Jonny Walker: I just live for riding
By Jonny Walker on 18th Jan 17
One thing I always seem to get asked this time of year is why am I racing Superenduro and have I quit Extreme Enduro.
Despite the frequency of it, it generally seems to catch me surprise when people ask me that.
The answer is no, I race both.
I just race dirt bikes – indoors, outdoor, anywhere really.
In the winter I race superenduro and soon as that's finished I'm back outside getting ready for the extreme stuff.
And when possible I mix it up if I can. I see myself as a racer of both disciplines.
Racing inside a stadium full of thousands upon thousands of screaming enduro fans is an unbelievable feeling.
And so too is blasting off the start line alongside 499 other riders in an Austrian quarry. I live for both.
Having a ‘split discipline' season like that means I get to race pretty much all year round.
I'm mixing things up all the time and learning something new.
Stuff I learn from racing indoors translates across to extreme and vice-versa, which in the long run will hopefully make me a better rider.
Right now things are full gas with Superenduro, and by the time you read this, I'll also have done the Ales Trem Extreme Enduro in France.
I'll be honest, it's not been the start to the Superenduro I've wanted, but things are improving.
Finishing fourth at round one in Poland sucked, but I came back to third in Germany. I know I have the speed to win — I've proved that by winning the Superpole.
I just haven't got everything to ‘click' into place once the start gate drops.
But we're working hard to fix that.
We're not afraid to change things up and try something new.
I feel like my starts have been lacking.
I'm getting out of the gate good, but losing out on power over the bigger bikes in the race to the first corner.
Those three or four seconds seem to be the downfall of riding a 250F against, say, Colton Haaker's 350F, other than that there's not a whole lot in it.
I think jumping back on the two-stroke for Ales Trem will help give me a bit of perspective on things.
I always enjoy getting on it.
I don't think I'll be racing it indoors anytime soon, but who knows? Never, say never...
