Having lived in the MX spotlight since turning pro in 2005 there’s probably not all that much you don’t know about Tommy Searle. But during the course of a recent conversation we had with the 27-year-old DRT Kawasaki star we uncovered these three things about him that we’d never heard him speak about before…
If you want to read more about Tommy and the surprising news that he’s taking on the Arenacross Tour then check out the December issue of DBR that stars the recently crowned Maxxis British Motocross Champion on the cover…
#1 My dad had no clue about racing
“My dad never raced a motorbike himself so could offer no guidance to me when I started out. We did it as a family because we enjoyed it but he was just winging it. People used to look at me and say ‘he’s fast but his bike’s absolutely hanging’. I probably had the worst bikes in the pits, not through lack of effort because dad would do everything he could but he just didn’t know what he was doing. He would spend money on an engine and then try tinkering with it and make it worse than a standard one.”
#2 Mental attitude is really important!
“Believing in yourself is as important as fitness and bike skills and there have been times through the years where I have seen a mental coach because I felt that I needed to do that.”
#3 I want to stay in motocross when I stop racing
“I’d like to work with young riders because I enjoy training and helping fast riders. I know what it takes to win and I do have a lot of experience. It would be nice to have an academy where I can show British kids what it takes to win at world level. At the minute I think they’re lacking something and you don’t see anyone coming up that is just smashing it and strong with their heart in it.
“I’ve done it and I know what it takes. I had good guidance and at some point in my career I’d like to take the next group to the top. I was lucky I had good guidance with Jamie who took me on because he obviously saw some potential – he hand picked me and I didn’t go to him. It’ll be nice for me to do the same – but different – with someone else.”
