Feature: Shaun Star
By Team TMX on 16th Dec 15
British champion again, fourth in the world, king of sand and after five years in the privateer wilderness Shaun Simpson finally has the factory support he thoroughly deserves.At the age of 27 Braveheart can go for gold on the world stage in 2016...
TMX: You finally got MXGP factory bikes. How does it feel?
Shaun: I'm happy. I've been working hard both on and off the track – not many people see the stuff off the track. We've been working hard to make the best of what we've got out of the resources we've got and it's paid off.
I've been getting results and ultimately I feel like I deserve this shot at a factory bike again. I've worked for it. I can't thank KTM enough for sticking by me. They supported me before for three years, and now again for two-years and they have stepped up to the mark and upped the support further. I feel at home at KTM. I like the bike and I really like the development which has gone into the new bike.
I'm optimistic about the future on the new bike, whatever is in store for me.
TMX: Were there times when you thought it was never going to happen?
Shaun: I'd like to say I never gave up hope but there are times when you wonder if it's ever going to happen. I don't have a massive entourage which hangs round me, and my dad's not the first to talk me up.
There have been times when we've had serious conversations and I've said ‘Maybe I've just not got it, or maybe I've passed the moment, maybe I missed the boat'.
But everyone who is around me, my dad, my mum, my fiancee, my brother, the small team we work together with, has been very supportive all the way. There have been hard times. Everyone goes through hard times but it's about powering through them and deep down believing you still got it.
Roger's team (Roger Magee) is what it is. Everyone comes together at the weekend to get the job done but when everyone goes home you're on your own. There's no team atmosphere during the week and at the weekend you're getting on with the job rather than talking about being down, you're trying to gee yourself up.
Yes, a handful of times I thought maybe I didn't have it, but I have shown myself that I can still do it. I can win races, I can win GPs, and the future's bright, really bright.
TMX: After five years doing your own thing with your dad, you now have all the factory options. A big change?
Shaun: I feel older and wiser now, and I know what I want. I know the areas I need to work on, and I think that's important as well. You have to know when it's you or it's the bike. A lot of times riders blame themselves or vice-versa, blaming the bike when it's them. You've got to watch but I think I've developed a lot as a rider, having to do a lot myself, working a lot on my own bikes.
That's valuable experience, knowing how your bike sounds, how it's turning, how the suspension works, knowing how things operate rather than just knowing the suspension goes up and down or how the engine creates power.
On the flip side that can create problems because you can be thinking about it too much. But speaking to the specialist technicians I'm probably more in depth than most of the paddock.
TMX: You are one of the few riders in the paddock without a ‘Mister 10 per cent'. Has that held you back?
Shaun: I did have a manager for two years but I didn't really feel it was bringing me anything and things didn't work out that well.
I've been around the GP paddock for 11 years, so if I don't know enough people to get a deal which I'm warranted by myself, I don't know how much more a manager could actually bring me. Ultimately a manager is looking out for the best salary for his cut, while a rider might want to take into consideration the material, the bike, the team atmosphere.
It's the overall deal which is important. I think it's important that I make those decisions rather than being pushed in one direction.
TMX: What else comes with a factory ride?
Shaun: There's just so many more man hours which go into simply making it to the races as a privateer, rather than getting yourself ultimately prepared and physically ready. Just so many factors come into it.
Just me and my dad as a part within the team, changing engines between races or whatever.
Then you have to drive home through the night because your week's already short, you have to work two days on the bike, go practising, dad's doing the engine and the suspension so I've got to do other duties. Training comes second or third, sleep, and lots of other things, get pushed even further down the list even though they should be first on the list for the rider.
Take the example of Latvia. We were back in Belgium 4.30pm on Monday afternoon and people asked us why we didn't stop. The answer was simply that we didn't have time to stop and then to get back, wash everything down, prepare the bike and get ready to set off again for the Maxxis round that weekend.
It's a tight schedule. It depends how easy your weekend goes, how much time you've got during the week, but you're always busy.
The overseas events are even more hectic. I was working until around 4am in the morning to pack the crate, but other riders don't even see what goes inside the crate. They just turn up at the race and the bike's sitting there waiting for them.
I see a lot more of what goes into a mechanic's job. I suppose in a way when I turn up and the bike's ready to go I respect a lot more how much work has gone into that, and I feel privileged to be back in that position.
TMX: Your determination as the lone privateer up front amongst the factory boys has earned you heaps of respect. One only needs to think on the reception when you won Lierop in 2013.
Shaun: Lierop was huge. I try to be stable, consistent with people, always polite, treating people how I would wish to be treated myself.
I think that's important because over the years people realise this is just a working class guy, not a pop star who brags on. This was why Joel Smets was so popular too, he was down to earth. It's not something you gain straight away but over the years people understand and can see it. It wasn't something I worked for, but when it happens it's just amazing.
To get the recognition not just from your own team, from your own brand, but from everyone. I was just overwhelmed by the whole thing.
It was a great moment. The Simpson Army is great too. There are a lot more people talking about it than I could ever have imagined. It was just an idea we had, but I want to continue with it.
TMX: A combination of circumstances finally saw you hop onto the 2016 Factory Edition in August. Were you sceptical at first about changing a winning formula?
Shaun: First and foremost it was nice to win both on our bike and then on the factory bike. I won Lommel and then I backed it up. We did enough testing and had enough lap time straight after Lommel to know that I was better on the new bike.
I had a better feeling, I was more confident, that was the way forward, that was the future and that's the bike I'm going to be riding next year, so why not use the last few races to dial in the bike under race conditions and through the week.
It was nice to back up the win in Assen. Mantova wasn't bad either, I only just missed the podium and I was simply exhausted by the end of the weekend after travelling and testing non-stop for two weeks. It's been a good switch at the right time and it's paid off.
TMX: Your best results have come on the rugged tracks.
Shaun: I would like to see more technical tracks on the schedule, something that you have to be a motocross rider to actually get round. I went to a practice track in England and there was a guy on my rear wheel for 20 minutes. It was Troy Corser, the road racer.
Because it was rock hard, he could hit everything flat out, and that shows you that your skills are diminished on that sort of track. It shouldn't just be about hitting the corners, powering through and the rest of it. I'd like to see more line, bumps, dry patches, wet patches, something which really challenges you as a rider – like it used to be.
It seems nowadays that it takes downpours of rain or bad prep to make a track ‘technical'. But a challenge is what makes it enjoyable.
TMX: So what's the deal for 2016?
Shaun: I will have full factory bikes, as I'm riding now. We are still discussing how to do it and I haven't got the details but I presume they will be built in the factory –it will be a rolled-out bike from the factory with everything on it and then stickered up with STR sponsor's stickers.
TMX: How did the deal come about?
Shaun: KTM is reducing from three direct factory riders to two, Husqvarna too, so there was factory material available for me, and they were interested from early on. Pit Beirer is a smart guy; he's been around long enough to know what's going on and to see the overall picture.
TMX: You move to Steve Turner's team next year.
Shaun: Yes. Number one for me was the material and the bike set-up but added to that Steve is putting on a great show and looking to up it even more. The British championship is also important to me. It keeps me busy, though we need to watch we're not doing too much.
My goals are starting to shift more towards the world championship. It wasn't a given that I was going to win the Maxxis series, but we felt that I should have the speed to win there and now I want to put my focus on trying to finish top three in the world or even become champion.
Confidence is so important when the results start to come. Look at Guillod – he won one race and suddenly he was up there every week when he wasn't crashing. The upsurge this year has given me the confidence to do even better and better and hopefully take it straight into next year.
TMX: But you'll be doing it without your dad, Willie.
Shaun: Of course I'll miss dad but I think it's the right timing. I'm back on full factory material and dad always said he'd take a step back when that happened.
He's going to be 60 this year and I think it's important I move on with my fiancee Rachel. We're getting married next year, and it's the next stage.
TMX: And no more all-night drives?
Shaun: I quite like a bit of driving. It's not just the fact of driving, it's the way you attack the driving. Instead of driving all night, we can stop and get back Monday evening or Tuesday morning, or spend a day in Italy. Perhaps we'll even fly if the driving is getting a burden.
TMX: What went wrong 2010-14?
Shaun: I had just won my first GP moto at Valkenswaard, then I broke my leg practising. There were a lot of factors. I tried to come back way too early, too hard, then I had a food allergy which took a long time to identify, until the end of 2011.
That had been holding me back since 2008 without knowing what it was. That was a massive point. I was getting on teams that weren't putting in 110 per cent. They were going racing but they weren't looking after the fine details. They were looking after the show, making sure that the bikes looked nice but there was no homework during the week.
I have to say a big thank you to Rick at JK. He just gave us the material and let us get on with it. It's a small set-up but when we asked for something, he tried to get it. I have to take my hat off to him for giving me that opportunity and, together with SKS in Holland, the opportunity to race until the end of the year in 2013.
TMX: And you have kept the momentum going?
Shaun: I got back in with Roger Magee. He put in the same package we had in 2008 and here we are.
Roger hasn't just been a big part of my career, he's been a big part of my life, getting me into GP racing in the first place.
I was 16, I had a contract with Tim Chambers and the company folded. Roger decided he wanted to give me a ride and wanted to go GP racing in 2005.
In the space of three months I went from not having a ride to being in Spain for the GP in Bellupig. And I've never looked back since. Apart from 2009 I've hardly missed a GP.
Without Roger starting that team up for me, I might have never even made it to GP racing. He stuck by me for four years and took me to a place where I could go to reach better goals on a factory team and it's come full circle back to him giving me that opportunity again.
I take my hat off to Roger for giving me these opportunities and letting me do things the way I wanted to. And I've given him the results back and he now has ten British championships in eight years.
Roger also has to be proud of what we have done together. Ultimately, Roger has struggled on the world stage, but he's got the results in Britain – the ingredients are there, and that's what you need to do your work.
TMX: And now you go to a new environment with Steve Turner.
Shaun: Steve's been trying exceptionally hard and has been let down. It's been a long tunnel, but he's starting to see light at the end of it. Although the results haven't been there KTM has stuck by him and continued to up their support because they can see that when he has the right riders it can work.
Next year is looking really good for me and team-mate Adam Sterry.
TMX: What is possible?
Shaun: Everything's possible. You saw this with Max Nagl. If you can get on a factory bike you like in a team which works well in an atmosphere which motivates, you only need to start getting out of the gate and putting in some good laps and anything is possible.
