Stefan Everts on His Racing Career, Jeffrey Herlings, and More

You often seemed to have the measure of Joel, didn’t you. I mean he started late, racing at 17 or something and he didn’t have your talent, but you generally had his number in his career didn’t you, a mental edge over him?
You know, he could have started 10 years earlier and he still wouldn’t have had more talent. He didn’t have the same talent because he started late, that is something you have, or you don’t have. There were moments for sure I had his measure, but starting that year, I didn’t think I had that edge, but later, when I got on top, I was ahead of him, better than him. Sounds cocky, but that is how I felt.

I remember the two years you got injured, but I cannot remember if you were on the Husky both years of injuries.
No, the first year I was still on Honda, and I did my knee at Beaucaire, and I did the last three GPs that year and then in 2000 I jumped on the Husqvarna. In Beaucaire I broke my arm and also injured my knee again. I did try and race the Husky at Grobbendonk, but that was a big disaster.

I think it was easy to forget, that was your first Yamaha Grand Prix, and you win it, similar to what Jeffrey did on the Honda last weekend. How was that racing the Yamaha at a GP for the first time and winning?
You know, getting used to the Yamaha was easy after riding the Husqvarna [Note: which wasn’t a good bike at all at the time], but that Yamaha was a prototype the first couple of years, it was a really big bike, a monster of a bike. I felt okay on it, but if I sit on it now [Everts has his bikes in his collection], I wonder how I rode with that thing, because it was so big. In 2003, we got a new version, from the prototype to a production bike and that 2003 bike was just like a normal bike and I straight away rode two seconds a lap quicker, but that 2001 bike, it was very big. If you compare the competition back then, in the 500 class, it was a good bike. If you went racing with that 2001 Yamaha, you would struggle now.

It is amazing the evolution of the sport. When you think about when you were racing, there were like two or three real factory teams and now there are like seven or eight factory teams in both classes and real factory teams.
Yes, over the past 20 years, a lot of things have changed, that is for sure. We have a lot of teams, a lot of new brands, like Triumph and Ducati, at least new brands in motocross. Back in 2001, Beta wasn’t there, Fantic wasn’t there. It just got better.

Tell me, speaking of Jeffrey and I know you and him are not the best of mates, and had problems in the past, but that performance in Argentina last week was pretty special. I sometimes watch him and wonder if we have ever seen anyone like him. Just so ruthless and like a bull on the bike. What did you make of that performance and his move to Honda?
I mean, starting with the change to Honda, so late in your career, when you have been so good with KTM. I think they took good care of him, the number of times they made his contract open and gave him a new contract, on that side, KTM was really respectful to him. To make the change now, is it the money that counts, that is the most important thing for Jeffrey. Honda has always been a great bike and if I speak for myself, that was also my dream, to race for Honda, but I am coming from the era of the 1980s, when Honda was far ahead of everybody. It is a strange move, but maybe Jeffrey wanted to ride a different bike in a different team and a new motivation. He might want some more championships, but in Argentina, he looked good, he didn’t need to adapt to the bike too much. I saw he did 100 hours on the bike already and he was riding all day long and that is him, that is how we know Jeffrey, he is a bull on the bike.

After Lierop, and he beat Romain [Febvre], who is also a very good sand rider, I thought, “He is going to win Argentina.” I just thought to win at Lierop, which isn’t easy if you are not comfortable on the bike. What did you expect from him in Argentina?
I thought he would struggle a bit more, but when I saw the track in Argentina, I thought this will give Jeffrey an advantage, because it was slightly sandy and, okay, on Sunday it was harder and rough, but it was good for Jeffrey. He had to fight for it, [Tom] Vialle, who impressed me a lot, he was strong and surprised me the most, even more than Jeffrey. Jeffrey is the fittest of all of them and we saw that when he passed Febvre and Vialle late in the races and that allowed him to win the two motos. The rest of the field is fast, and I think when the tracks are not physically harder, it will be tougher for him, but he is a killer.