FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 7 | Page 67

MAX NAGL

Working with Max: Bart Dirkx
“Max was already a guy who was very
honest and knew what he was doing
when it came to the bike in terms of
settings and everything. We worked
together for three years at KTM and
I gained a lot of information and
experience from that.”
“I write everything down, even the
smallest details and sometimes not
even things connected directly to the
bike. In those first years we went to all
the races; the German Championship,
the Internationals, and we travelled a lot
together. It meant that when he came
to this team everything was very easy. I
knew how he would want to be organised
and Max is a little bit of a perfectionist!
When everything is correct then he is
capable of doing amazing things.”

“He is a nice and kind guy and is
always saying thank you and asks for
things rather than demands them and I
appreciate that.”

© ILARI SUHONEN

“It doesn’t feel like he is demanding, but
he wants everything at the right setting
and if you come to know someone like
that then you build a bike exactly how
the rider wants it. The last time we went
for a breaking-in ride with a brand new
motorcycle he climbed on it and said
“everything’s good”. I asked if he wanted
a tweak to the lever here or there but it
was all fine. And that’s a great feeling for
me because I measured everything with
the height, the positions and the seat and
had everything just right.”

© ENZO TEMPESTINI

“I think my way to work also suits him.
I would rather take three hours and fix
something so it is absolutely right rather
than turn it around in twenty-five minutes
and it’s not perfect.”

“I think having a family has changed him.
He is so happy when he is with Mason.
At Benicàssim in Spain for the preseason test he was really professional in
the day and working a lot, testing, then
training and doing all he could but then
afterwards he would be like a normal
father. Seeing him relaxed like that is a
big difference. Before we might go to
dinner in the evening and he’ll still talk
about the bike or the training but now
when all that is done he steps into a
normal life and I think it is much better
for him.”
“I do get emotional when I think about
that first Grand Prix in Qatar this year.
It was amazing, amazing. He was been
working so hard and doing everything he
possibly could for a result like that. I was
so happy, I cannot describe it.”

£ The Red Bull Ice
One Husqvarna
Factory Team