Tom Vialle continued his impressive adaptation to the 450cc class at the MXGP of the Netherlands in Arnhem, bouncing back from a difficult opening day to secure another podium finish. The HRC Honda rider admitted he struggled to find his rhythm in Saturday’s conditions, but made significant progress throughout Sunday and ultimately finished among the front-runners alongside Jeffrey Herlings and Kay de Wolf. With three podiums from the last four rounds, Vialle’s rookie 450cc season continues to go from strength to strength.
Following the race, we caught up with Vialle to discuss his turnaround from Saturday to Sunday, the unique and sketchy Arnhem track, finding the limit on the 450cc, having Chase Sexton in his corner, and his impressive run of form as he continues to learn in the premier class.
GateDrop: Tom, your whole career you’ve proved that you’re a really quick learner and I feel like you proved that this weekend. Yesterday probably pretty rusty, racing conditions like that, but today a completely different Tom Vialle. You must have been happy with the turnaround?
Vialle: Yes, it was quite tough yesterday, the way I started the weekend, especially in timed practice but today was a lot better than yesterday. I was improving in each session. You know it was also my first time in Arnhem on the 450cc, it’s not an easy track, let’s be honest. It is sketchy, but today both Jeffrey and Kay were faster, but me and Tim, we had a big gap to the next guy. We were riding good with a really good flow, so I’m really happy about the day.
GateDrop: Did you change anything on the bike from day one, or was it more just a mental thing and getting used to it, and if you did, what did you change?
Vialle: I think like you said, I got used to it, so the track got better today, and I made some little changes, but nothing to crazy.
GateDrop: And I mean, what was your thoughts on the track? Obviously Lommel, everyone knows the bumps are really, really big, but here, there’s not much flow around the pace, and it’s quite sketchy…
Vialle: No, not much flow, and it’s quite sketchy. Like you said, it’s really two different types of tracks. Lommel is way deeper with big waves but today it’s a lot more sketchy, I would say, underneath it is hard, and soft on top, so it’s really different.
GateDrop: Yesterday, you probably didn’t enjoy it too much, but by the end of today, did you start to have fun and actually enjoy it out there?
Vialle: Yeah, fun… I actually had some fun. The track was more flowy compared to yesterday. I could jump, and I had some fun, like some sections were really cool, some were a little bit more sketchy, you have to know where to push or not but I had fun.
GateDrop: And Chase, you’ve got him with you this weekend? What’s it been like having him in your corner, and to get to see him again, it’s been a long time?
Vialle: Yeah, actually, I mean, I’m not happy that he’s here, of course, because he got the knee injury. But I reached out to him and said maybe you can come to watch in Arnhem, because you can come and watch the GP. He can then see a little bit of Belgium and Holland. Next week I’m going to France for a couple of days so I told him that he could see both Holland and France in one week,. It would say never happen usually, so you can see the GP, and then next week we go a little bit to France, so you can see that. I think it’s cool for him, he got operated on the knee, so also change his mind a little bit before he’s going back to training and racing Supercross in the winter. I think it’s cool, I’m happy that he was there. Also for him to see a GP, I think it was the first time that he came to watch a GP in Europe so I think it was fun.
GateDrop: Obviously you are still a rookie on the 450cc, in terms of finding the limit on the 450cc, is that quite difficult?
Vialle: It is. Riding 100% on the 450cc is tough, I feel like once you find a good flow, it is pretty nice, but that flow is just hard to get. I feel like I’ve been doing good, I’ve been on the podium the last four races three times so it’s been good so far.
GateDrop: Just a word on Jeffrey and Kay, I mean, unbelievable pace out there!
Vialle: I actually think I did two or three laps in front of them, so I think I’m the only one that did some laps in front of them. Like you said, they’re born in the sand and they just ride super good. But not much to say to be honest, not much to say.
GateDrop: In a way, is it good that they’re so fast, because you know if you want to be world champion, you’ve probably still got a little bit of work to do in the sand, so is that good motivation for over winter?
Vialle: I mean, yes and no. Of course you always want to get better but my goal in the sand, is not to win. With Jeffrey, I mean, no one ever beats him in the sand. Lucas did, but Riola is a different type of sand, guys like Romain, Tim and he is a five times world champion. We’ve all been strong in the sand, let’s say, so it’s possible. But the goal for me this year was to be strong in the sand in the top five, you know. Today, I was in the top five and on the podium again so the goal was achieved today.
