Profile: Antipodean Waters

Todd Waters might have come up tantalizingly short when it comes to title wins in Australia, but his dream has always been to dance on the world stage. Transmoto’s Sean Lawless caught up with the fun-loving 23-year-old Queenslander to see how he’s settling into racing life on the far side of the world.

The 9000-mile journey from Australia to Europe is a well-trodden trail for ambitious young motocrossers from Down Under who’re looking to make a name for themselves in GPs. Jeff Leisk, Chad Reed, the late Andrew McFarlane and, more recently, Dean Ferris have all packed their bags and flown halfway around the world to test themselves in the world championship – and all have had their names entered into the record books as GP winners, although world titles have always eluded this Antipodean Army.

Todd Waters is the latest Aussie to take up the challenge. The 23-year-old from Queensland is racing the MXGP class in the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship for the new Red Bull Ice One Husqvarna Racing factory team.

“Jeff Leisk, Chad Reed, Andrew McFarlane and Dean Ferris have all flown halfway around the world to contest the MX World Championship. They’ve all won GPs, but world titles have eluded this Antipodean Army.”

Getting his first taste of European racing at back-to-back Motocross des Nations in 2012 and 2013 – and after narrowly losing out on the Australian MX Nationals MX1 crown the same two years in a row – Todd knew if he was going to take his career to the next level, he needed to get out of his comfort zone and start mixing it on the world stage.

“I’ve come over to Europe a couple of times for the Motocross des Nations – for Lommel and again last year at Teutschenthal – and fell in love with the place,” says Todd. “I wanted to come over here. The riders are at the next level, there are great teams, and I feel like my riding’s getting to that level. I’m at a point in my career where I’m ready to step it up and start racing GPs.”

Historically the GPs haven’t exactly been over-subscribed with Australians, but the ones who have made it here, have had a habit of making a big impact. And Todd’s determined to be the latest Aussie to make the breakthrough.

“I definitely feel like I’m following a path that’s been taken by other Australian racers. Back home, Jeff Leisk was my boss at KTM and he’s also an all-time hero to me. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Obviously he missed out on a title and no Australian rider has ever won a world championship and that’s definitely something I want to aim for.”

“Back home, Jeff Leisk was my boss at KTM and he’s also an all-time hero to me. I wanted to follow in his footsteps.” – Todd Waters

Saying that motocross is a tough sport is like saying Sebastian Vettel knows how to drive fast or that Wladimir Klitschko can punch – it’s a total no-brainer. But coming from Australia to what is in effect pretty much an alien environment makes it that much tougher. So could that be the key to why the few Aussies – and let’s not forget Kiwis of the calibre of Josh Coppins and Ben Townley – that do make the trip make such a big impact? Because they have to be tougher than everyone else? In the space of six days, we saw just how tough Todd is after massive crashes at first the pre-season Hawkstone Park International and then the opening round of the World Championship in Qatar. After his British bail, Todd was so beat-up he couldn’t ride before the GP kick-off and yet he recovered from his crash on Friday in the Arab emirate to finish 11^th Overall after two point-paying motos. For someone who says he’s got no World Championship expectations, to come within a handful of points of cracking the top 10 at his first GP is pretty good going…

“This season the main thing is that I’ve just got to focus on myself. As soon as I start talking about results and say ‘I want top five’ or ‘I want top 10’ that’s being unrealistic. I don’t even know half the riders out there. I don’t even know who I’m up against. I’ve never raced these guys so the main thing for me is to focus on myself and do the best job I can possibly do and wherever that places me I’ve got to be happy with.”

“Motocross is a tough sport, and coming from Australia to what is in effect pretty much an alien environment makes it that much tougher.”

That’s not to say Todd isn’t used to winning. As a young racer, he won five consecutive Australian MX titles and, for the last couple of years back home, has won more than his fair share of motos as he’s just missed out on his own MX1-class domestic championship – in 2012, by 11 points to Coppins; and last year, by 16 points to Matt Moss. But it’s in keeping with the laid-back ‘no worries’ image Europeans have of Australians that he’s not putting pressure on himself by setting goals that could prove unrealistic.

“This is a good step in the right direction. I’ve got myself here and I’m on a great team with Husqvarna and I’m feeling good.”

Like so many talented young racers, Todd’s also got one eye on America. And with other ‘non-European’ racers such as South Africans Greg Albertyn, Grant Langston and Tyla Rattray, Townley and Chad Reed already using the GPs as a stepping-stone to the bright lights of the AMA, he knows it’s a route that works. So it comes as a surprise to discover that Todd doesn’t see the GPs as a means to an end – simply a way of earning enough star points to pick up a ride Stateside. No, Todd just sees the USA as somewhere else to ride his dirt bike.

“Yeah, of course racing in the States appeals to me, but that’s because I just want to race everywhere. I want to be the best everywhere. I want to go and race around the world, but one step at a time. And I want to do the European thing for a couple of years.

“It’s a great thing to build a rider – it’s not just a case of coming over here and riding a bike. It’s travelling to different countries, it’s learning new languages, it trying different food. You’ve got to be really organised so I feel it makes you mature a lot more, which will make it easier when you go the States.”

For 2014, Todd’s teamed up with 2008 MX2 World Champion Rattray who, on paper at least, should be the perfect man to guide the young Aussie on to bigger and better things. From talking to Todd, it’s at least clear that the 28-year-old South African has taken a career path that he’d like to emulate – a non-European who’s raced GPs, claimed a world crown and then taken on and beaten the best in the USA.

“We saw just how tough Todd is after massive crashes at first the pre-season Hawkstone Park International and then the opening round of the World Championship in Qatar.”

“I’ve spent the whole start of the season with Tyla and he’s a great guy. As a young kid coming through, I always looked up to him – he was winning an MX2 World Championship for KTM and I was racing for KTM in Australia on a 125. It’s kinda nice to be teammates with Tyla – he’s been a long-time hero of mine and now I’ve got a great opportunity to learn off him as well because he’s got so much experience.

“He’s raced GPs, he’s raced the Nationals in America and he’s done great in both. I think he’s got a lot of knowledge and he’s going to be very tough to beat also.”

One thing that shines through during the interview with Todd is his thirst for knowledge, combined with an almost innocent, wide-eyed sense of adventure. They are both great qualities for a young, ambitious racer to have – without them, he would probably still be turning laps Down Under. Instead, he’s based at the team’s HQ in Lommel and trying to acclimatise to a European winter.

“Obviously, I’ve come over from Australia where at the moment it’s been summer and there are beautiful beaches and nice weather. So to come over here where it’s freezing cold is tough. And then you go riding and it’s raining and cold so it’s a bit of a punch in the face for me in that respect. I’m used to going to the startline with a cold rag around my neck, whereas over here I’m going with jumpers and wearing thermals.”

But Todd’s here to race, not top up his tan, and it’s clear that for him the positives far outweigh the negatives. “On the upside, the tracks are great over here – always really well maintained, but rough and that’s what you want as a Pro racer. Also, everywhere you go there’s someone fast. You go practising and you’re riding with some of the best riders in the world.

“I’ve got the attitude that I’m a racer and I’ll race anywhere, but I do have to be smart about it and I’ve been using the pre-season races to get to know the riders and the tracks. Obviously, they’re still dirt and I’m still on a motorbike, but I’m working with different people and I’m out of my comfort zone. So it is different but I’m going to put in everything I can to get the best results that I can, but at the same time I have to treat this first season as a building year.

“And let’s not forget I’ve got to get through the season – that’s my main focus, to make the full complete season without injury and learn as much as I can and build as a GP racer.”

After just a 15-minute chat with Todd in the back of a van at a cold and windy Hawkstone Park, it’s hard not to come away impressed with his attitude, buoyed up by his sheer enthusiasm and wishing him well.

“I’m loving it,” he adds with a grin. “I’m treating it as a challenge and I want to use it to better myself. You know, I’m travelling the world and getting to see so many places – and I’m racing a motorcycle for a living. What’s there to complain about…”

Waters’ Research

He may have spent his entire career racing 9000 miles away from the heart of GP motocross, but with the Aussie domestic series attracting its fair share of former world championship stars, Todd’s been able to get plenty of advice from men who’ve been here and done that. “Billy MacKenzie’s a fun guy and obviously enjoys riding a bike, so he’s good to race. I spoke to him a little bit about coming over here and racing the GPs. He wished me well but also warned me that it was going to be tough and I know exactly what he was talking about now. In Australia, you race your bike and it’s nice weather and, to be honest, it’s quite easy. Obviously, we’ve got some good riders over there, but coming over to Europe is definitely different. You go practising and you have to sit in your van because it’s so cold outside and it’s always raining. And then you’ve got to go and do two 40-minute motos and that’s tough.

“I’ve asked Josh Coppins a few questions about GPs too and he’s been helpful, but I really get along with Ben Townley – he’s a super-nice guy – and he’s been here and won championships and he’s got a lot of knowledge. He’s a great guy to bounce questions off. I’ve spoken to him a little bit about being over here and he thinks it’s a good direction for me to take. He’s not given me any particular advice; more just to put the work in and not lose focus.”