It’s set to be a big year for Mikkel Haarup as he has signed a deal with new a brand in the sport – Triumph. Singing with a new brand can always be deemed risky but the talented Dane has had two races on the bike during pre-season and so far looks great.
What makes 2024 even more important for Haarup is that it is his last year racing the MX2 World Championship before he needs to take the next step to MXGP so he needs to perform.
Kevin Frelaud from Dailymotocross.fr caught up with Haarup at the Sommières International and was kind enough to send us the interview across.
Mikkel, it was a good day for you, with two solid heats, battling it out for the win with Liam and Thibault. I didn’t really see what happened in the Superfinal, which was a bit more complicated. How would you sum up the Sommières International?
As you say, we had a good fight with Liam and Thibault. The bike worked really well and I can’t thank the Monster Energy Triumph team enough for all their hard work. In the first heat, I got off to a decent start and battled throughout the heat with Thibault Benistant for second place. In the second heat, we battled again for first place. It was really tight right up to the last corner for the win, and I think he beat me by a few hundredths of a second. We had some really good races. In the Superfinal, I got off to a good start around 6th place in the first corner. Unfortunately, a rider fell just in front of me in the second corner and we all got a bit stuck there. I thought I’d hold off for the rest of the heat, even though Liam came back as well, and we battled it out again. No stress, it’s only an off-season race, but I really enjoyed myself, especially in the MX2 heats.
It’s a very French layout, with lots of gradients, deep ruts and big jumps. What did you think of the Sommières course?
I loved it. I’d say it’s not really the type of terrain I’m most comfortable on. I feel a bit better on the more flowing tracks, but if you take into account the work we’ve done over the winter, I think we’ve improved a lot on this type of terrain. For me, it’s really positive and I can’t complain. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, there were people everywhere, it was really cool.
And that big step-up at the back of the circuit? It didn’t look so easy, especially in 250cc.
That’s for sure. On the 250cc, you really had to get out of the previous corner and pull really hard on the handlebars in the call. My bike worked really well and I was able to do that pretty much all day. I had to give up on jumping it a few times in the second heat and in the Superfinal, but when it went, it went well!
We’re going to talk about 2024, but some people are probably wondering what happened to you in 2023. You changed teams twice, it was hard to keep track of your season and we didn’t see you at the end of the year. What happened to you?
I started the season with Steve Dixon, as planned because I had a contract with them. There were a few complications and so I had to change teams quite early in the season. We had to finish the season [with WZ KTM], everything was going well and I got injured in Indonesia. From there, I took the time to recover properly because I knew I was going to ride for Monster Energy Triumph this year. I made sure I came back having fully recovered from my injury, so I could fight for the new season.
What’s your state of mind before the grand prix season opens? This will be your last year in MX2, and I imagine it’s all the more important for you.
The aim is to do exactly what we’re doing at the moment. I think we’re very competitive with the Triumph at the moment, whether it’s in terms of starts, during the moto’s, we’re also consistent. That’s exactly what we want to be able to do this year in the World Championship. That’s also why we’re doing these off-season races, to get ready for Argentina. The pace I showed today shows that we’re very competitive, and that we’ll be in the running for the world champion’s title.
What’s it like working with Clément Desalle? He had an excellent MXGP career, and we know he was a very hard worker.
I’m really enjoying working with Clément. His job is mainly to test the bike, and he’s already done a great job in that respect. From now on, he’ll be helping us with everything to do with the races, up close and personal, giving us advice on trajectories and doing the little things for us that we don’t necessarily have the time to do. There’s no one better placed to take on this role than Clément, because, as you said, he has all the experience of racing. He’s a highly respected rider and it’s good to be able to work with him.
Between the first day you rode the Triumph and today, what has changed on this bike?
Quite frankly, we haven’t changed a thing. And that’s what’s so cool about it. We started with the base bike that was available after testing, and from there we made a few small changes, including one to the suspension. The bike is more or less the same as on the first day. The bike didn’t need a lot of changes to perform well and I think that’s one of the strengths of this bike, it’s very complete, well balanced and it’s really easy to set up.
On a more personal note, did you make any major changes to your program in the off-season?
Yes, I’ve hired a new coach, a South African: Russell White. I work with his son too. We’ve been working together since my injury last year, since June. It’s going well and I think it shows; I feel good on the bike and physically. I can’t complain!
What are the expectations for the 2024 season?
Fighting for victories, that’s a certainty. We’ll take one race at a time, that’s for sure, but we want to fight for the wins.
I saw you talking to Romain Febvre just before the start of the superfinal. What did you ask him?
Oh, we just chatted a bit. In fact, I stole his race mechanic this season [laughs]. Romain’s a really nice guy, so we chatted a bit. We’re in two different categories and Romain is an MXGP world champion. He’s very experienced, he’s been fighting for the world championship title every season for the last ten years or so. We had a great time before the start of the superfinal!
Is there an option for you at Triumph in 2025, for the MXGP category?
For the moment, we haven’t talked about it. From what I’ve heard, they’re planning a 450 program in 2025, but I don’t know yet.
From here to Argentina, what will you do?
We’re staying in France as we’ll be riding at Lacapelle Marival next weekend. We’ll be staying in the area before making a detour to Spain for a week, and then flying off to Argentina to kick off the World Cup season!
Interview and images: Kevin Frelaud/Dailymotocross.fr
