It’s been a challenging but promising debut MXGP season for Jeremy Seewer with the all-new Ducati project. The Swiss rider is playing a key role in developing the bike, and while flashes of potential have been on display, the results haven’t always reflected the effort going on behind the scenes. We caught up with Seewer after the British Grand Prix at Matterley Basin to get his honest thoughts on the track conditions, the progress of the Ducati, and his respect for Antonio Cairoli. He also opened up on the personal strength drawn from his partner’s recent battle with cancer — a reminder that perspective off the bike matters just as much as what happens on it.
GateDrop: Jeremy, Matterley Basin, one of the best tracks on the calendar usually, but this year it was a bit strange. First of all, how did you find the track yesterday and today? Very dry and fast yesterday, at least today there was a few more ruts and the track was more technical…
Seewer: Yeah, the track was a disaster this weekend, I mean, despite it being such a nice layout and technical, you know. Yesterday, it was a huge mess, no water, it was like a national championship race, even worse, you know, so much dust, no lines. Today it was a little better, but still dried out a lot and it ended up being one good line. Always the same story and I mean, that second moto, I don’t think we saw one pass in the top ten and that explains everything. I don’t know what to blame, what to change in the future to make that better. There are many opinions, but for sure something has to happen. But yeah, that’s not why I’m here, I try to do my best anyway.
GateDrop: The starts weren’t great for you this weekend, and like you alluded to, it was important, because we didn’t see much passing. How did you feel on the bike though? Like, did you feel quite good?
Seewer: Actually, we improved a lot the feeling on the bike since yesterday morning. Any track we come to, we kind of start from zero, adapt and improve to work on stuff. It’s an ongoing process at the minute. The starts weren’t there and that didn’t help the bike. I started 10th, finished 9th, if I would have started 6th, I’d finish 5th or whatever, you know, so it’s just on the starts.
GateDrop: Antonio Cairoli, I mean, what a man, 39, it shouldn’t be normal to be riding that fast at that speed. Just how much respect have you got for him and what’s it like working with him in this project?
Seewer: Yeah, a lot. I mean coming back to do a race on our level is the first thing, and then this weekend he did well. He managed to get the starts, he made it happen. Okay, we had the same pace, more or less, that shows a bit where the bike is at, you know. I mean, he’s a nine-time world champion, he can ride a bike, but how the track was suited him better, for sure, it was not easy, but on the easy side. But big respect for that. For sure, I don’t think I will be doing that at 39, so that’s something quite big.
GateDrop: Just on the Ducati project, I mean, are you enjoying it, are you enjoying developing this bike, and have you made that many changes the last few weeks? I know you’re quite happy with it until it gets muddy, and then you sort of, you need to improve when it gets muddy, I think…
Seewer: For sure, I would love to have a bike being perfect and just race for wins, that’s what is more enjoyable, but it’s also nice to be part of such a project. I mean, we achieved some big things already this year. Okay, at the minute we are on a low again, for some reasons, but we try to go forward, sometimes you make two steps back, then go forward, three steps forward and then one back. That’s how it is, especially during such a long season, so many different tracks, weather has an influence, and so on. It always looks easy on paper, and then in reality it’s a different story but at the minute it’s tough. We know the issues, we work on them, I work on myself. I want to be up front, you know, but the level is high, and we need to keep working hard.
GateDrop: Just on the bike, I mean, how far off do you think it is off actually winning? I mean, we’ve seen Triumph, they didn’t win in their first year in MX2, but they’ve got a couple of race wins now, so I’m sure you’re hoping the same with Ducati… Well, you probably want to win before the end of the year, but if not, I’m sure you’re hoping next year you’re going to be right at the front…
Seewer: Well, MX2 is a little easier, I mean, it’s a tough class also, especially with all those KTMs in it, but MXGP is another calibre to win. Sure, it would be nice to get it done this year, but we have work to do, and, you know, the issues are not big, let’s say. It’s just a couple of small things, which upsets us a lot but in general the bike is good. We have so many positives, it’s just the negative makes us a lot more weak than it actually should, but we know them, and we are trying to eliminate them, and it’s just a matter of time. It’s a bit frustrating sometimes for me, I work so hard, and put so much into it. Sometimes I barely end up in the top ten, but that’s how it is. At the end of the day I’m complaining on a high level but I think better times are coming. We are investing this year now to progress, and then hopefully at the end of the day make something out of it.
GateDrop: You’ve got two weekends off now, which is very rare for MXGP, you’ll not know what to do with yourself, have you got any plans for the next two weekends, just test, I guess?
Seewer: That’s very weird, yes, because last year we never had it, this year also, so far we didn’t, so I’ll for sure take a few days off just to mentally recover and to regroup. We have lots of racing left, and you have to be wise with your energy, you know. So, it feels weird, but I will have, let’s say, five days or six days maximum, just a bit more calm, forget about the bike, and then restart the program to get back on the program.
GateDrop: Just on a personal level, your girlfriend, I saw her post, you know, she had cancer, I’m not sure how many people knew that, that was all going on, but that must have been very tough for you to deal with… You must be very proud of her, starting the music, and she can sing, I thought you were the talented one, but maybe not (laughs)…
Seewer: Yeah, I think her talent is bigger than mine, but of course, I am very proud of her, I was with her through all that time.
GateDrop: How tough was that for you though, I mean, you’re trying to race, and you’ve got all that going on, it must be hard to block it out?
Seewer: No, that’s fine, I mean, you know, racing is racing, and I have to give her credit. She doesn’t add any weight on my shoulders at all, you know, so she knows my job, she knows motocross, she leaves me to my job and it doesn’t cost me energy in that way. I’m proud of her because she’s so, so strong. I mean, it’s now one and a half years ago since it all started, and that’s the worst news you can get, you know. She just acts like it’s normal and fights through and pushes through. Now she started singing because of that… I mean, she did it all her life, but she was too shy to show to people. She’s crazy talented and it gives me energy. To see someone like her next to me, it is crazy what she fights through, so that’s makes my problems more easy. They’re little problems, if I finish fourth or tenth or first… I mean, come on, who cares if you have an issue like that, you know?
