We recently sat down with team GB MXoN team manager, Mark Chamberlain and he provided an update on securing Max Anstie for the event this year – even if it was looking unlikely at one stage.
“Financially we had to put up the money at decision time and took a risk, we have had private sponsors old and new helping and stepping up which has been great, the Team GB dinner on Friday night which has sold out and merchandise sales. It’s all contributing to covering the whole teams costs. Lots of work has gone into raising this years extra budget that was needed and it’s something I’m very proud of and thankful to the fans, sponsors and my family supporting the effort”.Â
On negotiating with Star Yamaha, Chamberlain says dealing with them has been a good experience – they want to do everything 100%.
“To be fair, my experience with Star Racing has been a good one. They were very positive from the beginning. The issue is that they want to do it correctly and you can’t knock them for that. They’ve got a massive, high-profile team. The issue was making sure that we could cover our part of the costs. And ultimately, then that falls back down to me to make sure we can cover it and raise that money”.
“So, yeah, I mean, honestly, they were bang on and they have been. I’m looking forward to seeing a Star Racing Yamaha in the UK with Max Anstie on it. You know what I mean? When I first knew that he was going to switch or possibly switching teams. I was straight on to Max. Is it going to happen before the Nations? Are you going to ride any Nationals? It immediately got me excited because I’m thinking, yeah, this has got the potential to open up the possibility of a result”.
“It always was only a possibility. But no, from my take on it, Max done everything he could to make it happen. I’ve done it on my side and Star Racing accommodated us the best that they can to do it the way they want to do it, which is 100 percent. So, I can’t knock them for that. I’m looking forward to looking forward to seeing how he gets on”.Â
On how the deal works with Star Yamaha and the financials involved:
“It’s just a combination. Like I said before, we’ve got sponsors that have stepped up. The fact that we can do a little Team GB, VIP, hospitality, dinner, whatever else around that. The money effectively is just to get the bikes over, the insurance, the flights for the mechanics, all of the stuff that costs money that isn’t in their usual budget, in their usual racing season budget. But that’s no different to any other team that we work with. So effectively, it doesn’t matter who you’re going to do a deal with. Obviously, if they’re local, it costs less. If they’re further away, it costs more. The higher the profile team, the more money it costs because the more infrastructure they’ve got to move”.
“So, I mean, we had a similar issue, the last time at RedBud, we had the same problem with Ben Watson. He was riding Factory Kawasaki. They weren’t sure whether the other rider was going, then it was down to cost. We were back and forth, back and forth. It’s just starting to be in the public eye a bit more about it because of the Deegan situation. But trust me, every team is the same, you have to negotiate with them and you have to part with money. So, no one’s any different because it’s not in their budgets. So, it just depends who, what rider you’ve got and it’s almost a curse. You want your riders to be the best bikes, the best teams. But the better teams they’re on, you know, when it comes to the nations, when you go to do the budgets, that it’s going to cost more money. So, it’s like, oh, you know, it’s a bit like, well, what do I do?”.Â
Credit to Chamberlain for making it work and securing Max Anstie for the event – hopefully he is able to roll back the years like the last time he raced the event there and went 1-1 in 2017!
You can watch the full interview below:
