Bryan Connolly on Conrad Mewse: He’s matured a lot
We recently caught up with the Hitachi KTM Fuelled by Milwaukee team manager, Bryan Connolly and discussed the talents of Conrad Mewse.
Coming into the 2020 season it felt like a big year for the Brit but after missing so much racing in 2019 he wasn’t at his very best at the start of the season which is understandable. Mewse continued to improve as the season went on and ended up eighth in the MX2 World Championship which ended up being a positive season.
“Very, I mean one good thing we got is that we have got Conrad signed up for another two years. With where he is mentally and physically, I think we are going to see good things. It will come, it is only a matter of time. We’ve got Swordy there helping, he doesn’t really teach Conrad how to ride a bike, it’s more guidance on preparation and the training to get him to be his best. I think Swordy has helped a lot“.
“In the first moto at Matterley Basin he actually got fourth and only 8 seconds off the lead, so he started off really good actually, but he lacked a little bit of bike fitness this year because he lost riding time at the end of 2019. Physically and on the bike, he was fit but when it came to racing, he lacked a little bit to put two good races together”.
Image: Ray Archer
Everyone you speak to that’s close to Mewse knows just how talented he is and how fast he is at the practice track but it’s something he still hasn’t brought to the GP’s yet, Connolly believes. It goes to show the potential that Mewse still has as a ride.
“I mean, not really because it’s hard and the pace, if you look at the times in MX2, first to fifteenth the times are always really close in timed practice. A few times Ben (Watson) qualified thirteenth or fourteenth and he won GP’s so the pace was really close. I think we just struggled a bit with starts, if we could get away at the front every time, I think it would be different”.
“On TV or at the GP’s, I don’t think we’ve actually seen yet what he can do like at the practice track. When he can do that, I don’t think people will be shocked because they know what he can do but the speed is pretty unbelievable”.
With the progress Mewse made towards the end of the year, it was a step in the right direction and Connolly believes the way he’s matured as a person is one of the reasons why he was able to run more regularly at the front of MX2.
“Definitely. Since I’ve known Conrad from 2018 until now, he’s matured a lot as a person. You have got to remember, his whole life has involved around this, he moved to Belgium when he was 14 or 15 years old being away from his parents and he was a bit young for that”.
“I think that was a big step in life and he’s sort of catching up now and he’s really matured a whole lot as a person. From when I’ve known him from 2018 to now, the way he carries himself and his professionalism has improved such a big step”.
Heading into 2021, Mewse will be searching for even more and there’s no reason why he can’t get on the podium on a number of occasions as he certainly has the talent.
Article: Andy McKinstry
