Motocross Feature

Word is out that South African rider Gareth Swanepoel is heading down under to race for Carlton Dry Honda, we catch up with him just before he touches down in Australia.

Swanepoel is a familiar name for those Motocross fans who have followed the world championship through the mid to late 2000s, or for any fan of South African motocross!

The South African rider has had great success on the world stage, with MX2 podium results to his name and a 5th place finish in the World MX2 Championship back in 2007.

He also finished 8th, in the 2009 World MX1 championship before embarking on a racing stint in the U.S where he once again had some success with some solid race results.

He is a rider who first represented his country in at the MXoN in 2001 and is still one of the most talent riders ever to come out of South Africa.

Swanepoel has been recruited in to the Carlton Dry MX team for the remaining five rounds of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals with the possibility if things work out, to also race the Australian Supercross Championship starting in Darwin this September.

We caught up with Swanepoel just days before his first race in Australia, which will be at this weekends round of the MX Nationals at Appin.

Fullnoise: First and foremost – Why the decision to come to Australian and race the remaining rounds of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals? How did the deal to come to Australia to race come about?

Swanepoel: I didn't have much going on in the United States at the moment and I was contacted by Ben Townley and the guys from the Honda team over in Australia and they made me an offer to come over to Australia to ride.

It seems like a great opportunity and one I need to take advantage of and make the most of it.

Fullnoise: What do you know about the Australian motocross racing scene and what are your expectations of the series coming in to your first race at Appin this weekend? Do you see yourself being able to win races in Australia?

Swanepoel: I know it is a pretty big series, I have watch a bit of You Tube footage and done a little home work on it, judging from what I have seen, it looks a bit like racing the British Championship, which is something that I did for quite a few years.

Coming in to my first round I don't really have any expectations. I am just going in there to get my feet wet and get a feel for the bike and the racing.

After that I will be chasing some podiums and moto wins before the season is done, I see myself as having a fair shot of doing that.

Fullnoise: You will be riding for the Carlton Dry Honda MX Team, have you had a chance to ride the 2013 Honda CRF450 and what are your thoughts on the bike?

Swanepoel: I have had a chance to ride a stock standard CRF450 in America for a couple of weeks. I have also been in New Zealand for the past week riding Ben (Townley's) bike.

I really enjoy riding the bike, though I have not had a chance yet to ride a bike that is set up for me. But my first impression of the Honda is that I really enjoy the bike.

Fullnoise: Is there a longer term plan in place with your trip down under, are you aiming to find a long term ride in Australia if things go well during the final five rounds of this season and are there any plans racing the Australian Supercross Championship that starts just two weeks after the final round of the Motocross Championship?

Swanepoel: I would definitely like to race the Supercross series. It is something we are looking at, but first we will look at how my five rounds of the outdoors go. But there are plans for me to race Supercross.

Definitely if I enjoy my time in Australia and I end up getting a contract, it will be something I would look at doing and staying out here long term.

Fullnoise: You have spent the past couple of seasons racing in the United States, how has that experience been, and are you planning on returning back to the states to race in the future?

Swanepoel: I enjoyed racing in America obviously, I has some great success over there. I would look at returning over there at some point, but at the moment it is not my main goal.

I want to focus right now on racing in Australia and doing the best I can. If something does come up and I can head back to the U.S that would be great, but that is not my goal for coming over here.

I want to do well in Australia and see what happens.

Fullnoise: Before racing in the U.S, you spent many years in racing the World Championship in both MX2 and MX1, including finishing 2nd at GP of Lierop, and 3rd at the GP of Valkenswaard on your way to your best season in the World MX2 championship where you finished 5th in 2007.

You also finished 9th in the World MX1 Championship in 2009, what are your thoughts on the World Championship back when you were racing compared to the World Championship of today?

Swanepoel: Those were some good years, I actually finished 8th in the MX1 world championship. But the championship is a lot different now, it really is a lot different. There is the age limit in the MX2 class that I don't really agree on.

I lot of riders need to have money to bring to teams now so it is a lot different.

The championship still looks good and very professional, it looks fun to watch, but from a riders perspective I don't think it is quite as good as it used to be and I really just don't agree with that MX2 age limit.

Maybe they should have a pointing out system, or something else. You have riders like Alessio Chiodi who won three 125cc championships and he won his first championship when he was 24 years old. If he was racing these days, he probably would have never won a world championship.

Fullnoise: Is there anything else you would like to add before your first race in Aus?

Swanepoel: I would like to thank my fans and everyone for their support and I look forward to racing in Australia, Cheers.

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