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Kurt’s Confessions

This week’s Torq Moto Podcast Show driven by Talon sees yet another big hitter of 80’s and 90’s British motocross joining US - DocWob and ‘Jeffro’ Perrett. Kurt Nicoll calls into Torq Moto HQ for a candid chat on his brilliant MX career, with this being the first of a two-part interview. 

Nicoll’s MX racing career has been a fascinating one, and he’s still very much involved with the sport. Now residing in California running his ‘Champion MX California Vacations’ business to great effect offering dirt bike experiences on some iconic tracks. In this first episode the trio go back to the very beginning and discuss how Nicoll got started in the sport, which was always likely to happen with his dad Dave being a MXGP racer. He talks about how he found himself on a 500cc bike at an early age and never really looked back. Something he doesn’t like to do too much, but in this case, we prompted him and it was a bit of an eye opener! 

There’s several moments like that during the interview that he really opens up on his career and you’ll get to see the real Kurt Nicoll and not the one that was 'there for business’ back in the day as he puts it. From coming back from a badly broken leg that nearly finished his career before it really had a chance to flourish to discussing those ‘Bridesmaid’ moments where he came so close to winning that elusive world title multiple times and his healthy rivalry with Dave Thorpe.

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‘‘The Fish’ is back on the Hook!

Following on from the first episode of the Rob Herring interview on the Torq Moto Podcast Show driven by Talon, ’the Fish’ is back and continues the chat with hosts ‘Jeffro’ Perrett and DocWob on his awesome motocross career.

In this episode, the trio discusses the later part of Rob’s hugely successful MX racing life, how it all came to an end for him, and how he’s kept his eye on riding motorcycles for his day job. It’s all interesting stuff, yet again Herring talks calmly and openly through it all with genuine affection, not only on his racing years but also on the names he reminisces and his love for the sport.

There’s also the announcement of his plans to return to racing this year at the VMXDN Foxhill and, what bike he’s considering riding and how he’ll prepare. Even to the point of what race kit he has in mind for the much-anticipated race on August Bank holiday weekend, where he took a race victory at the very first GP there as discussed in episode one. He has well and truly got the racing bug again and will also be riding at Farleigh Castle Vets MX in September.

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Grab your tickets to VMXdN Foxhill here
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vmxdn-foxhill-2024-tickets-753835631667

or for Farleigh Castle Vets MX
https://my.weezevent.com/farleigh-castle-vets-mx

or join us for both!

Use the code Torq15 to get 15% off at Talon

Photo Credit - Martyn Petts

King David ‘Torq’s Moto’

The Torq Moto Podcast Show driven by Talon welcomes three-time 500cc World and multiple British champion David Thorpe as this week’s guest. With so much to talk about with hosts ‘Jeffro’ Perrett and Doc Wob on his amazing career and his opinions on the here and now of motocross this will be the first instalment of two for the Dave Thorpe interview. No doubt about it, Thorpe is the ‘King’ of UK motocross royalty as Great Britain’s most successful rider on the world stage and here in the first episode he talks about the journey to the very top and that first world 500cc crown back in 1985. The trio discuss the early years of his career and how it all started as young kid living in Surrey and the influence of his parents, particularly his father Keith who was his mechanic for virtually all of his racing career. ‘DT’ talks about the finer details of his youth and amateur career that feature in his recently released book 'No Regrets…. well almost’ and the decision to focus on motocross instead of football that set him on the way as a motocross icon and those epic and glory days of 500cc World championship motocross in the eighties. All the good stuff on his career up to the end of 1985 is here, from his time racing for Honda with dispensation to race the AMCA at 15, through to his first stint with Kawasaki and working with Alex Wright before going back to Honda and signing with HRC and the pressures and expectation that came with that. Dave talks openly about potentially losing his HRC factory ride in the latter part of 1984 before turning it around in style by winning the last six races of the season, starting with a 1-1 victory at the British GP at Hawkstone Park that ultimately secured his ride with Honda and gave him the platform to go on to win his three world titles and repay their faith in him. Episode one of the ‘Dave Thorpe’ Interview on the

Torq Moto Podcast Show driven by Talon is available on Apple and Spotify and will be aired on the Torq Moto YouTube channel this Thursday at ????.

Episode two picks up Dave’s career from the beginning of 1986 with the target of that #1 on his back to his thoughts on current-day motocross and his role with Honda which will drop next month.  

The latest episode of the ‘Torq Moto’ Podcast Show, driven by Talon welcomes former 125cc and 250cc Motocross World Champion Sebastien Tortelli to flight case sofas to chat with us about his illustrious MX racing career and where he finds himself now as Stark Future’s race director.

We grabbed Seb in his busy schedule for a catch-up during the Arenacross UK tour and dived straight into the thick of it to look back on Tortelli’s MX career and find out more about his new role at Stark Future. Tortelli looks back fondly on how it all started for him on his parents’ farm in the south of France and how he was driven to be win from a young age. He also speaks affectionally about the French MX Federation and his mentor, Jacky Vimond.

The conversation leads on to those epic battles in MXGP motocross in the 125cc class with the likes of Paul Malin before the heady days of the titanic battles he had in the 250cc class and with Stefan Everts for the 1998 world title.

Of course, we couldn’t let him leave the sofa without talking about his time racing in America and his incredible debut in AMA Supercross, winning in L.A Coliseum and lapping most of the established American stars in the rain.

He also opens up on some regrets and why his time in America didn’t go as well as he would’ve liked and how he was close to walking away from the sport until a call out of the blue saw him ending up being Start Future’s race director.

No doubt about it, Seb Tortelli is one of the coolest of cats in the world motocross and you can hear his take on his career, the plans for Stark Racing, modern-day riders and where he feels the sport is at.

Arenacross UK head honcho Matt Bates joins us on the sofa talking candidly about all things Motocross. We caught up with Matt at round seven of the current Arenacross UK tour before for the tour reaches its climax at Wembley on February 24th. 

 

With the Birmingham AX track still being built in the background we discuss how Matt got into motocross even though he lived in the urban sprawl of central London and how a successful first few years saw him land a ride on Team Green before moving up to the pro ranks. A transition he now admits to being harder than he gave it credit for and how ultimately one crash too many found him facing inner demons that cut his pro racing career short and steered him into MX race team management. After a several years of fronting up Team Green UK and then Suzuki GB’s off-road program Matt explains how one day at Foxhill made him realise he wanted to go in the different direction of event management, and the rest as they say, is history. Since then, Matt and his team have laid on a host of different events within the motorcycle industry and plenty more outside of it working with big name brands such as Red Bull and recognised national events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Naturally also on the agenda of discussion is the ten years of running and promoting Arenacross. How it started and his contempt for a former Supercross promoter, where it’s currently at and how it sits with riders, fans, and the industry. Matt also discusses where he sees it going, especially with the growing interest in electric dirt bikes and how it will affect the sport and his vision on future off road motorcycling events. All interesting stuff with no holds barred from a man who tries to stay off social media for that very reason! 

All roads led to Wembley on February 24th for the final round of the Arenacross UK tour, there will be great racing, double points and titles crowned, grab your tickets now – https://bolesworth.com/arenacross/