Joel Smets has seen it all in Motocross, and as Red Bull KTM’s team manager, the five-time world champion continues to play a key role in shaping the manufacturer’s future. Speaking after the Belgian Grand Prix at the brutal sands of Lommel, Smets reflected on another encouraging weekend for KTM, with Simon Längenfelder returning to the podium and Andrea Adamo continuing to impress in his rookie MXGP campaign.
Smets discusses Längenfelder’s return to form after a difficult spell, why he believes a GP win is just around the corner for the German, and reveals that the rider will ultimately decide whether he remains in MX2 or steps up to the premier class in 2027. He also praises Triumph’s rapid rise in MX2, explains why Adamo’s Lommel performance was more impressive than the results suggest, and opens up about KTM’s future rider plans as the Austrian manufacturer continues to balance ambition with budget realities.
GateDrop: Joel, a very special GP for you, home GP. Simon got on the podium, it wasn’t for the lack of effort. Are you happy with his performance?
Smets: Yes, I am. I even asked him, I said, Simon, are you happy or disappointed? And I’m happy that he was also happy because I think he was putting up a good fight, solid ride, he looked good on the bike. Of course, if you’re close to winning or if you’re at some stage in a winning position, of course, you’re a little bit disappointed. But in general, I think he did a really, really very solid GP.
GateDrop: And before South Africa, you know, he was going through, let’s say, a rocky patch. But South Africa, he was towards his best again. What do you think that’s down to? Did he change anything?
Smets: Yeah, it’s like general in life, it goes with ups and downs. That also goes with racing and not only in racing, in sports in general as well. So yeah, it comes with ups and downs. The only thing that can help you out of the downs is to keep on working and that’s what we did and keep on believing. The potential doesn’t disappear straight away. Okay, you can have a little bit of a bumpy road for a while. But yeah, we are definitely on the right road again. I’m looking forward to the next GP because I’m expecting a win very soon.
GateDrop: Just on MX2, I mean, I know you’re I know that you are Mr. KTM, but I mean, Triumph, it’s their third year in the class and they’ve done an amazing job. You must respect what they’ve done in the sport in such a short time period?
Smets: Yeah, absolutely. For the sport in general, let’s say, we would have loved to be with the red plate, of course. But I think for the sport, it’s not too bad for the general interest of the sport. Motocross is a small world. The team and the brand is only there for three years. But of course, the team has a lot of experience. I think they’ve been working smart for the last three years so respect to them.
GateDrop: With Andrea, I feel like it was a solid day. I think he might have had an off-track excursion in the second one. But apart from that, he was pretty solid. Are you happy with his performance? You know, his first MXGP around Lommel…
Smets: Yes, Andrea has been consistent all year long for me. We can only be happy with Andrea so far. Indeed coming into Lommel was a bit of a question mark for the first time being really racing with the big boys on this heavy sand track. But he did really, really well with P3 already yesterday in qualifying. Of course, there is room for improvement. But after having missed the start and making a mistake in the beginning of the second moto… Well, he did really fast lap times at some stage during the middle of the race, he even had the same lap times as Jeffrey at one stage. He was actually impressed with the second moto. I think, let’s say, his results could have been a bit better today. Actually, I think if he would have believed it a little bit more. I should say that the reason why we moved up to 450cc already is to do races like this and to learn from it and to be stronger next year. This was a perfect learning day with even on top of that a very solid result.
GateDrop: With Andrea, usually, you know, the first year in a class, the results maybe aren’t anything special, let’s say, but the more experience he gets in a class, he improves and improves. For the future, are you thinking, he can win GPs in the future?
Smets: Yeah, how should I say? It’s difficult to say whether a rider at some stage can be a world champion or not. But if you can fight for podiums, you can fight for wins. At the end of the day, you can also fight for championships. So, of course, that’s our final goal. But again, we take it step by step.
GateDrop: On Simon, if he doesn’t win the title this year, he can stay MX2 next year? Is that an option? Or do you think you’ll move up to the 450?
Smets: No, both options are still open and that’s fully up to him. We really leave that choice up to the riders. It was the same with Andrea. If he would have loved to have stayed in MX2, he could have stayed but he decided to move up. In Simon’s case, it’s the same. It’s up to him to decide.
GateDrop: Just thinking about next year, if Simon did move up to the 450, you’d have two 450cc riders. Would you then be open to signing an MX2 rider? Because you’re quite good with the youth riders. It would be quite strange if you didn’t have a 250cc guy, in my opinion…
Smets: Well, that’s also not decided yet. Because, of course, that all comes with budget matters. Of course, it’s not a matter of if you want it or not. We went from eight to six riders, let’s say, within the group, with the three teams, and having two riders each from last year to this year. Nothing is fully decided for next year but theoretically, it should be two, two and two again across the teams. But never say never, it’s a bit too early to talk about that.
