Ben Watson: 'I really enjoyed it here in Lille'
How does Ben Watson feel after his first major supercross? 'I am very happy, especially with that third place overall. Saturday was a really good day for me. I felt good in qualifying, but in the first of competitions I fell short on a jump after three laps. As a result, my chin hit my handlebars and that left a hole in my chin. I finished second in that race, but the wound had to be sewn afterwards. Then I came into the second race and I had a great start there but after some mistakes on the first lap things went in the wrong direction. Fortunately, I was able to recover and still finish fourth. Today (Sunday) wasn't great, I had a really bad start. This is because my racing gasoline that the engine is tuned for has disappeared and has been stolen. So we used different gasoline that the engine is not tuned to and that doesn't help matters. Because of all that, I came out of the starting gate last, I also fell into the whoop-die box and finished eighth. Fortunately, we were still able to end on a somewhat positive note because the last race went a little better, the start was better than before. After that it was a fight and a fight and that gave me a fourth place, which turned out to be enough to finish on the overall podium.
Are you into the whole supercross thing? The atmosphere that prevails here in and around the stadium? 'Yes, that's what supercross is mainly about. When you see how many thousands of people are in the stands here, that is extremely good for the sport.'
Motocross and supercross are actually two very separate disciplines, do you like aggressive? 'It's something I'm not really used to. For this event I had only ridden the Zuidbroek supercross as training. It's been a long time since I was still riding an 85cc. But I have to admit that I enjoyed it immensely.”
Will there be a sequel during the UK Arenacross? 'Unfortunately not, I would like to, but the last of that match is about a month before the first World Cup match. Knowing that it will be my debut season in the WKMX2, I have to be sensible and train motocross.'
How do you look ahead to your first WKMX2 season? 'It will undoubtedly be a lot of fun. Without putting pressure on myself, I hope to be able to score a top ten. But it's mainly about gaining experience for the future,' says Ben Watson
Text: Matthias Van Eeckhoven – Photos: CDS/Bavo
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