MXA INTERVIEW: DAVID THORPE ON THE TRUTH & NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

David Thorpe won the FIM 500 World Motocross Championship in 1985, 1986 and 1989.

BY JIM KIMBALL

DAVID, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR INTEREST IN MOTORCYCLES CAME FROM YOUR FATHER, RIGHT? Yes. When dad was in the Army, he rode bikes.  When he got out, he started to do Scrambling on a local level. Scrambling was quite popular in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

SO THAT SPURRED YOUR INTEREST IN MOTORCYCLES? I was born in 1962, and my mom told me that I used to get taken to watch the races, and I showed a keen interest. Soon my little trike I had when I was 1-year-old turned into a two-wheeler. When I turned 3, my dad and his friend made a small homemade bike, because in those days you could not go to the shop and buy a bike for a small child. My dad taught me how to ride, and it progressed from there. When I was 5 years old, Schoolboy Scrambling was just starting. I started to do some local races, and we never looked back.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST NON-HOMEMADE DIRT BIKE? My first official bike that you could buy in the shop was a Suzuki TM. The one with the low pipe. I was 11 years old. I raced all the classes through Schoolboy Scrambling. I went through every stage and kept going up to the next group and the next level. I won numerous British Championships at every level as a kid.

“MY DAD TAUGHT ME HOW TO RIDE, AND IT PROGRESSED FROM THERE.

YOU REALLY PROGRESSED QUICKLY.  It was always something I loved. I have always loved being on two-wheels. It was never a chore for me, whether it was sunshine or rain, dry or mud. It was always fun. At age 15, I simply enjoyed it. It was not about winning. It was not about a title. It was about the actual enjoyment of racing, whether it was local or national. I just enjoyed riding. I enjoyed twisting the throttle. I never really had any pressure, certainly not from my parents. The need to perform came from within me.

DIDN’T HONDA UK START HELPING YOU? Yes, Honda was helping me in the Amateurs. I was just turning 16 years old. My dad wanted me to go to the Pro class, but Honda wanted me to stay down as an amateur another year. They potentially had a new 400 they wanted me to ride. In a short time, I went from just starting out, then doing well as an amateur, to dipping my toes in the pro races. The advancement system is different in the UK motocross scene. I got my necessary Expert points so I could stay as an amateur or move to the Pro class.

BUT YOU DIDN’T STAY LONG AT HONDA, RIGHT? My parents were not poor, but we did not have excess money. My parents just lived in a normal home in the UK. Money was not readily available to go racing, certainly on a bigger level.

At that time, Kawasaki approached my father with a plan, which was in year one to race the support championship, which I needed my expert points to do. In those days, you had to do a year in the support class to qualify for the following year’s main British Championship. Year two was establishing yourself in the British Championship, and year three, if year one and two’s goals were achieved, was to do selective Grand Prix. To us as a family, it was everything that we ever wanted to do, but on an affordable basis because Kawasaki was supporting that cost.

SO, YOU SIGNED WITH KAWASAKI UK? Yes, the Kawasaki proposal ticked all the boxes. Year one went as planned. I won the support championship and qualified for the British Nationals. The beginning of year two started well. I had several podiums and was racing against Graham Noyce and Neil Hudson.

Then I did a race up in the North of England in May 1980 and crashed. The bike hit me, and I broke my right tib-fib badly. At the time, there was a doctor in Belgium who specialized in motocross injuries, and Kawasaki took me there. He operated on my leg and put a plate in, but unfortunately when I got back to the UK, I got an infection in the plate. The result from that was I did not race until June of 1981.

THAT’S A LONG TIME OFF. When you are a young man, that is a lifetime; trust me. It gave me a lot of time to reflect on the mistake, which was a rider error. In many ways, it made me a little bit more methodical, a little bit more calculated, and much more sensible in my riding. I never wanted to be in that situation again.

DID IT AFFECT YOUR KAWASAKI RIDE? It jeopardized the program that Kawasaki put in place. Year one went to plan and year two started off great. Then I got hurt and could not ride the rest of that year. By then we were into the back half of the third year, and I had not raced at all. They asked me to do the French Grand Prix. It was in July. I was not ready for it because I had not done much riding or physical conditioning, but I said, “Yes, I will go.” It was a lovely track, but a super-hot day, which did not help me. I had a ninth in one moto, which for someone who had not ridden a bike much in 13 months was not a bad effort in a Grand Prix. It helped me get on everybody’s radar. The following year in 1982, we did Grand Prix properly.

“ANYBODY THAT READS THIS STORY WILL KNOW THAT SOMETIMES YOU JUST GET ON A BIKE, DO A COUPLE OF LAPS, AND SAY, ‘THIS IS GOOD. THIS IS ‘COOL.’”

WHAT WERE YOUR BIKES LIKE? Initially, I had one of Brad Lackey’s old bikes, which was a 499 with a blue engine. I had that for training. I also had one from Jim Weinert. Then, at the beginning of the season, they gave me a different bike, which to this day was the best Kawasaki I have ever ridden. It was a 443 semi-factory bike. Anybody that reads this story will know that sometimes you just get on a bike, do a couple of laps, and say, “This is good. This is cool.”  

I absolutely loved that bike, and the season went from strength to strength. In 1982, I won a Moto at Farleigh Castle and was third in the second moto. Lackey went 3-1 and took the overall win. Then at the Austrian GP, I went 1-3 and again Brad went 3-1 and won the overall. I realized that on certain tracks, and on certain days, I could run with the big boys. The second moto was always my Achilles heel then, because I did not quite have the physical capabilities that they had.

DURING THAT TIME, THERE WAS MUCH EXPERIMENTATION WITH ENGINE DISPLACEMENT IN THE BIG BIKE CLASS, RIGHT? Yes, my second year at Kawasaki before I hurt myself, I was on a 390. At that time, in Japan they only raced a 250, and maybe a 125. They did not race a 500, so they did not really have a platform to test and race there. 

YOU ALWAYS LIKED THE BIGGER BIKES, DIDN’T YOU? I had far more enjoyment on them. I have been 6-foot-2 since I was 14 years old, so I have always been a big guy. Obviously, I was a lot lighter when I was younger than today, but the 500 just really suited my style. It was just the best bike for me.  

YOU WERE DOING GREAT AT KAWASAKI. I IMAGINE OTHER TEAMS WERE COURTING YOU. At the end of the season, Honda got in contact with my dad and invited us up to Honda UK in London. They put a proposal together, which was pretty good and was a two-year deal.I asked if I could ride Graham Noyce’s bike, even though I did not doubt the bike at all. I loved it! We signed our contract on the 19th of November 1982 and went to America before Christmas. Graham traveled with us.

Dave minus his goggles, still going full-tilt on his Kawasaki.

HOW WAS AMERICA? When we got there, it was nighttime, and we were out into the desert. Unpacking the bags, I asked Graham, “Have you ever been here before?” He said, “No, never.”  I looked around, and the only lights I could see were the hotel. There was not a single light for as far as the eye could see. We met the Japanese technicians, the Honda Japan bosses, had some food, and went to bed. In the morning, we went to the test track using the box vans they used to drive in America. I remember them wheeling this bike out. I looked at my dad and said, “What is that?” It was the first factory works bike that they ever produced for World Championship Motocross.

HOW WAS THE BIKE? It had disc brakes on the front and back, which initially was very, very awkward. My only consolation was that Graham was feeling the same. When I was at Kawasaki, we had one cylinder head and a few pipes to test, and the team said, “Off you go boys; twist the throttle.” With HRC, it was three days of continual testing. It was a lot for me to take in. I just wanted to ride. Sometimes I would come in and my dad would say, “What did you test?” I would quietly say to my dad, “Truthfully, I don’t have a clue.”

HOW WAS YOUR FIRST SEASON ON HRC? In 1983, I raced the season, but I did not ride well at all. I struggled and, for whatever reason, I did not click with the Honda straight away. I thought that surely after my first year, if I had not had a two-year deal, I would have been shown the door. I did not perform up to what they expected, and it certainly was not what I had hoped for.

I HEARD THAT HONDA HAD “A” AND “B” BIKES FOR 1984. By the end of 1983, Suzuki stopped its European racing program. So, Eric Geobors, George Jobe and Andre Vromans were without rides. Literally, through the night, Eric and Andre got offered a deal, so that made the Honda team four riders: me, Andre Malherbe, Eric Geboers, and Andre Vromans. When my dad went to Japan, he called me and said, “Dave, I just want to tell you, there are two bikes next year, an A and a B bike.”  Japan did not tell them that, but my dad did. He said, “We are on the B bike along with Andre Vromans. Geboers and Malherbe are on A bikes, but can I just say, it is going to be fine.” What that really did for me as an athlete, as I was in my pre-season training, was make me dig deeper in every aspect. I felt that I really needed to be in the best shape I could be in. It made me more focused.

“I STILL LOVED RIDING BUT I LOST THE ENJOYMENT OF RACING.THEN I GOT AN OFFER FROM A COMPANY THAT I HAD NEVER HEARD OF—CINTI, AN ITALIAN COMPANY.”

WAS THE B BIKE AS GOOD AS THE A BIKE? The B bike was good. I won my first Grand Prix in Sweden in 1984. Then I went on to win races at the end of the year, all six races on the bounce, and it set me up for another two-year deal with Honda. It reinstated the faith that Honda first showed in me, that they had probably signed the right guy in 1983 rather than making a mistake.

AND CLEARLY YOU REINSTATED HONDA’S FAITH BY WINNING THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP THE NEXT YEAR. The head-to-head battle for the Championship with Andre Malherbe was what dreams are made of. Looking back, I would have been hugely disappointed to lose, but by the same token, it was great to be involved in something that 35 years later people still talk about. It was back and forth all year. One of the things that was cool for me was that Andre was so fair all the time. There were plenty of times when it could have been the other way.

YOU WERE ON THE BRITISH MOTOCROSS DES NATIONS TEAM SEVERAL TIMES. THOSE MUST HAVE BEEN SPECIAL TO YOU. The Nations is always tough for everybody concerned, and it is not just the Europeans. I know it is for the American guys, too. It is the end of a long season. You want to forget training, forget bikes and go on a holiday with your family. For the Des Nations, you wear your heart on your sleeve. Well, I do, because I am proud to be British.

The press always tried to make a big thing about the Europeans versus the Americans. The riders just want to win, you know. I have always been good friends with Ricky Johnson, Davey Bailey and Johnny O’Mara, who were racing then. There has only ever been total respect between us.

WASN’T A BIG DEAL MADE WHEN JOHNNY O’MARA BEAT YOU ON A 125? Yes, in 1996, at the Des Nations in Italy. He absolutely smoked me on his 125. Not just me. To be fair, he smoked everybody. Some of the media made a big deal about the fact that I was on a 500 and he was on a 125. It is a bit like tabloid journalism. Sometimes people make a big deal out of nothing, and I certainly have never felt any problem with Johnny beating me on a 125, 250 or 500.The fact is most people don’t have the ability that Johnny had, irrespective of what bike they are on. For me, there is no stress in the fact that he beat me at all. Throughout my career, I had some days where I simply felt that “I didn’t have the fight it took to win that day.” This was one of them.

YOU HAD A VERY UPRIGHT, OLD-SCHOOL RIDING STYLE WHEN COMPARED TO THE AMERICANS. DID IT HURT TO BE CALLED “THE WORLD’S FASTEST NOVICE”? You know who wrote that—Jody Weisel. I met Jody when I first went to America on a Kawasaki. We got along well, even after his comments. Jody and I have gotten past that a long time ago. To be a professional athlete, you must be thick skinned. I believe Jody genuinely saw me in that way. It did not bother me. You could be the most stylish guy out there, but the bottom line is if you did not cross the finish line first, it did not count.

HOW WERE YOU FEELING ABOUT DEFENDING YOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1986? In 1986, I felt the pressure of the number 1 plate. I had a few of those moments I mentioned where I felt like I had no fight in me. In 1985, I had no race days where I did not think I could fight. 1986 for me was a grind. In 1985, I flowed; it was light and easy. But in 1986, I just felt a lot of the days I was grinding out results. When it came down to the last two races, there were three or four points between Malherbe and me, five or six between Geboers and me, and maybe 11 between me and Jobe. The reality was, it was any one of us four who could have won on the day.  

IT WENT DOWN TO THE FINAL GP. The first moto was very hot, and they had put a lot of water on the track. Andre and I got away and we must have passed and re-passed each other 20 times. I won, with Mahlerbe second. After the first moto finish, Andre put his arm around my shoulder and said, “Great race, Dave. Congratulations, Champ,” but of course, I knew it was not over. I went to sleep in my truck before the second moto, and I heard rain beating on the roof. I looked out the window and we just had a tropical storm. There were rivers running down the track, so the second moto was just survival.

HOW WAS MOTO TWO? I said to my father, “I just have to make a half-decent start, then work the rest of it out,” and that is pretty much what I did. I got a top-10 start, and I could see Geboers was ahead. He fell, and I worked my way through. Malherbe and I were battling away, and then Jobe caught me. I let him by because I knew I did not have to beat him. I had a little battle with Malherbe who came back at me. I let him back by, as I did not need to beat him. I just tried to ride a clever race, because the track was very, very difficult. I brought it home, but it was not an easy day at all. To be fair, it was a great season. There were some great races with some good guys, but for me personally, it was just a difficult season. It never really flowed at all for me

THE NEXT TWO YEARS WEREN’T AS GOOD, WERE THEY? I was leading in 1987 and broke my shoulder, so that was the end of 1987. In 1988, I was winning again and broke my collarbone in the Dutch Grand Prix. I got it fixed quickly, so I still had a chance to win that year. Later, I hit a post and broke my hand but still finished third in 1988.

Dave Thorpe was a massive hero to English fans as he is one of only three British riders to win the 500 World Championship. The other two were Jeff Smith and Graham Noyce.

YOU CAME BACK IN 1989 AND WON YOUR THIRD TITLE. Yes, I went head-to-head with Geboers. It was a tough year in the beginning. My boss at Honda during that time was an American guy, Steve Whitelock. For me, Steve was great. He was honest. Whatever he said to me, it was always real. Even if sometimes it was not something I wanted to hear, I always felt that he was telling me as it was.

MANY THOUGHT ERIC WOULD WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THAT YEAR. Eric and I were going back and forth, and then he started to create a gap in the championship. When we went to Hollister Hills in America. I remember that in the second moto on the big downhill at the back of the track, I nearly went over the bars. I pulled off the track, which I never do. In the pits, my dad asked what happened. I said, “Honestly, dad, I just do not feel safe. I feel like something is going to go wrong.”  I saw Steve Whitelock, and I will never forget his words. He said, “What is the matter, Dave? You blew it. Now you are 28 points behind, and you are never going to make that up.” 

I had three Grand Prix to go. The flight home from California was a long flight, and all I could hear in my head was what Steve said to me. The next four weeks, I ran and I ran and I ran. I trained like it was pre-season. I did not ride very much. I wanted the next round to be my round to get back in it. What Steve said was my motivation. We went to San Marino, where I rode well, and my 28-point deficit went to 14. I was back in the hunt.

It had the reverse effect on Eric Geboers. He crumbled a bit, because I closed the gap so quickly. Steve’s words motivated me, even though at the time he would not have known that.

YOU TOOK THE CHAMPIONSHIP BUT LEFT HONDA. WHAT HAPPENED? It is simple, really. Honda did not want me to keep my dad as my mechanic. I asked, “Why? We had just won our third world title?” There was no answer. We agreed to regroup at the Des Nations in 1989, which in hindsight was probably not the best place to have a meeting, because I was fired up for the race.

We met on Saturday, and they still insisted on the change but could not give me justification. Quite coincidentally, the week that I was at home, Kawasaki made me an offer, so I dug my heels in and said, “Look, if I can’t be with my dad, then I am going to sign with someone else.” 

The Honda guys left the room, and when they returned, they said, “Okay, you can keep your dad.”  

I replied, “No! I don’t think our relationship will ever be the same. I did not want to have to say that I was going to sign with somebody else for you to change your mind.” I felt that we had enough respect to talk this through and not put me in a corner. So, I went to Kawasaki, which was not a total disaster.

WHAT HAPPENED AT KAWASAKI? I did not win any more world titles. It was a little bit like deja vu. I had ridden Kurt Nicoll’s Kawasaki before I went to Japan, and I liked it. But when I got to Japan, they pulled a bike out that was nothing like Kurt’s race bike. It was not what I had hoped for. I struggled with the chassis for quite some time.  It is the Japanese mentality. When they have something that is very new and they want to keep it quiet, they tell as few people as possible. It is on a need-to-know basis.

YOU STILL WON RACES. I won GPs. Eventually, towards the end of 1990, they let me use the steel frame, which made a big difference to me. I was just not keen on the stiffness of the aluminum frame. 

In the beginning of 1991, they continued to let me use it. But during the Grand Prix in Switzerland, while running third on the last lap, I jumped the uphill triple and the rod came out of the engine. The back wheel locked up, and I went over the handlebars. I dislocated my shoulder. So, I missed a fair part of that year, and coming back, I was finishing top-five. But, the reality was, whatever made me special—that crash took it away. I don’t know where confidence comes from, but if you could bottle it, you could sell it and make a lot of money. I later had another engine failure, and I was done.

YOU AND KAWASAKI PARTED WAYS? It was mutual, really. If they had offered me a deal, which they did not, I would not have taken it. They did not offer me a deal, so there was never a conversation to be had.  

Dave in the middle of an ecstatic mob.

WERE YOU READY TO QUIT MOTOCROSS? I was, and I wasn’t. I still loved riding but lost the enjoyment of racing. Then I got an offer from a company that I had never heard of—Cinti, an Italian company.

It looked all right, and I was back on a Honda. I did not know them, but I figured if George Jobe had done a deal with them, he must know them. While getting ready for the new season, I crashed. The clutch lever scissored and cut the end of my finger off.

I started the first six Grand Prix with half of my little finger. Then they stopped paying me. I had never experienced anything like that. It was the first time I have never been paid. I took them to court in Italy and won. The following day, they went bankrupt. I raced in 1993, just me and my dad for a bit of fun, and that was it…done.

AFTER RETIRING FROM RACING, YOU STARTED A HONDA RACE TEAM, RIGHT? Yes, and Mike Brown was always our top rider. I was very lucky to get someone of Mike’s stature on our team. The 125 Honda was a great bike, but it was no match for the factory Huskies and KTMs. Mike was a great ambassador for us and a great role model for the kids on our team because his work ethic was second to none. There are some people who race motocross who are good, but it’s not their passion. With Mike, it is a passion.

Later, Honda pulled out, and I had some personal issues that prevented me from traveling, so I stopped doing all of that.  

AS A RIDER, YOU KEPT RACING; CAN’T YOU ACTUALLY CLAIM A FOURTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP? Yes, I won the Vet World Cup in 1987, but it was not something that I put on my resume. I still say three-time champion (Laugh). It was a small series that the FIM put together. I no longer race, but I do ride quite a bit, and I enjoy that. 

AND YOU ARE BACK RUNNING A HONDA MOTOCROSS TEAM? I run the Crenden Fast Track Honda Team in the UK. It is the official Honda Motocross team. We had Tommy Searle, who has won for us the last three years. I have had some great riders, Jake Nichols, and some ex-Grand Prix riders. In 2023, I have Conrad Mewse, a Grand Prix rider, and Josh Gilbert, who did some AMA Nationals this year.

I really enjoy running the team. It is mostly British. We may do a few Grand Prix in 2023, depending on how everybody is performing. I also work with Honda UK as an off-road consultant, and then I have two other businesses. One is Honda Adventure, which allows people to ride Africa Twins. That is a great outlet for people to come try the bikes in a nice, controlled environment and learn a little bit. We also have a trail riding school based on riding the CRF250X.  

DO YOU EVER SEE YOURSELF GETTING AWAY FROM DIRT BIKES? Not really, because I enjoy it. There are quite a few opportunities ahead still. The day that the enjoyment really goes out of it for me will be the day I stop doing it. We have another business here that has nothing to do with bikes. My wife and I always have ideas and bits and pieces out there. Of course, I have my book that is out now.

I LOVE THE TITLE OF YOUR BOOK. “No Regrets… Well, Almost” is the title. As we have been talking on this phone call, every time you heard that “ching,” someone has bought a book online. It is a book from beginning to end with all the nitty-gritty in the middle. Most people think it is a cool read. You can buy it online at www.davethorpe.co.uk. It is always difficult when you decide to write a book, because you can only write the truth. You can make it up, but then it becomes a bit tabloidy, and then there is no point in doing it. I am pleased with the result.  

FINAL QUESTION, DAVE: WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST MOMENT, AND WHAT HAS THE SPORT GIVEN YOU? My first world title and the last one. Together, they meant a lot, because the first one was super special and the last one was special because everybody thought I could not do it anymore because I kept getting injured. Those two would be the pinnacle championships for me. What has motocross given me? It has given me some real genuine lifetime memories with people that I would never have met otherwise and that I continue to love and befriend now.