Interview: Dylan Long Talks Conondale

In 2014, Dylan Long was arguably one of the biggest highlights at Conondale’s round of the MX Nationals, throwing huge whips for the crowds over the famous 140ft tunnel flyover. Now, two years later, the 2016 Motul MX Nationals is gearing up to head to the venue again for round seven, and crowd favourite is set to impress. Long, who now has more than 42,000 followers on Instagram, is not only talented when it comes to whips, scrubs and jumps; he’s also recorded a handful of impressive results with the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team so far this season, even taking top five honours in one of the most stacked Thor MX1 classes in the championship’s history. So, will it be down to business this Sunday, or will Long be more interested in showing the fans what he can do on a 450cc machine over the 140ft gap? Here’s what he had to say… 

MXN: Dylan, in 2014, you were one of the crowd favourites going over that huge jump at Conondale. How excited are you to head back for round seven?
Dylan: I’m pretty keen to get back to Conondale. That big jump at the track is definitely a highlight of the racing I’ve done in Australia. It’s good to have a venue that has a flyover that’s 140ft long like the one at Conondale, and the crowd loves it every time we visit. A lot of the tracks we ride on these day are pretty good, and there’s been a lot of good tracks on the calendar this year, but I do love heading to Conondale, and this year it should be a bit easier to get that gap done on the Honda CRF450R.

That’s right – two years ago, you were on a 250!
Yeah, last time we went there I was on a 250, and you just have to hit it flat out to make it all the way over – now that I’m on the 450 I’ll judge it a bit more, but still have plenty of fun with it!

You’re currently sitting in a really impressive sixth place in the Thor MX1 championship standings. Will it be all business this weekend, or are you planning to have a bit of fun given that it is one of your favourite tracks?
It will be pretty well all business – I hurt my thumb at the last round at Nowra and I’m not going to be able to ride too much before round seven, so it will be a bit of survival for me – but in saying that, I’m going there to go as fast as I possibly can, and I always have a lot of fun whenever I’m on my bike, so you never know (laughs).

So during at least one lap this weekend, the crowd can expect to see some big whips over that hill?
Definitely!

That thumb injury you picked up at Nowra, how’s that recovering?
I’ve got a small fracture in my thumb, and it’s still a bit swollen and pretty bruised, but it’s been about a week and a half, and we’re just working on it every day and making sure I’m ready for this weekend. I’m staying off the bike to make sure I can get in as much healing as possible before round seven. The Racesafe guys are very good at what they do and they will strap me up on Sunday and make sure I’m out there banging bars.

We’re nearly seven rounds into the championship. Are you happy with your performance so far this year?
I’m reasonably happy – I would have liked to be a bit further in front in a couple of races and limited a few mistakes that I’ve made, but that’s racing! This year has been a little bit tough in that we have a whole new team and a new bike. We’re learning every round though, and we’re definitely starting to make some big improvements. You should start seeing some solid performances from myself and my teammate, Jay Wilson, during the next couple of rounds of the MX Nationals.

Expectations for round seven?
I don’t feel a lot of pressure, I just have fun every time I get on my bike and go out there and race, but I think with the way the team’s been heading and with how much progress we’ve been making, that it’s going to help a lot over the next few rounds. The points are spaced out, but anything can happen and we have a lot of racing left to go, so we’ll be snatching up as many points as possible at round seven this Sunday.

Thanks for the chat, Dylan. Good luck this weekend.
Cheers.

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The seventh round of the 2016 Motul MX Nationals will take place at Conondale in Queensland on Sunday, July 17.

For more information, visit: www.mxnationals.com.au