Swedish talent August Frisk etched his name into the record books in Switzerland by becoming the first rider from Sweden to win a moto in the EMX250 championship – and he didn’t just stop there, going 1-1 for a perfect weekend. It was a breakthrough performance that caught the paddock’s attention and a huge personal moment for the humble Frisk, whose journey hasn’t been easy.
Two years ago, Frisk suffered a life-threatening crash at the Junior World Championship in Romania and has had to battle through a number of setbacks since. But with grit, determination, and the support of his close-knit team – including long-time coach Steven Frossard and his father – the Swede is finally showing his true potential. We caught up with Frisk to reflect on his Swiss domination, life in France, working with Frossard, and the mental strength it’s taken to come back stronger than ever.
GateDrop: August, what a weekend, 1-1 and total domination in Switzerland. Did you expect that heading into the weekend?!
Frisk: Yeah, not really what I expected going into this weekend. I for sure knew I had the speed to fight for the top. The only thing holding me back was my starts. But yeah, of course to go 1-1, it was not on my mind. I just wanted to do as good of a race as possible. I didn’t really have any result in my mind that I wanted to be. I just wanted to do a good start and just go. So no, not really expected that.
GateDrop: How does it feel to go 1-1 – you made history as the first Swede to win an EMX250 moto – unreal!
Frisk: For sure, it’s really special. It feels really cool. I didn’t know that I was the first Swede to do it. But yeah, I feel really happy for sure. I mean, what else can I say? It’s fantastic. And yeah, to go 1-1, it’s been a big goal of mine since a long time. I’ve trained hard for it. So yeah, I’m very happy about it.
GateDrop: I believe at the practice tracks you are very fast but up until Switzerland have struggled to bring the same speed to the race days. Is that true and if so why do you think that is?
Frisk: Yeah, I’ve been riding good in practice for sure. The last few years, I’ve been slowly and slowly getting faster on the races. I mean, I’ve been getting as fast at the races as I’ve been during the training. I felt I’ve always had a speed. It’s just I didn’t have any possibility, I didn’t give myself the possibility to show it because I always did a bad start. But now when I did a good start, I had a possibility to show that. I really have the speed to be in the front.
GateDrop: Now that you’ve won do you think that can help take the pressure off and perhaps we’ll see you more regularly at the front moving forward?
Frisk: Yeah, I don’t know, only time will tell. I will not focus on the result. I will just try to go to the races and do two good starts and have a good flow and ride like I did this weekend. And yeah, just continuing to develop and take race by race. I’m still catching up on some hours since my injury last year. So yeah, I’m not too fixed about the result. I just want to go out and ride and ride like I know to give myself the best opportunity to perform and that’s to do good starts.
GateDrop: What’s the level like in the EMX250 series this year – it seems there are quite a lot of riders that have similar pace so the start is crucial…
Frisk: Yeah, I mean, for sure the level is really high. It’s really close between all the riders. I feel like at the top we’re not so far off the MX2 guys. Or at least at the weekend compared to best lap times, it’s not so far off the MX2 guys. The difference in the MX2 is the intensity is much higher all the way through the race. This is something you for sure have to work on. But I feel, yeah, that’s what we see some weekends.
Some guys can ride at the front but the next week can be far back. But that’s because it’s so tight in the class. There’s really no time for an error or a mistake, you know. If you make a bad start then it’s really tough to fight to the field if you’re not a lot faster, you know, so for sure the competitiveness in the class is really, really high.
GateDrop: You’ve been working with Steven Frossard for a number of years now, what is he like to work with? How does he help you and what was he like when you went 1-1? I can imagine he might have even been happier seeing you do that than when he won GP’s!
Frisk: Yeah, I’ve been working with Steven for a long time now. It’s the fourth year. It’s great to work with him. He is straightforward and he tells you how it is. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and he tells you how it is. But it’s good also because then you get the truth, you know. It cannot be good every time and you have to get some constructive critique. I like this type of coaching and the way he does it. He helped me with everything, not only the riding but so many other things around including the mental aspect of it. He helped me get a lot more tough in the head. I cannot thank him enough for everything he’s done for me so far. I think we work good together and we do the job. I think we do it really good.
GateDrop: You are Swedish but were are you based during the season – France with Frossard or somewhere else? Is it tough being away from Sweden – there’s no place like home!
Frisk: Yeah, for sure. It’s tough to be away from home and away from family. Because it’s like you say, there’s no other place like home when Mum cooks the food and then everything is fixed. But I live here in France, in Lyon at Steven Frossard’s place with my dad. Me and my dad, we do everything together. He does the mechanics and we go training together with Steven, then we fix everything together.
We’re a private setup so for sure, it’s not easy every time, you know. I want to see my Mum and my Sister also but it’s what I have to do if I want to be on the top, I have to be out here. It’s very difficult to be at home and to be at the top. But I’m happy, I like it down here and I like the type of living. I’m living the dream so I have nothing to complain about.
GateDrop: At the Junior World Championship in Romania two years ago, you had a big crash and were in a critical condition for a while. Can you remind us of that tough time and your injuries?
Frisk: Yeah, it’s two years ago now since I had that ugly crash in Romania. It’s been a long journey since then. I’ve had some other injuries along the way with my back and my knee also. But that was a tough one, it was a long time in hospital with a critical condition and long operations, everything and so on and so forth. But I felt like that made me stronger. It has made me stronger as a person also, not only as a rider. I felt like I’ve gained experience through it. I don’t think about it a lot, it’s not something I look back to. I don’t want to live in the past. I want to live in the moment now and take it day by day and do the best I can. I cannot do anything else.
For sure, it’s been a tough time and a two tough years. But yeah, everything happens for a reason, I think. We continue to work and push through it and I think that’s made me stronger. It feels even better when I did something like I did at the weekend. I feel even more proud of myself and the team of people around me that we don’t give up. We never back down from the challenge or the tough times. We push through it and we do it as a team.
