Lommel has always been a happy hunting ground for Ben Watson, and the British rider added another memorable performance to his growing list at the iconic Belgian sand circuit. Riding for Dirt Store Triumph, Watson delivered one of the strongest MXGP rides of his career, finishing seventh overall after an impressive charge through the pack in the second moto despite crashing on the opening lap.
The result was a timely reward for both Watson and his team after a challenging season, with the British talent admitting he has rediscovered the enjoyment that had been missing from his racing. We caught up with him after the Grand Prix as Watson reflected on his comeback ride, explained the progress being made with the Triumph package, discussed returning home to the UK after years abroad, and looked ahead to his future in the MXGP paddock.
GateDrop: Ben, you’ve got great memories from this place and another memory in the bank this weekend. I would say, I don’t know if it’s your best ever result here in the MXGP class, but I would say it’s probably the best you’ve ever raced here in MXGP. You might not agree, but you must be happy with your day?
Watson: Yeah, I’m really happy. Lommel will never disappoint, let’s put it that way. I’ve had four podiums here before and today I’ll probably agree… I think that is my best MXGP result since 2021. I would probably agree, I was seventh overall in the MXGP class, so a big tick today for myself and the team. To crash in the second corner in the second race and then come back to seventh, it wasn’t like I got a good start in a few crashes and just kind of got gifted the position, I earned it. I can be proud of that one.
GateDrop: You seem really happy, I’m not sure I’ve seen you this happy in a long time, confidence-wise, hopefully it can flick a switch now?
Watson: We’ve just got to revive the team, we’ve got to enjoy it at the same time as well as working hard. I think that’s been one big thing I’ve found this year is just to try and find that enjoyment back. I definitely have it back, sometimes when the races don’t go so well, we’ve had difficult weekends, but days like today when all the team’s here and everyone’s been putting so much in to make it happen, it’s just nice to give them something back like this.
GateDrop: In the second moto, you crashed at the start, what was it like working your way through the field and just how rough was the track compared to usual?
Watson: No, no, I crashed. I mean, yesterday I would say no the track wasn’t as rough as usual but then they completely left the track, they fixed the take-offs, and after the warm-up I was like this is going to be pretty heavy. It’s been warm today as well, like 29 or 30 degrees so that in Belgium, if you’ve been in Belgium and you’ve had 30 degrees heat in there, it’s like just a humid, hot air, and a strange heat, so that just added on top of it. But I think, I wouldn’t say it was rougher than normal here, it’s just because it’s so dry underneath, you can tell it’s been dry these last few months with no rain, although they did water and prep the track really well, there were still corners that became like powder, you just can’t do much about that when there’s just so much direct sunlight, and it’s been so dry in the past few months. In that way I think that helped the track not get too rough, the bumps were quite flowy, but it’s heavy, It’s Lommel.
GateDrop: Triumph, obviously it’s far from a factory effort, but you seem very happy with the team, I mean, what’s it like racing an MXGP on a non-factory bike, let’s say, there’s so many amazing bikes out there, it must be pretty tough.
Watson: It is tough, but then at the same time, the production bikes are so good now, I was just saying before, the only real difference is the fact that maybe you don’t have that, you know, option of some special parts or some things that can help when you move around the different races. We’ve gone from Czech Republic to Lommel, like completely different tracks. My bike doesn’t work better on one than the other, and I feel like to get a package that’s working everywhere, it takes a lot of testing, a lot of different parts that you can change from race to race when you know what conditions you’ve got. I think sometimes that’s where the difference is, it’s not on a day like today, okay, maybe more power or some better electronics or something to help me out of the gate, and then it can change a weekend completely, but it’s one of them. In the sand, it’s such a heavy track, you do almost earn your position, even if you get a bad start, so that’s one nice thing about here, because sometimes in MXGP you start in 15th and it’s a struggle to get to 13th, it’s so difficult to pass but there’s so many good riders.
GateDrop: You’re kind of developing this bike, how different is the bike now compared to when you first got on it? What kind of things have you changed to try and get the bike to your liking?
Watson: I mean, from the first day that I did on this bike, I’ve changed a lot more in the beginning. The previous rider was completely different to me. I got my package in the winter and I was really happy through all the training, and then when it got to race time and as the speed got up and the race pace got higher, I started to struggle a little bit. I changed so many things to try and help that I got a bit lost with it, and then now it’s kind of gone back to that winter setup. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to change so much, but I had that option, so I just tried to make it work.
GateDrop: You’re back living in the UK now, I know you hated living in Italy, so are you enjoying being back in the UK on more on a full-time basis. Off the bike, that probably makes a huge difference if you’re happier in life?
Watson: It’s not that I hate Italy, it’s an amazing country, but it’s just, when you’re English and you just get dumped there on your own, it is hard to enjoy the lifestyle, it is the polar opposite to the UK. As people, you know, the saying goes, no place like home, just with family, friends and stuff. That has just helped with that enjoyment side to come back. It’s just nice to be back at home, because I’ve not been there since 2017. When I decided to go to Yamaha I lived in Belgium all that time, and then Italy, so, no, that’s, that’s good, it’s been a big change, but I’m enjoying it.
GateDrop: The British Championship, what do you think you need to try and get on the top step there again, before the season’s over, there’s only two rounds left now!
Watson: I think I can get on the top step, not a problem, but championship wise, that is another story. We had the chain issue with the DNF so to lose 25 points just like that is horrible, because when there’s only a couple of riders challenging for the title, if you crash in the first turn or something, it’s very hard to make the points back so, that’s not easy for the Championship side, but I’ll do what I can do. I’ll go out there and do my best results and what happens, will happen.
GateDrop: Are you on a two-year deal on this team, or just one?
Watson: No, just one.
GateDrop: Any plans for next year, would you like to stay where you are, or any options on the table?
Watson: It’s still early days well it’s not too early days. We’ve had some talks but I’m happy.
GateDrop: We’ll likely see you in MXGP next year again then?
Watson: Yeah, that’s my goal.
