It was a fantastic weekend for young British talent, Jamie Keith as he was racing in front of a Motocross des Nations crowd – at home! It doesn’t get much better than that. The 125cc bLU cRU race was also a cracker as Keith and Townley put on a show for the British fans. Townley didn’t make it easy but Keith got the job done to get the win.
We just about tracked down Keith who was parked miles away from the main pits to discuss his weekend, his future and more…
GateDrop: We’re here at the bLU cRU 125cc event. Can you just talk me through the moto first of all? It looked like a good battle there with Levi Townley, but you were able to get the job done after a pretty bad start, but it looked like a good battle…
Keith: I didn’t get off to the best of starts but it could have been worse, but I mean I was probably about sixth or seventh, and then I picked them off lap by lap and got into third. I could see Townley wasn’t really gapping me. I made the pass on Kubulins, put my head down for a few laps and got right up to Townley. I had a bit of a breather, got myself together, looked at where the possibilities were where I could pass him, didn’t rush, got the pass done, and here we are in P1.
GateDrop: How good does it feel to win that? I mean you were heavy favourite, so how did you feel coming into it? Maybe a little bit of pressure? Were there any nerves? It’s such a big crowd as well as being at home…
Keith: To win the bLU cRU is something big, but to win it at home, and in front of all your home crowd, and a few of my family in that area which made it a little bit better. So, yeah I couldn’t really ask for a better place to win.
GateDrop: What was the atmosphere like? Obviously you race British Championships and things like that, but it’s probably a little bit different because pretty much all the fans were behind you there?
Keith: Yeah, you’ll never experience anything like what you experience at the Nations, yeah just the crowd are absolutely nuts. Every corner, every straight, every jump I did I could hear the crowd all behind me and I just knew I had to do it for the home crowd.
GateDrop: Were you a little bit surprised by Levi’s pace? Obviously he’s only had like a month on the bike, he’s been on 85 all year, but he was fast and you were still fast, it wasn’t like you were riding bad, he’s just really good as well…
Keith: He has just come off an 85cc which I’m quite shocked to be fair, he’s going to be a good contender next year if he does come over here and do the EMX, which I’m going to be doing next year the whole thing. So, yeah I just need to keep working because I know where he’s going to be now, I know where a few of my competitors are, but yeah he shocked me to be fair because in qualifying I was three and a half seconds faster than anyone else and he was in second, so I had a lot of confidence going into that race for him to rip a start and then like kind of set off and go set the pace of the race, I was quite shocked, but I mean I got around him so it is what it is, so I can’t really complain.
GateDrop: To be honest I think it’s a good thing for you because you know you have to work over winter now because there’s going to be him and there’s going to be four, five, six, seven others in EMX as there always is because that class is always stacked full of talent…
Keith: Yeah I’m going to put the graft in again this winter, I know what I need to do, I know where I need to work on. I know where my strengths and weaknesses are, so yeah I’ll just do what I do again next year.
GateDrop: How excited are you to actually be doing a full EMX 125 championship? Obviously this year I think you done the one round and then you done the Junior Worlds as well, so that was an introduction but how exciting is it that you’ve now got a full winter and you know that you’re going to be lining up at all the rounds? It’s your first real year of making a go at it let’s say?
Keith: Yeah I can’t wait, just travel the world, doing what I love, can’t really ask for anything more can you?
GateDrop: Have you got any plans for over winter yet? Are you going to be spending it in the UK? Are you going to be going overseas or is it still up in the air?
Keith: I think in a few weeks I’ll probably head over to Belgium for a few weeks, and then Christmas I go over to Spain, have Christmas there, so I think I’m going to be over in Spain for a couple of months because I don’t need to come back to school anymore. I’ll be out there for a few months and then yeah probably just head straight over to Belgium, do a few of the ADAC’s and then the EMX starts after that, so it’ll be a good year next year.
GateDrop: Will this be your first off-season outside the UK then or have you done it before or maybe not on a scale like this?
Keith: No I have travelled, I never really spend winter in the UK, I spend a little bit but I mean it’s the weather, like you can’t go where you want to and just call everything off and it’s just a bit of a bummer really. But when you’re out in Spain it’s better weather, but yeah I have been out a few times, probably my fourth time going out this year, but yeah it’s better over there than it is here.
GateDrop: Do you know anything about the team or anything you’ll be riding with next year? Obviously you’ve just won that so I think you’ve got at least a JK Yamaha ride if you want it, but is it still up in the air? You obviously probably can’t tell me too much but I think you were in Italy testing a factory bike there not too long ago?
Keith: Yeah I was, I did go somewhere trying some certain bikes but I don’t know if that offer is still on the table, I can’t say what it is but I should, I mean I’m not trying to be a big headed or anything, but I should have something else coming after the win I just had today. But it doesn’t really bother me going on the team, I’m not too fussed, I mean it’s that financial side that the team help you with really and getting your name out there. But look what me and my dad are doing now, it’s just us and everyone else, all my co-sponsors getting me here, so it’s working as it is so and if I don’t have to I’m not going to change it.
GateDrop: What are your expectations for you next year? Obviously you’re going to be a rookie, you have got experience racing the 125cc so it’s not like it’s your first year on the bike but just in terms of it being your first full year in the EMX125 championship, have you got set yourself any goals or is it just experience like riding all these different tracks?
Keith: Well Arnhem set my goal and I went into there, the goal was to qualify which I knew I could do and then I got a ripper out the start and I was fourth so that set the top five goal. But obviously next year I’m going to go for that championship because I feel like I can, if I put my head down and work over the winter I think I can, but top five I’ll be happy with but top three is where I want to be consistently.
GateDrop: What impresses me about you is a lot of Brits go abroad and they can’t seem to ride at the same level but it doesn’t really seem to faze you, why do you think that is? It seems a bit weird that some Brits just seem to struggle when they go overseas but like I say I think that’s one of your qualities, it doesn’t really seem to bother you which is a great quality to have…
Keith: I don’t really let it get to me, I just get on the line, it’s just I don’t know, everyone, I think they all think of it too much but I mean it’s just another race, you’re in a different atmosphere, different environment but I just get on the line and go do what I do and come out where I come out.
GateDrop: Well thanks for your time for the interview and we can’t wait to see you line up for a full season next year so all the best and thank you.