The 2016 season couldn’t have started better for the tall, polite young man from Somerset. Riding for the Rockstar Husqvarna team in the EMX250, he took two race wins at the first round in Valkenswaard just a week after his birthday and led the championship – he was one of the favourites for the title.
Before the second round, his MX2 team-mate Tomas Covington was injured and Mewse was promoted straight into MX2 by the team.
Scoring just one point in the next four rounds, some people questioned if the young Mewse may have been better off winning and gaining experience in EMX but as his results improved he showed he definitely belonged in MX2.
Fast forward to 2017 and it’s been a bit of a rocky road. In 19th place after eight rounds, we sat down with Conrad in Ernee to discuss his season.
Dirt Bike Rider: Conrad, your season hasn’t been as smooth as you would want, tell us about what’s happened so far.
Conrad Mewse: We started the season and it didn’t go to plan, the first few rounds were a bit of a mess really. So we sat down as a team and tried to decide what was best to do. I went home, saw my family and had some time to re-group. I got some really hard riding done but really just had some time with my family.
I came back in Trentino, Italy, and got my first top 10 of the year, which was a massive improvement over the start of the season but not where we wanted to be – we still felt like we had more left.
Then we had Valkenswaard – that was a bit of an annoying weekend. I was in a good position in both motos and crashed out trying a bit too hard and being impatient on the first few laps.
Then Latvia was a great weekend, I had a career best overall and career best race finish, so I was over the moon with that and hopefully, we can continue on with that.
DBR: The first few fly-away races you weren’t riding like we know you’re capable of, then your team manager Jacky Martens put out a press release that you were having some confidence issues and you missed the race in Mexico. Was that just a case of missing your family and living in Belgium or was it the actual riding?
CM: It was difficult. You know what they say, “a happy rider is a good rider”, and I believe that. I’m the type of person that likes to be around my family, spend time with my mum and dad and little sister, then I go to the next race and I’m enjoying myself and enjoying my riding. But it’s been a tough year, it’s a tough class and everyone knows that but we’re just gonna keep working and we’ll get there. Hopefully more top five results.
DBR: In Latvia, you had a great weekend and looked really good on the bike, then you had an injury in practice during the week that meant you had to miss Germany. What happened?
CM: The Tuesday after Latvia I just came up a bit short on a jump and just broke the bottom off my ankle, so it was a bit painful *smiling*.
DBR: You make it sound like it’s not a big deal?
CM: *laughing* It’s pretty painful, but we’re here to do a job and we’re gonna get on with it. I’m looking forward to the racing, and hopefully, it’ll be alright.
DBR: Does the track here suit you?
CM: I’ve never raced here, it’s my first time but it looks like a great track. The preparation and the soil looks like some English tracks when you go in the week, and that’s exactly how I like it. I’m quite a technical rider and I like lots of ruts and bumps and technical sections. I’m looking forward to a great weekend’s racing.
DBR: Looking at the rest of the season, are you just looking to keep improving your results and build some experience for a championship challenge next year?
CM: The championship is forgotten this year, I’m nowhere to be seen in it, and that’s one of the reasons we took Germany off because of my ankle. This year I’m not focused on the championship, I’m just focused on getting good results, getting my confidence up there and next year we can focus on the championship.
DBR: Thanks Conrad, good luck for the rest of the season.
