Australian MXGP star Mitch Evans ready to get back on the podium
Australian motocross rider Mitch Evans can’t wait to get his inaugural MXGP campaign back on track after undergoing shoulder surgery during the sport’s COVID-19 shutdown.
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Australian motocross rider Mitch Evans can’t wait to get his inaugural MXGP campaign back on track after undergoing shoulder surgery during the sport’s COVID-19 shutdown.
The 21-year-old plans to be behind the gates when the motocross world championship resumes in Latvia on August 9, after spending the past four months at the family home in Far North Queensland.
Evans was in the midst of his first MXGP season with Team HRC when the coronavirus started to take hold overseas, prompting him to return to Far North Queensland.
“I came home mid-March, when everything started to shut down over there,” he said.
“I decided to get shoulder surgery in the downtime because there was no racing on.
“It wasn’t something I needed to get done but we thought it would be a good time, in case my shoulder was going to be more trouble in the future.
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“It looks like it’s played out nicely for me and I’ll be able to get straight back into racing when we go back over.”
Evans will head back to Europe next week with permission from the Australian Government, where he will undergo the necessary quarantine requirements before travelling on to Latvia.
There, he will compete in the third round of the MXGP season, after events were held in Great Britain and the Netherlands before the shutdown.
While it is Evans’ first season on the larger 450cc machines since stepping up from the MX2 class in 2019, he was impressive early in the year.
“In Britain, I podiumed in the first race, but was last to start in the second because I spun up on the gate.
“I managed to come all the way from last to seventh and finished fifth overall, so just missed out on the podium by a couple of points.”
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Evans believed he was better suited to the larger bikes.
“You’ve got to ride a lot smoother and not so high in the RPMs, and I’m quite a bigger guy, about 85kg, whereas of the people you race on 250s are under 70kg, so you’re at a big disadvantage there.
“I had no ambitions on the smaller bike — I just wanted to get to the big bikes and race the best in the world.”
Evans’ flying start came to a halt in the second round in the Netherlands, where he was involved in a multi-rider incident and dislocated his shoulder.
He said he was eager to show his speed in Latvia.
“I’m over sitting around — I’m ready to get back after it and get back on that podium,” he said.
GETTING STRAIGHT BACK INTO IT
While back in the Far North, Mitch Evans has been training at the family property on a flat track designed and built by his father, Gavin.
“Because of the shoulder surgery, I’m only allowed to ride flat tracks at the moment,” he said.
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“It’s a lot different — you don’t get your heartrate as high and it’s not as rough but it’s good to just practise technique, body position on the bike and build corner speed.
“For motocross, he (Gavin) believes that a lot of people turn better when they’re turning left, so he’s made a lot of right turns here.
“Anyone can go fast down a straight on a motocross track but the corners are where you make up time.”
Originally published as Australian MXGP star Mitch Evans ready to get back on the podium