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S.A.
INTERNATIONAL RIDERS GROUP INTERVIEW: Part 1
30 May 2012
by MX SA
S.A. Legend - Greg Albertyn
MXSA: Where do you now call 'home'? (ie:
Where are you currently staying)
Greg Albertyn: SA will
always be home, but I live in Orange County, California.
Neville Bradshaw: I live
in Northampton which is in the midlands, so it's good being central
for racing and training.
Royce Griffin: Blue
Springs, Missouri
Enrico Narbonese: I
currently live in America, at Millsaps Training Facility ''MTF"".
I've been living here just over 14 months and loving it. The first
6 months or so it was hard because i knew nobody or how their bikes
work here so i had to get used to all the changes. Plus i was 16
so i missed my parents and friends a lot back home. I call this
home now not because i just live here but because all my friends
here are called family now and when i go back to SA i miss them
and don't like being there.
Ryan Angilley: I call
home Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. It's not really anything like
my hometown, but I like it and really enjoy living here.
Marcus Phelps: I am
still living in South Africa and travel to the UK for 10 days at
a time.
Brad Woodroffe: I am
currently based in Essex in England about 40 miles North East of
London.
Garric Pretorius: Herzogenrath,
Germany.
Erhard Pajewski: I still
call south Africa my home, I grew up there, and left a lot of good
memories back there. Perth would be my second home as I have only
been here for just over a year now, and I'm really enjoying it over
here.
Neville Bradshaw
MXSA: What
is your current 'home' track?
Greg Albertyn: I have a few,
Lake Elsinore, Pala, Glen Helen
Neville Bradshaw: I
have a track which is a mile from my house called Milton Malsor.
There is actually a British Championship round there this Sunday.
Unfortunately you can't practise there, so my local practise track
is a place called Elsworth which is near Cambridge about 40 minutes
away.
Royce Griffin: About 10.
Too many to mention.
Enrico Narbonese: Millsaps
Training Facility.
Ryan Angilley: The closest
track that I live to and race on is Birch Creek, but I would say
my home track or tracks would have to be the practice tracks that
I ride and train on all the time. They aren't really open to the
public, they are both practice tracks on someone's property. The
one track we call "Deans", he is the owner of a bike shop
called SRS motorsports. His track is built by Mark "the bomber"
Barnet! It is by far the best track I have ridden! Big jumps, steep
hills, off cambers and it's really technical!
The other track we call "Liberty" 'cause it's in a little
town called Liberty and it's a really fun track! It has a huge triple!
I was the first to jump it and has awesome soil, lots of corners
and is the best place for corner practice! I live 2 hours from Club
MX training facility. They have open practice every Wednesday. Club
MX is the craziest track ever! It's like you are in a video game!
All the jumps shoot you to the moon! It's so fun! I look forward
to Wednesday's!
Marcus Phelps: When I am
in the UK I practice at a track called Churchills, It is a practice
track in Kent.
Brad Woodroffe: My local
practice track is the Milk Run and my local national track is Canada
Heights in Kent about 30mins from me.
Garric Pretorius: There are
so many surrounding tracks where I live, it's hard to call one home,
but if I had to choose it would be Grevenbroich.
Erhard Pajewski: My current
home track would be Coastals in Henderson park.
Royce Griffin
MXSA: What
series or championships are you competing in?
Neville Bradshaw: I'm
doing the British Championships, the Red Bull Pro Nationals and
the British Masters, as well as a few wildcard GP's.
Royce Griffin: Some AMA Pro
Nationals, some Lorretta Lynn Area Qaulifiers, some Missouri State
Championships, some Kentuckiana Aeries and the odd Contingancy race.
Enrico Narbonese: I'm doing
all the Nationals. Then the biggest thing in amateur racing in the
world is Loretta Lynn's, the best of the best and to get there you
need to do Area qualifiers and Regionals and Qualify top 8 at them
all. I'm busy with my regionals now.
Ryan Angilley: I am competing
in the AMA Amateur Series. I am doing all the qualifiers for Lorretta
Lynn's. It consists of an area qualifier, which if you finish in
the top 8 you make it to the regional, where they take the top 6!
And most of these races are held on the pro tracks. My first area
qualifier was at High Point and my first Regional will be at Steel
City! Those are both tracks that are part of the Lucas oil AMA motocross
championship!
Marcus Phelps: I am currently
participating in the British Red Bull youth cup.
Brad Woodroffe: I am competing
in the Red Bull Pro Nationals and the British Masters championship
this season and any other local events.
Garric Pretorius: Currently
I am in the ADAC MX masters, but haven't had the best of luck in
that series as yet. I am also competing in the DAM Championship,
a smaller championship but close and hard racing.
Erhard Pajewski: I am currently
competing in the western Australian state championships in the pro
lites class . I am also competing in a whole bunch of open events
which are happening all around in WA. I took part in the Monster
Energy Australian National round in Wanneroo, in the pro lites class.
Enrico Narbonese
MXSA: What
racing / riding are you doing?
Greg Albertyn: Just ride
for fun.
MXSA: What
bike/s are you riding?
Greg Albertyn: Suzuki RMZ450
Neville Bradshaw: I'm
on Honda 250f's.
Royce Griffin: Honda CRF450r
Enrico Narbonese: Suzuki:
250F stock and mod, 450F stock and mod.
Ryan Angilley: I ride a Kawasaki
250f and 450f supplied to me by my sponsor G2 / Paintmax.
Marcus Phelps: I am riding
a 2012 KTM 85cc SX.
Brad Woodroffe: I am riding
Yamaha YZ250F's
Garric Pretorius: Suzuki
RMZ 450
Erhard Pajewski: 2012 KTM
SX250
Ryan Angilley
MXSA: Who
are your current sponsors?
Neville Bradshaw: Evo Tech
Stevens Honda, Troy Lee Designs, Alpinestars, Rip n Roll, Dunlop,
Acerbis, Optic, Merge, Haan, HGS, Renthal, VG Builders, LR Designs,
Twin Air, Maxima and Pulse.
Royce Griffin: A few with
30-40% discount online. I have not signed up for any of them yet.
I don't trust it, can't call those sponsors.
Enrico Narbonese: MTF, Nicron
services, 139 Designs, Yoshimura, Steel MX, One Industries,
Twin Air, Renthols, Gaerne, Outlaw, Pit posse, Factory Connection.
Ryan Angilley: G2 Trading,
Paintmax, Fox Africa, Kawasaki SA, Total Control Suspension help
me out over here.
Marcus Phelps: My Sponsors
in SA are Intertherm, TRP, KTM-Raceworx and I have just picked up
a new sponsor in the UK that will supply all my Oils for the series
called Morris Lubricants.
Brad Woodroffe: Riding for
Underdog race team in the UK, I also have Fox Europe, Ducksmart,
Rod and Roger at FCR suspension and my dad and step mum for allowing
to go racing on their pension fund to get me started.
Garric Pretorius: Currently
I am a rider for Jong-Force Racing, Thor, Silkoline and ninety2
stylez.
Erhard Pajewski: Mandurah
City KTM, Moteul and Pirelli.
Marcus Phelps
MXSA: What
BIG name riders live near you, if any?
Greg Albertyn: Roger DeCoster
lives about 1KM from me.
Neville Bradshaw: No one
lives real close to me. Paul Cooper lived two villages away when
he lived in England and Robbie Herring is about 30 min away so it's
cool to have those two guys around.
Royce Griffin: Adam and Aaron
Gulley, Jeff Crutcher, Will Hahn and a few more. Every time you
get to the track you meet a new person that's achieved something
big.
Enrico Narbonese: Near me:
Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, Davi Millsaps
Justin Barcia, Martin Davalos.
People i ride with every day an who live at MTF: Anothey Rodrigus,
Joey Savagy, Jessy Nelson, Paul Coates, Justin Barcia, Martin Davalos,
Gavin Faith, Kyle Peters, Dakota Alix, Davi Millsaps.
I can go on with quite a list, get people at MTF from all over the
world i guess that's why MTF is the best training facility in the
world to be at.
Ryan Angilley: Broc Tickle
lives here but he is based in California now. Also, there is Tyler
Bright, he races the 450 class in the AMA nationals, I ride with
him a lot. Kyle Peters is from here and Jacob Hayes, he is a really
fast amateur who is making his pro debut at the High Point AMA national,
he is also a practice riding buddy.
Marcus Phelps: I don't know,
But Mark Eastwood the ex British GP rider ownes the local MX shop.
Brad Woodroffe: Carl Nunn
and Elliot Banks-Browne.
Garric Pretorius: haha, I
don't know where to start! But Marcus Schiffer, Tony Cairoli, Jeffery
Herlings, Ken De Dyker and the list goes on!
Erhard Pajewski: All the
big name riders live on the east of Australia.
MXSA:
What do you like about MX in your new country?
Greg Albertyn: Sooooo Big.
competitive, popular, etc
Neville Bradshaw: MX is very
professional here. The teams all have big setups with their trucks
and full time staff. The series are run professionally. There is
good prize money at the big races and the competition is very high.
The top 5 at the British have all run top 10 in the Grand Prix series
and in the Red Bull we race 250's and 450's together. A lot of the
riders in that series have won GPs before. Ee race about 25 motocross
races a season so it keeps me busy!
Royce Griffin: I'm on a holiday
visa but people are really friendly and helpful. The pace is unreal
from the start to the finish, which is difficult but good. The events
are so organised with huge payouts at almost every event and like
i said, there's a couple of pros you will run into at every event
you attend.
Enrico Narbonese: That this
is where MOTOCROSS is in the world. The best of the best are here
an have been here, the best bikes are here the money is here an
all the dream tracks are here.
Ryan Angilley: I think having
access to all the different tracks around here is great ... They
have big jumps and technical stuff and it's like there is no limits,
all the tracks are really fun! i like going to a track and seeing
big intimidating jumps and just hucking them!
The fact that everyone rides together here and are all friends,
it's so cool to ride with these fast guys and learn things and push
yourself to get better! It makes training feel rewarding when you
see the improvements!
Marcus Phelps: I like the
layout of the tracks, they are really hilly and fast with big jumps
and the fact that the gates are always full, the first Red Bull
event had 42 starters.
Brad Woodroffe: The amount
of competition with always having 40 riders on the gate and how
professional the race meetings look and run.
Garric Pretorius: To start
the tracks are so well looked after and there are so many of them
to choose from. All the support you get from sponsors and how well
the sport is acknowledged here!
Erhard Pajewski: Motocross
in WA is really big. I enjoy always lining up with a full gate of
riders that are able to run the same lap times. It's really competitive
with so many fast guys in one class.
Brad Woodroffe
MXSA: What
DON'T you like about MX where you are?
Greg Albertyn: Too many wanna
bees and trash talkers on the web.
Neville Bradshaw: The weather
can be a bit hit and miss. Practise tracks are far away and they
run sessions through the day and are expensive.
Royce Griffin: Certain states
such as Indiana have the tightest and smallest tracks that are terrible.
You have to be in the correct state to find the good tracks. Pensylvania
had awesome natural mx tracks. The rest will all be down south.
Enrico Narbonese: I guess
that I'm alone and my parents are not here to build me up, and i
get to go everywhere in America and they don't get to do it with
me. When you do well in America at any race its a really big deal
and i don't get to hug them after, if i WIN or do well it's just
look good job in my head and I pat my self on the back, nothing
special because when you do well here I feel that your friends stop
liking you because your doing better then them or what ever drama
dream (Laughs)
Ryan Angilley: I can't think
of anything!
Marcus Phelps: The
weather, especially the rain.
Brad Woodroffe: Having short
practice sessions at practice tracks by grouping all the riders
in seperate classes and only being able to ride at 20 mins at a
time.
Garric Pretorius: haha well
I'm not the biggest sand rider and they were practically born in
the sand, so sand races are not days that I look forward too always.
Erhard Pajewski: The jumps
over here are really small. I miss all the big jumps back in South
Africa.
MXSA: What
do you miss about SA?
Greg Albertyn: Almost everything;
family, Kruger Park, boerewors, Nando's, etc
Neville Bradshaw: I miss
my buddies and i miss going on out rides on Sundays.
Royce Griffin: My family,
my dogs, but my times up here in July. Got here way to early. Next
year i hope to come back with my own plans.
Enrico Narbonese: Riding
wise not so much. I miss going every Saturday to race with my dad,
and working with my mom on the nutrition side and spinning with
her, and all my riding friends there are in colleges now an living
that PARTY LIVE. Except for one Brandon Hinton enduro rider but
his also in USA now riding.
I miss the food there big time and the billtong! I also miss the
bush in South Africa, I've been going hunting with my dad since
I was in Nap-pies. Every time i go back he always arranges a hunting
trip and its awesome!
Ryan Angilley: Just being
at home and having the support of family and friends.
Marcus Phelps: My mom and
my brothers.
Brad Woodroffe: I miss the
sun a lot and friends and just the freedom that you have in SA being
able to do most things whenever u want to, Also miss the laid back
attitude of South Africans and always acing a good time, people
here are too serious and are always in a rush .
Garric Pretorius: My family,
my friends and just being at home, because once you are so far from
home, there really is NO place like home.
Erhard Pajewski: All my friends.
Garric Pretorius
MXSA: Why
did you leave SA?
Neville Bradshaw: I left
South Africa in 2004. It was always my dream to come and race over
seas and i took my chance and made it happen when i got here. I
am still racing professionally 8 years later so I'm pretty pumped
on how things have worked out for me.
Royce Griffin: to race.
Enrico Narbonese: I've always
wanted to come to the states and ride. I love cycling and being
out doors and stuff. I used to cycle like 5 to 6 days a week and
got mugged once by a black dude, so i felt it was not that safe
and i was never a fan of sitting in the house on a spinning bike
for 4 hours a day. I won the 250B Regional Championship there when
i was 14-15 and felt that spending all that money to get no sponsors
was a waist and if i stayed there maybe 2 years later won 250 I'd
be 17-18? then what? I couldn't make money riding and I'd have to
work and there was like 2 tracks around me. I couldn't drive and
my parents worked so nobody could take me to the track so i felt
that if i was going to make anything of riding i'd need to come
over here, WHILE I WAS YOUNG. I chose MTF because it's really good
and people my age around here and i live at a track so i can ride
and train every day safely. WHILE I GET REALLY GOOD! (laughs)
Ryan Angilley: I wanted to
come race over here with my buddy Michael Docherty and I felt like
I just couldn't get a break at home, like nothing would go my way!
So I took this as a new start and a new beginning and I'm having
fun again! And really enjoying riding and racing! I do it now because
a love it and not 'cause I have to.
Marcus Phelps: My Dad said
this was the next step in my MX career. I need to prove myself in
the UK before I race in the European youth series.
Brad Woodroffe: To further
my racing career and the British championship was a good stepping
stone for where I would like to be in the future.
Garric Pretorius: Despite
the good riders that we have, South Africa hasn't got the support
and money to expand the sport like in Europe and America. So coming
here i have an opportunity to do what I love and make a living with
what I love.
Erhard Pajewski: To chase
my dreams of one day making motocross my job.
MXSA: What
are your goals for 2012?
Neville Bradshaw:
I won the British Supercross Championship earlier in the
year and I'm currently 3rd in the British Championship. We have
round 4 this weekend (26 May) and 24 moto's still to run so I've
got to put my head down and make a charge at that series. In the
Red Bull Pro Nationals we had round 1 last weekend. I got 3rd there
so set myself up a good base to try and get that title back. I'm
leading the British Masters so would like to win that. At the GP's
my goal would be to finish between 10 and 15 in the MX1 class and
if they change the age rule I'd like to try help team South Africa
onto the podium at Lommel this year in the MXON.
Royce Griffin: Goals for
2012. If you asked me this question in January i would have said
my goals would be to qualify for the 8 AMA Pro Nationals i attend
but now my goals are to get my fitness back, race an event every
weekend and get ready for the Pro National coming up.
Enrico Narbonese: For now
make it to Loretta's then do really well at PONCA and MINI OLYMPICS.
Hopefuly pick up a really good ride for next year in A then the
end of 2013 turn PRO. That's the Goal.
Ryan Angilley: To get to
Lorretta Lynn's and get inside the top 10 and to make a name for
myself! And after that I want to try an AMA outdoor, and I believe
I can and I have been putting in the work lately and the results
are starting to show, I just want to get better and ride my dirt
bike as fast as I can!!
Marcus Phelps: To win the
British Red Bull youth cup.
Brad Woodroffe: My goals
for 2012 is to try be a regular top ten guy at the Red Bulls and
the British masters championships and improve my qualifying performances
as its not one of my strong points.
Garric Pretorius: I have
been injured the past 2 years and I am grateful that my team has
stood with me through that, so our goal this year is to get me ready
for the German Supercross at the end of the year and the MX Masters
for next year. My personal goal though would be to score points
this year in the masters.
Erhard Pajewski: My goals
for 2012 would be to finish in the top 5 in the state championship
and to gain a whole lot of experience to take into 2013 and hopefully
compete in the Monster Energy Australian National series.
Erhard Pajewski
MXSA: What
are you up to now?
Greg Albertyn: Busier than
an one legged man in an *ss kicking contest.... self employed with
3 businesses going on, family with 3 kids.
MXSA: What
are your long term goals?
Greg Albertyn: Become a mighty
man of God, help people, be a great dad, become financially independent.
Neville Bradshaw: Long term
goals are to win the British and Red Bull Titles this year. I'm
getting older and the time to get it done is now. Long term, come
and race the Veterans Championship when I'm 40 with all my buddies
in South Africa i grew up racing with and keep the Benoni Bomber
dream alive when Wayne Smith retires if he ever does..haha
Royce Griffin: If i qualify
at the Pro National i attend soon then I'd like to be back next
year with my own organised plans working around the visa. I'm only
here for 6 months at a time and i can't afford to do nothing for
3 months again like this year!
Enrico Narbonese: Turn pro
and be a really good pro!
Ryan Angilley: To make a
living doing this and to live here in the U.S one day doing what
I love and having fun!
Marcus Phelps: To become
a successful GP rider.
Brad Woodroffe: I am aiming
at being able to try be on the box at British champs in the future
and hopefully be able to make my way into the World Championship.
If u can run top 5 in the British champs u will easily be able to
be top 10 in the World Championship.
Garric Pretorius: To be a
successful GP rider and to make a living doing what I love the most.
Erhard Pajewski: My long
term goals would be to, win the state championship in the pro lites
class and then take part in the SuperX series in Australia and then
hopefully manage to get into a team that is willing to send me over
to America to take part in the supercross series there.
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