After an impressive MXGP rookie season back in 2024, expectations were high for Kevin Horgmo coming into the new MXGP campaign with the Honda SR Motoblouz squad. However, the talented Norwegian has endured a frustrating start to the year, battling illness, physical setbacks and the lingering effects of last season’s shoulder injury while trying to establish himself inside one of the deepest MXGP fields in recent memory.
Despite the challenges, Horgmo remains optimistic. Speaking openly about his difficult winter, adapting the bike to suit his riding style, the intense level of MXGP competition and his long-term ambitions, the Honda SR rider offers an honest insight into life as a top-level Grand Prix rider. He also reflects on the current state of Norwegian motocross and why, for him, results and stability matter more than simply securing a coveted factory ride. Interview by Kevin Frelaud.
Kevin, you’re currently 15th in the MXGP World Championship after five rounds, and you’re also part of the leading group in the French Elite MX1 Championship midway through the season. How do you analyse your season so far?
Horgmo: A big disappointment so far. I’ve had a few decent motos, but I started the season with a lot of arm pump during the pre-season races. So I couldn’t begin the year the way I wanted to.
At the start of the MXGP season, I got sick with some kind of flu/cold during the first month. So I couldn’t train properly, and starting the season like that wasn’t great. I also struggled in the French championship, and I think Sardinia was the first race where I felt more or less physically okay, but the lack of sand preparation made the race difficult.
I hadn’t ridden in the sand for a year because of my injury last season and… yeah, it was complicated. Then at Trentino I struggled as well. A lack of intensity, missed starts… the MXGP level this year is very, very high. So if you don’t get good starts, it’s hard to come through the pack.
But I feel my riding is getting better and better. I’m going to use this MXGP break to try and regain more intensity. And here in the French championship, I hope I can get on the podium.
At the start of the season, your team released a rather surprising statement saying you were sick but had chosen not to take medication. Was that a cultural choice? And are you fully recovered now?
Horgmo: [Laughs] I didn’t even know about that. And honestly, I don’t think that’s correct. Because when you’re dealing with a virus, you can’t really take medication. You just have to let your body rest, according to what the doctor recommends. There’s not much more you can do. So I don’t know where that came from to be honest. I was just trying to rest so I could get back in shape. But because I kept racing every weekend, I never really had time to recover properly, so the virus just stayed around.
After every race, I felt completely exhausted the following week. It really slowed down my recovery. But once I finally got rid of it and managed to train for a full week, I really noticed the difference. Actually, I should have had the overall double win at Saint-Jean-d’Angély in the French championship! And I think once the virus naturally disappeared, everything started clicking again. So yes, what you’re telling me surprises me. I never even saw the statement. It’s… weird.
What do you think about the level in MXGP this season? Several rookies arrived this year, including three former world champions.
Horgmo: I think it’s really cool. I really like that MXGP has become the real centre of attention. I feel like everyone now sees MXGP as the main category. Everybody wants to race there and perform there. And I want to prove my worth there as well. Right now, my results aren’t really helping me. But it’s interesting because you can finish 15th or 8th depending on your start and your opening laps. It’s very difficult, but at the same time it’s a huge challenge. I’m ready to take it on, and hopefully improve throughout the season.
What’s the dynamic like in the team between you and Thibaut? You were already training together last year, but you were in different categories and different teams. Now you’re direct teammates. Does that change anything?
Horgmo: No, not really, because I’ve always had competitive teammates in the past. So it’s more or less the same thing. I’ve known Thibaut for a while now, so it’s easy to work with him. Together, we thought we could move the bike in a good direction over the winter, but we discovered that he and I actually have very different riding styles. Maybe I even went a little in the wrong direction because of that this winter. At every race, it feels like we tried different parts and different settings, and in the end I went back to the settings I had last year, which work much better for me.
Sometimes you follow your teammate’s feeling because it works for him in practice, and it also worked for me in practice… But in racing, it was different. We have two very different styles, and we approach racing differently as well. I like a lively bike that’s easy to ride, very responsive, and that allows me to play with the clutch and throttle. He prefers a shorter, more aggressive bike, but at the same time he rides a gear higher everywhere. We have two different approaches, but at least now we understand that! And we’re still early in the season, so now we’re heading in the right direction.
Last year, your contract extension with Honda SR was announced very early. Some people thought you could target a factory ride. Then you got injured. Looking back, staying with the team seems like it was the right choice?
Horgmo: Yes, definitely. I absolutely don’t regret that decision. I know the structure, and it’s really excellent. Maybe I even regret not signing for two years to secure more stability. It’s a team where everyone works in the same direction. Even with my difficult results this year, they’ve always stood behind me. And I can see that when I ride well, they’re happy no matter the result. Of course everyone wants results, but they also see the progress. The level is extremely high this year, so we just have to keep working.
Obviously, being part of a factory team is a dream, but being the second or third rider in the team that nobody really cares about isn’t exactly what I want. Here, I know the bike, I know the structure, and I can go back to settings that work whenever I want. Whereas changing team or manufacturer would mean starting from zero again.
My shoulder injury may also have had a bigger impact than expected. In practice everything feels fine, but racing is different. Mentally, I might also be a little tighter and more cautious now. I still need to regain race rhythm. Hopefully that changes after the break.
For many riders, becoming a factory rider is the ultimate goal. But listening to you, that doesn’t really seem to be the case?
Horgmo: No, my main goal is to get results and reward the work of the team. Of course, ever since I was a little kid, my dream was to make a living from motocross, and today I’m doing that, so I’m already living that dream.
But goals evolve. Now, maybe the dream evolves into getting a factory contract, yes, but what really matters are the results. If I brought my current results into a factory team, I’d get my knuckles wrapped and the bosses wouldn’t be happy. And the pressure there is huge.
There’s pressure at Honda SR too, but it’s different. Right now, our private structure is improving massively. It’s almost unrecognisable compared to my first year with Josse — the team has really progressed. Honda also gives us good budget support. What we mainly lack is sand training, honestly, because in the south of France there aren’t many sand tracks. But we’ll manage.
You’re now the only Norwegian rider in MXGP. Fredriksen no longer races GPs, Tøndel moved to the USA. There’s still Pelle Gundersen in MX2, but there are no Norwegians in EMX125 or EMX250. It seems difficult to come through the ranks from Norway, doesn’t it?
Horgmo: When I was younger, coming from Norway was a bit like coming from Australia today. You had to leave your country — you couldn’t stay in Norway and perform on the European scene at the same time.
Today it’s a bit different because the winters are shorter back home, and young riders ride more in Norway now. When I was young, you had to be based in Belgium during that part of the year.
There are some talents, but they need time. There are a few youngsters coming through in the 85cc class; hopefully they can reach the top level. Pelle is there in MX2, and Tøndel and Fredriksen still have the level to run at the front. We should have a strong Motocross of Nations team in the future.
Well… that’s what we’ve been saying for years without really making it happen, because there are often injuries or an imbalance in rider level: we manage to line up two top riders, but the third is a little slower and only aiming to qualify. So the overall motivation suffers a bit. But if we can line up three riders capable of fighting for the top 10, then the story will be very different.
