We are half way through the 2014 Australian Motocross Championships series and round six at Swan Hill, in Victoria, is fast approaching.

So, to fill in some down time, the team managers have been quizzed on a range of subjects.

Let’s hear what they have to say about some of the differences between the younger and more experienced riders!

KEY:

JF: Jay Foreman – Team Motul Suzuki

RT: Rob Twyerould – KTM Motocross Racing

CD: Craig Dack – CDR Yamaha (pictured above)

TC: Troy Carroll – National Pump Monster Energy Kawasaki

ML: Mike Landman – Penrite Oil Honda Racing

CA: Craig Anderson – Husqvarna Motocross Racing

Do you think that we currently have a better crop of young super stars, or seasoned campaigners?

JF: Probably seasoned campaigners. There are a couple of good young guys there, but the season guys seem to be pretty strong right now.

TC: I think the young kids are really the ones coming through. I’m looking at them now and the pace they’re riding at is unbelievable. I enjoy watching those guys coming through and enjoy watching the fight they’ve got on their hands to beat the older guys.

CA: Right now, I think we have a few more guys that can win races than we have had in the past. I think the middle aged guys are a bit stale at the moment, they’ve been around for a while and they have sort of just been hanging in there and they haven’t really got to the top yet. Then there’s the young guys coming through, like Nathan Crawford, Egan Mastin and Jack Simpson – they seem like they’re hungrier and they want it a bit more. But every generation is different. I think we need to have guys working towards their goals a bit more, the guys that have been there and haven’t sort of cracked the top end yet. They’re still there and they need to work out what is holding them back and move forward from there.

ML: I think there’s a fairly even balance at the moment. There are some good young kids coming through both on the two strokes and the four strokes in the lites class. But there are some solid performers like the Moss boys, Adam Monea, Cody Cooper is nearly 30, and Billy Mackenzie is still in the mix. So it’s good to see the older guys still being competitive. It’s a match of enthusiasm and smarts and I think it’s an exciting blend of the guys who are really smooth and tidy with their riding and the other guys that are wide open. I think it’s a good mix at the moment. There is a new wave in that Open class with the likes of Adam Monea, the Moss boys, Kade Mosig and those sort of kids coming through, they’re going to be the next generation of top guys, but it’s nice to see the older guys still being competitive with them.

CD: I don’t know how to answer that question – I haven’t got an opinion really.

Do you think riders lose something when it comes to statuses with girlfriends, or settling down and having kids and that family side of racing? Do you think it takes an edge off them as a rider?

JF: No I don’t. I think the transition from being with mum and dad at 16 to finding girls, and finding alcohol through that stage. Once they get into a stable relationship or married, I think that is when they’re at their best. It’s the stage in between – that’s the hard part, to try and get them through that, and stay focused and keep wanting to win, not wanting to go and party.

TC: Yeah I could talk about myself. It changed me when I was racing. You know I had one child, and I guess I saw that as getting to an end. I went on to win a couple of championships, but when I had the second one, that’s when it completely changed. It does change you, and you get these young guys now coming through and they’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. So I think it does slow you down a little bit.

CA: I don’t think girls/wives are distractions. It can be if it’s not the right support network. I think when you’re a privateer and mum and dad are there to help and dad is the mechanic it can work really well, but for example when you get a team ride, mum and dad sort of need to sit back and just be supportive, instead of being right in their kids face. I think you have to let the team do their job, because everyone has a different way of doing things, so mum and dad’s role really needs to be to offer support. As for girlfriends, you get to 16 – 19 and it’s a tough one, and it’s a very make or break sort of section of their life. But you just need to be there to help and support, and guide them through it.

RT: Oh look, I think it certainly can do. Mum and dad are more the often your biggest sponsor for most of your years, and at some stage they have to say ‘that’s enough, we need to do some things on our own’. Basically then you’re at an age where you’re working, or trying to support part-time work with riding, and it sort of coincides with you developing into a man. There are certainly distractions such as girls, cars, alcohol, and it’s how each individual handles those things as to whether their racing is impacted. A lot of it is the group of people that he’s with, the support that he has, the outside influences he may have steering him in a direction, be it good or bad.

ML: Yes I think it does. But it’s totally up to the individual. If they’re focused enough to put that aside then that’s great, but boys will be boys and girls will be girls, you’re never going to change that. If a girl wants to succeed at ballet or whatever she chooses to do, she’s got to put her head down and bum up and work hard – the same as motocross. And I don’t think it’s different for a boy or a girl who wants to compete at this level. There are distractions, but that’s life. That’s something that each individual will deal with in their own way. They may take the attitude of ‘I’m going to be totally focused, and try not to look at the opposite sex’ and then you might get one whose attitude is ‘this is good times’ so it’s up to the individual.

CD: I think the answer to this question could be a bit ambiguous. For sure I have seen it before, some wives and girlfriends can have a negative effect on some riders. But equally I’ve seen so many wives and girlfriends have a positive effect on riders. So it’s a question I can’t answer categorically because I’ve seen it both ways. But at the end of the day, and I think it’s fair to say the ones that I have seen work (and this is not me trying to show any chauvinism here), the ones that seem to work the best understand that any top level athlete has to be very selfish during that period. So I think they need a very supporting and understanding wife or partner during that stage. I’m not saying that in a chauvinistic way, I’m saying that in a factual way. It would be the same with the prime minister of Australia. He happens to be a man at the moment, he’s hardly ever home, his wife is there by his side when he needs her. Unfortunately we’re trying to balance that societal thing up a bit, and we’re trying to give women a bit more. But I think as an athlete goes, I think successful the wife, or partner or spouse needs to be very supportive of the athlete.

Words by Andrew Weiss

© Photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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