Back in September, during the Chinese Grand Prix, we sat down with former factory HRC and Husqvarna rider, Todd Waters to talk about being seeded for the Chinese event and also about his career and the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Waters, now a veteran of the sport raced Grand Prix motocross back in 2014, 2015, 2018 and that single GP in 2024. Injuries, like so many riders, ruined his career in Europe and while he got a podium in Italy in 2015, he never got the momentum needed to be a real force in Europe.

Stil, happy for the experience and now a father and husband, his career is slowly winding down. He has started his own business, which is a success and continues to be excited for racing, be it in China, or when the World championship series arrives in Darwin in 2025. He will be there; you can count on that.

MXLarge: Todd, good to see you. Tell us about coming to China and how it came about?

Waters: First of all, MA (Australian federation) approached myself to come over here and represent Australia, more so not because of my current riding ability, but because I'm getting on now, but, because they know that I've got connections in the MXGP paddock. I'm a friendly sort of fellow and I get on with everyone, so that was nice like to come over here to MXGP of China and I guess just show our presence for Australia. Because we're all very excited for 2025. We haven't had an MXGP round in like 30 odd years.

MXlarge: If you go to that GP in 2000 and 2001?

Waters: No, I didn't. It was in Melbourne, and we are from the very north of the country. I was 10 at the time and didn’t even know it was on. I don’t think we even had internet back then, so it was hard to gets information about races, not like now.

MXLarge: What was your first knowledge of GP?

Waters: Stefan Everts, he was my hero as a kid. I used to follow MXGP a lot growing up. Many Australia’s followed America, like that's what everyone watches Supercross back home, like James Stewart was obviously the hot topic and Ricky Carmichael, but I just loved Stefan, like his style, the way that he rode. I followed GP's probably more than most other people. That's the direction that I wanted to go. Obviously, Andrew McFarlane was over there, and I used to read up in the magazines of him and his wife travelling around in Europe and I'd say, man imagine doing that. You'd I was lucky enough to do that.

MXLarge: When did you get you chance?

Waters: I got an opportunity. Some Aussie riders got injured and I got second in the Australian championship to Josh Coppins, so they sent me over to Lommel MXoN in 2012. I finished fifth behind Dungey, which was a pretty good result and then I was offered a ride for the 2013 season, with Husqvarna.

MXLarge: And was it everything you expected, I mean travelling around Europe?

Waters: I mean, to be honest, it was and more, much more. Like we're so sheltered in Australia because, everyone really around us speaks English and if they don't, they speak Japanese or Chinese like it's kind of they're the cultures that we see. And know for sure we have a lot of Italians in Australia. But they speak English. Yeah, we are multicultural country, but I had no idea. Like for me, I turned up as a 21-year-old kid. I signed for Ice One. I turned up in Amsterdam. And Antti sent me a message, catch the train to Eindhoven and I was just by myself, and I just went like, what do I do. You know how big Amsterdam airport is right. I wondered, how do I even get on the train. So obviously it's very daunting like the different languages on the signs and all that kind of stuff and just hearing people speak a different language was very difficult for me. Antti picks me up in Eindhoven and he is speaking Finnish to another guy, and I am like, what is that??? I just couldn't wrap my head around it like it was so different, so different.

MXLarge: Tell me that because, because I know when I came to Europe, back in 1993, there was no Wi-Fi, and I know what you are talking about. Now, everyone has it and it makes it much easier, but you are from an area in Australia that probably wasn’t that busy with Wi-Fi back then?

Waters: No, but I missed that to be completely honest, I got my first mobile phone when I was 17. When I got my car licence, you know. And then for me, when I was racing World championship, we started to have Instagram like a bit of social media stuff come from Queensland, and I'm from the Bush, like I'm a country kid, I don't need that stuff. I ride motorbikes and do cool shit, you know. So, when I actually went over to Europe, my good buddy Maddie McAlpine was like, “Then you need to be uploaded on social media”. I was like, nah, man, half the time I didn’t have Wi-Fi or anything and I don't care. So, I was actually paying him to run my social account. I used to get paid from GoPro to run a GoPro on my helmet and it was empty, it didn't even film anything.

MXlarge: Tell me, obviously you had pretty good success. You got a podium, you know, you also rode the Honda factory team, so you were up there and, in my opinion, had you had a clean run with injuries, I think you would have been a regular podium guy.

Waters: Yeah, definitely. Well, the reality of it is, like I said in Australia, I turned 16 and they gave me a ride on the factory KTM, and I lined up on the start line a 16-year-old kid and I ripped the holeshot and won my first pro race. I went to 450 when I was 18 and Cody Cooper, had just come back from America and he was the only one to beat James Stewart that year. We had Billy Mackenzie, Josh Coppins, Brad Anderson. So, we had all these guys, and I went out and I got second to Coppins in the championship and then finished just behind Dungey at the Nations in Lommel. I look back now and I'm like, if I could have had an opportunity when I was 18 to come over and race the 450 in Europe, that would have helped a lot. I had the speed and the hunger, which was one thing I had. When I was with Ant

MXLarge: Yes, in motocross, it seems like you also need a lot of luck. Injuries can ruin a career.

Waters: Agree, when I was with Antti, I was involved in that crash with Max Nagl at the training track, which ended my season (A rider had crashed and both Nagl and Waters landed on him on a blind jump, both ending their seasons. Nagl was actually leading the MXGP points at the time and Waters was sixth in the points). Antti tells me all the time, if I could have just done 12 months of just riding the GP without injury, it would have been a different story.

MXLarge: Then in 2017, you had problems with the bike or not?

Waters: Yes, in the World championship the year I was running sixth in the points and just finished on the podium, but then they changed the bike. I was a regular fourth to fifth guy, but I wasn’t comfortable on the new bike, and then I struggled with adapting to the new bike and had some dramas with that. But yeah, it's like. I look back and I'm like, man and things went a bit pear shaped at towards the end there. After my 10 World championship race, I got on the podium. From a foreigner, who had never ridden the tracks, I didn't know where I was going.

MXlarge: I don't think people realize how difficult that is because. If you're from Italy and you're racing in Germany, it's still relatively close and the European culture, although it's different countries, it's all a little bit similar.

Waters: I remember we were going training once and Antti is driving and I look out the window and it’s snowing and I say to the team, hey guys, its snowing and they are like, yes, okay. I was like, are we going to ride now? Like yeah, why not. And I was like, well, there's snow on the track. They just thought I was a great joke. I've never seen snow before, it snows in Australia, but I'm from Cairns where its always hot and humid. So, there's so many different elements that are so different be like simple things. I didn't have a car for so long, so I used to ride my bike in in the rain and do the shopping and ride back.

MXLarge: People say there's so many different elements. Yeah, right. Motocross is definitely the most difficult of all the sport. Tell me, you raced four times for Australia at the Nations, which race stood out for you at the Nations?

Waters: Obviously the French one in 2015, that was massive, and France won. It was really, really big. I can't remember what we ended up, we were. I think we were in line to get on the box. So, Dean (Ferris), I think was 4th and I was 6th in the first one, but then Dean had a big crash. We also qualified first in Germany in 2013, which was pretty cool.

MXLarge: Tell me about the Aussie GP for 2025. How is the industry over there, how excited is everyone?

Waters: We're over the moon. It was originally mentioned of it being in Adelaide and then it going to be in Perth and it finally ends up in Darwin. I live in Cairns so I'm probably the closest to Darwin and I've never been. I've never been to Darwin. When I heard that it's on the calendar for Darwin, I sort of went oh, wow. Obviously, I know that there's like great support government wise because they are combining the round with the supercar series, they're combining the V8 supercars and that is pretty cool. Yeah, it'll be a really good turn out. It's just different. I guess there's different elements like tourism wise which doesn't affect us, but for the guys coming from Europe, it will be a fun event. Where I live now, I live on one of the best beaches in the World. They have the World Surfing League there. It's white sands, beautiful women walking around 80s like it's the best place in the world, yeah. Whereas Darwin has crocodiles, can’t swim there mate, but obviously the governments putting a big effort in still a beautiful place.