Interview: Guillem Farres reflects on his season and his opportunity with Star Yamaha

It’s been a strange season to say the least for young Spaniard, Guillem Farres. Starting the season injured, he then made a return to racing in the EMX250 class before switching to the Raths KTM team which saw him race a couple of MX2 GP’s as well as EMX250 rounds.

Towards the end of the season he then got an unbelievable opportunity to go to America to race a Star Yamaha. He wasn’t supposed to race any AMA Nationals but then got the chance to do two rounds of the series while he was over there and he impressed comfortably running in the top ten.

We caught up with Farres at MXoN to discuss his season and more.

GateDrop: Guillem, it was quite a wild season for you starting the year in the EMX250 class, then switching teams and doing some MX2 before ending the season in America racing for Star Yamaha. Experience wise, you’ve picked up a lot this year and how strange was it changing your plans so much?

Farres: It was a strange year, definitely. At the beginning of the year I had surgery on my arms and then I ended up without a team. I found a ride in Germany and the team was really good. Everything around me in Germany was going really good. I went to Spain for some time off and then I had the opportunity to go to the States.  The opportunity came from one day to another so I took the chance, I wasn’t supposed to race the Nationals but it happened. I did two Nationals and now I still don’t know what the future holds but I hope it’s here in America and not in Europe. I’ve been having a really good time here so we will see.

GateDrop: Just going back from when you made the jump up from the EMX250 class to the MX2 World Championship. How did you find making that jump up and racing the World Championship?

Farres: I mean the EMX250 class is really close. I would say the top twelve, it is really close between them. I feel like in MX2 when you get out in the top twelve then there is a bigger gap over the rest than in the EMX250 class. But yeah, the classes are pretty similar but you have to race more as the moto’s are longer and then there’s the qualifying race.  It is a bit of a different format but it’s pretty similar.

GateDrop: Going to America you then had a lot of unknowns, I’m not even sure if you’ve been in America before this year so did you have any expectations for the AMA Nationals you raced and how did you find the level of the 250cc class there?

Farres: I had never been in America before, the opportunity was like, the Wednesday before we decided that we were going to race on the weekend… it was all really fast. I really had no expectations at all. I just went there to have fun and enjoy. I was surprised a little bit with the first moto at Budds Creek. It was a little bit of a crazy moto with some of the top guys crashing but then in Ironman I made it again. I was ninth in the first moto and second moto I had a problem in the sighting lap and my rear brake broke. I couldn’t ride with a break so I was struggling a lot the whole moto without a break but it’s all about the experience. I ended up sixteenth and eleventh overall so I am pretty happy. I think also it’s a bit of a change with the tracks and how the people race there, it’s small training time and everything so it is really different.

GateDrop: Going from the Raths KTM machine who get a little bit of support from KTM but what was it like going from that bike to the Star Yamaha, maybe the best 250cc machine in the world… the first laps must have felt amazing on that bike!

Farres: I mean the Raths bike was really good actually. It was a really nice bike and the best bike I’ve rode since this year, they did a really good job. Going on the Yamaha, it is a while different bike as we ride air forks and it’s a whole different feeling. It was hard, the bike is really really good but it was hard to get used to it, understand how to ride the bike and have the knowledge.

Pic: Yamaha Racing

GateDrop: I was actually I little bit surprised to see you come back to Germany to clinch the ADAC Youngsters Cup title – was it ever a possibility you could have raced the last National instead or was the German title the priority for you?

Farres: I was asked by Yamaha to be at Pala as well but it is all about respect, you know? Team Raths helped me a lot and were really happy for me to go to the States. I was supposed to race the MX2 World Championship in France but they told me to take the chance. At the end of the day I knew I had to go back to the ADAC and it was just all about respect. Yamaha here and the guys from Star Racing understand it really good so they had no problem with that.

GateDrop: Just on the tracks in America, I feel like GP tracks there’s a lot more versatility when it comes to Motocross as you go from Lommel one week to racing a slick hard pack track the week after… How did you find the American race tracks and practice tracks – are they all quite similar and loamy? They’re also quite fast so I think the bike is quite important in America but fortunately you had a Star Yamaha…

Farres: I mean the Star Yamaha is definitely fast. The practice tracks, it’s hard for me to say because I have only been riding at the farm. Every day that track is prepped like you are riding a real race. I feel the tracks at the races are really really nice because you have a lot of lines and more chances to pass. Everyone rides different lines and I feel it’s the rider that makes the difference not the racing line. In the GP’s, I feel it has been pretty one lined lately so that is the biggest difference I found.

GateDrop: I know you said your plans aren’t confirmed yet for next year but best case for you is that you stay in America. Would you perhaps consider racing the start of the MX2 World Championship as prep for the AMA Nationals as you’d likely be on an MX only contract in America – it might be difficult team wise but you’d get the best of both worlds then!

Farres: I am pretty sure that won’t happen. If I am staying here in the States then I will train Supercross and try to get ready for Supercross. I don’t know what will happen because I’ve never rode SX before. But yeah, I still don’t know anything so we just go day by day and see what the future holds.

Interview: Andy McKinstry

Images: Yamaha Racing