"Six minutes action and pure pain"

After three Grand Prix and a surprising 8th overall, the “non Grading List” rider Paul BOLTON (GB – KTM) gets his ticket to the Latin American tour. A few days before his flight to Mexico, we’ve decided to have a chat with “Lightning Bolt” as he is a new face of the SEWC. Presentation of a “nice guy”...

Hello Paul, you’re a new one in the SEWC... Fans want to know more about you!
Paul BOLTON: “Well, where do I start? I love anything with two wheels – motorbikes, mountain bikes, bmx and this passion started from a very young age. My parents got me into riding Trials, even though my first experience on a Honda 50 automatic at age 6, was riding it sideways under a bush! I enjoyed competing around the UK in events like the famous Scottish Six Day Trial. In my late teens, I felt the need for speed! So I tried enduro and won my first race on a friend’s bike and that hooked me. From then on, me and my friends used to go out, not to race, but just 'playing around' on a Sunday. We were basically doing Hard Enduro, even though we didn't know the sport existed! We were just challenging each other to do impossible trials terrain on enduro bikes - having a laugh, crashing a lot and then going for a beer on the way home. In 2007, I heard about the Hard Enduro races like Hell's Gate, Erzberg and Romaniacs. So I decided to give them a go. Expecting nothing and knowing about the same, I went to Erzberg to check it out. I rode home with a 7th place on a stock CR250 motocross bike! I went from there to Romaniacs to ride in the hobby class with my friends, but the organisers had seen my Erzberg result and pushed me into the pro class. My Hard Enduro success grew from there. Some of my best results have been: 3rd at Erzberg, 3rd in Hell's Gate, 3rd Sea to Sky, 2nd Ukapacha and 1st in Romaniacs prologue 3 times. I have always liked SuperEnduro, but have never had the opportunity until this year to have a good go at it! I am fortunate enough to have met Alex and friends who have created the OTT racing team. They have a massive passion for bikes and are getting me and the bike out to all the races in the SuperEnduro Series, which is great. However I still have a full time job as a HGV mechanic for the family business. Although juggling work and riding is hard work, I ha ve the flexibility of getting away to all these races - I just have to work extra hard when I get home! So in my first SuperEnduro series, I am really pleased to be getting results amongst the factory boys!”
 
What attract you to SuperEnduro?
P.B: “What attracted me to SuperEnduro was the mix of speed and technical obstacles. It’s really similar to the prologues in Hard Enduros like Romaniacs, which I have had some great successes in. When I tried to get into SuperEnduro in the past, I realised that as a privateer, the money aspect was going to hinder me - having to set a bike up for SuperEnduro, then getting a bike and myself to races all over the world. However, I tried a few SuperEnduro races closer to home over the past 5 years, but the learning curve was very steep. Never having done motocross before, I hadn’t realised how brutal the bar-to-bar racing actually was! Then I had another go last year in the French SuperEnduro and had a 6th, 7th and 9th in the three finals. It made me realise that I had what it takes, coming from a strong Hard Enduro season. Since then, I have improved my training, I’ve got faster in the motocross side and I’m really enjoying it. One of the major reasons I am competing this year is because of the OTT group. I’m not a factory-supported rider, so they had seen my results and offered to step in to prep an awesome bike, send it to every event and get me there too. So it was a no brainer - I had to compete in SuperEnduro!”

You are basically an Extreme Enduro racer. Do you think that Extreme Enduro and SuperEnduro are complementary?
P.B: “Extreme Enduro or Hard Enduro, whatever you want to call it, and SuperEnduro are similar in some ways, but they are also very dissimilar. In Hard Enduro, you need to concentrate on long endurance – lasting the whole day (and often the days that follow). You have to be clever about saving energy. Whereas in SuperEnduro, it’s a different intensity and you have to develop an aggressive riding style. SuperEnduro is just six minutes action and pure pain!”

You are now 8th overall. Are you satisfied with your three first Grand Prix?
P.B: “Yeah! The first three races have gone really well. I never expect anything though because I know I have to qualify first, as I’m not in the grading list. So this is always my first goal. I also know that I can get a better result and I am pushing hard to get there. I’ve had a few races where I have been in the top 5 for a significant part of the race and then disaster strikes – in true SuperEnduro fashion! But it’s still new to me, so I am learning quickly not to make the same mistakes. I’m aiming for Top 5 and if everything’s going well, I can hopefully get a podium. I’m pretty happy to get a 7th place in Finland so, yes; really happy with my start of season... 8th overall is really good!”

Are you always looking to enter a factory team?
P.B: “Factory team... Well, of course that’s what everybody dreams of! I’d love to get involved, do some development on bikes, train the younger guys who are coming through. I wouldn’t have to work as well if I was a factory rider, so I could train, train, train and get those podium results! When I’m at work, changing a truck tyre and I see on Facebook and Twitter everybody practising like mad – I’m not envious at all… haha! That would be awesome for me also, but I don’t have it bad at all, the OTT Group are making it happen for me. It’s really important that I’m here doing it, it’s awesome and I can’t complain at all! But, you know, it would be nice to not have to work and only train and ride every day...”

How did you get prepared for the SuperEnduro during the off-season?
P.B: “With Hard Enduro running pretty much all year around, you never stop riding or training. So I was pretty fit, it was just getting the six-minute intense lung-bleeding fitness right. I’ve been focussing on interval training and training on my bike every hour of the weekend. In the week I’ve just been doing whatever I can, as fast as possible. Even at work, when I change a wheel on a 20-tonne truck, it’s pretty physical, so I do it as fast as I can and I use that for training too...”

What will you have to do to improve and look for a Top 5?
P.B: “Basically, I need to spend more time for training and to practice on the bike. So, we are going out to Mexico and Brazil now and I’m hoping to go out practising with some friends there and really get some bike time in! Of course, I’ll hopefully get to see a few sights with “Mrs B” too!”

How can you explain this strong British presence in SuperEnduro?
P.B: “Lots of reasons really, trials is popular in the UK and lots of us have a trials background. Also us guys are used to riding in the shitty weather all the time, so we get a super feeling for grip with the bike. But, that sometimes also has a negative impact because you always fight to try to find the traction. The guys who are used to SuperEnduro just open the gas. That’s what I need to work on – just opening the gas!”
 
Give us your opinion in some words about Taddy BLAZUSIAK...
P.B: “For me, Taddy is training harder than anybody else. He eats, sleeps and breathes the bike. He just knows from experience how to do the right things in training and when racing. He has always been dedicated from the first time I met him, when I shared a podium at Erzberg with him in 2008. He was like that in trials too - super dedicated. I think that’s what it takes, ultimate commitment; making sacrifices and paying attention to all the little things which in combination bring you to the highest level.”

... The Americans Cody Webb and Taylor ROBERT and also the Spanish Alfredo GOMEZ...
P.B: “There is great talent in SuperEnduro from all over the world. It’s a really positive community because everybody in the SuperEnduro environment is really friendly. Also the young juniors like Ty TREMAINE, LINUSSON or the young LETTI always get involved. We all ride bikes for the same reasons since the beginning. We all share the same goals and just want to have great results in each race! So we may be competing with each other in the race, but as soon as that chequered flag is out, the pressure is off and we can relax together and share race stories over dinner!”

... And finally your fellow David KNIGHT and Jonny WALKER?
P.B: “KNIGHT is a wild boy! He has so much determination and skill. He always says what he thinks but he’s a really great guy and I’ve known him for a long time since schoolboy trials. And about Jonny... He is just a rising star! He has already won Erzberg, Romaniacs and many other Hard Enduro races and he is still 24 years old, so it’s crazy! Yeah, it’s just good future for Jonny!”