Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

" Being 24 - as a rider and a person - I've matured a lot. I think being 24, you're still youn g, but in our spo rt you're starting to get old . But I don't think my age is a factor. As for being ph ysically condi tioned, I'm in better sha pe no w than I've ever been in. What kind of training regimen are you on now? Rid ing, running, bicycling, weights I've been doing everything. How is it working out having Ron Heben as your mechanic? I'm really lucky to have hooked up with Ron Heb en. Witho u t Ron I wouldn ' t have had the fi n is hes I' ve ha d . He's been wo rking really hard on the bike. As long as Ron keeps wo rking on the bike, tr ying to make it better , and I keep working to better m yself, we 'll succeed. If both people are wo rking and giving each ot he r the moti vation to do better - it's a big part. A ride r doesn't win a championship or races by himse lf, he's got to ha ve a good mechanic . He (He ben) takes everyth in g very seri ous ly, and he m akes things fun , which is a combination you d on't find very often. How did you hook up with Escondido, California's North County Yamaha? I just went d own an d bou ght two bikes fro m NCY. Basicall y, they run a 125 tea m, so the y really couldn' t give me any help , but (team manager) Jim Hurkman down there helped me ou t a lot as far as par ts go, and just getting things done. Now Yamaha is beginning to help me ou t with parts and stu ff like that. D id Yamaha express any interest in you at all during the off-sea son? No. I was pret ty much b u ying all my pa rts - wi th a disc ount. How would you comp are your bike to the factory bikes? I think in both the suspension and motor departments, I'm behind. It's pretty hard for a privateer to get a bike that's competitive wi th the factory bikes. Pro Circuit has been doing my engine and suspension, and it's been working good. But there's still a lot of things a wo rks bike has (such as) reinforced frames, d ifferent linkag es, all that stuff (a pri vateer) can't get to make the bike beller. The sus pension is the biggest thing, because the better your bike handles the faster you can go over the bumps. What are some of the major differences between being a factory rider and being a privateer? One of the main thin gs is the tra vel. Being a factory rider you don't have to w orry about the bike or anything; all yo u have to do is worry abo u t rid in g during the week and showing up at the races. Now I have to wo rry about booking my own hote ls and flights: how the bike's going to get ready for each race everything. It's a big shock - being a factory racer for so long a nd then going back to having to do it on your own. Is competing on the National circuit as a privateer harder or easier than you thought it would be? I knew what it was going to be like because I've done it before - so I knew what I was getting in to. It' s a lo t of work, but I had to make a decision. I knew if I was going to d o it, I'd ha ve to give it 100%. There's no "1'11 do it, oh, m ayb e I won't. " You have to make a d ecision and do it. Do you think you can get another factory ride? . I don't see w hy I can' t. I've had some good races. And by being on the equipment I'm on , I've shown everyone that I am serious, that I do want to race, an d I'll dowhatever ittakes. I've beaten a lot of factory rid er s and ev ery one kno ws I'm no t on as good equipment as every- So w hen does He ben norm ally work on your bike ? We usually get in (to the race site) on Thursday night, then he works on it on Friday. He has to get up early Friday morning, so we can ride the bike at 2:30 for pr ess d ay. Then he works on the bike so me more on Saturday morning, then we get ready for the race. How do feel about you r recent success on the track? I feel really good. Ron's making the bike work as good as possible and tha t's all a rider can ask for. Each ride r has his own wan ts out of a motorcycle; sometimes on the factory tea m, you'd th inkwe'd get wha t we want, beca use we're pai d to win races. But it's not always like that. With Ron and me, he' s do ing everything to make the motorcycle the way I want it. No one else rid es it and no else has an ythin g to say about it. How's your financial sit uation? Since you ' re no longer a factory rider, you no lo ng e r hav e a sala ry or a steady income. b y the mi d d le of the yea r, I' ll pretty much know whether or not I'll continue. We'll see. Has an y team expre ssed any in terest in you yet ? Not really, no. People kee p telli ng me how su rp rised they a re (by) how well I'm do ing; no one else has been able to do what I've d one on a p roduction bike. Everyo ne keeps saying it's great, bu t no one has hand ed me a contract yet. What kind of support have you been receiving from you r fans? Overall it's been a really good exp erience for me, and the spect ators have bee n great; everyo ne's beh ind me, an d that's one of the big reasons I enjoy racing so much - just meeting all the people all over the co u n try. It ' s been really good as far as all the s u p p or t from everyone goes . The true fans of supercross and motocross have been coming up and saying it's really great that I'm doing it on my own; th ey know ho w hard it is. What is your ultimate goa l? Matiasevich and friends hang out In the pits outs ide the Georgia Dome prior to the start of the Camel Supercross Series round in Atlanta. body else . It sho uld open so m e eyes, and hopefully I'll get on a factory team again. Do you have your eye on any particular team? Would you li ke to go b ack to Kawasaki, where it pretty much all started for you? I'd like to ride for Yamaha, actually. I like the way Keith McCarty runs the tea m, and I'd lik e to have him as my boss. Now that you're a p rivateer, how are you working things ou t on th e road? Right now, Ron and I are flying bac k and forth from the races every weekend. [eromy Buehl has been taking ou r bikes from race to race. We fly in, rent a van, hook up with [erorny, get the bike, go to the stadium, race, give the bike back to Jeromy, tum in the van an d come back home. Last week Ron carried the engine back home on the airplane so he cou ld work on it d uring the week. Financially, I'm fine righ t now . Money is no t a major factor for me. The major factor for me is wanting to race again and wanting to be backed by a factory. It's just not worth doing it for a couple of years like I'm do ing it now . If you don't land a factory ride, say, by the end of the season, then what? Then I'd quit. That wo uld be it. What will you d o after you retire? You know, I really don 't have anything planned. Eve ry thi ng and ever y da y is devoted stric tly to racing. I haven't really give n a thought about if I don' t get a factory ride and qu it. All I'm thinking about is racing and trying to win races, and getting a factory ride back. Will you ride all the outdoor Nationals after the supercross series is over? I'm pretty much planning on riding the w hole Na tio nal series, a t least right now . If I go the whole yea r? I don' t know. I guess if no thin g has happe ned To have fun . That's the main reason to do this an other year . It isn't the money. I enjoy an d ha ve fu n rid ing mo torcycles . If it w as n' t fun, I defin ite ly wouldn't be doing this like I'm d oing it now. I love the sp ort . I'v e been having a lot of fu n this year, doing pretty well. I'd like to pick up a ride. As far as a championship (is concerned), the supercross cha mpionship really means a lot to m e and I' m shooting for tha t th is year. I was wo rking out in my wei gh t room yes terday - I'v e got my two 12Scc su percr oss number-on e plates on the wall - and I wa s thinking that a 250cc number-one plate wo uld go nicely next to the two 12Scc p lates. Supercross m eans a lo t mor e to me th an the Nati onals. I' ll be kicking myself in the as s 10 years down the line if I don't have one (25Occ number-one plate), but at least I kno w I tried . If it doesn 't work ou t, it doesn't work ou t. a

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