Interview: Kay de Wolf on his EMX125 debut – unbelievable


Making the step from the 85cc to the 125cc can be a tricky transition for some riders but young Dutch sensation, Kay de Wolf has had no such problems adapting to more horsepower.

There’s no secret that de Wolf has a lot of talent, anyone that’s watched him ride over the last few season’s will have been very impressed by his speed. However, being so good at such a young age puts a lot of pressure on younger riders, especially when they start racing in the GP paddock.

De Wolf made his EMX125 debut last weekend at Valkenswaard and showed no signs of pressure and looked fantastic on his Rockstar Husqvarna.

We caught up with the young, friendly Dutch rider to discuss his weekend and much more.

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Gatedrop: Kay, we’ve had the first round of the EMX125 championship, you had a great debut in the series and even led the second moto. You must be happy with your weekend?

Kay de Wolf: For sure, it was my debut here in Valkenswaard. The first heat I got quite a good start. I rode the whole race in P4 I think or something like that. I rode my own race and did what I could. I treated the second heat as a completely new chance and I got the holeshot. I had a nice flow with good speed. Two laps before the end, I made a small mistake which let Guyon get passed me for the lead.  I was still able to follow him but he was a little bit quicker. At the finish line I came so short with him and it was a good battle with him. Thanks to all my team and to everyone that supports me.

Gatedrop: Coming into this weekend what did you really expect – did you expect to show podium speed already?

Kay de Wolf: This weekend I completely didn’t expect it. I just came here, during the last few weeks I didn’t get nervous or anything like that. I expected nothing, just to do a good race and do my best, that was all I expected. Then in the first heat I was P5 then P2 in the second heat. It’s unbelievable.

Gatedrop: Being Dutch I assumed you’d have raced Valkenswaard before but you haven’t so it’s not like you had much of an advantage..

Kay de Wolf: Well, I’ve rode it a little bit, sometimes I trained here on the 85cc but I didn’t ride here yet with the 125cc. It’s completely different with the 125cc because you have way more power and also with the step down, it was really difficult to jump it. It’s so difficult to do it perfect every single lap. I did the best that I can do, it was a good weekend for me.

De Wolf showed immense corner speed at Valkenswaard on his EMX125 debut. Pic: Niek Kamper

Gatedrop: How’s everything going with the Rockstar Husqvarna team and having the opportunity to work with guys like Rasmus Jørgensen and Jacky Martens?

Kay de Wolf: For sure. They already have a lot of experience and that’s also helped quite a lot because with stuff like the sighting lap for example, they already know what to do. That has helped me a lot.

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Gatedrop: Also seeing how hard Thomas Kjer Olsen and Jed Beaton work must be a good insight into the future?

Kay de Wolf: It’s good to work with them because they work really hard for it and be the best. Thomas is working hard for his red plate, he did a good off season which has paid off with the red plate. Jed had a hard season last year with his leg problems at Matterley Basin but he’s a mentally strong person. He will keep fighting and fighting, he’s really strong in his mind.

Gatedrop: Leading the second moto in front of your home crowd, would you say it’s the biggest race of your career so far in terms of the biggest stage? What was the home support like also?

Kay de Wolf:  You get a lot of energy when the people are supporting you and it helps you a lot in the race. I’m really happy with it and I also want to say thanks to all the fans who’ve been supporting me.

Gatedrop: What are your expectations for the rest of the season, have they maybe changed now because you’ve been so good at round one?

Kay de Wolf: I don’t know about the hard pack yet and what the other riders are like on it. We will see in Arco and I think there’s only one more sand race, I’m not sure yet but that’s Lommel which is really close to my home – fifteen minutes, the same as this track. I’ve rode there also a lot in the off season and at RedSand we stayed there for two months as well as Lommel. I’m just looking forward to next weekend and to the next sand GP’s because I like sand a little bit more than hard pack. I’ve grew up in the sand.

Gatedrop: How have you been feeling on hard pack on the 125cc?

Kay de Wolf: Not that bad because when we went to RedSand they also have a hard pack track and other local tracks in Spain. We trained a lot on hard pack there and I am getting better and better on hard pack. I’m feeling stronger and stronger on it.

Interview: Andy McKinstry

Pics: Niek Kamper