An interview with Maxwell Toth, US rising star racing in Italy

 

Despite being a national championship, the Italian ELF CIV series welcomes every year a number of riders from all over the world. Among the countries represented in 2019 season, we have also the United States of America, thanks to the presence of Maxwell Toth in the PreMoto3 class.

Maxwell Toth is one of the riders lined up by Kuja Racing Service, a team that previously spent many seasons in Supersport World Championship. Four rounds and eight races have happened so far this year and Toth has scored four top-10 results, including a sixth place as his best finish. The almost 14-year-old from San Francisco battled for front positions more than once and in particular, he nearly scored a podium at the first round in Misano, where he unfortunately crashed out at the last lap of Race 2 while fighting for second place. The Californian youngster currently lays 13th in the championship standings with 33 points, just 14 less than the rider in tenth position.

2019, his career, ltaly and his plans for 2020 are the topics of this interview. Enjoy 😉

 

The interview

 

Maxwell, how is the season going?

I think it’s going really good. In the first races in Misano we were very strong. In Race 1 I finished sixth and in Race 2 I was fighting for second place, but I unfortunately ended up highsiding in the last lap. The second round in Mugello wasn’t the best for us, due to some problems with the bike and the track. In Imola, we started to come back again. My lap times in Race 2 were really competitive, but I just couldn’t run away from the group I was battling with. At the fourth round of the season, held in Misano, I scored a 9th and a 12th place. Now we’re finally going back to business in Mugello, after a long summer break, and I hope to fight for some great results again. 

 

What did you expect from 2019 season, before it started?

Me and the team had no expectations, also because last year I was just training, without doing races. We had one test in Spain, in Cartagena, and I set or got close to the track record for PreMoto3. I knew we were fast, but we heard that many other riders were very fast in Valencia or on other tracks and so we didn’t know what to expect. We were all surprised that I was fighting for second place at the inaugural round of the season…

 

Can you talk about your career so far?

I started when I was very young, in the USA. I started with motocross, then I did supermoto and then flat track. At the age of 6 or 7, I started to make the switch to road racing until fully focusing on it and I also moved to Italy. I started with minimoto and then I raced with PreMiniGP and MiniGP, as I scored some podiums and wins. In 2018 I went to France to train with former Johann Zarco’s manager (Laurent Fellon, ed) and with him, I prepared for this year.

 

What differences have you found between Italy and the USA, for what concerns how they live motorcycle racing?

In the US there’s not much competition. When I raced there, there was no big organization where I could race, but it was rather at club level. Some riders may show up there, but there was no competition and I won most of the races. At a certain point, we decided that I needed to race against stronger kids and so we moved to Italy and to Europe.

 

What do you enjoy the most of Italy?

Everything! The food is amazing, the people are amazing…And I really love the Italian tracks.

 

What’s your favorite track?

Misano. I really like it, also because it fits my body structure. I’m very tall (5′ 9”, ed) and I’m much heavier than the other riders and this track has no uphill (laughs, ed), so it’s all about who’s the best with the gas and who’s the best with the brake.

 

In conclusion, what are your plans for 2020?

I don’t know, but I hope to be at the tryout of Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and be selected. I also got some offers from the European Talent Cup: some teams invited me to do a test and I may take part in the last round of the season, in Valencia. However, we don’t know. It’s so hard, especially because they all ask for money and sponsorship…If I could choose, I would pick Red Bull Rookies Cup, because it’s one of the cheapest options (the riders only pay the journeys to the tracks, ed) and one of the main bridges to the World Championship.

 

Palmen in Motorradsport is grateful to Maxwell Toth for his kindness and wishes him the best for the final races of 2019 and his future.

 

Photo Gallery: Benzina