Frenchman Tom Vialle had a great season given that it was his first time riding outdoors in America, where the racing and tracks operate much differently than what he’s used to in Europe. The #128 plate had nine overall top ten finishes this season and two overall podium finishes—his first at Southwick where he won the overall, and then gaining his second this past weekend at Ironman, where he placed third. Now that Vialle has a season of Pro Motocross under his belt, perhaps there will be more podiums, and more overall wins next year.
The media spoke with Vialle at the post-race press conference on Saturday. Here’s what he had to say about his day, and the season.
Congratulations. Another podium. Coming over to America for the first year racing the whole series this year. Tell us about your experience. Did it meet your expectations, or did you learn anything that you would do the same or different? What was your overall experience and takeaway from this year?
Tom Vialle: To be honest, I didn’t really know. I never raced those guys in the past, so I didn’t really know the level, the speed. So I was pretty excited about the first race in Pala. I rode my whole life, training the whole winter for motocross, and I never rode from September or October until Pala, almost like a month ago. We rode almost only supercross. I didn’t really have a good base riding motocross. It was pretty tough. Those guys are pretty much used to it for many years to switch between two series. But it was pretty tough. Also the bike setup and stuff. I was not lost, but I think I did a few mistakes with the suspension and myself. So, I had some ups and downs. Of course, learning the tracks was not so easy, especially when I didn’t ride the press day. It was pretty tough, straight in the morning. We used to do five or six laps maybe, and then the practice is already done. Learning the jumps and the corners wasn’t easy, to be honest. I had two good races, and some races where I crashed and I couldn’t finish. I missed two races this season. So it’s pretty tough. But nice to finish on the podium for sure for the last one.
You got your first win at Southwick, so that had to feel pretty good. Were you more comfortable on the sand track because you train more in Europe and the Belgium area on some of the sand tracks?
Yeah. I’m used to riding in the sand. For many years I have been training there in Belgium. It’s the only sand track. So, I knew how to put my bike. Of course, the feeling came back pretty fast. I could win the first moto and [got] third in the second moto, so it was nice to win the overall. It was in the sand of course, but for sure, I think that helped me, those last four years in Belgium, in Lommel riding a lot in the sand. For sure that day, it helped me a lot.
Winning two world championships in the MX2 class, you were also known for somebody who got a lot of holeshots. You had a few this year, but personally I expected you to get a lot of holeshots because you’re a great starter. Tell everyone here what you were telling me earlier about your starts and the competition here in the US.
It’s way different. So, in Europe the start is pretty much we all line up from the first gate to the last. So, we go one, two, three, four, five. Here it’s really not like this. These ruts after the gate, that in Europe we don’t have, they fix and clean after every start, so we don’t have any ruts. So actually here in the outdoors, you have to choose the gate often from the rut after the gate. So it makes it tough. To be honest, in Europe there’s a lot of KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas bikes, so a lot of guys have the same bike as you. It’s pretty tough. There’s a lot of brands. It’s way different than Europe, I think. But like I said, it’s many guys fast who can win a moto. I think seven or eight guys can win a moto this year. So, it’s tough but I think for the fans and everyone watching, it makes it nice.
Are you excited about the new SuperMotocross [World Championship]? Are you looking forward to that first round coming up at ZMAX Raceway?
I think it’s pretty nice. It’s new, so nobody knows what’s going on there. So, that’s pretty cool. Makes it so that everyone is on the same level. I saw the program. We’re going to ride a little bit on Friday and then the race on Saturday. I think it’s going to be nice. Those three races are a little bit between supercross and motocross. It’s going to be fun, for sure.
Do you subscribe to the theory of momentum? And is this going to help you in the SuperMotocross playoffs?
I think it’s pretty exciting, those three races at the end. Like I said, it’s new for everyone so it’s going to be nice. Fun to race. We’re going to discover that in two weeks, so I can’t wait to be there and race.
You’ve been so close to the podium. Southwick podium, Spring Creek podium, Budds Creek, fourth in Unadilla. What has gone on with you?
I was crushed. The first two rounds I was fourth again. I had many times fourth, actually. I think five or six times in the season. It was pretty tough to be so close to the podium. So, nice to finish the season on the podium. But, like I said earlier, knowing the track, and I didn’t know the track and learning the track in the morning was pretty tough when I didn’t have the press day. So, I was kind of doing the first moto a little bit half. I couldn’t really push. The tracks are super rutty in outdoors, and I wasn’t really used to it. Way different than Europe, the tracks I feel like, the end of the season was better. We made some changes on the bike with the team and the last two races were pretty good. So, hopefully we can continue like this for next year.
We talk a lot about the difference of the tracks and the format, but what about the bike? You have to race a production bike over here. KTM has been so strong in MX2, including you. What has that adjustment been like and what is this bike like?
Actually to be honest, with the new KTM bike, the frame is the same. So in Europe and here, we have the same frame. Everyone actually, from the 125 to the 450 is the same frame. So, I didn’t change the frame. For sure there’s a few things in the engine that we can’t do it here. Makes it a little bit different with the fuel. We don’t run the same fuel in Europe. So for sure the bike is a little bit different. But like I said, we didn’t train here much before the first race in motocross. So, you cannot discover the bike a little bit before. I think I made some decisions that were not the best ones, I think with the suspension setup early in the year. But we ended up on a good setup and I’m pretty excited for next year.
You’re going to be on the Motocross of Nations team. Will this be a chance to experiment with some of the stuff that’s available over there? Or will you just take your setup from here? How will you play that?
I still don’t know, to be honest. We’re going to decide next week and a little bit of plan how we’re going to do the bike. But the track is pretty nice there. I like it. I won last year, the GP. It’s a nice track and I can’t wait to be there.
Obviously, you got through supercross. You got a little bit banged up here and there and stuff. Motocross you made it through the whole season. A couple of crashes here and there, but you made it to every track, which was probably a goal of yours. Maybe you wanted to be better in the championship, win more races and overalls and such, but do you have confidence heading into next year knowing that you’ve come to the tracks, you’ve learned the schedule, you’re comfortable with the bike later in the season and everything? Does that give you confidence heading into next year of now you know what it’s going to be like and now you can really give a run at it next year?
Yeah, sure. I think next year at least knowing the tracks will be a little bit better. It was pretty tough on some tracks. When I didn’t ride the press day, learning the track in the morning, we only got five or six laps and it’s pretty tough. So that’s why I missed actually two races. In Thunder Valley I rode the first moto, but I scored no points. Same as Washougal. So I’m actually like two races off. For the championship, it’s pretty tough. I think when you come from Europe and playing for the championship the first year, it’s pretty hard. But I had some good races. For sure maybe not the season I really wanted, but I’m pretty confident for next year. That will help me a lot knowing the tracks, how they develop. It’s going to be for sure easier.
