Josh Varize spoke to is about his battles and experience at the MXoN in Ernee that saw him take a fighting fifth in the B final for team Guam – and he was still full of adrenalin when we spoke to him not long after the race!
Watch or read below:
Josh, a mad weekend for you, you rode hard all weekend, can you sum up your weekend and that mad B final?
Yeah, my weekend was fun. It was a great experience here in Europe. I have never flown overseas from America. It was really fun, the racing we’ve had some issues. Saturday, practice was good for all three of us Guam riders. First race Grant Harlan, our MXGP rider, had a pretty bad crash, a bike was down on the table-top jump, he hit and went flying, he ended up getting injured.
My and Sean had decent qualifying races, not where I knew I could be, I had a really bad start and worked my way up to 16th. Sean ended up 19th in his race, so we ended up 24th and in the B final. We got here early, did our warm-up and did our race, I got a really good jump out of the gate, thought I had a really good start but then once everyone squeezes in there it’s pretty sketchy!
I came out decent, I think I was fifth and ended up sliding out after the triple step-up, I got back up as quickly as I could and made a couple more passes and came back to I think sixth place (actually fifth then fourth with a Swedish penalty).
I didn’t even know it was the last lap, so I am glad I made that pass right when I did, stoked with it, ready to go home and get back to work.
How did you find the whole event, the riders in MX2?
Last year I raced the MXoN at Red Bud, it’s kind of similar I would say. I’m a top 15 guy in America and top 15 guy here too. I know I could be a lot better, my starts weren’t that great. The motos were pretty short, the B final being 20 minutes and the qualifying race 20 minutes, I could have kept going for another 20! I am stoked how it went and thanks to everyone for making it happen.
How did you find the noise of the fans and this track?
The fans are nuts here in Europe. We got here at 7.30 in the morning and I still heard chainsaws and craziness going on! The fans are gnarly, yesterday I heard them the whole race, today not so much, I think they were saving their energy for for the the A races.
Just on your US season, how do you some that up and what are your plans for 2024?
My season in America did not go good this year, I had a lot of injuries. I am hoping to go back next year, get some work done and show everyone where I can be.
Will you take much time off before testing supercross?
Yeah, I will take a little break and then the plan is to go out and race Paris supercross then fly back, it will be fun!
