Interview: Stefan Everts about Liam's coaching!
With ten world titles and 101 GPs won, Stefan Everts is in the eyes of many people the greatest motocross rider on the planet, but even the best have difficulties sometimes. After almost losing his life to malaria a year ago, the tough Belgian took every opportunity to get through it one way or another. After numerous operations it is still not easy and he still battles daily foot pain while also continuing to coach his son Liam in the professional motocross ranks.
In Hawkstone, Stefan saw Liam win the 125 class by rocketing from last place to the lead in a few laps in the second series. The British public – who wanted to see the third generation of the Everts motocross dynasty – almost went into ecstasy. Stefan kindly gave Gatedrop's Jonathan McCready ten minutes of his time to discuss Liam's progress along with his own ongoing health issues and his views on this season's upcoming MXGP World Championship and Jeffrey Herlings' riding style.
Liam showed something great in that second moto by riding from last to first place. You must be quite proud of the way he drove?
S72: Yes, it was a good race, although his starts weren't that good, even in the first moto. He did the training starts and they were all pretty perfect and then the two starts in the race, they were really bad so I don't know what happened there. But he fought through the pack, I don't know how he did it. Especially in the second moto, he crashed in the first corner because a rider came from the left and took him down and after one lap he was already fifth and very quickly went to P1 and controlled the race. Once he was in the lead he enjoyed the ride so yeah, it was good.
Did you say anything to him between heats, it seemed like he was riding with extra intensity in the second moto?
S72: I don't know, maybe he gained a little more confidence and at some point he could see that he was one of the fastest on the track. It's always a gamble with doubled riders and then he also had to take off his glasses, so the first race it was quite difficult for him to get through. I think he saw what he could do in the first race and the second race the track got a lot worse with the rain. I'm impressed again with his first lap, even in the first moto I was impressed with his first lap.
His technique, is that of course because of the genes inherited from the Everts family or is that something you have been working on with him for years?
S72: Some things you either have or you don't. I think that's kind of in his blood. He knows how to drive, he is only 15 and still has a lot of experience to gain. At times I see things there that we still need to work on, for example trying to set a good lap time. You always have to look carefully and find the right moment to set a lap time. He always struggles with slow guys up front and yes, I get a little upset because we talk about that often. Okay, today he came third in the timed practice, which was pretty good. Last week in Italy it was a lot more difficult because he also had an engine problem and then he missed 15 minutes of training, but anyway it was not easy again here in Hawkstone.
I remember when you were still racing that you said that your father was always critical of you, are you aware that you don't do that with Liam or do you do that yourself?
S72: I am critical of him because he showed some good things today and we trained for that. His speed has to be there, he just has to find his right mentality during the race. His fitness is there, his speed is there, the material is there, everything is there, it's just up to him to do it. Sometimes there are some things to improve and then we talk about it, you have to give it time, he is only 15. Some kids grow fast, some grow slow and Liam is not the fastest so he needs his time. I have noticed that since childhood he needs time to grow. Some of the kids are 15 and they're incredible. We have to give him time, when he turns 18 we will see the best of him.
Is that partly because you didn't really let him race when he was young? Maybe he's only been racing for the last four or five years?
S72: Not even five years. He did a bit of 65cc, then 85cc for two years and last year his first year in the European Championship on 125. I think this is an important year for him to show what he can do. I think he should be one of the guys who can be at the front and fight with the guys for the podium places. That's where I see he can be, he should be able to do that already. I know what he can do and what he can't do.
On the 250f, how do you think he looks at that?
S72: Really good. He looks really good. It looks really comfortable on the 250, we just have a stock bike for the moment. I think he can still improve on the 250, he should be able to be faster on the 250 than on the 125 and the lap times are more or less the same, but we are going to do some EMX laps this year on the 250 to get a feel for that and see how that goes. But the emphasis is on the 125.
Many different riders have a different opinion of you than when you were team manager, you coach Liam and you were coached by your father. Are you sometimes surprised by the opinions of different riders about your working method?
S72: I try to think of everyone. There are certain basic principles in this sport that you need to learn. That's the foundation I've pushed to all my riders I've worked with in the past. Some could handle it, and not many riders could handle some of those basics that I tried to teach them. Some riders are very negative about my approach to racing, but they should remember that I am still the one with the most titles. I think the way my father taught me to become a champion is not a bad method. I hope I can do the same with Liam and I hope that one day the others will know what I tried to do with them and taught them then. Like I said, some appreciate it and some don't appreciate what I tried to do.
You had the technical side, but at the beginning of your career it seemed like you had a lot of pressure on you…
S72: It's the same for Liam, he has a lot of pressure with his name. This is a job for us to do and work on that part so he can be a free rider when he's racing. I still see a lot of improvement on that side of racing. But then again, he's 15 and you have to give him time for certain things.
About your health, how are you? Is the future positive or should you continue to deal with how you are now?
S72: Right now it's stable, but it's not good yet. I still have pain every time I walk, even now when I stand I have pain. My right foot is the worst, my left foot is okay. I still have wounds on my heels – they are still open – they will eventually heal but it will be another six to nine months when this part will be better. The pain in my right foot, I don't know if it will ever go away. I hope it will subside, but I don't know.
And riding a motorcycle, is that still possible?
S72: With the wounds on my heels it is so difficult even for me to get into motocross boots. Every time I go over those wounds to get into the boots it's quite painful, so it's not an option at this point. First those wounds have to close, then I have to work on a decent pair of boots, then maybe I can get back on the bike if my boots are good.
Do you miss riding with Liam or are you not so focused on that?
S72: I don't miss it, but for me it is a challenge to get back on the bike one day. But when? Don't know. I need to get my fitness back on track and get a little more fitness into my body because I've lost so much fitness and strength over the past year. I'm trying to build up slowly, it's hard to face the level I'm at now. It's hard for me to deal with that mentally and get through it. It's going to take a little time to reach a better level of overall body fitness, but that's just the way it is.
Do you think racing and that mentality helped you deal with all this?
S72: It definitely helped me deal with certain things and the situation. Definitely being a racer with everything I've been through and what I've done in the past has definitely helped me a lot mentally, yeah. It was a really tough year for me, you don't want to know how many days I spent in the hospital, how many nurses I saw, how many operations I had – a lot.
Was it nice to see that you had so much support from people, even from guys like Ricky Carmichael in America, and from all the people in the GPs?
S72: Of course it's nice, I didn't expect so many reactions. It came from all over the world and from some people it was a surprise and from some people I didn't expect it. Overall, it was nice to see that reaction and to get the support from the people, for sure.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming GP season with Cairoli and Herlings back healthy to take on Gajser, as well as Prado now coming over from MX2?
S72: Every year is always interesting at the beginning of the season. It's just a shame that Prado has already been injured, because I think he was a great competition for everyone else to show what he can do. I think Jorge can do very well even in his first season because he is a very technical rider. I strongly believe in him, but of course he has to compete with Herlings – one of the toughest guys when he is healthy. Tim, I hope he gets a bit stronger mentally, it looks like they already have a really good set-up at the moment, so it will be very interesting.
On Jeffrey, how he rides, it seems like he always gives his all, but he uses his legs a lot, different from you maybe and he lifts the bike a lot. What do you think of his technique?
S72: You have to understand and read the track and run the engine as best as possible to understand the conditions on the track. I think Herlings has a good feeling about that, how he helps his bike to go around the track and get the best speed out of it. I don't see that with every driver. Prado certainly has that too, he feels the engine really well. Maybe Tim feels it a little less, but they are all top riders and they all have their qualities, everyone has a slightly different style, but in the end the technique is the basis and the same for everyone. It looks different from the outside, but what they do is basically the same.
Interview: Jonathan McCready
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