Interview with Dirk Saelen (DIGA Racing)
After 8 titles and hundreds of podium places in their own country, DIGA Racing felt the time was right to take a step higher. The Kempen team has been active at World Cup level since 2009. Dirk Saelen's team played a pioneering role by being the first to focus on the Women's World Cup. Not without success, by the way, because Maria Franke even gave DIGA a few podium places. In 2011, the Belgian team switched gears and switched to the MX1 and MX2 World Championships with Jeremy Delincé and Nick Triest respectively. This season, DIGA has opted for a completely foreign line-up with the Spaniard José Antonio Butron and the Estonian promise Priit Rätsep. We brought team manager and owner Dirk Saelen in front of the microphone. It was a nice conversation about the ambitions of his team, working with young riders, about last year and of course about the 2012 season.
How is the transition from the WMX to the MX2 and MX1 World Championship?
Dirk Saelen: “The transition went quite smoothly. During the last year of that combined championship, there was already a rumor in the air that the Women's World Championship would have a separate calendar, along with the MX3 World Championship. After consultation with the team's largest sponsors, the decision was quickly made. As a Belgian team it was important to compete with Belgian riders and that is why we chose Nick Triest and Jeremy Delincé last year.”
How do you look back on last season?
Saelen: “It was a season with mixed results. Actually, 2011 did not deliver what we expected in terms of sport. You can safely say that we paid tuition fees. We learned a lot from it about what we should do differently now. First of all, everything has to be a lot more professional in the MX1/MX2 World Championship. The collaboration with the drivers is also different than with the women. Technically speaking, the bar is a lot higher. In addition, logistics and accommodation must also evolve. We have grown enormously in this regard. We have a VIP area in Valkenswaard and Lommel. That was a great success, we also implemented it in our own way and that was very popular.”
The 2012 calendar looks very international. On the other hand, relocations to Brazil, Mexico and Russia also entail heavy costs.
Saelen: “It's certainly a tough calendar! There are also some unknown destinations such as Russia. A positive thing is that it connects to Latvia, I'm curious what we can expect there. Personally, I don't immediately see any great added value for the World Cup. “
It is striking that you do not have a Belgian rider under your tent this year?
Saelen: “That's right, I don't want to be too dramatic about it. However, at the moment I am not finding anything to my liking among young Belgian pilots. As a Belgian team, this is a regrettable conclusion. I don't think it's the teams' fault either. It appears that there is something wrong with the upbringing, training and guidance of our cross riders. We mainly noticed this last year with Nick Triest. Jeremy was aware of the costs associated with a GP team, but for Nick everything was normal. Maybe the Belgian drivers have it too easy compared to their foreign colleagues? Kevin Fors came into our picture at some point. He is now with the Hans Corvers team (Kemea-Reytec-Yamaha), of course, hopefully he can develop further there. In my opinion, we are not doing particularly well in Belgium. You do notice that the approach of the Italians and the French in the field of youth guidance is starting to bear fruit. In recent years, steps have been taken in the right direction in Flanders with Motorsport Future, led by Joël Smets. That is a good start, but whether it will be enough is another question.”
José Antonio Butron has already shown flashes of his class, such as his 7th place in the second series of the Italian GP. He also has three seasons of World Cup experience, he just lacks regularity. What do you expect from him?
Saelen: “He has the qualities to finish between 7th and 10th. We are working towards that together. You should also not forget that he dropped out of seven heats in 2011 with mechanical problems and he also did not participate in the four overseas heats. In total that is 11 series out of 30... That gives a different picture of his 14th place last year. If you replace those 11 series with his average, José Antonio is in the top 10. Of course, motocross remains a mechanical sport, but you cannot ignore the fact that 7 retirements is a lot! Butron will also participate in the Spanish championship. He wants to be at the front again there. That's how it should be, I think. It is good that he can ride the Spanish championship as an emerging Spanish talent. Who knows, he could become the new standard-bearer of Spanish motocross or the successor to Jonathan Barragan. Moreover, he is only 20, he is also someone we can teach something as a team.”
Priit Rätsep is much less known, what can you tell about him?
Saelen: “I have been following Priit for a while now. In Latvia he easily won both series in the MX2 European Championship, which convinced me in the end. Besides his talent as a motocross rider, I also trust his mentality. In the Baltic states the drivers receive much less money than here, they are workers. With Priit we also wanted to go for a different style; someone who is always committed no matter what happens.”
Do you see the sporting future of Belgian motocross bleakly?
Saelen: “There is certainly no surplus of talent. As a starting World Cup team you naturally start with realistic ambitions. For example, last year we aimed for a top 15 place. If you set the bar a little higher and want to reach the top 10, the flush is very thin. I am talking about available, young riders because Jeremy Van Horebeek and Joël Roelants are already permanent fixtures in MX2. Just look at Kemea, with Kevin Fors and Kenny Vandueren. I don't think they are worth a top 15 yet. Jens Getteman is at Standing Construct. Personally, I think that Jens will also lose some light to be in the top 15. If he can score points regularly, that would be great. Then there is Nick Triest at Husqvarna. Hopefully he can prove himself there, then I expect him to be around the top 15.”
Jeremy Delince clearly has excellent technique, especially in the MX1. What went wrong with him?
Saelen: “We chose the MX1 together where he rode the KTM 350. He had some adjustment problems and in retrospect he might have done better on a 450. He rode really well on the Yamaha. On the other hand, the step physically, from the Swiss championship to the World Cup, was also quite big. You have to be there physically almost immediately. Unfortunately, he also got injured, which made it very difficult to show himself. At the end of the season we contacted MB Racing, the Swiss team he drove for in 2010. That was really fast, he will probably be seen with a wildcard in some MX1 or MX3 GPs. I'm glad he ended up well.”
Aren't the expectations towards young riders sometimes too high?
Saelen: “That could be possible, especially because there are major individual differences. A Delincé, for example, was clearly not yet physically strong enough. At 20th that is understandable. Now let it strengthen for one or two seasons and you will get a different story. There's no shame in that either. Besides, he's only 22, so we'll see. I'm glad we tried it with Jeremy. “
Before your World Cup adventure, you had been a team owner in the VLM for some time. How did you actually get into motocross?
Saelen: “I started riding the 12cc in the Netherlands when I was 85 years old. At that time you still had to cross the border to start so young, that must have been '87 or '88. At 15de I switched to the VLM. That was the class of Noël Steurs, Peter Iven, Peter Dirckx and Freddy Verherstraeten. I stayed there until I was 18de drove until I had a very bad crash. As an active motocross rider, I called it a day, but my interest has always remained because motocross is in your blood. In 1998 we started Diga Racing in the VLM. Originally there were two initiators, myself and Gary Reynders. Gary then switched to MotoGP (Reynders is now crew chief for the Swiss Moto2 rider Randy Krummenacher ; ed.), then I continued on my own.”
You are now working more than full-time with the team.
Saelen: "Indeed. At the highest level we are still in a start-up phase, which certainly requires extra efforts. We also recently built a new workshop in Balen, which is close to Olmen and Lommel. From there we can organize everything under one roof; maintenance, tuning, storage of parts and rolling stock... In the longer term, we want to emphatically distinguish ourselves as a team where young talent can develop. We also want to allow riders to progress from European Championship to World Championship level. That is why we also aim for long-term collaboration with promising pilots. That is more positive for both the drivers themselves and the team. That is where the future lies for teams like ours. Factory teams will always have a special status and below that you have support teams, I don't see much of a change in that."
Is it a disadvantage that there are now so many Belgian teams in the MX2 World Championship? Isn't there more competition in the search for sponsors or drivers?
Saelen: “I don't see it that way. I am not going to fish in the pond of sponsors of my colleagues. We just do our things. I think there is a good understanding between the three Belgian MX2 teams DIGA Racing – Kemea and Standing Construct. I see JM Racing as a Belgian-Dutch team and the Lieber team is actually more Luxembourgish.”
In terms of tuning, the MX2 is quite an expensive class. Have you considered remaining active in MX1?
Saelen: “Initially the intention was to use one MX2 rider in addition to two MX1 riders. We also negotiated with some MX1 riders. Ultimately, this turned out not to be financially feasible in the phase we are currently in. In the future I think there will be even more specialization with pure MX1 or MX2 teams.”
At the MX of Nations, DIGA took care of the logistics for the Australian team. How did you arrive at that?
Saelen: “We have had a good relationship with the Australian federation for some time because we have been providing the service and logistics for the junior World Cup for two years. The Aussies were very happy with that and that is why Gary Benn, the Australian team manager, asked us to help them in Saint-Jean d'Angély.”
Where you brought happiness to the Australians because they were on stage for the first time!
Saelen: “That was an added bonus! The Australians were really very satisfied. We also shared very nice experiences there with the riders and the Australian team for three days. People may think of Chad Reed, Brett Metcalfe or Matt Moss as having star appeal. There's nothing wrong with that. Those guys are really normal and modest. Now I understand why those top performers regularly separate themselves from the crowd. If there are 300, 400 people constantly shouting at the tent or drumming for a photo or an autograph, I would also like some peace and quiet!”
Thanks for your time and good luck!
Saelen: "Don't mention it. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors who have supported us over the past year. Almost all of those sponsors are there again this season. That is a nice feeling and it is a demonstration of mutual trust.”
Credit photos: Bavo Swijgers/archive
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