Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

light accident in January of 1995. Six months of inactivity nearly immobilized the ankle. With a racing career to resume, there was no time to properly fix the ankle. "What I'm going through at the moment is because I have more ankle movement, my Achilles tendon, stuff hasn't moved that far for I I years," he explained. "So there's a lot of stuff going on at the moment. I actually feel like I've maybe overdone my Achilles a little bit. I'm in rehab, anyways, three or four days a week and will be until I get back to America, at least." He expected to rehab the ankle up until he returned to the U.S., which planned for January or February. "I wouldn't be able to ride a motorbike right now. If I would, it would be a waste of time." Mat Mladin doesn't waste time. He doesn't know how. When he's in America, and he's not racing or testing, he's training. When he's not training, he's flying his plane. In Australia, it's little different. When he's not flying, he's keeping up on his businesses in Australia, a multibrand dealership and a distributorship that markets Joe Rocket and Yoshimura in Australia (the Joe Rocket Honda team won both the Australian Supersport and Superbike Championships - Mladin's trying to sell the dealership). When he's not running his distributorship, he's doting on his daughter, Emily Jean. If he's not training, he's working on his land. Mladin not only designed the house, he also designed the landscaping and he and his wife, Janine, did most of the work. The house isn't large by U.S. standards, but was designed to be airy and bright, with an open plan on the ground floor, and windows that allow the Australian sun to shine in. And the house is filled with the infectious laughter of Emily Jean. "I don't know that we've laughed so much since Emily Jean came along," Mladin says. The water for the house is collected off the metal roof into a giant water tank in the front yard, making it selfsustaining. The tennis court, which has the same surface that's used at the U.S. Open, needs resurfacing. His mother lives a few minutes away. Janine's mother is five minutes away. His dad - his parents are divorced - a little further away. "It's home, of course, there's no doubt about it," he says. "But you know, I enjoy my time in America. I love America, I really do. I love being there. I just enjoy my time there a lot, a real lot. And if it wasn't for family, it's possible, whether I'd stay there. But in the end, we'll probably come home." To run a race team? "I don't know, I'm not sure if I want to be part of a race team when I'm done with racing. I don't know if 1could handle it to be honest with you," he said, if others weren't as committed as he was. "I couldn't watch these guys put in less than 100 percent - in anything. And the guys who work with me on my bike put in I 10 percent. The guys aren't going to be around forever. I don't know if I would be part of that, or get on to something else that I can put I 10 percent into." Mladin has always worked with his hands. His father is a builder and Mladin was swinging a hammer before he raced, and throughout his early career. Work is something that comes naturally to him. The results speak for themselves. Mladin's unprecedented sixth championship included 1I wins and a perfect season of pole positions - lOin a row. The championship carne down to the final race at Road Atlanta, but it shouldn't have. He had a clutch failure at Fontana and was knocked off by teammate Aaron Yates in Mid-Ohio. That, and a points system that doesn't reward winning, meant the series went to the final race. Road Atlanta is one of Mladin's favorite tracks. His qualifying time was the best by a staggering 1.5 seconds. Between turns one and five, he gained nine tenths of a second on Neil Hodgson. '~II the lap time in Atlanta is made from start-finish to turn six," Mladin said. "That's where all the lap time is made. Road Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks because it lends to the way that I ride. There's a lot of stuff where strength plays a big part of the lap time. A big part of the lap time. From turn one through the exit of turn five, if you can manhandle the motorcycle you're going to make lap time and if you can ride the front tire. You have to be able to ride the front tire. You have to be able to push the front tire and be comfortable with it. If you can't push the front tire, forget about it." Mladin said he almost holds his breath for a qualifying lap. "I can't do that for 25 laps. So I've got to improve my conditioning so that I can do a lot more of those type of laps." He won the red-flag-interrupted first race while riding half throttle on the long back straight. Two years ago, Mladin had a rear tire blowout at full stick. He wasn't the only one. "I still put too much stress on the rear tire now, compared to everybody else," Mladin said. '~tlanta's a perfect example. The same tire I raced on in Atlanta I quali-

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