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MXGP<br />
Verdict:<br />
While Ben Watson’s tall frame on a 250<br />
could mean he’ll be a better fit for a 450<br />
(the same thinking could apply to Calvin<br />
Vlaanderen, Mitch Evans and Thomas<br />
Kjer Olsen) there is little doubt that he’ll<br />
be attacking 2020 both to grasp the last<br />
opportunity in MX2 and make an<br />
impression for MXGP 2021. Watson<br />
might have exploded onto the<br />
international scene with victories and<br />
outstanding speed in the EMX250<br />
European Championship as a fifteen year<br />
old and has long-been touted as a star in<br />
the UK since his junior MX days but his<br />
progress to the top level has been slowburn.<br />
Losing an entire year with a badly-broken<br />
foot in 2016 didn’t help but he was trying<br />
to fast-track his education in terms of<br />
preparation and race-leading capabilities<br />
in 2017 and 2018. 2019 should have seen<br />
another stage of evolution, and despite<br />
the mistakes and misfortune with injury<br />
it perhaps gave him his most important<br />
lesson to-date: dealing with the mental<br />
aspect of pressure, demands and expectation.<br />
Watson has the technique, the<br />
strength (again he has collaborated with<br />
Jacky Vimond in the off-season) and<br />
now, hopefully, the hardened character<br />
and race-mind to judge a weekend and<br />
paint the bigger picture. He is one of the<br />
very few top hopes for the UK in 2020<br />
(perhaps Conrad Mewse can also develop)<br />
and beyond, and British fans will<br />
be hoping his maturation as a Pro and<br />
an athlete delivers the results he really<br />
should be hitting. He’s part of a clutch of<br />
riders that could produce surprises over<br />
the next nine months.
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