You will be at the Red Bull Ring on 12th October to coach riders who have signed up for Go with your Pro Enduro. What can they expect from the day?
It will definitely be a fabulous day of enduro riding. I only know the terrain from pictures, but it looks really good – a long run through the forest, encountering lots of obstacles along the way. The participants can look forward to many highly instructive hours.
Would you describe yourself as a strict coach, and what is important to you in your coaching role?
I’m not strict at all. I want the participants to have fun. Obviously, I will aim to treat each participant as an individual, point out their mistakes and show them how they can do better. I want to use all the experience I’ve acquired from the many races I’ve been in to teach the participants something useful and to make sure that they can see some improvement at the end of the session. I’ll be showing them my tricks and tips, including what the ideal position on the bike looks like, how to stand correctly on the bike and how to quickly build up good traction. I’ve got so many ideas for the things we can do; hopefully, the day won’t be too short (laughs).
You’ve done this job before. What do you like about being a coach on the Go with your Pro Experience?
It’s fantastic that the Red Bull Ring offers an Experience like this that anyone can sign up for. For me personally, it’s nice to see how much I’m respected by the participants. But the best thing about it is watching everyone develop through the day. It’s great when I can give someone a tip that helps them to be better on their bike.
At the beginning of the year, you coached the Go with your Pro participants on GASGAS trial bikes on our indoor course. What was that like for you?
The course really surprised me. I thought we were going to be riding in a small space with tight twists and turns, but instead we had this huge configuration in the garages of the Red Bull Ring pit lane at our disposal. There were some really interesting obstacles to overcome. The indoor course is a real asset, especially in winter. It gives you the opportunity to practise technical skills such as negotiating ridges and steps as well as balance and dexterity.
What type of rider are you – risk or strategy?
Strategy, definitely. There are riders who go at extremely high speeds, always at full throttle. They point their bikes wherever the fancy takes them. I prefer to look for traction and use my head.
At the beginning of your career, you rode motocross, then switched to trial bikes and are now one of the Hard Enduro elite. Each of these classifications can be practised on the different tracks at the Red Bull Ring. Is this versatility what makes the Red Bull Ring so special for you?
Definitely. That’s the cool thing about the Red Bull Ring. For enduro riding in particular, you need a large area where you can put yourself to the test.
Greatest achievements in motorsport:
- Two-time finisher in the RED BULL ERZBERGRODEO
- P6 overall in the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship
- P5 in the 2023 XROSS Challenge (SRB)
- P5 in the 2023 Getzenrodeo (DE)
- P6 in the 2023 Red Bull Romaniacs (ROM)
- Winner of the 2021 Italian Extreme Enduro Championship (ITA)
