Simpson and Watson on British GP

Shaun Simpson of the SS24 KTM MXGP team will lead a short list of British riders into the opening round of the 2020 MXGP championship, set for Matterley Basin in the south of England on the first weekend of March.

While a bunch of seeded riders from the UK are expected to line-up alongside Simpson and Adam Sterry in the MXGP class, including recently retired (from Grand Prix) rider Tommy Searle, the MX2 class will also have a handful of local riders battling with the best in the World.

Simpson, who is now the longest standing Grand Prix rider from Great Britain, and has also seen a couple of era’s fall in his long career, is excited to be the top home rider, but Simpson is also a little nervous as he enters a GP for the first time as a team owner too.

“It will be incredible,” Simpson says. “But also, very overwhelming and possibly a bit stressful all at the same time. The goal is to go to Matterley Basin and get two solid results first up. We haven’t had a European GP opener for a few years and there is a lot going on with media and other things. We want a Simpson Army thing going on there and we need to manage that within my circle so I can just go racing. I also enjoy the fly-away races, and it was important for me to commit to the complete championship. Starting in Europe I hope we get a good crowd.”

Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha MX2 rider Ben Watson, should be the leading British rider in the MX2 class and knows that the crowd will be on his side at Matterley Basin. While he wants a good result, he is also excited to head to places like Argentina, which is round three of the 2020 series.

“The home GP is nice,” Watson says. “It could be wet, or it could be dry like this year. Obviously for the British riders it is special, that home GP excitement and adrenaline. It is nice to get a few races under your belt before heading to Argentina. Flying to Argentina for the first one is a bit long, but for the racing this season is better, two before we have to fly to Argentina.”

Of course, other British riders like Adam Sterry and Conrad Mewse are also expected to be in contention for major points at the season opener, giving the expected large crowd something extra to cheer about.