It had been a challenging start to the 2025 MXGP season for Jeremy Seewer as he embarks on a bold new chapter with Ducati. With flashes of promise but then he put the Ducati on the podium at his home GP – but the Swiss rider is taking the long view. In this candid interview after Arco di Trento with Kevin Frelaud of Dailymotocross.fr, Seewer opens up about the highs and lows of developing an all-new package, reflects on the political twists that led to his Ducati move, and shares honest insight into the process of rebuilding—not just a bike, but a future.
Jeremy, 6-22 for the weekend in Arco, long second moto I guess. It’s been quite a difficult start of the season, I guess it’s not exactly what you want nor expect, but this weekend, good qualifying race, good first moto, it’s still a step in the right direction I guess?
Seewer: Yeah, overall still very positive, even though the second moto didn’t go to plan, but that was none of my fault and I struggled without the front brake and just kept riding to collect data, even for myself.
This project with Ducati, I mean, they don’t know anything about motocross. Sure, they win everything in MotoGP, but here we need to start from zero. That MotoGP knowledge doesn’t bring you far in motocross. But I think we are working good.
I mean, this weekend showed we are in a good way. We just need a bit of patience and put it together.
Signing with Ducati, I guess you know it was going to be a whole new challenge and that was not going to come easy for you. Did you think though it would be as hard for the first few rounds?
Seewer: No, not really, because it started quite good in Argentina, finishing fourth on Saturday, sixth first moto, then second moto I had a start crash and I hit my head a bit. So it wasn’t that great of an end of it, but no. Also, you know, we have to consider the condition. I mean, Spain was absolutely brutal and any race conditions like that, we couldn’t train them at all because we can’t replicate them.
I mean, we do a lot of testing and training in the winter, but then you arrive on a track like this with a completely new bike… you have no idea how suspension, chassis, engine are going to work. So many things together, make it or not. And then yean, we started to struggle, but we always knew why. I always could say, ‘hey, look, that’s why we are struggling’.
So we need to work on that. It’s not that we were lost, you know. And even France, the conditions were weird, even though it’s a track I actually like a lot.
I mean, you need to be 100% there to really push. And then I think Riola’s second moto is where we started to cut the corner and go in the right direction. And yeah, this weekend we showed a lot more and I think it’s coming, you know, like we know what to do.
Still many things, we are behind. I mean, we still race a stock engine, you know, like I’ve done all these holeshots on a stock engine. That’s how they sell the bikes. So yeah, even there we wait for some upgrades. So, but step by step, you know.
I’m curious. Because everything’s pretty much new for you. Is it easy to still pinpoint what’s not working? Can you tell ‘listen, we need to go that way’ or is it just a bit overwhelming because it’s just brand new package?
Seewer: It’s easy and it’s not because you always get kind of used to and you get stuck in your problem. Sometimes it’s almost easier from outside to look at it. But at the same time it’s also easy because I quite know what I want, and I know where I miss speed, and I know where I lose the time.
I’ll ride that part, that part and that part. And go like ‘okay, bike is doing this, bike is doing that’, same for the engine, whatever. So I actually kind of know what it is. Then at the same time, it’s motocross. The thing is, if you’re not used to that pace in front anymore, you kind of lose that quite quick. And you are only used to if you are there. So it’s a bit of a deadly combination. If the bike doesn’t help you to be there. So also you as a rider, you lose the last 2%.
Once you start to be there again, you make a step as a rider and then that combination brings, you know, it’s like so many things together. That’s why, yeah, it’s a beautiful sport. You know, it’s not only the machine. It’s also the rider in combination, in confidence and all of that. But yeah, I know what we still need to improve. We keep working, you know, it’s just like we need some time.
I mean, sure, I would love to say, OK, in five days they renew everything what I asked them and what I request. But you never know if it will work. You always need to test, confirm, race better or not better, that all takes time, you know.
So I guess you still do a lot of testing during the week. It must be quite different from what you’ve been used to in the past, where you could focus on training ?
Seewer: I try not to. I actually also try to train because I know testing doesn’t really bring you to that level. And I’m not paid to be a test rider, even though I have to, you know, at some stage. But yeah, I am testing a lot. And especially until the last two, three weeks, I think now we got the package where we can focus on pushing a bit and then make the next step.
So we try to combine testing and training in a most smart way. But still, we can’t compare that to a guy like Tim Gajser, who is now the best at the moment, who knows his bike since years. Okay, he changed suspension, fine. But like, it’s still a Honda. He knows what the bike does. He just goes, does moto, moto, moto, and, you know, gets the best out of it.
And I’m like, okay, I got to test a bit. I got to improve the bike, work on that. Also do motos, but it’s not exactly the same, you know.
I’m not going to ask you why you left Yamaha end of 2023, but I want to touch on what happened last year at Kawasaki. I heard you did not gel with the bike because that bike was made for Romain, not for Jeremy. How much of that is true? And how do you reflect on what you had last year as a package?
Seewer: I can start at the beginning, sometimes I’m like, okay, why did I leave Yamaha? I was winning. I had everything. But political decisions there with my contract did not make me happy. I mean, okay, first of all, they didn’t want to continue with me. They would just take their option where I was giving them all the GP podiums, wins, results, all the success. And then they are like, yeah, but we have another rider, which is more important than you.
So that was my reason to say, okay, out of principle, I’m worth more than that, you know. So, and even now I stick to that decision, you know, at that time it was the right one, even though it gave me, yeah, some grey hair after, you know, but I’m a man of my word. That was the situation back then.
I don’t want to sell myself under my value, you know, because I know what I can do, I know what I did and who I am. And then, yeah, I thought the Kawasaki deal was a great deal and was super happy going into it. But it turned out to be completely different. I tested the bike, I knew there are some issues. I knew it wasn’t perfect. Then it was like ‘yeah, we can change that. We can fix that. No problem’.
But when the time arrived where we started to do testing it was ‘we can’t change anything.’ And I was like … Okay, that is quite weird. It’s true that the bike is made for Romain, which I’m good with. It’s normal. I mean, that’s their main rider, who won a lot. But the thing is, he has quite a strange riding style or he rides different to all of us. He has, you can see that also, you know, his riding style is so the opposite.
So the bike didn’t suit me and it took them so long to actually adapt and change and make it work for me a bit more. By the time I had to decide my future again, nothing happened. And then in the end of the year, actually, we got a bit better. But still, I didn’t see my future there. I would like just get frustrated, and I couldn’t show my potential. And then, I knew the emphasis there will always be put on Romain, always.
So it didn’t really match. And then I took an even bigger challenge going to Ducati, you know. We started even lower, let’s say from zero. But I see the end of the tunnel, I see the idea of the project and I like it. I think it’s worth it to invest this time now to, to earn maybe in half a year, maybe next season to be, to have a bike which is built for me, you know, and that’s, that’s why we are going through this now.
The bike has been developed by Cairoli and Lupino. So in a way, it’s not the same as KRT? As in the bike has been developed by riders that have different riding style than you. Maybe you have more freedom and input ad Ducati, from what I hear ?
Seewer: Yeah, sure. I have more input. Like now it’s going in my direction. To be honest, I don’t think they did a lot last year in developing with Lupino and Cairoli. That’s my feeling. You know, they just had to bring a bike to the gate, try to make it work, you know. And they, in my opinion, there was not a lot happening yet. They were focused on just like building a bike, let’s say, starting really from scratch, you know. And by now I think all the developing is actually mostly done by me.
But you said you’re not a development rider…
Seewer: Yeah, but I am at the same time because, you know, I’m very technical, like I know what we need. I did actually all the hard work because, I mean, even Tony raced this weekend, but many parts like let’s say, developed like he used on his bike, you know. So it’s actually, I think I did more on that side, which is fine because I know I’m good at this, maybe too good, you know.
But even with Mattia, you know, actually it’s a super good teammate and I like having him because he’s a young kid, but at the same time, very cool to be around. Anytime they put something on my bike and I say, yeah, sure, that’s the direction, that’s better, that’s what I request. A day after it’s on Mattia’s bike and he’s like, oh yeah, that’s nice, I like it. But yeah, that’s my role and I take it, you know.
I guess having a good relationship with teammates also changed the whole dynamics of the team.
Seewer: Yeah, for sure. No, it’s like, honestly, you know, he deserves to do well, Mattia. If he does good results, I’m even happy for him because he works hard and he had some bad luck in his career and he’s a nice kid, you know.
You always want to beat your team mate, of course, but sometimes you just dislike them because you just don’t like the guy, but Mattia is a good kid.
We’re talking about Mattia, he’s younger than you. Obviously, we see some guys, fresh blood in the class. Like Lucas Coenen, Andrea Bonacorsi and so on. I’m curious as to you, you’re one of the veterans of the class, if I can say, when you were 19 compared to today, I guess you’ve changed a lot of your approach of racing, the way you train, the way you recover. What happened in that matter in the last 10 years?
Seewer: The base is actually still the same. Not much changes. It’s motocross, but we try to actually go a next step with everything, you know, like train harder, recover faster. Every year we try to put another stone on top and be fitter and better, and it’s never stopping. We are never good enough. For me, you know, when you are young, you have no experience and you just live off, not stupid decisions, but when you are young, you don’t care. You just open the throttle and you go, and maybe it works and maybe not.
When you get older, you have a lot of experience, so you think a bit more, you are more calculated a bit. But you actually have so much experience that in the end, it levels out. I live more of experience, and the young kids, they just, you know, they go in, yeah, twist the throttle and see what happens, you know? So both of it has benefits, but that’s just normal by age, I think.
But I have to say, I’m 30 now, and in terms of physical condition and fitness, I think I’ve never been that fit. So every year, you know, I make a step and I get better, for sure. And I feel like my body now is at the absolute peak, and that’s not at all the issue. It’s just more the brain, which by age is more like, okay, it’s more calculated and just actually… You think, which is normal. That’s just human, you know?
If you could redo one race, which one would that be?
Seewer: Well, I think my favourite race was my home GP in 2016-17 in Switzerland. This race was amazing on the old venue… I don’t know if you’ve been there, with the straight and all the tribunes. That race was incredible in terms of, yeah, fans and track. And, like, just it was cool. Yeah, just in terms of race, yeah, that was giving me goosebumps every lap.
That was crazy. Some of the MXGP races I won, yes, but I won them, so I don’t want to redo them because it’s not easy to do again when you win, you know? Then you did everything perfect. It’s not that easy to redo!
Say David Luongo comes to you with the keys of Infront Moto Racing and says, Jeremy, you can do whatever you want, but only one thing. What do you do?
Seewer: I pay money to the riders and make the sport a bit more attractive, simple.
I’m going to bounce back on that. In the US, there is this contingency program that pays the non-factory riders. But if you’re a privateer, you apply for the contingency program and you can still get some money back if you are eligible. We always talk about the fact that Infront is not paying the riders, but do you think the manufacturers should also maybe chip in a bit more and help everybody out?
Seewer: I do honestly think the manufacturers are already paying a lot. I mean, they pay everything. They pay to sponsor the championship, you’ve got the Fox Holeshot, the manufacturers pay the riders, they pay shipping the bikes, they pay for everything.
So if they even need to pay more, I don’t know. For me, the system goes wrong somewhere else. You know, I don’t want to interrupt too much. I want to focus on my job.
We also have to say in America, especially in Supercross, there is more money in the sport. I mean, the sport is so much bigger, but I think we could grow the sport in that direction also over here if we would start to change some things.
Okay, we are Europe, we are smaller, people are different, but it doesn’t mean we can’t reach something similar because I think our sport is very attractive.
