After a lengthy stint on the sidelines recovering from a knee reconstruction late last year, Carlton Dry Honda Racing’s Ford Dale is in the thick of pre-season training and testing in the lead-up to the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals.

We caught up with the 24-year-old Queenslander to find out about his recovery, winning his first 450cc race on the weekend, and training with Harley Quinlan.

Ford Dale feels rejuvenated after his extended break due to injury. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

First up, mate, how’s the pre-season testing going?

Everything is going great, hey. I finally got on the bike after the knee reconstruction and have been plugging away.The 2013 CRF450 is all-new and we’ve had to start from zero, but I’m really happy with how everything is going. The air fork is a lot different to what I’ve ridden in the past and at first I wasn’t sure about it, but we’ve made some big improvements on it and now I love it. Everything is just getting better and better and by the first round we’ll be on it.

You just touched on your knee reconstruction, is everything back to normal now?

I tore my ACL late last year during the supercross season and I had it replaced with an artificial one. That meant the recovery time was a lot quicker and I didn’t lose as much muscle because I could get back into it earlier. Being off the bike sucks, but I think the break has been good for me and my mindset.

Usually I’ve done a billion hours on the bike by now, but the rehab, and Queensland’s crap weather, has been a blessing in disguise. I feel like I’ve got so much energy and will be building my way through the championship instead of peaking at the first round like I have in the past.

Good stuff. Word on the street is you’re working a lot with Harley Quinlan this year?

Yeah Harley and I are training full-time together and he’s actually moving into my house next week. He’s one of my best mates and is such a positive guy and is easy to get along with. We used to train together a lot and we’ve always kept in touch.

Having him help train me is going to benefit both of us – he’s training hard for the Paralympics where he’ll represent Australia in hand cycling, and he’s going to give me structure, motivation, and won’t be afraid to tell me where I need to improve. It’s going to be a great thing.

Dale has been working hard to put together personal deals with outside sponsors.

You had your first MX1 race on the weekend at the Sunny State at Toowoomba. How did it go?

Really well, actually. I won the first moto and led the second race until the last lap where I crashed and tweaked my knee. I went to physio and got the all-clear to get back riding today, so that was great news. But I was really happy with the outing at Toowoomba, we used it to test some different settings and I was stoked to beat the likes of Luke Styke, Daniel McCoy, Jake Moss and Jay Marmont in my first race.

Awesome, man. So between now and April 14, what are you up to?

I’ve just signed a new personal deal with Garry Crick’s Prestige Mercedes dealership in Maroochydore. It’s great to see outside sponsors coming in and seeing the benefit of sponsoring motocross racers, and I like to represent local brands.

Apart from that I fly to NZ in a few days and will spend 10 days riding and training with Ben [Townley], then racing the final round of the NZ Nationals at Ben’s home track in Taupo with the whole team. I can’t wait to get over there and chase BT around. I learn so much from him and he doesn’t hide anything from me. He tells me what I need to know and is always happy to share his advice.

Perfect. Thanks for the chat, mate! See you in three-and-a-half weeks.

Thanks mate.