Liam Everts was hit with a blow before the start of the season after picking up an injury but he made a return at round two in Spain and by round four has already picked up a win. He’s only the second MX2 GP winner this year after Kay de Wolf won the first three rounds.
We caught up with Everts to discuss his win and more. You can watch/listen/read below:
GateDrop: It was a strange, strange GP but you’ll be delighted to come out and maybe not win a moto but you won the big prize and won the overall. After missing round one, to already stand on the top box must feel amazing…
Everts: Yeah, missing round one with the thumb injury wasn’t very easy but I just wanted to work my way back into it slowly and build up. I think that’s exactly what we’re doing right now, we just got to keep the head straight, you know and keep doing what we’re doing.
GateDrop: Two very different moto’s, you didn’t get a great start in the first moto but you ended up third, there was a lot of chaos and then the second moto, you got a good start and once you got in the second, did you just kind of know that the GP was in the bag?
Everts: Yeah, the first moto I really just had a very bad jump, I touched Langenfelder I think and then Elzinga so I was in the middle of it. I think I was around 12-13 and I got two spots for free there at the end and ended up third so I didn’t really didn’t really expect to finish third. For the second moto I went completely on the inside at the gate and just stayed away from all the chaos actually and just did my thing. It took a little bit too long to pass Bonacorsi, I think I had the pace to maybe stay with Simon but then once I had clear air I had a quite an okay rhythm. Obviously I knew I was in a good spot so mentally it was just tough to keep going, you know. I just kept telling myself one more lap, one more lap, one more lap and with sort of 5 minutes to go I kind of relaxed.
GateDrop: What was the track like, I mean when we came here on Friday they put quite a lot of sand on top but it was still very hard there at the end… I thought it was pretty technical although they did do a bit of track prep in between but it still looked pretty technical…
Everts: Like it always is here, I don’t think sketchy is the right word but it’s a difficult track. It’s a very technical track, you know it really sets apart those details and it punishes you if you go too hard and don’t focus. But in my opinion the track has always been like this, you just have to respect that certain line um and just find a way to flow with it.
GateDrop: Obviously picking up the injury just before round one, how much of a blow was that because you guys all work so hard throughout the winter to go to round one and try and not lose the championship at round one so for that to happen it must have been a kick in the teeth, really…
Everts: Yeah at that moment, for sure. But actually for me I got over it quite quickly I just had a talk with myself and just said let’s stay positive and just keep working and do what we can do. Then we’ll go from there and we came back in Spain, I think that went quite well, you know. I had only been on the bike once or twice that week before then struggled but we ended up fifth anyway. We just have to keep our heads you know, every single point counts and it is a long long championship with 20 GP’s. It’s a very long way to go so anything can happen and we’re just going to keep going and keep collecting points.
GateDrop: Just on your winter, what was your winter like? I was speaking to Harry Norton at Hawkstone and he said you’d made a step in winter… Obviously you couldn’t show it at Spain but since returning you’re already showing that you belong at the front…
Everts: I had a very nice winter actually. A lot of my time I spend in Portugal together with Pauls Jonass. You know, just chatting with him, training with him on and off the bike. You know we are quite similar characters so it’s nice to talk about that mental side as well and just basic things in life I guess. We get along very well and I’ve known him since he kind of stepped into MX. My Dad coached him back then so he’s a very cool guy and it was a very nice winter with him.
GATEDROP: I’M GLAD YOU BROUGHT PORTUGAL UP ACTUALLY, ARE YOU LIVING THERE NOW OR JUST SPEND A LOT OF TIME THERE AT A FAMILY HOSE? IS THAT BECAUSE THE WAY MX IS GOING IN BELGIUM?
Everts: Yeah it’s quite a mess actually in Belgium but it’s been going on for quite some years in Belgium. Luckily we still have Lommel which is good. Coming back to your question I spent a lot of time in in Portugal just in the winter time at the family house just for good weather. We have quite some good tracks but during the season I spend my time just at home in Belgium.
GateDrop: In Spain you impressed me as you actually looked to make plenty of early passes. Is that something you have worked on during the off season?
Everts: I just think it kind of comes with experience. The more races you do, the more you start to see and get better at certain things. If you notice like okay I’m missing a bit here, I need to work on that, let’s try and improve it in some way. My dad and I we saw these things and just try and get better.
GateDrop: How closely are you working with your father these days, I know he took a little step back maybe a year or so ago but are you still working closely with him?
Everts: Yeah, sure, sure. I think some weekends are a bit difficult but in general it’s getting better. He’s also working with Pauls and Alberto (at Standing Construct Honda) and that is a very good thing because it takes attention away from me and it’s not only on me.I think that helps him as well.
Interview: Andy McKinstry
Image: Ray Archer
