If you sat down with a certain young man from Bourke, New South Wales, and he told you he was just coming out of retirement at 23 years of age, you’d most likely call his bluff.

Former motocross racer Tye Simmonds may not be a rocket scientist, a champion weightlifter or a professional poker player, but he is definitely not a liar and is still fast as hell on a dirt bike – and, yes – he was retired.

Admitting the truth to yourself can be one of the bigger challenges in life, and when the fun is gone from something you love, it’s time to move on. After hanging up his boots from professional motocross in 2013, Simmonds thought he would never race again, but he was somehow lured back into the mix, returning to the sport refreshed and ready to be better than second best.

Q: What made you decide to retire from racing motocross at such a young age?

Tye Simmonds: I was burned out. I just wasn’t having fun with my riding and racing. I do some motocross coaching with kids now and then, and they ask me for advice. I have always said to just have fun; if you’re having fun with what you love, you will in turn enjoy it and get the best out of yourself. It turned out that I wasn’t taking my own advice. My mind was elsewhere and that was only going to lead to me getting hurt.

Q: Have you ever heard the Al Pacino quote from the third Godfather film? “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” Is that how it all went down for you?

TS: (Laughing) No one put a gun to my head, that’s for sure! A good mate of mine had been pestering me to go for a ride in the bush. To be honest, in my mind, I had retired from motocross. I was done [racing] and hadn’t planned on riding a bike ever again. This guy I know got ahold of Ben Grabham (his new team manager at the KTM Enduro Racing Team), and I went for a ride with him out at Louee Ride Park. From that day on “Grabbo” was committed and wanted to do something with me. He just had to speak to KTM and to all of their credit, they gave me a chance to prove myself.

Tye during one of the breaks at Hattah© Bradley peter Greenfield image

Q: What is it you enjoy about off-road racing?

TS: The thing I enjoy about off-road racing is that it’s just a completely different world. Off-road has helped me put the fun back into my riding. I’m always learning from every race we go to with all of the different formats. I’m loving my job now. You always get the best out of yourself when you’re having fun and enjoying it.

Q: You surprised a few people with your podium finish at the Tatts Finke Desert Race. Did your performance surprise you as well?

TS: Finishing as well as I did at my first-ever Finke Desert Race did surprise me to a certain extent. When we first started pre-running up there, I got it in my head that it was going to be a tough race. At that time I would’ve been happy to finish and crack the top 10. After a bit more work my times were close to my teammate Ivan Long’s (Long finished in third in 2014) so I got it in my head to dig deep and shoot for top five. I just did the best I could and in the end I was over the moon to finish second outright.

Q: You just repeated that performance and finished second at the Penrite Oil Hattah Desert Race. Can you compare Finke to Hattah for us?

TS: Hattah is pretty brutal as well; with all of the bikes out on the course and the race being four hours long, it wears on you. The first three laps were awesome. The Hattah course is like a huge overgrown motocross track. Later in the race, it starts to get rougher and really choppy. The body starts to hurt and you’re just trying to hold on. It’s one of the more enjoyable races we’ve competed in this year, unlike Finke. That event is just gnarly with the high speeds we have to run. My teammate Toby Price proved yesterday why he is the number one rider here in Australia. TP checked out pretty early, but I think my motocross background really helped me get into a good flow after the first lap. I began to pull away from third place and ended up second again. (Hattah competitors race seven laps of a 37-kilometer-long course.)

Q: What’s it like to suddenly find out that you’re the second best off-roader in all of Australia?

TS: (Smiles) If you look at the results from Finke and Hattah, I could fall into that title. I’m just glad to be having the season I am. I have the best team behind me, and Toby is still good enough to be giving me advice along the way. To come second to a guy like that is a great feeling, that’s for sure.

Q: What model KTM have you been competing on?

TS: I’ve been racing the KTM 500 EXC and it’s hard to describe what it’s really like until you ride it. It’s an unbelievable weapon and a full-on beast, that’s for sure. The bike has plenty of power and it gets the job done every time.

Q: What’s next for you and the rest of the KTM Enduro Racing Team ?

TS: We have four more rounds in the AORC (Australian Off-Road Championship) then from there we head over to Slovakia to represent Australia in the International Six Days Enduro. The next race after that will be the Australian Four Days [Enduro] down in Tasmania. That’s about it for the season.

Q: Not to knock the hard working tradesmen in the world, but do you think this is true: Racing for work is more enjoyable than having to put on a flouro work shirt every morning?

TS: Tenfold, mate—that’s a definite yes from me!

Words by Jerry Bernado

© Photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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