Interview: Marcel Stauffer discusses his deal with WZ KTM Racing
Coming into the season, one rider that has been away from the GP paddock for the past couple of years is talented Austrian, Marcel Stauffer but he did have success elsewhere winning the ADAC Youngsters Cup title.
This year, Stauffer is back in the GP paddock racing the EMX250 series and started the season with the Sturm KTM team but the WZ KTM team have decided to snap him up for the rest of the season after Oriol Oliver broke his feet and it remains to be seen how long he’ll be out of action for.
It’s a great opportunity for Stauffer to have the backing of a good team behind him and he’ll also be back on a four-stroke. We caught up with him to discuss his opportunity…
On his opportunity with the WZ KTM team and adapting back to a four-stroke…
The WZ Team owner called me last week that he is searching for a fill in rider. I knew I needed to take this chance and get in this structure! I did everything myself before, so it will get a lot easier for me now. After one year on the two-stroke it’s quite a challenge (adapting back to the four-stroke) but I’m sure after more days on the new bike I’ll feel as comfortable as before.
On his start of the season and goals for the rest of the season…
This season I started badly. In Mantova was everything other than easy for me, but that’s another story. My goal is to be a consistent top five rider in the EMX250 series and see the box every now and then. With the new given opportunities everything is possible.
On his WZ KTM debut at the Dutch Masters at Oldebroek…
We used the race as a test for me. I was surprised how competitive I was after just one day on the new bike. First race I stalled in lap one (a typical two-stroke mistake laughs) then I came from seventeenth to sixth which I was happy with. In the second moto I had a good start and fought for the top positions but I realized that I couldn’t hold the speed over the full thirty mins, so I bagged off a bit. With four or five laps to go I made a small mistake and got off balance. I hit a stamp, went down and broke the bike, which cost me a better overall result but we can built from here.
I want to thank WZ racing for offering me this opportunity, Sturm racing for helping me this year and especially my family, for giving their all, any time every time.
Article: Andy McKinstry
