Few in the Grand Prix paddock have experienced motocross from as many angles as Stefan Simpson. From his early days wrenching for his brother Shaun to navigating the technical demands of WP Suspension, and now stepping into a key role as technical manager for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, Simpson’s journey has been anything but conventional. What started as a family passion has evolved into a career shaped more by opportunity and instinct than a carefully laid plan. In this exclusive interview, Simpson reflects on his unique path through the sport — touching on the influence of his motocross upbringing, the lessons learned across various roles, and the behind-the-scenes responsibilities that come with working for one of the premier teams in MXGP.
GateDrop: So, Stefan Simpson, you’ve gone from being a mechanic for your brother to working on WP Suspension and I think you had quite a few different roles there. Now you’ve got a role with the KTM factory team, one of the best teams in the MXGP paddock. Just what’s your journey been like?
Simpson: Yeah, it’s been a wild one honestly. Looking back on it, I wouldn’t say I always had a plan to be honest, but there has always been the right opportunity at the right time, so it felt like it was the right decision. So, for sure, it all started when I worked with my brother obviously and when that kind of came to its end, I met my now wife and I made that career choice to go to Austria.
I was my brother’s mechanic from 2007 until the end of 2011. I then went onto a R&D roll in WP. So, I did the enduro suspension for the production bikes for a few years and then I did motocross for one year, the production bikes before I did the racing side of it for one year, so that was 2017. After that, I had the opportunity to work with KTM R&D and I was the enduro test leader and test rider for the enduro department in R&D. So, that was from 18 all the way up to the middle of 2023. That was when Harry (Norton) roped me in to coming back to the motocross team. So, it was almost like coming home again because Valentina and everyone I knew from years ago. At the beginning the job looked a bit different to what it is now obviously. It’s developed into much more than what was even planned. I would say nothing was really planned through my career. In the end, that’s how it’s kind of worked out and here we are today.
GateDrop: Obviously you started out as a mechanic for your brother, and you probably would have learned a lot from your dad as well as learning on the job. Yeah. You probably picked up a lot of the basics then. Is there stuff you learned back then that still helps you today?
Simpson: Yeah, sure. My dad was riding and racing, so you were either helping clean the mud off the bike in the beginning and all the basic stuff then as you get older the more things I was allowed to do and got taught how to do. Then obviously with Shaun on a different level let’s say as well. So, then it was kind of the whole family learned as a process. The better Shaun got, the more that we had to kind of up our game as well. Everything from back in the day until now has all been useful in all areas that I have worked until now. But yeah, for sure all the basics I learned growing up and through that time with Shaun.
GateDrop: Was there a turning point in your career when you knew you wanted a more hands-on technical role or has this just been more about opportunities that you’ve picked up along the way?
Simpson: It’s kind of just been opportunities that came my way. In the beginning also with WP, it was Valentina’s husband, Matte, he organized me the job in WP. So, it was all just through one thing or another and I thought, that would be quite good to learn to expand my horizons.
Looking back at it, everything what I’ve learned, being a mechanic, being a suspension guy, even riding and testing myself, all of that has kind of developed into all the knowledge that I need here today. It all just came from one thing arising to another, just one conversation that went into another. I would then think about it overnight and then honestly that would kind of expand my horizons to the next thing. So, that was from mechanic to suspension. From the suspension then even into riding and testing and then in production to then build a bike from zero. Like how to handle the frame, chassis, suspension, engine, mapping, there was a whole different spectrum in R&D. So, yeah, it was just one thing leading to another.
Even my current role, it’s a technical role, but obviously there’s a lot of other things and aspects to it. It’s not only just making the bike finish the race sort of thing, but there’s also a whole lot more that comes with this.
GateDrop: Growing up, I mean, you were pretty much born into a motocross family. Your Dad raced GP way back in the day and then there was you and Shaun. Whenever you were little, did you ride much with Shaun? I remember one day you rocked up at Bells Hill in Ireland and you were a mechanic then, so you probably didn’t ride at all then, but you were still quite fast in your class, you were still towards the front, I think. Was racing ever an option for you or was it just the way it fell into place?
Simpson: It kind of fell into place by its own. So, when I was young, I rode a lot with my dad and with Shaun. We were every time riding together and we were in the same boat until we were 13, we weren’t allowed to race until then. We were just training the whole time until then, but Shaun got to race a bit earlier than 13. I think there are some stories about that in the beach race in Scotland. In the end, I was never that keen on racing. I remember we turned up at the first race and it went on for a while, but I just couldn’t stand the pressure of racing. I think Dad maybe having a name, then Shaun having a name and then I felt like it was expected that I did well too.
The night before that first race was a disaster, I couldn’t sleep properly, and the morning of the race was also a disaster. I couldn’t eat or drink anything the whole day and even on the start, I remember taking my helmet off and throwing up many a time. So, it was bad and never really enjoyed racing. I remember sometimes intentionally getting a bad start so that way I felt less pressure then take my time to get into the race and come through the pack. In the end, I kind of made the decision on my own to step away from racing, but I still rode when I got the chance.
I however made a small comeback in 2018 to race Extreme enduro. After testing a lot on the enduro side and seeing that I wasn’t all that bad, I turned up in Romania and race the Red Bull Romaniacs in the silver class. I had a blast and enjoyed the more relaxed atmosphere which got me to the finish line. That winter I let a good friend talk me into racing a beach race. So I got my head down and trained hard for Le Touquet. So, in January of 2019 I rocked up in France with my enduro bike to one of the biggest races of the year. I didn’t know what I was getting myself in for…Thankfully. But I managed to get to the finish line in 12th position. After that I had a little time off before another friend twisted my arm to do Romaniacs again. It was his first time, so I said he has to choose the class, which looking back on it was a cool thing to do. He said yeah, we only live once and he isn’t going that far to ride in Silver, so yeah, we lined up in the gold class. After getting a few laughs and smirks from people around which only added fuel to the fire we managed to survive the 5 days of hard enduro and finish the gold class. We were near the tail end, but we were thrilled to survive the test and see the finish line. So yeah, to answer your question, looks like riding bikes is in our DNA.
GateDrop: Whenever you were kids, riding with Shaun, what was your pace like? Were you quite good?
Simpson: I don’t want to say I was anything special. But, for sure, I wasn’t bad. We put some time in. Shaun was always better, obviously and he was a couple of years older. There are moments that flash back in my mind. I remember in Scotland, in Tain, quite a well-known track. Even when he was still doing quite good, when I put the boots on, there were two or three corners that you could hang with him and show him that there’s something there.
That’s something my family said. There were quite a few things, I had quite a good technique, whether it was swimming or other sports. The technique side of it was quite good. As with many sports, when you have a good technique, it makes your life much easier, so I think that’s something that stuck with me when riding bikes, I suppose.
GateDrop: You were a mechanic for Shaun for years. It seemed a very tight bond there between you, him, and your dad as well, who always gets stuck in. What was that like, working with him? You weren’t always his mechanic because whenever he went to factory KTM, I think they drafted somebody else in initially. But then they obviously made the decision to draft you back in. I think it was maybe after four or five GPs. So, it just goes to show it must have been a very tight bond… Shaun probably needed you in this corner…
Simpson: It was a big deal for Shaun coming from a private team with dad and brother around the whole time. So then in the end, going to a factory team, I wasn’t even in the picture in the beginning. So that was all unsure for everyone. He rocked up in Spain with me on a trial run. I didn’t have a secure job but, in the end, we said, OK, we go down to Spain and I’ll help for free sort of thing.
I remember being there in January 2009 in Spain and Pit Beier rocks up next to me to watch, to see how I worked on the bike. He watched me fit a foot peg of all things and a few other small jobs on the bike and after a bit of stress, everything went good thankfully and then Pit said, OK, you can work for us this year as a practice mechanic. So that was something for Shaun in terms of some stability there from his career before.
We went to the first GP’s and it was actually Jon Primo, the French mechanic who was his mechanic. There was one or two small issues and Shaun felt like a lot had changed to the year before, because I wasn’t at the races and Dad went but was also at a loose end. There was a whole new surrounding for him that he was struggling with. In the end, I went to Valkenswaard, that was my first GP when Shaun was a factory KTM rider. He had his first podium with the team so that was like the turnaround point or at least it should have been. The week after, he got injured and broke his leg so that was the end of that year.
GateDrop: Just on Shaun, it’s crazy. I remember the days he was racing Ulster Championships and then it doesn’t feel like it was that long later, he was fourth in the world. I mean, were you guys even surprised at how quickly he improved, you know, from racing Ulster Championships to battling at the front of the GPs?
Simpson: Yeah, definitely. Ulster Championships, that was always a thing. Dad did it in the past, he raced Saturday in Ireland and then Scotland on the Sunday. That was something even I tried to do with Shaun at the time but as you know, me and racing wasn’t the best. But we did for a bit. He went into a couple of years – 2005 and 2006 doing the GPs with Gordon Crockard back in the day on the same team. He was struggling a bit with the qualifying and stuff. Then 2007 was a turnaround point a bit. He started to get some decent results. The beginning of the year was pretty good. But then everything in 2008 kind of just clicked. We had a good workshop and location in Holland. We focused a lot on the bike that year, plus we had grown up as well, so we all kind of found our natural roles with each other.
That year it just all came together. So 2008 turned out to be a really good year with everyone. It was a short time to come from the back of the field to fourth in the world, it was quite a big jump. I remember them even speaking about it with Cairoli in an interview and they asked him if they thought Shaun deserved a factory ride for the following year. But that was not even in our minds. We never even thought about going to a factory team because we were quite far away from it. But at the end of 2008, he got the chance with factory KTM.
GateDrop: With the role you had with WP Suspension, is it challenging to make all the riders happy? Because, you know, one rider might be perfect, no complaints, then another rider maybe you need to do tweaks to get the setup 100%. Is it hard to balance that and get it 100% or as close to as you can for all the riders?
Simpson: Yeah, sure. Every rider is individual and it depends on where you’re coming from in terms of skill and speed as well. With standard bikes you need to cover a wider range. It must be reasonably good for different weight and rider skills. That was something with production testing, it had to be good for the main test riders and many times we invited so normal hobby riders just to get their feedback too. Its strange to say but if you ride the same bike every day, you get kind of used to its positives and negatives. Therefor its always important to get some outside opinions from other guys that ride different suspension or colour of bikes to see if they can pick something out that you have missed.
You have to take care that it’s good for slower and then also for the faster guys. Some people think it’s easy, but sometimes even harder to say, okay, it must be good for the faster group of test riders, but also has to be good for the older guys or whatever. Yeah, in the GP as well, the bike has to fit them very good of course, but I believe that when the rider feels good on the bike, one or two clicks and he’s not going to feel much of a difference. Some riders can compensate a lot with technique and talent, whereas some really need the bike to help them. So, it depends on the rider a lot too. Everyone has bad days and so on so then its our job to try and help them as much as possible in these moments.
Even my brother during his time, he needed the bike to help him as much as possible to make him feel comfortable. It was quite impressive at times to see how much you could physically help him just by changing a few shims on the fork or shock. In the end that relationship also has to work well. You have to know what they are thinking, know how they can ride and filter the feedback they give into a constructive change for them. The more time you watch them you start to see what they are looking for and then it becomes easier to help them as well.
GateDrop: Having had the role with WP before, obviously now you’re a technical manager at KTM, but you guys still work closely with WP. You probably even know them, because you were there working with them, can you have an opinion on that, or do you try and not? Because you have a bit of an opportunity, you can probably point them in what direction to go in, or maybe not…
Simpson: Yeah, at times it’s difficult. You can’t do everything obviously and of course I would like to help as much as possible where I can, but I also don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. So last year was a learning curve from both sides. In the end, you have to be careful with what you’re saying and maybe how we should make the next change and how it’s handled, let’s say.
The WP group itself has changed. So when I was there in 2017, it was a Dutch crew, I was based in Austria, and then flying to the races, and then the Dutch boys would come to the race from Holland. So that’s different to now, they still have a Belgium-based group to take care of the training and the support in Belgium, but the people are different to back then. However, there’s still one or two people in the company in Austria that are the same.
It’s a grey area and a fine line between helping and then to cause a bad feeling. So that’s always something that I try to do the best I can. Again, it’s a trial and error at times. It’s not that there’s a definite answer to everyone’s question or the correct part that you should change to make it perfect for that guy. So, it’s mainly just trying to get the correct feedback to try and help out where I can. But yeah, it can be tricky.
GateDrop: You are currently technical manager for the KTM factory team. I think you started that last year. Can you just explain what you actually do in your current role, like on a day-to-day basis?
Simpson: Honestly, during the winter, I kind of got thrown into the deep end. Harry (Norton) left at the end of last year leaving me in the thick of it to get organised for 2025. Our team is quite unique. We have the training workshop in Belgium, which is running parallel to Austria. So, in the winter, it was more or less to try and get enough parts and material to Belgium to keep it running so that the boys can train, because they already start at around the beginning of November with the winter preparation.
At the end of last year, we went to Belgium and helped to organize the workshop a bit and to make sure they were enough parts for the winter. So there needs to be engines, frames, Swingarms and all other material to get us through the tough winter months into January. We needed to order everything for the upcoming season at the same time which was a challenging few weeks that nobody sees from the outside. Making orders with all our sponsors for the whole year of material to get everything stocked up, Belgium and in Austria left me with a few sleepless nights. When I came back to Austria, then it was taking care of our race mechanics and structure. The team itself is based in Austria so that’s where everything gets ready for the upcoming season, the truck, the vans, flight boxes and race bikes obviously. Joel is in Belgium of course and he oversees that daily.
Regarding the team in Austria, I try to take care of, planning with the mechanics our bike rotation etc, who’s is traveling where and when, plus the technical meetings and helping Valentina where I can. Valentina and I are in the same office in Austria. Valentina’s been there for years and it’s good to be on the same page plus try to keep up to speed with everything because in our sport things can change fast and you have to react quickly to make it happen.
So there’s a lot of planning in my role. Engines for the races, spare parts and making sure that the Mechanics have a plan, that they know when and where they are going. The bike build plan, when the bike will time out, when we start a new fresh bike, change engine, suspension, whatever. There’s all of that in the background, which no one really sees. On top of everything like that, there’s all the testing, which had to be done January, February, in between everything. Then in Jeffreys case we didn’t get that chance, so we are behind the 8-ball on that side, so we need to get on that next week. Then, of course you have to go to the races on the weekend, which now, with the start practice being on Friday, we’re more or less leaving on Thursday, flying back Monday. You have two days in the week to get stuff sorted out, which, in the end, is a quick turnaround if the races are back to back.
GateDrop: What’s an MXGP race weekend like for you? And how closely do you work with the riders and mechanics during the weekend? I assume it’s very busy…
Simpson: It’s already much easier this year than it was last year. Last year we had four riders and they stayed healthy pretty much the whole year. I think Sacha maybe missed one race. Especially with having two guys, but in different classes it already makes the job more difficult as you have to be in two places at once.
There’s issues here and there, but when there were four guys, it was crazy. Harry and I were flat out all day, every day. But this year, with having two guys, it’s okay, but it’s still tricky, to be in MX2 and to then try and speak with Andrea, and then Jeffrey is already out there, you’re always kind of in between two spaces. On Friday the main job is to make sure technical control is all fine, the bikes pass noise test, obviously everything’s done, ready for Saturday and that everyone has a plan for the weekend.
We have the training mechanics that come to help the race mechanics because with changing a tire on the start nowadays with one mechanic, honestly, you’re pretty on the limit. Especially on weekends like Portugal. So, to try and make sure that the training mechanic and race mechanic are up to date to make sure that everyone knows what’s happening. To have a debrief for the rider when they come back with WP, Joel and myself to make sure that they’re happy and to know exactly what steps will be taken for the next session.
In the end, it’s a busy couple of days. On Sunday night to make the plan with the guys, how we continue for the next race. What steps do you take then if the engine was too hot or if it’s just a clutch and oil and then good to go. Like after a race in Portugal you can start from scratch and forget all the plans you made as everything must be stripped and cleaned. It’s all kind of under my responsibility in the end.
GateDrop: You work very closely with Joel Smets and Valentina Ragni who have a lot of experience, have very key roles in this team. What’s your relationship like with them and what’s it like to work with them? You probably learn stuff from them as well, at the same time you can maybe see things that you can advise them on at the same time…
Simpson: Coming back to the team, I worked with Vale for many years, so for me, she’s always been a big figure in my life, honestly. So even coming to Austria with WP, I knew Valentina since Shaun was racing and her husband got me a job in WP so even when I didn’t work with Valentina, I worked with her husband, so I was always in contact with her through that, we never really lost contact.
She’s that mother figure in the team. It’s in her interview you did already and it’s true. She has this aura about her with everyone in the team. She picks up on all the small comments from everyone. She knows how everyone is by looking at them and she can tell he’s grumpy today, and then she’ll find out why, she’ll already help to settle something small before it gets big. So that’s Vale, she has this role in the team that is maybe underestimated at times. I think she’s a huge part of the team and she’s done the job for years so we can all take a page out of her book.
That’s what I said before with the flights and stuff. I try to leave her with that, obviously I don’t need to get involved at all because she knows exactly what she’s doing and how she’s done it for years. It’s a pleasure to work with her and to learn from. How she sees it in her eyes and to have that mother figure for the team is huge.
And with Joel, honestly, I remember back in Namur when we were kids, I remember Joel Smets and Stefan Everts were our heroes. Me and Shaun were on the Citadel on the top of Namur with our bicycles playing around on the track and we built some jump on the side of the track and Joel was there by coincidence. He then took it upon himself to tell us you have to do it like this and that. That was my very first memory of Joel giving us some tips on the BMX. Learning now that he has his own BMX track is all quite cool.
Looking up to Joel as a kid and now being able to work with him, to learn from him, he has been around a long time. From being a rider and having all the experience with other teams and how he speaks to everyone, there’s a whole lot for me to learn as I have never done that role before and that’s something that I see myself coming from a technical background that I’m slightly missing. Joel has that whole side to him that I’m still building.
So, I think there’s a whole lot there to learn. For me, he’s very, very open-minded, friendly and nothing but good things to say about him.
GateDrop: What are the biggest technical challenges in preparing a factory bike for MXGP and MX2 World Championship racing? I mean, I imagine a lot of the hard work is done in the winter and in theory, you’re good to go from round one but not everything goes to plan all the time…
Simpson: No, definitely not. In the end, honestly with our company as well, that’s something I’d like to give a big shout out to R&D because I was there. I’ve seen how they work, I’ve seen what effort they put in. Here on the weekend is one thing but the effort that everyone in Austria puts in from all the designers, from all of the test riders, the durability tests that they do, there’s a huge amount of effort that goes into the product that we get. So our job in the end is less than maybe some other brands I personally believe, because I’ve been there and done it. We start with a good product, what then happens after in motorsport is taken on by our test team.
We have in motorsport another team of people that are setting up the bike to a certain level for us as well. So it’s not just us here taking credit on the weekend and saying that we are great. There’s already a big role in place to get our bike to where it is now. They have their own characteristic, chassis wise, our bike is quite similar in MX2 and MXGP. Obviously the 450cc engine creates a whole different inertia to the bike handling and suspension. It’s creating its own issues at times. The main thing with the 450cc is to make sure the temperature stays in a safe range as Jeffrey loves the clutch when he goes beast mode and with so much horsepower and torque that he wants to try and have a good start kind of works against us at times.
Then the last race like Portugal the main goal is to try and make them finish the race is the main thing, let’s say. Then with the 250cc in the end to be honest, they’re pretty solid. A rider like Andrea is always revving at such a high RPM so again its main reliability as well again to try and make them finish the race is the main priority.
GateDrop: Growing up, watching your brother race and now working as well with KTM you’ve seen it from a lot of different perspectives. How do you view the sport has evolved between from when you started to now? To me it’s probably evolved quite a lot. A lot more technology is probably involved now…
Simpson: Yeah, it’s wild. The bike itself has changed a lot. Just the fuel injection alone was a major step in this sport. We all came from two strokes in the beginning when we were growing up, then four strokes came into the game and then fuel injection. So, now for sure it’s evolved a lot than going into the fuel injection era and then now honestly what’s all possible nowadays with data analysis.
Data analysis is getting more and more whether we like it or not. The more sensors we have on the bikes the more reliability issues that could occur let’s say. But I’ve seen in the last two or three weeks it’s been an eye-opener for me. The data we have now to be able to relay to the rider is quite impressive. What they do with the throttle, the clutch and all that information to try and help them with the start or the riding on the track. It’s all useful tools to try and help them improve and for us in the end to try and make the best results obviously.
Also, the technology behind 3D printing and all the stuff we have available now to the company if there’s something that’s not good, we can change it quite quick. Whereas in the past that would need to get designed, sent away then it would be quite a long process to get something you asked for. Whereas nowadays if you complain on Monday, you could have something by the middle of the week.
GateDrop: What is the most enjoyable thing about your job? I’m guessing probably seeing your riders stand on top of the box. And is there anything you miss from your earlier roles? I mean you probably miss the days working with Shaun but that was never going to last forever…
Simpson: I’m not going to lie but it was hard days working with Shaun. They were long nights and 365 days a year. However, like last weekend (in Portugal) in the end with Andrea it was a perfect weekend winning the qualifying race and then the two races. Of course, those weekends make driving home a breeze. That’s something that Valentina I think has been almost spoiled with in the past.
The team has always had these podiums that now anything less is a disappointment. When we go back to the company they expect podiums, they expect wins, or titles. For me growing up that’s always been something super special, so a weekend like in Portugal was huge for me.
But for the company and for the status they have now that’s something they expect which brings a certain added pressure as well. But no, last weekend or even Jeffrey last year when he’s on it and then watching a rider like Jeffrey to see what he can do and what he does with the bike for me its super interesting to watch and to be part of.
What do I miss? Honestly with the work we have now and the amount of hours I have to do, I do miss riding. That was something with R&D that I was doing too much, I was riding a lot. Now it’s honestly flipped over that I’m completely left out of that side.
Also, the sacrifice with my family is one of the downsides to the job with being on the road so much.
GateDrop: You left Scotland at a pretty young age to move to Austria. You must be pretty comfortable there now and does it feel like home? Would you go back to Scotland all that often? Obviously now you get to see your family at the GP’s which is good…
Simpson: Exactly. This goes back to 2010. We were working in KTM and I met at the end of 2010, my now wife, Corinna, in Austria. Shaun had already made the deal to go to Belgium to ride for LS Honda. So therefore, I said yeah okay I’ll go with him. So, I didn’t think of working anymore in Austria.
Corinna and I said, yeah okay we’ll try and make it work for a year and then we’ll see where it goes. The end of 2011 was more or less like the breaking point and a bad year for Shaun. In the end through Valentina and her husband, Matte, I got the job in WP and then I headed back to Austria. So, I’ve been there since the end of 2011, We rented a house for 2012 and 2013 and got married at the end of 2013, we actually bought a house, got married and had a honeymoon all in a month. Looking back on it, we did everything pretty quick at the end of 2013, but we’ve lived in our house since 2013. Obviously, my roles change here and there and our son James then arrived in 2016. We have never really looked back after that honestly. There was a point in the beginning before we bought the house if it was going to be Austria or if it was going to be Scotland. There was a debate.
But in the end with my job and my background, I’d say Austria was more attractive for me working at KTM, obviously. So that was one of the biggest deciding factors. To be honest, Austria as well with the country, the social security with having a child, how they look after you, the healthcare is really on a high level. So, there was all these small things that went with it. In the end, I’ve never really looked back honestly.
Going back to Scotland is always a tricky time because now especially when I get back home, I want to be home, spend time with the family. It’s kind of tricky to really find the right time to go back to Scotland. Back in Scotland, many of my friends from school and stuff, they’ve all grown up and they’ve all moved on. In the end I’ve honestly been away longer now from home than I was at home. I left when I was 16 and now, I’m 34, time flies.
GateDrop: You didn’t used to go to every GP, but I think from last year you started to go to them all and then you were at the Nations too I think, so that’s really 21 races. Just what’s it like doing the full season? Especially towards the end, it must get pretty tiring…
Simpson: So, that was kind of with Harry (Norton) last year. Harry roped me in, so I’ll throw him under the bus, we always have a laugh about it until today. Last year it started off that I should just come back to the factory team in Austria to help him to be a support in the company when they’re not there. Then it started that if I’d be interested in doing a couple of tests, this and that. So yeah, okay, I can help a bit and that was fine. That was the end of 2023. Then in 2024, I got asked if I could go to a few races in the year because there were four riders, so I said yes to few races. In the end, it turned out quite quick with the way everything went that I went to all European races and I was also happy to help. I could see that I could help and what I was offering, that it was being taken on board and we were kind of making progress.
So I said I could do more. Last year it was all of the European rounds, the fly aways GP’s, I didn’t do, but in the end that was only four races probably. This year, obviously with Harry moving away, I got the opportunity to take on more responsibility and I said yeah, that’s kind of the next step in my career, something I’ve not done.
Managing people or managing a group of people is something I haven’t done so far and that was something attractive. So, for the moment, honestly, I don’t have a big issue. Me and my wife are still coping quite good with the little guy as well. Sometimes it’s tough I’m not going to lie, especially Argentina or the trips when you’re longer on the way, but like Portugal and now Spain I managed to get home for a couple of days, then I can try and take an afternoon off to do something with them, which kind of works out fine. But like this week I fly from Spain to Belgium and then we test with Jeffrey and then we test maybe with Andrea. So, it’s going to be like another full week, which yeah, they add up.
There’ll probably be a couple more this year, but if I can try and involve them also in summer, maybe to bring them with me to the races, I think we can work around it, that’s fine. It’s happened in the past I have not been happy when I come home, or I’ve not been satisfied. At least now, if I come home and I’m tired, I’m satisfied. Everything I’m doing at the moment, it’s still making sense. I think that’s for us as a family the main thing, to be happy to go to work happy and not to be hacked off going to a nine to five that you don’t enjoy.
GateDrop: What’s the future like for Stefan Simpson? Do you think if this role continues, do you think you’ll see yourself in this role for the foreseeable future? But maybe not until you’ve got no hair or grey hair (laughs)…
Simpson: No, I’m getting low on the hair side, so I need to be careful, I don’t have so much to give away anymore (laughs).
It’s something I’ve thought many times. I really don’t know. Until now in my career, all those opportunities have kind of arisen and that’s what kind of what I’ve jumped on. At the moment, I’m happy with where I am. If I feel like the people around me are still enjoying what I can bring to the table and vice versa I don’t see myself changing anytime soon.
If I can make a difference, I’m happy to be here. When the day comes that the guys are not happy and then I see that I’m the issue, then I’m the first one to say, okay, then I’ll step back because to put that effort in, it must be worth it in the end for everyone and at the moment I think we’re all on the same page, we want to win. One thing is clear, mum and dad didn’t raise no quitter so no matter where I end up, I will never shy away from hard graft!
