Van Venrooy KTM may not carry official full factory status, but behind the scenes the Dutch squad continues to benefit from close ties with KTM, and one man playing a key role in that relationship is Scott Lillis. After losing his position in the Red Bull KTM factory team when the structure was downsized over the winter, the Australian quickly landed on his feet as crew chief at Van Venrooy KTM – a role that has already seen him working closely with the experienced Jeremy Seewer, Rick Elzinga, Aron Katona and Noel Zanocz.
We caught up with Lillis discusses his move from the factory team, the support Van Venrooy receives from KTM, Seewer’s impressive debut on the KTM, the progress of Elzinga, the huge potential of teenage sensation Katona, and provides an update on the injury-hit Zanocz.
GateDrop: Scott, the last time I did an interview with you, you were in the full factory team. Obviously a bit of a change. How did it all come around for you to get a role here with the Van Venrooy KTM team? I think initially you were only supposed to be a mechanic but you got a pretty quick promotion from what I understand?
Lillis: Yeah, basically at the end of last season the factory team sort of reduced their size. It went from three riders to two riders. So I was left without a spot there. But I was lucky that I was sort of looking for something maybe a step up from just a mechanic so this deal came about with Van Venrooy KTM as a crew chief here and so far it’s been unreal.
GateDrop: What’s it like working with a team like this compared to a full factory team? Are there that many differences? Because I think this team gets factory support…
Lillis: I mean to be honest, in terms of the motorcycle and stuff like that, for sure the factory bike is a factory bike but we have really great support from KTM. I speak to the guys there – Gerald Weaver and Stefan Simpson quite regularly, once a week. The position we have with our 450cc rider is we kind of do a lot of the testing for WP and stuff like that. We’re still heavily involved with the factory and we get great support from KTM and everybody around there.
GateDrop: A new rider under the awning this weekend with Jeremy Seewer. When did he first get on the bike and have you been working closely with him? And I mean, what’s he like to work with in this short period?
Lillis: Yeah, so far it’s been really good. Obviously Jeremy has a long list of accomplishments, multiple GP wins, multiple podiums. But I think the biggest thing with Jeremy is his consistency. He’s always there, he’s always fighting. He very rarely crashes and he had like 300 or something GPs in a row or some crazy number like that. So no, for that it’s been great. He’s got so much experience.
He’s very particular with the bike. He knows the feeling that he wants and he knows the direction always. But no, it’s been really good. This weekend I think it showed that with good equipment and a happy rider is a fast rider. So far it’s been really good. I think we exceeded the expectation this weekend a little bit. So if we can continue on this path, I think it shouldn’t be long until he’s comfortable enough to be running in that top five and potentially a podium.
GateDrop: I mean, just on his performance this weekend, our MXGP is absolutely no joke and he’s a bit rusty. He hasn’t raced since France, a new bike. I thought he done really, really well. Were you impressed with how he done? I mean, it was his best GP of the year.
Lillis: Honestly, we knew the speed was going to good, they don’t sort of forget how to go fast. But yeah, with the limited amount of time at the end, he had I think three weeks on the bike. And then he spent the last two years developing a new motorcycle. So it’s a little bit of, okay, when you’re developing something, you’re making things better, but you don’t really get to make yourself better. I think that’s probably where we saw in the qualifying race where he struggled with a little bit of arm pump and stuff like that. Just relearning that intensity, relearning how important those first five laps are, going that speed with those guys. Like you said, MXGP, it’s gnarly dude. Those guys are so fast and everybody is savage. Everybody’s seems to be an ex-champion, everyone has won GPs. The whole top 10 is full of beasts.
GateDrop: Rick Elzinga, I mean, if one dude would probably pay money to have a good winter, it’s that guy. He’s always getting injured in winter. And then obviously the start of the season didn’t go so well with Beta, but progress is there. I think he finished 13th in the second moto and that class is no joke. So he is taking steps…
Lillis: No, I think it’s good. We go step by step with Rick. He’s been around for a long time now too but he’s still young, but it is his first season on a 450cc. When going up to the bigger bike, there’s new little things you need to pick up and new techniques. With Rick now, he didn’t have an off season because he got hurt. I mean, for sure he’s not even riding too close to his potential at the moment, but we are seeing some steps forward. Again, it’s difficult because one second can put you in P20 versus P10 in qualifying and the gate position is huge. As Rick keeps going on, his intensities are getting better. He’s staying with that top 10 group a lot longer now and then in that last race, he was in a big fight the whole moto for 13th. We’re really happy with that.
GateDrop: You’ve worked with quite a lot of young talents in the past, not so long ago, Janis Reisulis, for example and now Aron Katona, I am not sure if he’s turned 16 yet. 15. I mean, he’s a big, big talent you’ve got under the awning. What’s he like to work with? And maybe more than anything, you just have to calm him down a little bit this year because obviously he probably thinks he can win..
Lillis: Aron is like a 45-year-old brain in a 15-year-old body. He’s quite the perfectionist, which I think this is where he struggles a little bit trying to be too perfect, especially with like say bike setup or line selection and something like that. When he’s on it, it’s really nice to watch. He’s pulled it out a couple of times. I think Portugal in the second moto, and then in Riola at the start of this year, it was really, really good. For someone, again, first year on a bigger bike, he is super young and not very big, he’s quite small. I think he’s going to, as he gets older, I think he needs to learn a little bit more race maturity. That comes with time, that just comes with gate drops. It comes with racing the bigger guys.
I mean, he’s racing with 18, 19 and 20-year-olds. So it’s a big step up for him but I think he’s doing quite well. I’m not really expecting a lot from him this year. No pressure for a rookie. If we can get a result, we get a result but it’s just about learning and getting stronger. We just want him to grow on the 250cc.
GateDrop: Last question, Noel Zanocz. I mean, it’s only last year he was running with Janis Reisulis, but this knee seems to be giving him all sorts of issues. He’s not even here this weekend. Have we got an update? I think Loket is maybe unlikely, but then do you want him to come back at Lommel?
Lillis: Yeah, so after Portugal, he re-injured the knee in Latvia. Now, again, he’s had the knee issue from the start of the year. It’s kind of been, we’ve been behind the eight ball quite a lot, especially on the physical side. But now his physical is quite good in terms of his race fitness. It’s more now just getting that confidence back. But then when you are not 100% physically, you’re carrying a little bit of issues.
It’s really hard to sort of get back that mental confidence it takes to run up the front, you know. So again, there’s another kid that’s got a whole heap of talent. I’m sure if we can get him healthy enough, he can get into that top ten and again, maybe even the top five.
