Adam Sterry has experienced both the highs and lows of being a professional motocross racer in the last couple of years.
After finishing third in the EMX250 championship in 2014 and ’15 he signed for the STR KTM team for 2016, racing in MX2 and winning the MX2 Maxxis British championship. Despite having a two-year contract, when the team folded at the end of ’16 Sterry was without a ride.
The newly crowned British Champion was soon picked up by CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki MX2 on a three-year contract that should have seem him finish his MX2 career in green.
2017 started slowly as Sterry struggled at the fly-away grand prix but just as things were looking up, a clash in Valkenswaard left him with a damaged knee and out for the season, and it appears that lightning may have struck twice as paddock rumours suggest his CLS Kawasaki team will be folding at the end of the season.
We bumped into Adam walking around at the Belgium MXGP and got the inside story about his switch to Kawasaki, his injury and his future.
DBR: Adam, I just want to start by asking about the start of the season. After three years on KTM was it difficult adapting to the Kawasaki?
Adam Sterry:No, at the start it was good, I really liked the new Kawasaki. Obviously, there was a lot of development to do because it was a brand new bike. The team was also moving workshop so that was busy. I loved the handling of the bike – that was really nice.
At the beginning of the season we struggled a bit with starting on the metal gate, and I had a few niggling injuries like I had a burn on my hand so I wasn’t able to ride in the week, then every time I rode at the weekend it re-opened again so I was struggling to hold on with my left hand.
Just as we started to patch everything together, I was over the injury and we figured out the starts, we went to Valkenswaard and I injured my knee.
DBR: How did it happen, you didn’t crash?
AS:In the first race I just clipped Calvin Vlaanderen’s back wheel and dabbed my foot on the floor
DBR: You ended up with a pretty serious injury?
AS: I ended up with a full ACL rupture, both meniscus and a micro fracture which is when the 2 bones hit each other and it dents one of the bones.
DBR:Did you have surgery straight away? How is your recovery going?
AS:It’s just over three months since I did it. I had to wait a few weeks before they would operate on it because it was so. Now I’m doing physio every day, doing all my exercises to make it strong. I’m with Harris and Ross in Manchester, they’re a physio and rehab company and they helped me with the operation and the rehab side of things. I travel up most days and do physio, exercises, hydrotherapy in the pool, and also in the oxygen chamber. If I’m not there I do my stuff at home.
DBR: I understand your deal with CLS Kawasaki has ended and you’ve been released by the team. There are also rumours in the paddock that the team is folding. Can you tell us what’s happening?
AS:I can’t speak on the team’s behalf because I don’t know what they’re doing next year, but I have been released by the team so I’m looking for a new team for next year. We’ve been speaking to a few people but I haven’t agreed anything yet but hopefully we’ll get something sorted out soon.
DBR: What are you hoping to do next year, MX2 and British championships?
AS.I’m only 20-years-old so I’ve got two years left in MX2, so definitely in MX2 Grand prix. I’d like to do the British Championships again but I don’t mind if it’s not possible.
