Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127657
Jeff Matias evich By Kit Palmer Photos by Kinney Jones ome say Jeff Matiasev ich is too old. Some say he doesn't train enough. Some sa y he lacks motivation, and some say he's a has-been. But Jeff Matiasevich says he still has what it takes to be a factory rider. And , from the looks of things, the "Chicken" may very well be right, and his critics, well...very wrong. Not too many people were question ing those critics at the start of the season, though. Head in g into th e 1994 . Supercross an d National MX Series, things didn't look good for the veteran racer - his one-year contract with Suzuki had expired and his not-so-stellar perform ance in '93 didn't earn him a new one fro m Suzuki, or from an y of th e other manufacturers. So, for the firs t time since joining the Kawasaki team as a 125cc rider in 1988, Matiasevich entered the 250cc Camel Supercross and National MX Series as a full-on privateer. For Ma tiasevich, being a privateer means no more high- dollar salary, no more ultra-trick race parts, no more having all your travel plans taken care of (not to men tion paid for, too), and no more "cushy " race team haul er to relax in between motos. And then there's the age issue. Matiasevich is 24 years old, prompting many to believe that the flamboyant southern Californian is "over the hill" in a sport that favors the young and the fearless . Now some of Matiasevich's riva ls are up to seven years his jun ior. Is all this negativity too much for Matiasevich to overcome? Many think so - but not Matiasevich. With si x rounds completed in the Camel Supercross Series, Ma tiasevich has already had better finishes than he did a season ago - he finished fifth in San Diego, and has twice matched his best finish last year, pl acing sixth in Anaheim and Tampa. However, these respectable finishes .aren't reflected in the series point standings. Last year at this time, Matiasevich was 10th in the series; this year he's 11th, but has accumulated the exact same number of points (63), despite finishing a dismal 19th at the most recent Atlanta Supercross. (At the Georgia Dome, the steering stop on his motorcycle broke, causing the front wheel to tuck under in a turn, and Matiasevich crashed. He was pinned under the bike for nearly a full lap). But no matter how yciu look at it, Matiasev ich is turning some heads. He's starting to look like the "Chicken" of old - and he's doing so without factory support. We chatted with Matiasevich shortly . before he headed to Florida for the opening round of the AMA National Championship 250cc MX Series, which will be followed by the Daytona Supercross. What was your situation at Suz u k i? Did you want to stay there or were you ready to move on? I had a one-year contract with Suzuki, S and I really didn't want to stay there. I couldn't ride the bike to my full potential. The bike just didn't fit my style at all. I tried to get them to make a couple of changes to help imp rove the bike, but there was no effort o n their p art to change the bike. So, I just didn't want to continue on with something I wasn 't happy with . . You pretty much knew by the end of last season that Suzuki wasn ' t going to re-sign you. Did you have any back-up plans? Actually, I was planning on quitting. Since I didn't have to ride the 500cc Natio nals last year, I didn't ride for about two-and-a-half months. Then I started riding again, getting ready for the Fukuoka race in Japan. That's when I decided ... I really wanted to ride . I didn't want to quit yet, and decided to go ahead and try a year on my own if that's what I had to do to get a factory ride back. Now that you're 24 years old, do you think your age will hurt your chances of getting another factory ride?