INTERVIEW
N-FAB/AMPRO YAMAHA TEAM OWNER RANDY HAWKINS
P70
and sign him now as a junior
contract because he's going to
be tough like his dad! He's pretty
much a chip off the old block.
"We made jokes with my son
Mitch, I said 'you're management
in training and right there is your
rider in training.' So who knows
with another 15 years, we'll still
have the AmPro Yamaha with the
Hawkins and Whibley program."
Family and harmony are
hugely important to Hawkins
in building a winning program.
Making his team function as a
unit was a major priority in 2017.
"These guys mountain bike
together. They go kayaking
together—they work super hard,
but then I say, 'You work hard
but you guys got to play hard
to enjoy also.' I don't care who
you are, you got to enjoy what
you're doing. These guys are
doing it. The other week we did
a 5k run as a team, and we're
scheduled to do some triathlons
together, got some mud runs
we can do as a team. I'm really
big on the team-building side of
things, where it ain't like, Ricky
goes in that corner, Josh goes
in that corner and mechanics
over here. That is important for
People see us at the race, and
they're saying this group looks a
little shabby or not as inline as the
others, but what they're not seeing
is behind the scenes."
(Left) Hawkins prefers working with
young and hungry racers like Josh
Toth. Toth was a relatively unknown
until joining the AmPro Team and
winning the first five GNCC races of
2017 in the XC2 class. (Below) A lot
of the AmPro testing and training
happens just outside Hawkins' front
door of his house in South Carolina.
