As the 2025 season gets into full swing, SC Sport Homes Husqvarna team manager Neil Prince opens up about the inner workings of his ever-evolving program. From the tough decisions made during the off-season to stick with Husqvarna despite other offers, to ambitious plans for tackling selected rounds of the AMA Nationals in the U.S., Prince offers a candid insight into the challenges and progress of running a privateer team with international ambitions. Prince speaks about rider development, including the growth of Charlie Heyman and Tristan Purdon, the importance of international racing experience, and his straight-talking approach to getting results in the competitive world of British motocross.
GateDrop: So, Neil, let’s go back to the end of last year. There was a lot of unknown and uncertainties with the KTM brand. Was there ever an option you would maybe change? Or from day one, was it certain you’d remain with Husqvarna for the 2025 season?
Prince: No, it wasn’t. I mean, we did look at the Yamaha route. But obviously, the way the climate is and the way everything is going, Husqvarna have been good to us. Basically, we had an offer from Yamaha to change, which was a good offer. But we have a lot of material around our hands, we have a lot of bikes around our hands. To get rid of the bikes and move away from the brand is a big cost. So, we had to weigh all that up. As we were weighing that up, Husqvarna came back and they found some budget for us which was fantastic. You know, in this team, we have about 15 bikes on the go with our American bikes. So, that’s a lot of bikes around. The guys have three bikes each, one practice bike, two race bikes, each times four. And then we have four bikes in America and our truck in America. Just before we left in February, we got bikes ready to race there. We go to Pala next week. So, it’s a lot of bikes.
You’ve also got to look at the outlay of, if we can’t get rid of those bikes, or get rid of some of them, it’s a big cost to take on a new brand and do it. So, even though it would have been a new challenge, you’ve got to know where you are. We know that Husqvarna is a good brand. It’s not like our team is run where we don’t really get a lot. I don’t mean we don’t get a lot, but we’re lucky that we have good sponsors and we have good backing from my boss. And that’s how we do it, basically. We get a few little sponsors to help us. So, it’s maybe different if it’s a team where they’re funded solely by Husqvarna or solely by KTM, but we’re not. So, we buy our bikes. We get some spares budget. So, basically, that’s where it is. It was better for us to stay with Husqvarna and we’ve put more money into our bikes this year. We’ve spent more money on them, getting them better for the riders. And it was better to go that route. We know what to do to the 250, it comes out of the crate already a good bike. I’m not saying the Yamaha isn’t a good bike, but you kind of know with a little bit of money spent on the Husky, you’ve got a good product right there. So, the way times are at the minute and the way sponsors aren’t really jumping at their feet to come to any team at the minute, anywhere, you’ve got to keep your feet on the floor. That’s what I think we did.
GateDrop: During the off-season, I’m sure you spent a bit of time in the UK, but you seemed to spend a lot of time in America. Just how is that? I mean, America’s great in terms of bike time. You know, the weather’s great. There’s a lot of tracks. In terms of how rough the tracks get, good preparation?
Prince: Oh, fantastic. I mean, you know, we’re very lucky to have Jack Chambers as a friend. He has like his own little compound there. We went there the year before and his track took at least four or five times for the guys to get into the drill of the track because it was very difficult, very technical. They’ve got sand there, they’ve got big jumps, They’ve got roughness, they’ve got rhythm sections. They’ve got everything there. So, the track was demanding.
It took about four or five times for the guys to kind of come home and actually go back to where we were staying to say they actually enjoyed today. The first day they went there, it was a bit of a culture shock because the track is really technical. We’ve got Kroon there, that’s a really technical track. You know, go there and bang out a 40-minute moto is really no joke because it’s rough as hell because they never grade it and it’s just rough, rough, rough. So, the weather’s good there, which helps. We find we can just, if we go there for six weeks, we’re two days, one day off.
GateDrop: Is that how long you were there, six weeks?
Prince: Six weeks, yeah. So, basically, we can, in them six weeks, we can cram in good riding and get a lot of hours in. This year, Tristan was a little bit under the 30 hours where the other guys were 30 hours plus and it’s a lot of riding. They can train in the heat. It’s maybe not, you know, it’s not like going to Lommel or going to Spain or something like that. Some of the tracks are gnarly but it’s more I can be there with the guys. I had four of them there this year. Charlie Putnam was there for about three weeks, but he’d come home because he’s expecting a baby girl. So, obviously, he can’t be away so long from home. And the other guys, we can just work on it. Before we leave, we prep our bikes and run in our race bikes ready for Pala for the first round. So, it’s kind of a good option to cram a lot of time in one place. I’m very fortunate I have good friends there to look after us. So, you know, where we stay, my friends Mike, Terry, Taylor’s parents, they look after us like kings there. We are quite fortunate we’ve got good people around us.
GateDrop: With Tristan, he signed with the team last year as the first year of the team. He has a lot of experience, you know, coming up in South Africa. He raced in America. He raced GPs. What’s it been like working with him? And you must be happy that you were able to keep him for this year as well…
Prince: I mean, with me, people will know me a little bit. I like to think I kind of run it this way, is that I like the people I have under the awning. So, Tristan is a good kid, listens, he gives 100%. He’s 100% into his racing. He’s just an all-round good person, he’s good with my boy, good with my family and good with everybody.
I think that’s where, you know, we’ve got the two Putnam’s who are characters, complete and utter characters, good kids. Syd’s obviously learning on his physical side to get better. He can ride a bike as good as anyone. He just needs physically to get stronger and more mentally a little bit stronger. We’ve Charlie Putnam who is just a class act. He has put a lot of effort into this year training. They train with Paul Cooper. So, Syd, Charlie Putnam and Charlie Heyman all run under Paul Cooper. So, he does their programs and gets them physically trained.
Sometimes the guys are like, oh, we’re training more when they’re riding. But, you know, if you speak to any top rider, they’ll tell you two months is like hard graft. It’s not everyone’s out on their bike every day pulling wheelies and riding motos. They have to train. So, physically, that’s a new challenge to Syd and Charlie. Their training has got to be two months.
Charlie Heyman’s on the second year with us now. He’s got the gist of that as well. He’s understanding about the training. He’s tremendously talented, like one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. So, his physical is slowly getting better now. What I mean by slowly getting better, it doesn’t just happen in a year. If you look at Tristan, he’s got Dean Wilson’s trainer Kev Maguire (Steep 1 Fitness). So, he’s trained by Dean Wilson’s cousin in Scotland.
So, when Tristan started last year, it was like a new book, that guy trains the body to get better and better. The same with Charlie Heyman. Last year, Charlie Heyman was doing short trainings and training. But then the energy level is only good for 10 minutes. So, you’ve got to do the long, long base training. So, it just takes time. Like, I think Charlie Heyman, another year, if he stays with us, I hope he does. He’ll just get stronger and stronger as he goes.
GateDrop: Just on Tristan, I mean, what do you expect from him in the British Championship? For me, he can get podiums. I’m sure you want that as well.
Prince: I do. It’s not always going to be easy, you know, every single round to get them. No, I mean, the first round, there was a few comments that there was only a couple of riders there for podium. But Tristan was podium in the first race. You know, and I believe if he’s singing, he can be on the podium without fail. So, that’s where I expect him to be.
Him and Charlie Heyman, you know, I’m quite hard with them, I don’t come here to kind of make up 8th, 9th and 10th. We come here to get a podium with them guys. MX1, you know, I’m quite straight with Tristan. Conrad (Mewse) is another level. You know what I mean and whether they don’t like me for saying that, I’m just being honest. You know, if someone who can run with Jeffrey Herlings like the way he did last year in the British Championship, that’s the goal.
I say to Tristan, if you’re near him, you’ve got to try and overtake him, push him around a bit or give him something for at least two, three laps to see if you can do it. But then, you know, Conrad is exceptional, on another level to these guys at the moment from what I’ve seen and it’s just a fact. I’m not making that up. So, basically, we’ve got to try and be the next guy behind him.
GateDrop: Charlie Heyman, like you touched on, he is very talented. It seems, though, you know, he never really done the EMX thing. So, when he got on a 125, he was mainly just racing the British on a 125, it was maybe difficult financially for him to race in Europe. So, do you think maybe he lost a year, you know, just racing in the UK?
Prince: If I’ve got to be brutally honest, like, I’ll say it as it is, he obviously, had an option to come to us and we were talking to him when he went to Dave’s (Thorpe) team instead. I think that year was either go to Dave or go to Europe or do something different. So, that year there was probably, it’s tricky. You know what I mean? Like, he obviously thought that was a good direction. But it wasn’t.
I mean, he would have been better off going to Europe and trying some EMX races. But, you know, let’s be honest, Dave runs one of the best teams in the UK so it’s tricky.
If you go to Europe, I believe, if we take Heyman to an EMX or we take Tristan to an MXGP, I think you’ve got to pick your race of where you can get the best result out of it. So, with Heyman, I have no worries taking him to an EMX at the minute but we’re taking him to America. At least that’s the experience I tried in the UK. So, that experience, you know, if Charlie Heyman at his age now goes to America and makes a result, like he got a point last year at Unadilla, which was pretty impressive because he’d come back off an injury.
We’re kind of on a bit of a roll because it’s not easy to go there and score points. If you look at Talviku, it’s quite a hard slog and he’s a good MX2 rider. Then we went to Budds Creek the week after. Charlie Heyman qualified, I think, 23rd or 24th, that was a big step already. First corner crash, he was top five to the first corner and was wiped out. So, that then was unfortunate and then that’s the way it rolls. So, to me, same with Tristan. If you can go there and make a result, that’s good for them. They might open doors to other teams or what they can do, especially at Heyman’s age. So, we’d rather have a go at that. I’m not saying we wouldn’t take Charlie to an EMX, if it felt right or Matterley GP, for sure, if we’re in the UK that weekend, we’re going to be there.
GateDrop: Obviously, a lot of teams just like to focus on England. But I feel like you have to be racing outside and racing with the best. You obviously do that because you go to America and race with the best there. And obviously, some of those guys are the best in the world. What’s the plans for that this year? I think another six rounds?
Prince: So, we go to Pala for the first round and then we go to Hangtown the week after. After that we’re going to do Thunder Valley but it’s a long way. It’s about 1,400 miles to drive there. So, we’re going to do them first rounds. How it goes there will determine if we go back to Redbud and Southwick, another two. And then the last three. So, it all depends.
I’m quite open with our team. If they’re riding well and it’s going well, then let’s keep going. But if it’s not going as you’d like, we’ve got to build and then come back again. That’s what I mean. I think if you go to an EMX, you’ve got to go there 100%. So, maybe the first year when Charlie came off the 125, it’s a tricky situation. You get a Honda deal to go ride for Dave. It’s a good deal. Or he’s got everything he needs to do the British Championship or you pick EMX. But then you need, I think if you go to EMX or you go to the GPs, you need a good ride. There’s no point in going in a van and trying to wing it a little bit if you want to succeed in it. So, that’s my opinion.
GateDrop: I feel like Tristan, whenever he went to America last year, he stepped it up when he came back in the British Championship. Do you feel like it’s part of the reason why you’re doing this? So that they can improve, race some of the best and then bring that speed to the UK?
Prince: See, I think Tristan last year, we had a bit of a rough start obviously at Lyng. It was a super mudder. He went down in the first race. So, it was unfortunate what we saw. You know, Tristan’s 28 years old. So, basically the reason I’m saying that is because if I’d maybe worked with Tristan four or five years ago, he might be in a different position now. It takes time.
So, the start of last year, he didn’t really know how I work, and I’m quite cut and dry. Like, that’s the way it is and get on with the job. Because, you know, it’s just the way it is. So, I think he needs to believe more. Because I think if you look at riders who are 28, 29, they’ve had a lot of years racing. And that belief is, like I tell Tristan, you need to be on the podium. You need to be there, you can do it. But they still need to be told that, these riders.
A lot of riders still need to believe. If they have a couple of down’s, it’s hard to come back up. It’s no different to, we were chatting about Jeffrey Herlings. I’m a massive fan of that guy. You know, and you look at him, the first GP when he come back in Sardinia. He looked steady but that guy knows he can lead races. So, he knew the second race when he got the holeshot, he led for a lap. How many people can do that? And openly got pumped up because he’s actually not ready for that. But he knows when he’s fit, he can win the races. And that’s what I keep telling our guys.
That’s why I say to Tristan, you know, if you’re near Conrad. You know, if you look at Preston Dox last year. For instance, Tristan’s fit and healthy. My argument of Preston Docks was Tristan got an okay start in one of the races there. And I said to him, you’ve got to hang on to them two for two, three laps. As much as you can. Wherever you use all that energy, that’s what you’ll see what Conrad and Herlings are using for the whole moto. That’s the level you’ve got to get to and that’s the level you build over years. Not just over a year with a trainer or building up. It takes time.
Going back to Preston Docks last year. And I say to Tristan now, you know, if you start second behind Conrad. You’ve got to hang in there for as long as you can and give it everything. If you blow up and you actually can’t keep it going at least you’ve seen where you need to be. I think this year at Tain, Tristan started the Scottish Championship. Conrad got an okay start but Conrad came by and Tristan got him back. So, Tristan battled with Conrad for a lap and a half or two laps or whatever it was. But then he’s like, that’s where I’ve got to get to and that’s where you’ve got to see that. That’s where you’ve got to be at.
GateDrop: With the British Championship we’ve got different promoters this, How do you think it’s going so far? Obviously we’re only one round in during this interview, but I think the main thing is we’re back to one main British Championship. I think that’s positive. because the best guys go and race in Europe. Go and race other championships. What’s your thoughts on the series so far?
Prince: It’s hard for me to comment on that. I’ll give you a reason for that. It’s because I do my job here, look after the team. I do that and I get here. I get in easily enough which is fine. There’s no hassle with tickets and stuff like that. Hawkstone Park had a good vibe about it for the first round which is good. I think the vibe is good in the pits but because I’m doing my job under the team, I don’t really get to look at anything else. Like I take care of my bikes, riders.
GateDrop: Before though, did you not feel like there was a lot of racing in the UK? Like maybe too much? Or were you happy with it?
Prince: No, I agree there. I think it’s a shame that there’s too many races going on. Well, there was last year. I think it’s better now, but it is tricky… last weekend we did a Bridgestone race and there was more there than before. But when I raced back in my day. I did okay but I was never fit enough. There were lots of reasons why. I can make them up now. But I’ve learned from running the team and seeing other riders how they did it. I was way off the mark.
But the bit I don’t get is if we used to travel. Me, multiple riders used to travel for like £100 prize money. £50, £70 prize money. We’d travel hours in the morning. It’s like a lot of riders don’t really want to travel for any amount of money. This I really don’t understand. I’m not knocking any riders either. Maybe there is just too many races and not enough support in the pits to actually get them to do their races.
GateDrop: Whenever you look at the British Championship back in your day, there was British teams doing GPs. And it seemed like a lot and there were even more British teams. It’s not what it used to be, I would say. Why do you think that is? And are you hoping now with this new promoter in place, things can improve, hopefully? Racing back in your day the field was very deep.
Prince: That’s a tricky one. The field was very deep. But you can’t compare the way it looks now to what it did then. Now it looks professional, it looks good. The bit I think needs to happen is the promoters need to go get the sponsors. There must be people out there. It’s not easy because I know what it’s like to get sponsors. But they need to try and look outside to get sponsorship money in.
They’re doing it. They’re getting the live stream on. That’s already positive. That never happened last year so that’s good. That’s going to help. From the outside coming in, it looks professional but the teams make it look professional. You’ve got our team. You’ve got Dirt Store.
You’ve got ASA, Apico, SS24 Gabriel, you’ve got good teams in the pits who make it look professional. But that comes from them teams. That doesn’t come from the promoters. So it’s the teams that make it look professional. If we run it with the easy ups and the set ups, there’s not much to show, if that’s the right way to put it.
GateDrop: I think you’re going to do the Matterley Basin GP. At least that’s the plan at the minute?
Prince: Yeah, if we are free then for sure.
GateDrop: Any other plans to do GP’s? I guess you won’t do so many until maybe they give you prize money to turn up? Or would you still consider doing some here or there?
Prince: No, we definitely do. We’ve got no worries doing the EMX. It just depends on our calendar. So, we’ve got eight British Championships. We’ve got, say, potentially six or seven AMA Nationals. We do the odd races here or there like the Bridgestone. We did the Nora race, which was good.
If I was going to Lommel, I’d be quite happy to take Tristan to Lommel or Charlie Heyman. They’re good sand riders. That’s what I mean. You’ve got to pick and choose your courses. Like Tristan went to Czech Republic last year. He scored points which was tremendous. But if I had to take him to the Czech GP or Lommel, I’m taking him to Lommel because he’s a good sand rider. And it just depends how it falls on our calendar. Our team is not the biggest team so you’ve also got to pick and choose that we don’t overwork everyone in the team as well.
GateDrop: So before the start of the season, Jens Walvoort tested with you. What was that like to see him ride your bike? Did it come close or not so much?
Prince: Not really. I think they kind of had their own thoughts on what to do. As far as I know, he was quite impressed with the bike. He didn’t say nothing negative about the bike. I just think we’ve got to be realistic because a lot of riders want to do GPs. Our program probably doesn’t fit in with a lot of riders where we’ll take you to America and do that. I generally believe if Heyman goes to America and has two top tens at a national, it opens the door to a lot of people whether he’s good at Supercross or not, he’ll have that chance to have a go at that. And then it all depends how he gets on. We’ve been to Jack Chambers’ and the amount of hours they put in on the Supercross track.
From what I can see with Supercross, you’ve obviously got to be talented, which Charlie Heyman is. All our riders are talented so if they can get the hours in and they can stay injury-free, for sure they can have a go at Supercross. Harri Kullas had a go this year as well and that door was opened by what he did in the outdoors. I generally believe if you’re on a Supercross team, you’re actually getting some type of salary or big bonuses in.
The money they pay them to qualify and then they can make it to SMX as well? If the guys pick up the money at the outdoors, our guys are coming home with a thousand, a couple of grand each national. That’s the big difference, and that’s their money, nothing to do with us. We get them there to give them that opportunity.
