The signature Daytona-style burnout against the fence line was cool, but nothing else about Tom Vialle’s night in Daytona indicated how big his victory actually was. When a rider from the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) moves to the U.S., supercross success becomes the question, and while Vialle was okay last year, he was never really in the fight for wins. Could he get there? This year he has delivered, and fast. Yes, Daytona is the most motocross-like of supercross races, but many riders will tell themselves whatever it takes to build confidence and find the positives. This could have been a huge sigh of relief. A massive moment to exhale and say he’s gotten the job done in supercross.
Not Tom. He kept it real, knowing a win at Daytona is not the same as doing in a more traditional supercross stadium and track. He wanted to prove to himself that he could do it in a regular stadium. Further, one gets the feeling that this man, already a veteran of two MX2 Motocross World Championships, already knows not to celebrate any one win too much. Even if it’s the first ever in supercross. At a facility as legendary as Daytona. The goal is to win titles, not races, which merely makes the Daytona victory part of the climb, and not the summit.
“I want to win on a normal supercross track,” he told us Friday before Birmingham. “I’m excited about tomorrow.”
On race day, he delivered, with his first-ever heat race win and a wire-to-wire triumph in the main event, pulling away from key title contender Cameron McAdoo along the way. Now Vialle holds the red plate heading into round five.
“I mean, the first supercross [win] is always nice, but I mean, Daytona is kind of a different supercross track. It's a little bit like kind of outdoor style,” he said in the post-race press conference. “And I really wanted to win on let's say, a normal supercross track and today was back in the stadium. The track, even if it was a little bit wet in the afternoon, by the night the track was pretty great, and I felt great. I actually won my first ever heat race and then I grabbed the win [in the main] after I had a great start, just lead every lap. The last few weeks, I feel better on the bike, and I actually had a great winter.”
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Did the Daytona confidence help him coming into Birmingham?
“I mean, when you win the race, the week after you always feel better, and I had a lot of confidence today,” he said. “I felt great in the practice and just winning my heat race was pretty nice. Also, I just felt great for the main event. After that start, I just put some really good laps in for about 10 minutes. I had I think a five or six second gap on Cameron and I just control a little bit the last four laps and because the track was pretty sketchy, to be honest, with the ruts. But yeah, when you win the race, it's always nice to go back home and train, you’ve got some confidence for sure.”
So Vialle’s goal was to win a supercross, which he did in Daytona, and then prove he could do it in a regular stadium, which he did in Birmingham. But one gets the feeling he’s still not going to celebrate, fist pump, or exhale. The goal is the championship, so he will stay locked in. And now supercross is starting to bring back a few familiar, fond memories of his title seasons in MX2.
“I mean, it was quite a while that I didn't win back-to-back races,” Vialle says. “But it is nice, reminds me a little bit of when I was winning in Europe, the GPs, and I had quite a few wins. When I was talking with my mechanic, I said when I'm in front leading the race, I just felt the best. I just can do my laps and focus on my line. And it was quite a while, to be honest, that I didn't lead a race. Since Daytona, it’s like I remember when I lead the race, I just have way more fun than when I'm battling around third or fourth. So, I just want to have some great starts again and be able to be up front and win some other race for sure.”
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 172 |
| 2 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA  | 168 |
| 3 |  Coty Schock | Dover, DE | 132 |
| 4 |  Pierce Brown | Sandy, UT | 131 |
| 5 |  Max Anstie | Newbury, England, United Kingdom  | 125 |
Yes, those starts. Over in the GPs, Vialle was lethal off the start. So far, we have not quite seen that level of proficiency off the gate in America. Tom did say, last year, that getting consistent starts is harder in the 250 class here, because there are simply more good teams and more fast bikes in the field than in Europe, where the Austrian bikes are often at a huge advantage. But he’s learning over here.
“Supercross, the bike is a little bit different with the gearing and suspension,” he says. “And I think we also way more close to each other, the, the starts are shorter, and everything is more tight, I would say. So, it's pretty different than an outdoor start. But today I had great start in my heat race and in main event actually, I didn't really start great, but the guys didn't brake, and I could cut in the middle of them, and it was actually pretty good. I was first out of the first of the first corner. So, yeah, I mean, the start is especially in supercross is pretty important.”
Vialle has been leaning on fellow Frenchman and KTM veteran Marvin Musquin for advice during his transition to racing in the U.S.
“Marvin has been in that situation, when he came over from the GPs,” Vialle said. “We kind of actually are a little bit the same way. He won two titles in Europe and came here. So, he has been in the same situation as me. So, it's nice to have him and of course, he has won many races. Supercross, he knows how to do it and he can help me a lot.”
Musquin can also tell a rider than when the wins come, you never know when they will stop. In fact, Musquin has still not officially announced his own retirement from racing. He’s been through the highs and the lows of the sport. Vialle is trying to keep things on the level as he tries to win this title, but, finally, he did admit just how good it feels to finally get wins in stadiums.
“Yeah, for me it's actually I would say nicer,” he said when comparing his first supercross victories to his first wins in MXGP. “I won my first GP in 2019 in Europe. That was pretty amazing because in Europe we only have like, let's say outdoor track. So, we don't really ride supercross. That's actually why I feel like I would say more happy than winning a supercross right now because that's why I moved here. I moved to race supercross and to one day win a supercross and a title. So that's why after my two titles in Europe I decided to move here for the supercross, actually because I mean, if it was only outdoor, the series is pretty good in Europe. I moved here to race to race supercross. So that’s why I'm pretty happy to win. I would say it's better for me right now to win a supercross.”
