What happens next for Damon Graulus?!
Multiple national MX2 champion Damon Graulus was busy with a strong preparation this winter. With a great debut in the MXGP last year and the high-performance 2017 Honda CRF450R under his belt, the prospects for the fast Vossem native were promising. Last Saturday, however, Graulus suffered a serious blow. His team MPL Racing, the structure behind 24MX Lucas Oil Honda, announced they were pulling the plug on their World Cup plans. This means that both Graulus and Milko Potisek are on the street.
Until the last match, Damon Graulus was in the running for the Belgian Inters title last year. During the ONK in Markelo he stood on the podium and in the GPs Graulus showed that he certainly has the speed of the top 14. Just to indicate that the transition from the 250 to the 450 was a bull's eye for the multiple national MX2 champion. Now Damon's sporting future is suddenly very uncertain.
I was repeatedly reminded by team owner Marc Boone that everything would be fine – Damon Graulus
After months of radio silence around your ex-team, the curtain fell last week. Did you see something coming?
Damon Graulus: “I knew that there were still some things that needed to be finalized. Furthermore, it was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to the outside world. I was repeatedly reminded by team owner Marc Boone that everything would be fine. It is never fun that it took a lot of time for everything to be completed. On the other hand, my focus was also entirely on my preparation: first making sure I recovered from my hand injury, then the physical training, my motorcycle training. My job as a pilot is to ensure that I can perform as well as possible. You can only assume that the team is doing its share of the work.”
It's a double shame that training went really well.
Granules: “I feel very good indeed, both in terms of driving and physically. In training he is currently even managing to keep up with factory riders. Of course that is not yet a competition, but it does give confidence and I know that I have made a lot of progress in all areas in recent years. Now it's time to show that.”
I understand that you (still) did not have a contract with MPL Racing?
Granules: "That's right. Once again, I had complete confidence that the team would deliver on what was promised. I also felt very good on the Honda, the collaboration with my mechanic Luc went well and the available good places in the MXGP are very limited anyway. So changing teams was not an option. The only advantage of my situation now is that I have no obligations anywhere. I do not have a contract with a motorcycle brand, nor a clothing or helmet brand. If there is a team that has to look for a replacement due to an injury, I have strong assets.”
How are you going to start the season?
Granules: “Setting up your own structure to drive GPs is not financially feasible. That is why I will initially go to the preparatory races such as Hawkstone Park and Lacapelle-Marival as planned. I will compete there privately with a 2016 motorcycle made available by MPL Racing. We were just getting ready to start with the 2017 CRF450R but it's no different. I know this bike well and I feel very much at home with it. I want to perform as well as possible in those international races. Then we'll see how things go.”
You yourself made a call to teams via social media. Has there been a response to this yet?
Granules: “Nothing concrete. My experience has also taught me to be careful. A team that is very eager to recruit someone now probably sees opportunities to raise the budget that the driver brings with him in the end. Is it a professional team? What is the level of the material? Is it MX2 or MXGP? These are all very important choices at this stage of my career. Riding EMX250 again, for example, is a big step back at the moment. And certainly in that class the material is very crucial. But proposals are of course welcome, people can email me at damon.graulus@telenet.be
Or they can come to your dinner party!
Granules: "Naturally! Come on over: Camargue party room, Ormendaal 9, Bertem on Saturday January 28 from 12 noon to 22 pm. We will not lose heart and we are going to make it a very cool day.”
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