Interview: Jonny Walker “We are making it work as I am having fun.”

British Extreme Enduro ace Jonny Walker has had a tough time of it with injury over the last couple of years, but he came back with a vengeance late this year by winning the AMA EnduroCross Championship at the first attempt, and finishing second in the opening round of the 2023 SuperEnduro Championship in Poland a few weeks back.

Feature Image courtesy of SuperEnduro – Other images courtesy of AMA EnduroCross – Jack Jaxson

We caught up with Jonny to find out more about his recovery, his EnduroCross title, the first round of SuperEnduro, being a privateer and his plans for the future…

Dirt Hub: Hey Jonny, First up, massive congrats on winning the AMA Endurocross Championship. After your injury issues over the past couple of years, you must be stoked about this?

Jonny: I was super happy to win the championship. Obviously, this year I had my ACL surgery which has been bothering me for 3 or 4 years anyways, so to get that done was a relief, but then my shoulder was taking a lot of time, and it’s still not perfect now, so yeah I have had a lot of injuries through my career so to come back, go to America and win at my first attempt there was amazing, and I am super grateful for everything.

DH: You came good towards the end of the series, stealing it on the last round. after the early rounds it seemed you were out of contention, did that take the pressure off?

Jonny: Yeah I was a bit of a slow starter to the season, only because it was so last minute to go. I wanted to go but by the time I had recovered from my injuries, I only gave myself about four months from my ACL surgery to the day I flew. I only did three little days on my bike before I flew, so then I got to America, we built the bikes, and I did like two days but still no motos as I was still a bit nervous about how everything would be. So I literally did five days on the bike before the first round. To be honest I felt good on the bike straight away so that wasn’t the issue. We just had a few mechanical issues basically in all three races on the first night, so then after that, we learnt. And yeah I won the second round and just got more confident, really, having so long off of the bike, you lose your confidence.

DH: How are the EnduroCross fans in the US? How has it gone down that a British racer won the title?

Jonny: The fans were awesome, and also the riders. All of the other riders were super happy to have a European come over and race as they obviously haven’t for a few years, and it helps build the championship because the championship is not as big as the SuperEnduro is over here. There was not a sold-out arena, whereas we have just raced in Poland, and there was like a 14 or 15 thousand sold-out stadium, whereas there you would be lucky if you got five thousand. But the tracks were unreal, the whole vibe was good, and obviously, it was an AMA championship, so all of the brands are trying to push to win. So yeah, it was cool.

DH: Winning the EnduroCross title must have given you a confidence boost ahead of SuperEnduro?

Jonny: Yeah, it has definitely been good to race over there and to come back over here, as I was kinda of ahead of Billy on the riding front as he has been injured, but I am still only riding one to two days a week maximum, just because my body is struggling with everything. and because I came back so soon. I am not saying it’s not properly healed, but I get a lot of inflammation and stuff like that, so I can’t do everything I want to do.

So in the US, I did one or two days a week and the rest was kind of Gym work, but more rest than anything. And then when I flew back from America, I had three weeks to build my bikes, because I don’t have a mechanic. I do everything on my own, so I flew back, and I was ill, so I had to go to hospital as I had a sort of chest infection. So I didn’t really ride too much. I generally only rode one day and that was the Tuesday before Poland, but as long as I got my bikes built and all of the spares, then I was kinda of happy, as I knew I had just come off of the EnduroCross season so I didn’t need to ride too much.

DH: How has the move to Beta been for you, and how does the setup compare to KTM?

Jonny: The move from KTM to Beta has been good, I have enjoyed it, but it’s definitely been hard, obviously, as I am not factory. So I get help off them but not like doing tests or anything. My suspension is what they gave me when I signed to ride their bikes two years ago that I am racing EnduroCross and SuperEnduro on, and I think it’s Stevie Holcombe’s settings from World Enduro, and that is all we have done. The engines are what I have been basically racing outdoors, so we are on a totally different level to what I was on before, but it is working. We are making it work as I am having fun, and that’s the main thing, I am not complaining, I am happy to be at the races and all is good.

DH: You made a great start to your SuperEnduro campaign in Poland, you must be happy with that?

Jonny: Second in Poland! I am happy with that. I have only been on the bike once in three weeks, and I have been ill. Happy to be second to Billy; he is obviously on another level. I can appreciate that: massive respect for him. I have to just try to work to make something happen at the next few rounds, where I feel like I can be closer.

In Poland I knew where I was going to be at, so it was basically staying injury free. I think it’s the first time I have ever been on the podium in Poland as I am usually really shit on that track because of the dirt, so to come out second is good and strong. But I am looking forward to Germany, it’s a different track there, but Billy is going to be good whatever track we ride, and he is going to be the one for the championship this year for sure, so if we can get some wins I will be happy.

DH: What are your plans for 2023?  Will we be seeing you race in the UK next year?

Jonny: I honestly don’t think so, just because living in Andora it’s difficult with the travel, and I am actually cutting my race schedule down. I am pretty much only racing SuperEnduro and EnduroCross. I might race Erzberg and maybe Aberstone, but that will be pretty much it for the outdoors, just because of my body.

I have had operations on both shoulders, both elbows, my left wrist, my right hand, my knee, and I have broke my leg. I have quite a lot of injuries, and because I have to drive to everything myself… work on my own bikes, it’s just an absolute mission, so I am probably going to cut back, do a couple of outdoor races and concentrate more on the SuperEnduro.

The main plan is to try and work something out on the suspension with someone so that I can do some testing and try to make some improvements because I feel like I am kind of way off with my suspension. So yeah, we have catching up to do, but we will get there. We will get there; it’s all fun and games.