INTERVIEW
MX2 RACER THOMAS COVINGTON
P70
I came over in 2013 after rac-
ing Loretta Lynn's. I got the op-
portunity to come over here and
race the European 250 class
at Matterley Basin. I did really
well and I thought it was really
cool and all, the whole deal. I
ended up getting a deal with
Mitch Payton in the U.S. to race
outdoors and Supercross there.
I did the first three GPs just to
sort of warm up for the outdoors
in the U.S.
So I went to Qatar and got a
really good finish there—third in
my first ever pro race. I did really
well at the next two also. The
team's over here in Europe, they
were pretty interested in keep-
ing me over here the rest of the
season. I really like the traveling
and everything and seeing all the
"I THINK AS FAR
AS OUTDOORS
GO THE
EUROPEANS
HAVE PROVEN
THEMSELVES
TO BE THE TOP
GUYS HERE
RECENTLY. BUT
I THINK IF THE
TOP EUROPEAN
GUYS WENT
TO THE U.S.
THEY'D ALSO
STRUGGLE
A LITTLE BIT,
JUST LIKE RV
[VILLOPOTO] IS
HERE."
Originally, Covington was set
to follow the natural progression
from Team Green to Pro Circuit,
signing a deal with PC founder
Mitch Payton that would have
had him racing stateside. But
what began as a warm-up for
outdoors—racing select MX2
rounds in 2013—turned into a
full-time gig in '14 that Covington
couldn't turn down.
We caught up with Covington
at the previous round in Spain
to learn a little bit more about
America's other GP racer, his
decision to race in the World
Championship and his plans for
the future.
Tell us—what makes a
guy go from Loretta Lynn's
straight to World Motocross
GP?
