Lewis Gregory
From the onset of our interview I could sense that Lewis Gregory was a man filled with much tension and excitement. In a season that promised much from the Gloucester rider, a decision to operate on a recurring thumb injury left him sidelined for the latter part of 2009 eventually ending any chance of claiming British MX1 glory.
Instead of contemplating on what could have been Gregory has become even more motivated as he comes to the end of a much troubled recuperation period.
It is this motivation that has arguably shaped him into the rider he is today. Heralding from a passionate racing family, his dad Alan a former rider himself, it is not hard to see where he gets this passion and drive of racing from. Yet for many outsiders these characteristics would not become apparent until Lewis entered the schoolboy ranks where he pursued an alternative route in order to develop his flourishing talent.
While many of his peers were battling it out bar to bar in the British Youth National Championships, Gregory set his sights a little further a field and took part in meetings across the globe. The novelty of racing these championships rapidly began to wane and the thought of racing elsewhere soon came to the fore.
After a chat back in 2002 with fellow rider Adam Chatfield, he then spent a year honing his skills against his counter parts in America. The move seemed ideal for Lewis who had longed to race across the Atlantic and with the opportunity at his disposal there was no turning back.
With such a big commitment being undertaken at a young age, Gregory decided to race just 3 months at a time. Despite the constant travelling it turned out to be a valuable chapter in his career. With competition known to be much fiercer, he qualified for the Amateur National Motocross Championships, a series that only selects the top fourteen hundred riders from a field of roughly eighteen thousand.
As well as competing Stateside, Gregory also competed in the Amateur European Championship which played homage to a number of grand prix stars such as World MX1 Champion, Antonio Cairoli, Tanel Leok and Christophe Pourcel. Competing against these riders proved to be a great experience and it was one he would return to throughout much of his professional career.
However, to make such a sacrifice required a high fusion of drive, commitment and motivation and it was these characteristics that ultimately saw Lewis spending most of his time crossing from continent to continent.
When his time in the US reached its conclusion, he then returned back to English shores where he was fortunate enough to compete in the last few rounds of the British Championship. With very little pressure on his shoulders, Gregory rode both the Culham and Hawkstone rounds where his ability soon caught the eye of a particular team manager.
“I got talking to Rob Hooper who I think was running a KTM team at the time. He came over to me and said that he was looking into running a Suzuki team for the 2003 season”
“He sounded very confident and enthusiastic in his approach and so we kept in touch. One day he turned round to me and put this deal on the table and we went from there really.”
The relationship between Lewis and Suzuki lasted an impressive 6 years bringing a number of memorable moments, most notably his 2007 win at the Swedish round of the European Championships. It appeared his decision to race abroad earlier in his career paid dividend as he fended off a certain Gautier Paulin to take his first victory much to the delight of Hooper. Only a problem with the lightweight bolt in the sub frame prevented him from completing the double yet despite this setback the signs of his flourishing ability was there for all to see.
Soon enough the team started gaining success on two fronts and in 2006 they teamed up with energy drink, Relentless. Whilst his team mate, Jamie Law was slowly going about his business on the domestic front, Lewis was creating waves throughout Europe with a number of impressive rides.
However, like many great adventures it soon came to an end and in 2008 Lewis left Relentless Suzuki and MX2 to move to the 450cc MotoXtreme Kawasaki Team. With such strong ties at Suzuki the move away was not easy yet it was one that Gregory needed to make.
“At the End of 08 I felt I got to the point in my career where I wanted to try something new. It was nothing against Suzuki or anything like that. I finished in the top 10 of the championship which I was happy about but I didn’t want to be there one more year. I was starting to feel a bit stale so I decided it was best for everyone if I moved on.”
“I then got this offer from MotoXtreme Kawasaki which I thought long and hard about. Leaving Suzuki was always going to be a very hard decision after being there pretty much the entirety of my professional career.”
“Being with Rob and the whole team at Suzuki for so long kind of made me feel like they were my second family but I knew this was something different. The guys at the shop were really cool and that’s how the deal pretty much came about.”
It appeared that the jump onto the 450 didn’t seem to faze Lewis as he started preparing himself for the 2009 campaign.
“I adapted pretty quickly. I think I started riding it at the end of the 2008 season and the mechanics didn’t really have to change much of the set up.”
With the new season about to get under way Lewis felt fresh. A new team bought a new chapter for him and the MX1 title was firmly in his sights. A seventh and an eighteenth respectively at the opening round at Canada Heights did not provide the 24 year old with the sort of start he had anticipated and a disappointing 14th overall at Langrish only further fuelled his anger.
Eager to turn his form around Gregory then stumbled across the problem whilst doing a spot of mid week practicing.
“I have had this thumb injury for a number of years. I broke my thumb back in 04 and it tore the ligament from my thumb which put me out for about 6 months.”
“I was practising at this track about half hour down the road and early into the session I began to start feeling major arm pump. It was just in my right arm and it would happen after about two laps.”
“I knew it couldn’t have been a mental issue as I knew the track very well but all of a sudden my grip on the handle bars would get gradually worse.”
“It seemed the pain was coming from the same thumb that I damaged back in 04 so it seemed that the best option was for another look at it.”
It seems his career has been plagued by a number of small injuries yet this one seemed to be the only notable one that has threatened to keep him out long term.
In order to get the thumb firmly fixed Gregory sought to get the operation done through the NHS. However, the move only fuelled further anxiety as Lewis struggled to find a quick solution.
“My initial thought was to get it done with the NHS but I found myself waiting around a lot of the time and before I could have the operation done the doctors wanted to run a few tests.”
“It became quite annoying as all I wanted to do was to get back on the bike and ride and I just felt the whole procedure was dragging.”
Desperate to find a short term solution, he then started phoning around and eventually stumbled across an answer in Belgium.
“I was fortunate really as I came across this surgery which has just recently opened. After a few phone calls I was able to get onto a plane and get the operation done in a matter of weeks.”
Despite the final operation being conducted over a matter of weeks the whole process left Gregory sidelined for over 6 months leaving his debut season at MotoXtreme Kawasaki one to forget.
The motivation that he has carried throughout his career will be firmly put to the test as he starts regaining full fitness. Despite this, Lewis remains upbeat as he senses the end of the road is near.
“I am feeling really happy at the moment. I got back from Belgium a few weeks a go and have basically been doing what I can in the gym.”
“The thumb is still a bit sensitive so at the moment I am just doing lower body exercises but hopefully in the next week to ten days I should be on the bike again which is just going to be the best feeling.”
With the season now well and truly wrapped up Lewis plans to return to familiar grounds as he prepares himself for 2010 campaign.
“In January I am going to go back to California to try and do some serious riding. What with the weather here not being great it would be so much easier to go there and train on good tracks with good weather.”
“Hopefully we can get over there for a few weeks, even a month just to try and get used to the feel of the bike again.”
Whether or not the pre season training in the US brings as much success to Gregory as it has Andy Murray is yet to be seen but one thing is for certain and that is he is hungrier than ever.
“Hopefully California will help me because the injury has just made me more determined than I have ever been. It was the longest stint I have had off the bike and it’s so refreshing to be back in the thick of it.”
Despite the extra motivation, the time off has not changed his perspective on personal targets and accolades.
“Now I have hopefully seen the back of the injury I feel more confident going into the season but one thing that I still want is the MX1 title.”
“It will be great going to meetings now and being able to fully focus on the racing. The opening rounds of last season I could not fully focus on my riding as I always had that lingering thought in the back of my mind thinking whether or not my arm will pump up. It put a lot of strain on my performances last year so hopefully I can improve this coming season.”
“If I can do well this year then I hopefully will start looking into doing some AMA meetings. Maybe I could get one or two of them in next year who knows but my main aim is definitely to try and claim the MX1 title.”
With Stephen Sword joining an already established line up, Gregory’s task is by no means a sure thing. However, with an injury free season and a bit of good fortune only the most foolish of man would bet against Gregory crashing the party come the final round.
