Tommy Searle is about to take on his first ever AMA Supercross season starting at Anaheim I on January 9th. We caught up with him yesterday at MX Heaven in Perris, California, as he trained and tested on the supercross track there. And he looked really good, actually. To put it simply, it didn’t look like he wasn’t already a supercross veteran.
Tommy Searle: I’m feeling good right now, so I’m really looking forward to it. Like you said, it’s my first season, so there’s going to be a lot of nerves and stuff at A1 because I’ve never done it, and a few other guys have, so they know what to expect. I kind of don’t, but I’m riding good tracks, and it’s not like I’m riding tracks that aren’t the equivalent to what we’re going to be racing, so I’m getting used to it, and I feel really good on these tracks, so hopefully I can carry it over and stay focused for the race and have a good year. It’s my first year, but I also feel like I can do good, so I want to prove to myself that I can do that.
You had the same strategy as Tyla Rattray last year, where you sat out supercross and then did only the Nationals, but did that hurt you a bit because your competition had been racing all year already by the time Glen Helen came around?
Yeah, there’s that, but there are ups and downs and good and bad points with everything. If you’re racing, racing is racing at the end of the day, so it’s a benefit over coming in after having not raced for six months, so there’s that part of it, but then I wasn’t used to supercross. I got here in November, though, and I guess I could’ve been ready for the east coast, but I think I was blowing it up more than what it was in my head. I was looking at it like, “Oh, it’s supercross!” But at the end of the day, you’re still riding a motocross bike and you’re doing the same things. I mean, it’s slightly different technique and things, but it’s generally the same, and I believe if you can ride a bike on an outdoor track, you can ride it on a supercross track. It’s just a mental thing. I kind of got over that, and I’ve found it to be pretty easy, with the supercross tracks, as long as I take my time and avoid making stupid mistakes. For the most part, it’s pretty simple. You know what you have to do. You have to jump that jump and downside it here, and then drive to get the next one.
I saw Joel Roelants a few weeks ago out here in California and told him basically that same thing, that if you’re a great rider – a competitive rider in the top of the GPs – there’s no reason why you can’t do supercross.
I think there’s that, but American riders grow up jumping stuff. Even your average track has a lot more jumps than in Europe, so that’s a big thing a lot of them struggle with. They have techniques for a different sort of track, so they learn that, and then this is a big change for some guys, whereas the guys out here are riding even local tracks like Starwest and little tracks like that, where there are lots of small jumps and you have to time stuff, and at home you kind of don’t have to time stuff so much. That’s the difference. It’s hard to go fast on what they do, but at the same time, it’s hard to do it on these tracks, too. But in the end, it’s similar. You’re on a bike at the end of the day.
I don’t have huge expectations, but I know I’m fit and I’m feeling good on a supercross track. I’m a good rider, and I feel good, so as long as my confidence is right, and I’m doing the right things, I think I’ll have a really good year. But I also don’t want to expect too much of myself and then fall below that and then...
Bum yourself out?
Yeah. You can start putting more and more pressure for the next weekend and the next weekend and it can bury you. So I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m feeling good and I feel like I can do really well.
That sounds like a smart way of looking at it. Is that something you came up with on your own? Or is it just some really good advice you’ve gotten?
I’ve just learned through last year and things. I’ve been racing a long time. I’m 20, and I have quite a lot of experience. I’ve raced the world championship three years, then last year here, so I’ve got a bit of experience. I’m not super-experienced – I haven’t done everything – but I’ve ridden quite a lot of races and rode against different racers, and I’ve learned quite a lot over the time. I’ve learned how to handle stuff a little bit better now.
Well, good luck, Tommy.
Thanks. See you at Anaheim.
Tommy Searle: I’m feeling good right now, so I’m really looking forward to it. Like you said, it’s my first season, so there’s going to be a lot of nerves and stuff at A1 because I’ve never done it, and a few other guys have, so they know what to expect. I kind of don’t, but I’m riding good tracks, and it’s not like I’m riding tracks that aren’t the equivalent to what we’re going to be racing, so I’m getting used to it, and I feel really good on these tracks, so hopefully I can carry it over and stay focused for the race and have a good year. It’s my first year, but I also feel like I can do good, so I want to prove to myself that I can do that.
You had the same strategy as Tyla Rattray last year, where you sat out supercross and then did only the Nationals, but did that hurt you a bit because your competition had been racing all year already by the time Glen Helen came around?
Yeah, there’s that, but there are ups and downs and good and bad points with everything. If you’re racing, racing is racing at the end of the day, so it’s a benefit over coming in after having not raced for six months, so there’s that part of it, but then I wasn’t used to supercross. I got here in November, though, and I guess I could’ve been ready for the east coast, but I think I was blowing it up more than what it was in my head. I was looking at it like, “Oh, it’s supercross!” But at the end of the day, you’re still riding a motocross bike and you’re doing the same things. I mean, it’s slightly different technique and things, but it’s generally the same, and I believe if you can ride a bike on an outdoor track, you can ride it on a supercross track. It’s just a mental thing. I kind of got over that, and I’ve found it to be pretty easy, with the supercross tracks, as long as I take my time and avoid making stupid mistakes. For the most part, it’s pretty simple. You know what you have to do. You have to jump that jump and downside it here, and then drive to get the next one.
I saw Joel Roelants a few weeks ago out here in California and told him basically that same thing, that if you’re a great rider – a competitive rider in the top of the GPs – there’s no reason why you can’t do supercross.
I think there’s that, but American riders grow up jumping stuff. Even your average track has a lot more jumps than in Europe, so that’s a big thing a lot of them struggle with. They have techniques for a different sort of track, so they learn that, and then this is a big change for some guys, whereas the guys out here are riding even local tracks like Starwest and little tracks like that, where there are lots of small jumps and you have to time stuff, and at home you kind of don’t have to time stuff so much. That’s the difference. It’s hard to go fast on what they do, but at the same time, it’s hard to do it on these tracks, too. But in the end, it’s similar. You’re on a bike at the end of the day.
I don’t have huge expectations, but I know I’m fit and I’m feeling good on a supercross track. I’m a good rider, and I feel good, so as long as my confidence is right, and I’m doing the right things, I think I’ll have a really good year. But I also don’t want to expect too much of myself and then fall below that and then...
Bum yourself out?
Yeah. You can start putting more and more pressure for the next weekend and the next weekend and it can bury you. So I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m feeling good and I feel like I can do really well.
That sounds like a smart way of looking at it. Is that something you came up with on your own? Or is it just some really good advice you’ve gotten?
I’ve just learned through last year and things. I’ve been racing a long time. I’m 20, and I have quite a lot of experience. I’ve raced the world championship three years, then last year here, so I’ve got a bit of experience. I’m not super-experienced – I haven’t done everything – but I’ve ridden quite a lot of races and rode against different racers, and I’ve learned quite a lot over the time. I’ve learned how to handle stuff a little bit better now.
Well, good luck, Tommy.
Thanks. See you at Anaheim.
