full of energy to win this title!!! Jeffrey is a fierce fighter. We have been through many ups and downs together. But the work he puts in and the determination he shows is on another level. He will continue to fight for this title until the very last round.”

What is most difficult: riding for a world title yourself or watching the last two rounds?
Beier: “First of all I would like to compliment each of these three riders who are fighting for this title, plus our other 2 guys Jorge Prado and Tony Cairoli. They created so much excitement and spectacle for the fans, it's unbelievable! The last two races will be very exciting to watch. I'm not going to compare this to the past and my own title fight. We as a team want to win this title. We are going all out in the last two games.”

Tekst: Jonathan McCready/Gatedrop.com
Photos: Infront Moto Racing, Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool, Ray Archer