Interview: Miro Sihvonen!

The first round of the EMX250 series gets underway this weekend in Italy and Miro Sihvonen will be one rider who should be right at the front in a very competitive class. Last year, Sihvonen was a rookie and he showed glimpses of what he can do.

He got himself one overall podium during the 2016 season but you can bet he will want more in his second season in the class and there is a very good chance he will get plenty more too. With Maxime Renaux, Roan van de Moosdijk and Mathys Boisrame all missing the first few rounds through injuries, Sihvonen goes in as one of the championship favourites!

After the DIGA KTM rider got his season of to a brilliant start in Germany by dominating the first round of the ADAC Youngsters Cup we sat down with him to talk about the season that lies ahead.

Gatedrop: Miro, you pretty much dominated the first round of the ADAC Youngsters Cup, how did you feel the races went for you?

Miro Sihvonen: The race in Drehna was pretty perfect for sure because I even had the pole position in the time practice. In the motos I didn’t really push hard because I was trying to ride it home safely. But in the second moto I thought to push a bit more and have a bigger gap, even though I had a small crash.

Gatedrop: You also did pretty good at the first round of the Dutch Masters Championship and against some top MX2 riders too, where you happy with how that went?

Miro Sihvonen: In the Dutch masters of Oss I was really happy how the second moto went but I wasn’t surprised actually because I knew where my speed is at, and i felt like that’s where I should be.

Gatedrop: Last year you finished sixth in the EMX250 Championship as a rookie, looking back are you happy with how the season went?

Miro Sihvonen: Looking back at the 2016 season I can be really satisfied. I think not many of the rookies can do so well in the whole championship. But I was also a bit frustrated because the 5th position was so close.

Gatedrop: How did your winter go and is there anything specifically you worked on that you wanted to improve since last year?

Miro Sihvonen: My winter went really good and I had some solid training camps. The only thing that I suffered with was a pneumonia during Christmas time but I healed quite fast from it. I think we worked almost the same as the year before because it felt like it was working, but I guess the only thing I did practice more were my starts.

Gatedrop: The top five riders from the 2016 EMX250 series are now racing MX2, do you feel that puts pressure on you to win the title now those guys aren’t racing EMX?

Miro Sihvonen: I don’t feel pressure about winning because of that, even if they were still in the class, my goal should be to win. But also I have to remember that there are some really good new riders coming into the class whose speed we don’t really know yet.

Gatedrop: The first round of the EMX250 is this weekend in Italy, you must be pretty excited to get there?

Miro Sihvonen: I’m really excited to race in Italy, especially in Trentino because I love the place and like the track.

Gatedrop: What are your goals for the first round in Italy and also the end goal?

Miro Sihvonen: My goal for Italy is obviously to ride some consistent races and grab a good bunch of points for the championship. The goal at the end of the season is to be at least in the top 3.

Gatedrop: Trentino is a track you’ve raced at before, is that a track that you like and think you can perform well at?

Miro Sihvonen: Until now I have raced in Trentino a few times and I feel like it shouldn’t be the best track for me but I have always performed quite well over there, so I’m confident.

Gatedrop: Who do you see being championship contenders for this years title?

Miro Sihvonen: I really cannot think about who will be the title contender because the season is long and the tracks are different. So we will see who is the most consistent, but i’m really curious of the Americans (Tristan Charboneau and Marshal Weltin).

Gatedrop: Obviously the next step up for you will be to compete in the MX2 World Championship, is your goal to be racing it in 2018?

Miro Sihvonen: Obviously the goal is to perform good enough this year to earn a team place for next year in MX2.

Pic: Eric Laurijssen