Josiah Natzke (KTM Factory Junior Team) speaks openly on his standing 5th Overall in FIM World Championship EMX 125 class after 2 Rounds- what is going well, what needs work and what will be ideal.
Knowing he has the ability to run up front, with 3rd in Race 2 at Trentino, Italy, Josiah puts the first 2 Rounds in perspective:
Josiah: ‘It’s going nothing like I would of wanted results wise. I’m pretty gutted on that side of things. Realistically I knew I wasn’t going to be able to win or be at the front at Valkenswaard because I’m not a sand rider, but I would of liked to do a lot better in Italy, but that’s the way it is so just gotta pick it back up and make it happen’.
Having taken on board many adjustments- from racing NZ’s tracks of loamy dirt to clay, hard pack- to MXGP tracks rocky and hard to soft and sandy…along with the switch from NZ’s MX Championship Qualifying by one hot lap to MXGP’s Qualifying via a Race- Natzke is on one big learning curve.
Josiah: ‘Such gnarly tracks, one extreme to another. Trentino was hard pack and rocky, Valkenswaard was soft and sandy. Both track types we don’t have at home so I had to adjust quickly’.
‘EMX 125cc class is choka with competition, so many fast dudes. I don’t qualify well but I’m a good starter. I’m definitely a contender for this class, I know I can be up the front, just need to fix qualifying and qualify well so I can put myself in a position to get a good start’.
Having KTM Factory Junior Team riders to train with under the expert tutelage of Stefan Everts, Josiah is soaking up all the positives:
Josiah: ‘Yea I have got my team-mates and also Pauls Jonass (EMX 250) to train with- it’s all real good as everyone’s always pushing each other. It’s a constant battle really, sometimes I’m faster or sometimes Conrad’s (Mewes) faster. But Conrad’s a good dude and we push each other on the track but good mates off the track’.
With BT having spent the past couple of weeks in Europe catching up with Josiah, who is satisfied?
Josiah: ‘Definitely I’m not satisfied. I’ve improved so much since I’ve been here, it’s been a big learning curve for me but results aren’t what I want. I need to keep improving and working on things- I qualified terribly at the first 2 Rounds so I’m really looking forward to turning it around in Spain and be at least top 5 gate pick. That would be ideal’.
Here’s the Wrap:
A 16 year old NZ MX rider racing under Europe’s most highly regarded World MX Champion (10x) Stefan Everts on MXGP tracks MX1 and MX2 riders find challenging makes good his commitment to make a name for himself, no matter what.
MXGP of Spain Talavera de la Reina, May 10th
Words: Sharon Cox
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