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Interview: Taylor Hammal on the MXGP dream! “I want to be scoring points straight away”

Fresh from the news that Taylor Hammal has signed for Steve Dixon’s “Bike It MTX Kawasaki” team for 2021 and is MXGP bound, we caught up with him to chat about what is going to be a huge year for the Hampshire based racer as he embarks on his first full season in the FIM World Motocross Championship…

Interview by Jeff Perrett – Images courtesy of Dixon Racing

Dirt Hub: How did the deal with Steve come about?

Taylor: “I found out about their interest in me at last year’s MX Nationals round at Cusses. A friend of mine knows Steve pretty well and he came up to my dad at that event and said that Steve was interested in me riding for him. I didn’t really think anything of it but then after that Steve himself started to text me and ask how I was getting on. I think it was just after the final round of the MX Nationals at FatCat that we actually sat down and talked about the deal in more detail and left it that I’d try a bike in December. I tried a relatively stock 2021 KX250 and I liked it and felt pretty good on it so not long after that we agree on a deal. I rode a Kawasaki a few years back but the new bike is way better than it was then.”

DH: Have you and Steve spoken about your expectations? After all you’re going into MX2 with a limited amount of experience in that you’ve never really done a full season on EMX250.

Taylor: “We haven’t really spoken about it in detail other than Steve saying there’s no real pressure on me in my first year, but to be honest I don’t want to go there and just ride around. I want to be scoring points straight away and build on that, even if it’s just one point at the first GP. I’ve only got three years in MX2 and I don’t want to waste them. It’s a huge opportunity for me and it’s up to me and nobody else to make sure I take it. They (the team) haven’t said anything but I think that’s the least they expect from me. Yeah, it’s a learning year but you have to learn fast and hopefully I’l get dragged along. I’m a bit older now and I don’t think I’ll be so intimidated as maybe I would’ve been if I had of gone into MX2 earlier. I’ve done some EMX250’s and they’re hard enough just to get into the race. I’m not the best at qualifying and tend to get faster as the weekend goes on so to get some solid track time in before getting to the races and not have to think about qualifying will be better for me I think. It just takes that little bit of pressure away and I can concentrate on bike set up and channel all of my energy towards the race on Sunday.”

DH: Obviously, like many you haven’t been able to hit the ground running yet due to Covid restrictions but also I’m guessing Steve is deliberately holding you back a bit as it will be a long season of travelling and races coming thick and fast once we get going. How difficult have you found that?

Taylor: “[Laughs] Yeah, it was difficult at first because it’s not what I’m used to but Steve and the team have all the experience of racing GP’s and know more about it than me so I’m completely okay with it. I’ve signed with Steve to further my career and I’ll put 100% trust into the team to guide me. Rob [Hooper] has helped me out so much over the last couple of years and I’ll always be thankful of him for that, but obviously this is a deal that doesn’t come along too often for British riders and I would’ve been mad to turn it down. The team workshops are about a mile and half from my front door so it’s a great fit all round. I can remember when Zach Osborne won the British and I was hanging outside the awning asking for his goggles and now I’m riding for the same team as him. I was pestering Steve quite a lot to ride in January but he said to wait as the GP’s are likely to be pushed back even further and he was right. The GP’s are going to go into November so I need to be sure I’m strong to the end and not drop off mid season or towards the end. Everything is brand new, the bike, the team and getting to know the lads but they’ve made me feel welcome and I’m excited to get started with it all. Hopefully I’ll get the green light to start riding regularly soon. I’m excited to get going obviously!”

DH: We’ve spoken about your expectations for GP’s but what about the Revo British championship?

Taylor “I want to win it. People might think that’s maybe an overly confident thing to say but I have to believe I can. I’m certainly not in it just to race for top 10 or top five spots anymore, they were previous realistic targets. I’ll be on a very good bike and I’ll be a faster rider from GP’s. I proved last year that I can race with and even beat GP regulars like Conrad [Mewse] so I don’t see why I can’t start winning races and put myself in a position to win it. Put it this way, if I don’t get podiums I’ll be going away pretty disappointed. I’ll be working on my starts loads when I get back riding because that’s been a bit of a weak point for me. If I can be in that top five around the first corner it will make a big difference and from there my confidence will grow.”

DH: I was going to ask you about that. You’re quite a big lad for a 250 rider. I know Steve takes the whole power to weight ratio deal very seriously. Has he asked you to lean up?

Taylor: “Yeah he has! I did a fitness test at a University in mid December and since then I’ve lost 5kg. It’s been bloody hard. My friend does Triathlons and Ironman’s and he used to race so he understands the sport and he’s helping me out with it. Steve sends me pictures of stuff he’s machining on the bike to save weight quite regularly so I need to do my bit. He takes weight off the bike, I need to get weight off me! If it’s going to help me out of the gate, which it will, then I need to do all I can to make sure I’m as light and lean as I can be at that first GP. I’m giving it everything I can because I know this is a huge opportunity for me. I don’t want to regret not giving 100%.”

DH: Good to hear that Taylor. It’s good to have another Brit out there in MX2. We wish you the best of luck with it mate and we’ll be rooting for you. I hope the season goes to plan and you can build on that for 2022. All the best mate.

Taylor: “Yeah, I hope so too. Cheers Jeff.”

We will be keeping up to date with Taylor throughout the season as he embarks on his first-ever MX2 World Championship season.