With five ADAC MX Masters titles to his name, Dennis Ullrich is the record champion in the series. He also won the ADAC MX Youngster Cup in 2008 and narrowly missed out to Jeffrey Herlings in the 2008 ADAC MX Junior Cup. Having hung up his helmet in the summer of 2021, he returns to the racing circus in 2024, invigorated and with a new attitude. We interviewed the 2019 ADAC Motorsport Athlete of the Year ahead of the start of the season.
Hello Dennis, how are you approaching the coming ADAC MX Masters season?
Dennis Ullrich: “I have struggled a bit mentally and with my health over the past two years, which was another reason why I could no longer imagine competing at the front professionally when I retired in 2021. In the meantime, I now feel really well again and noticed that I am lacking a goal to work towards. With that in mind, I decided to make a comeback and am looking forward to getting started soon. During my break, when I wasn’t doing so well, I realised that I can be happy and thankful that I can ride. As a professional, I saw it more as that I had to ride, and I felt a lot of pressure. For this reason, I want to take a more relaxed approach now and will try to do my best in every race, at every event, at every track, without putting myself under extreme pressure in the run-up.”
What is your goal for 2024? “I don’t have a definite goal. Instead, I will try to get fit and gradually rediscover my old form. However, I am not ruling anything out. I feel very good on the bike. Together with my academy, I have worked very hard on riding technique over the last two years. I would actually say that this has made my technique better and more accurate than before. I just have to get physically fit and make sure that I can put it all together three times, for 30 minutes each time. Over the course of the season and beyond, I believe I can get back to competing towards the front of the field again.”
You sat out 2020 and have not raced since the summer of 2021. Only at the Wintercross event in Frankenbach, in March 2024, did you take your place at the starting gate again. How was that for you? “It was actually a little unusual before the first race, and I felt a bit of tension and nervousness. However, as soon as the five-second board was raised, it felt like it used to again. You are then fully focussed, the routines are still there without having to think about them, and the Holeshot was immediately a success in the very first race. In race two, I found myself behind Max Nagl after the start. However, I passed him relatively early in the race and actually led for a few laps until my arm tightened up. I realised that I can ride pretty fast without any great effort, particularly in the corners. I am still lacking a bit of intensity after the break, but not the speed.”
Riding yourself into top form over the course of the season has always been one of your strengths. “In that regard, nothing has changed in my approach. Many riders are already top fit in the first two races, but are gradually running out of steam towards the end of the season. In my title-winning years, I was not yet at my best at the season-opener in Fürstlich Drehna, but only after two or three races. However, I was then able to maintain that level of performance for the whole season.”
Will the relatively late start to the season suit you? “I only really started training purposefully very late in proceedings, and I then noticed that it was pretty tiring for my body. Then I had two colds, which rather messed up my plans. As such, the start late in April does actually suit me a little.”
Was the decision to make your comeback an easy one, or did you have some doubts? “I noticed over the last two years that I still really enjoy riding Motocross. As it was no longer an obligation, as it had been in previous years, it was actually even more fun. I want to keep it that way. Having mainly ridden the two-stroke during the break, I picked up a 450cc from André Sarholz at the end of 2023 and took it out for a few laps. That felt very good again very quickly. Even after the first 20 minutes of the first day, I had the feeling that I had not lost it. The character of the big bike actually made it less tiring than on the two-stroke. I then regularly rode on different tracks and, at the end of December, sat down with André again to discuss what form a comeback might take. I chatted very openly with him about my situation, my approach and my attitude. I must first build up my fitness again, and nobody can expect me to be challenging for victory from the first race. He understands me and supports me fully, but is not putting me under any pressure and is at my side.”
Did you receive any other offers or have any other options? “There were other contacts, but the fact that I get on so well with André, and given the conditions offered to me by the team, I could not really imagine going elsewhere. I just feel most comfortable with Sarholz.”
You will not only be meeting old acquaintances in the team, but also on the track. However, you will also have a few new opponents, like youngsters Max Spies and Noah Ludwig, as well as old stagers like Jordi Tixier, who was not yet contesting the full season when you last rode in the championship. What are your expectations of yourself? “I obviously still followed the races closely, even when I was not riding, and checked out how the other guys ride. They are obviously all giving it some gas, but they have not suddenly become five seconds a lap faster than they used to be. As such, I am not that worried and, as I already mentioned, I have continued to work on my riding. I have analysed the guys and really given it a lot of consideration, which allowed me to find a few things that I was able to improve or change. That has also led to minimal changes to the set-up of the bike. However, I just want to see what happens without making any major predictions. I just want to ride as well as I can at any given moment, on any track and any day, and then simply see what happens.”
The ADAC MX Masters is in its 20th season and you have grown up in and around the series. How important has the series been for your career and development? “I found it really good to be ride in the ADAC MX Junior Cup early in my career, and I grew into the competition in those early years. If you look back at the results from 2005, 2006 and 2007, you will see that I did not immediately hit the ground running at the front of the field, but really had some learning to do. At some point the penny dropped and, instead of competing for 15th place, I found myself challenging Jeffrey Herlings for the title the following year. As such, I think what the ADAC has established is very good, particularly the way they have filled the gap to the ADAC MX Masters with the 125cc class and the Youngster Cup. The 125cc class did not exist earlier, and you went straight from the 85cc bike to the 250cc four-stroke and the Youngster Cup.”
Will you focus solely on the ADAC MX Masters in 2024, or will you also start in other races? “My focus is fully on the ADAC MX Masters. I may possibly make one-off appearances elsewhere, but I will not contest a full season in any other series.”
Which race are you particularly looking forward to? “I am actually really looking forward to Fürstlich Drehna, as that is where my journey begins this year. Nowadays, I really like riding on sand and, with my new riding style, feel a bit ‘lighter’ on the bike. That is mega fun, particularly in the sand. And I am obviously also looking forward to Holzgerlingen again, if there are as many ruts there again – a demanding track, where technique really matters and not one where anyone can simply go full-throttle.”
Is there anything else you would like to add? “I am very much looking forward to the year ahead, and have already received quite a lot of positive feedback. I have noticed that the fans are pleased to see me back in action. As I don’t want to take quite such a dogged approach, I am hoping to have a bit more time for the fans, because that has not always been the case in previous years. I am trying to be more open and more approachable.”
