Conrad Mewse's final fling begins at Matterley Basin

By Andrew Hill on 27th Feb 22

This weekend, at Matterley Basin, Conrad Mewse enters his final term in MX2 as he hits the age ceiling imposed on the class.

For the 22-year-old, this will be his seventh year contesting the 250cc category in the FIM Motocross World Championship after making his debut back in 2016.

Mewse came into the 2016 season with all guns blazing taking an early command of the EMX250 championship with a dominating display at the season-opener in Valkenswaard.

But with Thomas Covington side-lined, Mewse the missile was considered the perfect candidate to step into the Rockstar MX2 factory team to provide cover for the American.

The plan was to give Mewse, then just 16, time to find his feet and then aim at the top 10 the following term.

Understandably, the early months of his MX2 career were a struggle as he came to terms with the step-up in pace. But it wasn't just raw speed he had to contend with in the high profile world championship. "I was nervous, wasn't getting good starts and couldn't show my potential," said Mewse reflecting on his first two months. "I kept working hard, and it started paying off at the GP of France."

The following Grand Prix, he showed his potential again with a season-best seventh overall at Matterley Basin.

Over the 11 rounds contested by Mewse, he collected 126 points to finish just inside the top 20.

The following year, his first full term in the world championship, Mewse finished 16th place in the standings with 225 points from 16 rounds. The highlight came at round 16 in Sweden when he outshone Ben Watson and took a Grand Prix career-best overall of fourth.

Mewse signed a deal with KTM UK at the back end of 2017 that took him to Roger Magee's KTM-backed motocross team for a full-on assault at the British championship with backing to take his undeniable talent to the world stage once again.

In 2018, encouraged after securing a place on one of the best British teams in the history of the championship, Mewse took the vast majority of moto wins in the British MX2 series to seal his first domestic pro title.

In the world championship, consistency was absent, though. Stand-out rides at Valkenswaard and Redsand fourth and sixth, and then St Jean d'Angely and Lommel eighth and seventh, were mixed with classifications outside the top 15 and top 20.

The following season is one Conrad would rather forget. A nasty wrist injury was sustained while defending his British title at Canada Heights just days before the 2019 MXGP of Lombardia destroying his season, domestically and internationally.

Mewse only contested four rounds of the world championship that year, leaving him with just 40 points. It would, however, fire him up for the following season.

There's no doubt 2020 was Conrad's best yet. There was no domestic competition to fight for. And the world championship season was like no other. But that didn't appear to affect Mewse as the Brit stormed back from his season to forget, sealing eighth in the standings at the final chequered flag.

He raced 34 of the 36 points-paying motos and would finish inside the top-10 overall classifications on 10 occasions, including two top-five overalls.

It's perhaps why 2021, to some, felt like a disappointment. Although Conrad smashed it in the British series to deliver another domestic trophy for the high achievers of Hitachi KTM, he rarely scaled the heights seen the previous year in the world championship.

Podiums were put forward, perhaps even a win, but sadly they were just out of reach. There's no doubt some of it was bad luck, and missing some rounds to focus on the British championship didn't help. But there was inconsistency too.

It's hard to believe he's quickly approaching the age where he will need to step up one last time. It only feels like a few years ago, our editor was shouting at the top of his voice at TMX Towers, "we have a world champion", as Mewse was crowned 85cc champ.

In an unexpected move about a month ago, Mewse shocked British motocross fans when he abruptly revealed he had quit the Hitachi KTM race team a move made even more surprising when he had no plans to unveil.

This just weeks from the start of the new season it didn't look ideal.

On the eve of the Hawkstone International, Mewse showed what he had been working on for the past few weeks. The pro motocrosser would be a privateer for his final year in the MX2 class.

He has secured support from several backers, chief among them Stebbings and KTM UK.

His low-key reveal on social media didn't offer any details beyond an array of hashtags for his sponsors but has said since he intends to race all 20-rounds of the world championship and will be defending his MX2 British title as he bids to make it three.

The Stebbings Car Superstore KTM UK powered by Bikesure rider enjoyed a happy team debut at Hawkstone Park claiming the MX2 overall after two excellent rides, including a second moto win.

Mewse sat out the Superfinal, electing to save his bike with the start of the world championship only days away.

Mewse starts the season as his own boss, but who knows what might happen if the right opportunity was to open up later in the season.

It will be fascinating to see what happens for Conrad in 2022. I'll certainly be shouting for the boy from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, at every Grand Prix gate drop.

Conrad Mewse's final fling begins at Matterley Basin

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