Enduro21 catches five with Jonny Walker as he waves bye bye to Beta and, after contemplating retirement (!), decided he wasn’t done yet and is “seeking pastures new” to make sure he can compete at the highest level...but on which bike? 

“I thought about retiring” were not the words Enduro21 was expecting to hear from Jonny Walker. When the news broke about him parting ways with Beta Motorcycles we were expecting a fresh deal with a different manufacturer to follow shortly after but not this!

Thankfully for Walker fans he’s not ready to hang up his boots and go window fitting just yet. After a three-year stint on the Beta 300cc two-stroke which has seen Jonny claim an AMA EnduroCross championship title and finish runner-up to Billy Bolt in consecutive FIM SuperEnduro World Championships, Walker is quite simply looking for “a team that supports me with a good enough bike and who’ll push to help me win.”

After getting over injuries (some old, some new) it seemed like Jonny had his mojo back just lately. Aside from being the only rider to truly challenge Billy Bolt indoors, Hard Enduro podiums are on the cards again plus Romaniacs prologue and Red Bull Tyne Ride wins.

But to operate at that level as a professional athlete you need team support and it has been clear all along that Beta, who focus on the EnduroGP World Championship with their factory riders, just weren’t in the same ballpark.

So after a successful stint riding the Italian manufacturer’s 300 two-stroke, and after bringing a huge amount of positive vibes to Beta across the world with results and videos, Jonny decided this summer to ‘seek pastures new’, as they say. But where do those pastures lie?

Hi Jonny, so, you’re leaving Beta, why now and what was the reason?

Jonny Walker: “Basically the contract with Beta came to an end and it was just a mutual agreement. I obviously wanted a little bit more support from them at the races and their direction, or focus, isn’t in indoor or extreme races so I decided it was better for me to make a fresh start.”

“The last few years have been tough. I've been trying to race at the top level and I don’t feel like I've been doing myself justice basically. It’s been me and my girlfriend at the races, sometimes my mate Rob who shoes horses for a living normally, and when you’re trying to race against Billy indoors it was just too difficult.”

Was it hard to make that decision?

“I thought about retiring to be honest just because it’s too difficult. I thought retirement was better than doing what I’m doing now basically because it was so stressful to organise and do everything myself. Yeah, I enjoyed riding the bike but…it’s a little hard to explain because obviously most people who ride dirt bikes do it themselves but at world championship level competing against the factory teams you just can’t do everything.

“If it hadn’t been for my private sponsors like Leatt, Red Bull, GoPro, Dirt Store and all the valuable companies helping me with my bike parts I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

In what kind of ways did not having enough factory support hurt you at the races?

“It just made things difficult 'cause obviously to get to a race you've got two or three days driving, a couple of days preparing your bike by the time you change engines and do stuff like that. There’s all the logistics of actually planning races and calendars, entries and so on. I was just losing so much time and not being able to train properly.

“A good example is the SuperEnduro races I was not even thinking about the race until I got on the line most of the time because I was so worried that I’d forgotten something, still hadn't done this or booked these flights or whatever. I wasn't able to concentrate on what I was doing to have the best result possible.

“That's why I made this decision to change to a new bike or team so I can do my job as best as I can.”

I’m only going to go with a team that supports me with a good enough bike and who’ll push to help me win

There must be benefits to being a privateer rider (effectively) and running your own show?

“Riding at the top level obviously is difficult at the best of times. When you’re with teams and you’ve got pressure and stuff like that. I don't really have the pressure riding in my own team. I put the pressure on myself making sure everything was right and wanting the result but it was very difficult most of the time.

“It was easy the first year [on the Beta] because I had a mechanic but I spent so much money that first year it didn’t pay. That first year I did was just a total loss.

“I thought if I do the job that I did the first year there would be more support in year two but that just didn’t happen. That’s when I decided not to have a mechanic and do everything myself because there’s no point losing money.”

So what’s next is the golden question. Have you got factory deals in mind or will you make your own programme again or a mix or what?

“What’s next is the golden question! I haven’t got anything concrete yet but because of the last three years I’m only going to go with a team that supports me with a good enough bike and who’ll push to help me win 'cause obviously that's what I want to do.

“Even though I’m getting an oldish now I still feel like I can race at the top level so whichever team I see is the best and whichever bike I feel is the best is the short answer. It all just depends on that really.

“I’ve tested a few bikes and yeah I've kind of got my sights set on one like that like so trying to push towards that.”

NB: Enduro21 did try and push Jonny on this, suggesting a certain British manufacturer for example. We obviously know there are a few manufacturers not currently hitting the high notes indoors or in hard enduro like Fantic, TM, or Honda for example. But, sadly for now, we couldn’t get any blood out of this stone!

Certain riders are pushing to ride a four-stroke in extreme because they prefer it. There could be a change coming very soon

Have you taken the chance to test different bikes? What looks good out there at the moment? Four-stroke or two-stroke ideally?

“I’m not too fussed to be honest. The only reason I went with a two-stroke is because the two-stroke was better if there’s an issue at the track. I could fix it myself whereas if it was on four-stroke I wouldn’t be able to so easily.

“I think there’s going to be change in the next few years between two and four-stroke in extreme. Four-strokes could be coming in more. I’ve heard certain riders are pushing to ride a four-stroke, not naming anyone but they’re pushing to ride one in extreme because they prefer it. So there could be a change coming very soon.”

What’s next in terms of racing and events for you? Will you race the EnduroCross series? SuperEnduro is not is far away either…

“I’d like to race EnduroCross but it’s all coming around very fast. I think it’s five weeks until the first round which doesn’t give us any time when I actually make my decision of what I'm gonna do.

“That might make it difficult to go and race there but I’m pushing for EnduroCross but whether we can make it happen is a different story so it might be SuperEnduro.

“I prefer to do more indoors just because of the injuries I’ve got, outdoor races are tough but part of the point of all this, if I’ve got good factory support then I'll be able of focus more on training and getting ready for extreme races.

“I’ve done extreme races this year like Erzberg and I’ve done ok but I've not put in the effort that you need to you for a specific race like that. You need to put a lot of hours in training whereas SuperEnduro you’re not wrecking your bike or body as much.”

What have you got up your sleeve with Red Bull to create videos like the Hard Line downhill?

“I actually have all of that in mind obviously because the last few years have been so tough I thought that if we don’t come to any agreement anywhere then Red Bull are in full support of me just doing videos which I enjoy doing.

“Again, it’s difficult to do everything 'cause you need so much time to get ready for these videos – a big video needs at least six weeks or more you know to try plan and train.

“I've got one idea that we're talking with Red Bull about at the moment. So that should be good, it’ll be more city-based.

“Hardline was cool and I really enjoyed it. It was scary and definitely took me out my comfort zone but we’ll keep pushing and hopefully we can go racing but if not we’ll just be doing videos!”

Watch Jonny’s Red Bull Hardline downhill video here: “The hardest thing I’ve ever done” – Jonny Walker goes nuts on his Beta

Photo Credit: Future7Media | Andrea Belluschi + Red Bull Content Pool | Paul Griffiths/Sam Strauss