Behind The Gate – The Interviews: Mattia Guadagnini

The Behind The Gate documentary series, which is produced after every GP and aired immediately on MXGP-TV.com, focused on the MXGP of Trentino for Episode Six, “Making The Break”, which came before a five-week break in the schedule prior to the MXGP of France.  We went behind the scenes with Venrooy KTM Racing and their MXGP rider Mattia Guadagnini, who was racing at the Italian Motocross mecca of Trentino for the first time in three years. We were fortunate enough to have the two-time GP winner, and former MX2 red plate holder, show us the trophy cabinet at his home in Italy, then follow him to a local practice track as he prepared for Trentino.

After equalling his best Qualifying Race result with seventh on the Saturday at Pietramurata, the likeable home boy struggled a little with his starts and came in 17^th overall, leaving him 14^th in the Championship after the first five rounds.

Sadly, the luckless Mattia aggravated added another injury to his left shoulder, which was already far from a hundred percent due to continuing problems over the last few years.  We were able to speak to him via video call from his home in Pieve del Grappa, less than two hours’ drive from Trentino, and he explained the latest setback in what has been a troubled MXGP career so far.

 

BTG: Mattia, thanks for joining us remotely at his time.  We will obviously go through things as we talk more, but how are you now, it must have been such a disappointment to get injured yet again.

MG: Yeah, it feels quite bad to be out again and that I need to stop, to be here at home watching the races again. But I also know that with how bad it was, it didn't make sense to try to survive and be back. So, the surgery is the best thing I can do. And I will take my time, to really be back at 100% and work hard to be competitive, as soon as possible. I also know that rushing things at this time, at this point it doesn't make sense. We'll take this time to really put some training in and focus on the shoulder, and be back at my 100 % as soon as possible.

 

BTG: So, just to rewind to Trentino, when we followed you for Behind The Gate, how were you feeling with the new team, with the season up to that point?

MG: So, the season so far had been quite good. I had a really good feeling with the team, and it didn't show so much on the results, but I felt really confident on the bike. I had a really good winter working with the team and the bike and I got that feeling back, from racing last year, and it really took a little bit of time to re-adapt to the KTM, but after that it went really smooth and I really had a good feeling. I think I was building up in the first few races, to get the feeling to be confident, and at this point I really think I can put everything together and show that there's a good potential. I was really confident to go into my race, my home GP and show what I was capable of.

 

BTG: Yeah, because Sardegna was also your first home GP for a few years, really, apart from Maggiora in 2024, because you had injuries the two years before. So it must have been exciting to finally get back to Sardegna, and then, of course, Trentino is so crazy anyway. I mean, I know last year you enjoyed getting in the crowd, we saw photos of you with the fans, revving chainsaws and everything, so that was good fun, but it must have been better to actually be on the bike this time.

MG. Ha ha ha, yeah, exactly. Trentino is my real home GP, because it's really close to my home. It's one and a half hours from where I live, and every year so many fans come to the race. So, it's a really special race. I didn't race there for the last two years because I was injured. So, racing in Sardegna was good, but of course, Trentino is a bit more special for me and I was really looking forward for my real home GP, to be there with all the fans. I went there last year to enjoy the show, but of course to be part of the race is a completely different story.

 

BTG: Yeah, for sure. I can imagine it was just a massive improvement for you. So, talking about Trentino itself, how was it for you? I mean, we can see that the results weren't amazing, but you had a good seventh in Qualifying, matching your best of the year. So, how did you feel after Qualifying?

MG: Yeah, I'm gonna talk about Saturday because it was really good! Yeah, I didn't show anything else in the end. I mean, the results were not the best but Saturday was really, really good. I had a good feeling coming into the race. I really wanted to put everything together and be there, and show everybody, to finally be there for my home GP, so that was an extra motivation to really give my best in every session of the weekend, and Saturday went quite well. I didn't have the best time in Time Practice but then the Qualifying Race was a different story. All the crowd really pushed me through the race and I didn't have the best start, but then I made some early passes in the moto, and then I was really, like, feeling it. I was enjoying it so much, to be out there racing, and that for sure helped a lot. I was able to make some passes and stabilise myself in seventh position, which was really, really good honestly. Especially going into the Sunday races with that feeling, that I was able to put a good moto together, to be in a good position for Sunday. Of course, there was also that happiness, that warm feeling from the crowd after a good result on Saturday, it really helped me to go into Sunday with even an extra motivation, to be even more hungry, to really be there, put together the races, and bring home a really good result.

 

BTG: Yeah superb, I can only imagine that you definitely feel the crowd behind you at that race, can you actually experience the noise from the trackside fans, do you get that for yourself, do you feel it when you're coming past them?

MG: Yes, I mean the crowd was crazy. It's always been crazy in Trentino, but of course when they are cheering for you and for the Italian riders, you can feel it closer. You can feel like, I don't know, you're racing and every time you pass by the crowd at the last corner before the finish line jump, it's just like, yeah, I need to... well, to give my best, I need to put together my 100%! If it's not for me, it needs to be for them also. So even when it's a bit difficult, when you find yourself in a difficult position or you're struggling in the moto, it's just like an extra motivation. They remind you that it makes sense to give your best and you need to make it.  It's really special. I don't know if everybody can experience this on a home GP. I think for an Italian, to race Trentino is really special. It's not an everyday thing. Like for me, it has been like really, really cool. I don't know, just like a really special moment of my life.

 

BTG: Fantastic, it’s great that you got to experience that and especially after two years out. So, sorry to ask the difficult question, but please tell us what's happened since, you obviously had an injury there. Could you talk us through how it happened again, I know it's an old injury that's come back, but for people who don't know the situation, what has happened?

MG: Yeah, after Trentino, I was really motivated to use the one month of the break to really put together the work, to be back in a stronger position, to really use this break to train, to test, to be in a better spot when we all came back in France.

I was really motivated to put it together every day, and I went straight to Belgium and the Netherlands to test with the team. I was doing suspension tests, and we had three really good days. And at the last day in Lommel, I was maybe a little bit tired. It was at the end of the day, but I still wanted to push, to make the best use of the time to work, and then go back home to do some more training, but with a good feeling on the bike.

And yeah, they were just the last few laps of the day, and I had a big, big crash. I got sideways on a straight, like after one jump? So, I took one bump, and the bike went sideways, and I had a massive crash, like a big, big one. And of course, yeah, I felt there was something strange from the beginning. I had a really big concussion on the head, which was really taking off the focus on the body. After I was feeling a bit better in my head, I felt straightaway that there was something strange on the shoulder, on my left shoulder, which I already had like six or seven injuries on before. And then, yeah, I have an old plate on the collarbone and I got an injury just on the side of that. So, it was a strange fracture, and in the next few weeks I had some medical checks, some different opinions, and I finally went to a doctor who knows me really well from my previous injuries, and the final decision was to have surgery.

My shoulder situation is quite bad, and every time I get an injury it's getting worse and worse. So, I was trying to survive, not lose time in the last few years, but it was really difficult. I had like 50 % of the power on the left shoulder compared to the right one, which is quite crazy to think about, for riding a Motocross bike.

 

BTG:  Yeah that is pretty crazy, it must have been tough to ride through that every time you went on track, especially on the more brutal tracks!

MG:  I didn't talk much about it, but it was a really difficult time in the last few years, and every time I got injured it was more and more difficult. At this point with this new injury that required surgery, I will take this time to fix also some other things, which is good for my future, because honestly it was really difficult to keep on going like this.

On the other side, it will take some more time. So, I'll be off for a few months. I still don't know the exact time, but we will see after the surgery. It will be in two weeks [from the end of May]. So I need to wait, be patient a little bit. And then after the surgery, we can decide and see how the situation is. On one side, I know it's really the best for my future, for my health, and to really put together the work and the rehab, to be at my 100 % again, which I have not been for a long time now. Of course, it feels really bad to be out again, to lose many races of the Championship, especially with the beginning of the season where I was feeling better, I was feeling strong. I really believed that I could put everything together and be in a strong position soon during the season.

 

BTG: Yeah, because at 100%, you know, you've won GPs before in MX2, and you've stood on the podium in MXGP. So, you know the ability is there. It's just getting over the physical side of it, of course. So, I mean, is that the sort of thing that keeps you going through the darkest times? Like, yeah, I've got podium potential, I can compete at the top level. You know, is that something that just sort of burns in you to help you get through this? I can't imagine what it must be like for you.

MG: Yeah, I mean, I did some really good things in the past, not so long ago, so there's still something there. I did podiums, I won GPs in the MX2, I got the podium in the MXGP.  So, I know what I'm capable of, the last few years have been quite difficult with all the injuries going on, and every time, it’s like taking my time to be back, to put together training. Every time it takes like two or three months to be back in a decent position, and then do some more races and take time to be back at a really strong point. Like every time in the last three years I was feeling OK, then I got another injury. So that makes it really difficult, to have the strength to be back every time. And of course, I was never at my 100%, not physically, not mentally, not with, like, my physical situation. I know that I was really far from what I'm able to do.

That's a bit difficult on one side, but that's a really positive thing to keep in mind, to work hard and try to be back there where I belong. Even mentally, I was racing the last two, three years since the injury in France in 2023, I got some shoulder problems and that made it more and more difficult every time I got a new injury, because it was always on the left shoulder, it's like really weak, and every time I crash I got injured there! After that it has been quite difficult, and also mentally it has been quite difficult to go racing, knowing that I'm not at my 100 %, knowing that I don't have the strength at my 100% to control the bike.  MXGP at this level is not a joke, so you need to be really at your 100% to be competitive and I was not for a long time, so I will take this time also to work on many things, to really be back safe and strong and be on a good level, not just be there trying to survive or trying to compete. I want to be back at my highest level, so that's the real goal.

 

BTG: You seem to be in a decent spot with the Venrooy team, I guess? I mean, obviously they must be disappointed, but yeah can you say if things are good for next year, or is that still undecided yet?

MG: Well, I don't have a contract for next year, so that's really not an easy situation, to stay out for a long time. I spoke with the team, and we'll see. I mean, there is a chance to keep working with them. It would be really good for me, because I had a really good feeling. I also know it's a difficult position for them at the moment, like not having a rider for many races. So we will discuss this when I have some more news and to see when I can come back and we will discuss also for the future. So for the moment, not anything confirmed at the end of the day.

 

BTG: OK, thank you so much for speaking to us and yeah, we all hope that you get well soon. We miss you at the races and yeah, we hope you have a good recovery and can come back at something close to your best.

MG:  Thank you so much. Hope to see you soon. Have a good weekend!

 

Epilogue: The Venrooy KTM team have been able to take on Rick Elzinga as a stand-in for Mattia, after the Dutchman had struggled with his previous team.  He was able to score his first points of the year with 17^th overall at his first race with the team, the Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany. 

We wish Mattia Guadagnini all the best with his recovery, and that the ever-cheerful but deceptively tough Italian is able to bless the circuit with his unique style and flair on a motorcycle again soon, because at his best he is a joy to watch.  Thanks to Mattia and the Venrooy KTM Racing team for their help with the episode.