With the MXoN fast approaching, we thought we’d call the home Nation team manager, Mark Chamberlain. The past two years haven’t according to plan for team GB but they’re motivated for a better year in 2024 and there’s no better place to do it than at home at Matterley Basin.
We discuss a range of topics with Chamberlain which you can read, watch or listen to below…
GateDrop: So, Mark Chamberlain, I was actually quite surprised when I was doing a bit of research earlier and you were appointed team GB MXoN manager in 2017. It actually doesn’t feel that long ago, but time flies. But obviously you must really enjoy this role because you’ve been doing it for quite a long time now, but I imagine it’s not the easiest role in the world either…
Chamberlain: Yeah, time does fly. It certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve done it that many times. We’ve had one year off with COVID, so there was one year without it. It’s not easy, it’s not easy in some respects, but then it’s enjoyable. So, if you enjoy something, then that makes it easy in my book, you know.
So yeah, there’s a few stresses here and there. This year has been tough, but we always get there and try to do our best. And if you get a result, you get a result… If you don’t, you’ve tried your hardest to put it all together really.
GateDrop: Just on this year, it hasn’t been easy. You’ve sort of been hit with a few things, injuries here and there, and then with the whole Max Anstie/Star Yamaha situation… But just how difficult was it to pick the team this year?
Chamberlain: It was tricky because quite a few riders had problems. So, no one had a really clean season. So it was like, apart from obviously Conrad, I put Conrad aside. Then obviously for quite a long time, Max was really a long shot. I didn’t really think it was going to come off for quite a while. So my focus was more, or my worry was more on all the other guys really.
There was no one really standing out because they all had different issues. So, it’s usually a certain time of the year, you pretty much, you go, oh, those are the main guys. And if something happens, you would go a different direction… But yeah, definitely this year took some more thinking. I didn’t give up on the Max deal and we kept plugging away, plugging away… Eventually, we pulled through private sponsors and being a bit industrious really with trying to get the Team GB dinner. Steve Dixon and Infront Moto Racing allowing us to do that. Because obviously, they’re also selling tickets and so we waited a long time.
We’ve put together a Team GB dinner, which is on the Friday night, which we always do that anyway. But this year, because it was at home, it was like we made a real big push to get the 1994 winning team there. And then also all of the current British World Champions that are alive as such, you know. So, we’ve got everyone apart from Jeff Smith, who lives in the US now and is 90. So, we didn’t really think that was fair to try and get him over. That meal and then Saturday and Sunday, we’re doing VIP for our sponsors.
We had a limited number of seats that we could raise some money out of. So, all of those different things together. Then certain sponsors that have been with the team and new ones stepping up, all of that together meant that we could get Max and also we could facilitate the other riders’ needs and everything that the team wear.
You know, everything costs thousands and nothing’s cheap these days either. So literally, you know, you’re looking at the ticket prices, you know, we have to buy extra tickets for the riders. You know, we want them to be happy… We don’t have to but my philosophy when we first started was that we need the riders to be happy. We need the team to be happy, create a good team environment and that comes at a cost. So that means extra work to raise the money to be able to do that stuff. But, you know, we do our best. You know, I’ve not nailed it in one year where I’ve got absolutely everything that I planned to do or wanted to do for everyone. But, you know, we certainly get as close as we can.
GateDrop: With Conrad Mewse, he was pretty much the only certainty, I would say… You must be happy with his pace this year, especially in the British. I mean, he battled Jeffrey Herlings a few times, so you know if you’re doing that, you’re doing something right. And then in a couple of MXGP events he’s done, he was in the points most of the time, had top 10 pace. So overall, I think it’s a solid season for Conrad…
Chamberlain: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, his form in the UK is never doubted. GP-wise, he had a really good Saturday at Lommel. Sunday didn’t quite go his way, he had some problems. Then the Dutch GP, again, he didn’t have the best of runs.
You know, like when you’ve got that, when you do the gate pick for when you’re not an official team, if there’s enough riders entered, then they go to a different system. So effectively, you’re on the outside at the start, as you well know. When I went to see Conrad on the Saturday morning, he was like, oh, it’s just a bit of a bummer about that.
I was like, actually, I know it is for you, but for me, I actually quite like that, because I get to see you in an uncomfortable position, and you’ve got something like the Nations where the very first thing that happens is your number gets picked out of a hat, which we’ve all got no control over. You could get first gate pick for the heat races, or you could get fourtieth. So it was, for me, quite a good test.
I was really pleased the way Conrad rode. Again, he had a crash on the first corner in the first race, where he was on the outside, went into the pits, come back and come into the points very well and strongly, and then was carrying an injury, a knock more than an injury into the second race. So all in all, I was more happy with that than him finishing second behind Jeffrey Herlings, because that’s way more relevant. A tough weekend and having to battle is more like the Nations could be so that was really important. I think he’s in a really good place this year. I’m really hoping for him and obviously for the team, but I think he deserves a breakthrough ride at that level. I think he’s ready.
GateDrop: His team told me at Lommel, the plan was to do Spain for the final MXGP round. Do you know if that’s still the plan? Because that’s obviously a hard pack GP and I think that would be really good prep for Matterley Basin. And then obviously next year, would you like to see him do a few more GP’s?
Chamberlain: Obviously, it’s down to him and the team to decide next year. But yeah, obviously, it’d be great to see. I’m a British fan, ultimately so to see any of the guys doing GP’s is a good thing, a positive thing. If they can do as many as they can, then that’s great.
As for Spain, I don’t know… We’ve discussed it, there’s two ways of looking at it. It could be a positive, it could be a negative. It’s very, very close to the Nations is all I think. So we’re going to just see closer to the time and talk with the team, with Conrad, and make that call. It just depends on a lot of different factors, how the preparation’s going and what we’re doing at the time. But then ultimately, again, it’s down to him and the team to make that final call. But I’ll be involved in talking through that anyway.
GateDrop: Just on Max Anstie, he would have obviously been a certainty, but you’re always dealing with Star Yamaha there, and they always like to make a bit of a song and dance out of the supporting riders at the MXoN when it’s not in America. I actually heard in Switzerland that for sure he wasn’t going to come. How close was it to not having Max on the team? I’m sure you’re pleased you were able to pull it off in the end…
Chamberlain: 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.
GateDrop: Just a bit more on Star Yamaha… I mean, how does all that work? Are you effectively paying them to lease a bike for that weekend and getting him to the event? And what can you tell me about the deal between Star Yamaha and Max to just getting them there? Does a sponsor pay for it? Does the ACU pay for it? Or what way does that work?
Chamberlain: 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?
GateDrop: Just on the ACU, I mean, how do they help support you in the role you do? Are you happy with what they do? Or maybe in the future, do you think maybe they could help more? Just what’s your thoughts on the ACU and how they help?
Chamberlain: It’s always been really clear-cut. I mean, they’re straight. They’re like, this is the budget, this is how much we can do. If I want to stretch that budget and do something a bit different or, you know, like go for Max or whatever else, then that, you know, ultimately that’s down to me to manage that situation. But again, that’s not a criticism because I asked for that type of deal when I first went to the ACU. I was like, my thought on it was, Team GB should be able to create an amount of money to self-fund, which it is doing.
Then the ACU put their bit in and then between all the rest of it, then you can make it happen. But again, you look at America, they’re fundraising. Look at Australia, they’re fundraising.
You know, it’s easy because we’re in the UK to only look at our governing body. There are a couple of governing bodies that fund their teams very well. But the majority of the teams on that line are actually in the opposite situation where they’re having to fund, self-fund. I know that Roger DeCoster has had to, you know, a big thing about the KTM thing is that they potentially wouldn’t have had a team a couple of times, but KTM had the infrastructure to bring those guys over.
So, it’s definitely not pinpointed to one federation. The only thing I would say is it is getting harder because the level of MXGP and the level of the AMA series, those teams are now multi-million pound teams running on huge budgets. The nations is the nations and the federations are still the same federations with the same amount of licenses, arguably less coming in because we’re in a bit of a decline financially, like the world is in a bit of a decline at the moment and motorsport because of the bubble of COVID and then coming back down that all those federations have still got the same budgets.
They’re not keeping pace with, you know, Star Racing Yamaha or Factory Honda over here. So everything’s being elevated, but the governing bodies are all sat at the same place with the same budgets. So that is where you’ve got to be creative to make things happen like that. You know, it is what it is. I’m not one to moan. If I didn’t want to do it, I would quite easily turn around and say, look, I’ve done my bit, I’m happy, it’s time to call it a day, but I certainly wouldn’t. I’m certainly not unhappy. Yeah, it’d be great if they gave me more money, I’m not saying that. But at the same time, I fully knew what I took on at the beginning.
I feel as though their hands are a little bit tied in times. The whole thing is just getting harder because of the elevation of the sport, both in the States and in Europe.
GateDrop: With Max and Conrad in the team, the third spot, I mean, six weeks ago, that was probably very, very tough to call because you had Tommy, Josh, Adam and you even had Bobby Bruce, all of them probably thought they had a shot of being included as that third rider. In the end though, I mean, even though it’s in MX2 and he’s been racing MX2 all year, did the last couple of British Championship rounds just make you point towards Tommy more than anything else because he’s been so fast the last couple of rounds there?
Chamberlain: Yeah, I certainly went to watch the last British and I was already in my mind starting to tip towards Tommy because like I said, the other guys were carrying injuries and not had a good clean season. To be honest with you, it was a combination of one, his speed at the minute is pretty good. Looking at the lap times compared to the 450’s, even on that 250, the last couple of rounds particularly, he’s been more than holding his own.
Then just experience and also his race management, he’s got so much race craft that we’re going to need him to use all of that race craft because he knows himself, pace wise, that MXGP class, they are on a completely different level. So, it’s a case of him being smart, being a bit crafty, managing the race the best he can and digging out a performance that I know he can do. At the end of the day, that will be enough for what we need.
I got all the faith in the world that Tommy will one: he’ll give 100%, which is all you can ask for. Two: that I just feel as though the reason he got the nod was just purely his experience and his race craft, I think it will be needed at this time round.
GateDrop: Just on Ben Watson, I have to say I was gutted for him this year when he got injured because, I mean, he’s riding a Beta, it’s a factory bike, but it wouldn’t be as good as some of the factory bikes in that paddock… He was consistently getting good top tens. I think he was having a very strong year. I mean, how big of a blow is it not to have him? Have you heard if it’s likely we’re going to see him race MXGP again? He’s sort of been flying the flag for Brits in MXGP the last couple of years…
Chamberlain: I mean, I don’t know exactly the ins and outs of where he’s at for next year, but it would be a great shame if we lost him out of the GP’s because, like you said, he was doing so well. That was exciting to watch because I’m thinking they’ve obviously done their work during the winter. The bike was a little bit better, and he was obviously better.
To be in amongst those guys, then that was really promising and massive disappointment because Ben’s been very, very good at the Nations for us. So yeah, that was a big blow. Hopefully, next year he’s fit and available for selection. So that would be good if he is, that’s for sure.
GateDrop: The past couple of years, the results, they haven’t gone according to plan. I think GB finished 10th the last two years in the Nations classification… I’m sure you want more and the riders want more. How motivated are you for this year to put on a better show and sort of probably push towards that top five? What are the expectations? There’ll be no better place to do it, especially the home nations to performing well…
Chamberlain: Yeah, I’m massively disappointed with the last two years, all sorts of things didn’t go our way. But that is the Nations and it’s one day. So unfortunately, you have to take it on the chin.
This year, definitely the goal in my mind is the top five. And if you’re good enough to be the top five and there’s five very, very good teams, at least five very good teams, then you’ve always got a chance of a podium. That’s always the goal.
But you’ve got to forget that, there can’t be a goal as such, although I just said that. But it can only be from the beginning of that weekend, maximising each thing and the processes. Like I said, the very first thing is pulling the name out of a hat, so you’ve got no control over that. But once that’s done, everything is in the guys control.
So, it would just be reaffirming that to them that we do one thing at a time. That’s get comfortable on the track. Hopefully have some good momentum in those early practices and a good feeling. Maximise the heat race and then once that’s done, you take stock and think about Sunday. But the main thing is to focus first and foremost on the Saturday and try to maximise that. Then you go into Sunday with as good a chance as you can give yourself.
GateDrop: Just on young British talent, I mean, after Conrad, there hasn’t been too many elite stars coming, let’s say. Obviously, Billy Askew is quite good… But I have to say, just on the young talent emerging from the UK at the minute, I’m actually pretty impressed. You’ve got talent like Cohen Jagielski, Hayden Statt, Harry Dale, Josh Vail, Jamie Keith… these guys, obviously, probably all of them won’t make it. You know, it’s a hard sport… But what would your advice be to them? Because they look to be very talented. It seems to me if you want to make it in this sport, what you have to do is go to Europe as soon as you can and try and make a go of it…
Chamberlain: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think the main point is Europe, 100 percent. Get over there when you can and just focus on improving all the time and keep improving. Have a good structure and good people around you.
Again, there are the nations that have got more support and it’s something that does make me question, you know, like what do we need to do as a nation to support our young guys? I have got a few things running through my head that I want to go over with the ACU and that after this MXoN event. We need some progression, and we need a bit more of a system.
I really don’t like the fact of how many UK series are running. If there was less of them, they definitely shouldn’t be clashing with anything that the youth guys can go and do, because if they’re tempted to stay at home to get a good championship result in A, B or C, championship, one of those national championships, then they’re not going to progress. So, I just feel as though we all need to push in the same direction. That goes from scheduling the races, making sure that the kids are available to go to those Europeans, a support network for them to get to the Europeans or at least help in some way.
Then it’s momentum, you know, and then you’ve got Dave Willet is trying hard in what he’s doing with the youth side, which is really good. So, they’re going to the junior worlds, we have just got to keep those steps and don’t ever make it where there’s too big of a jump.
You know, like we’ve got to try and make it so it’s all about progression. Okay, go to that next step, go to that next step… Because otherwise you leave it and there’s too big a jump, then all of a sudden they go and they feel they’re out of their depth, you’re going to put them off. I just think we need to have a bit more of a step plan in place, really. That’s what I would push for.
GateDrop: Just on the management role, obviously, you said earlier, you’re enjoying it. I mean, how many years do you see yourself in this position of team management role? Or do you just take it year by year at this stage?
Chamberlain: It’s down to the ACU. You know, they are the ones that give me the role effectively. So it’s down to them. If they want to make a change, then that’s out of my hands. My family are really supportive. I do joke every year that it’s the last don’t worry, it’s the last year when I get absolutely absorbed through August and ruin the family holiday.
I always joke that it’s going to be the last year, this one and then I’m done. But they all know I’m lying, to be fair. So, if I get the chance to keep going, I’ll keep going. While I’m enjoying it, you know, if I enjoy it, and I’m passionate, I’ll do it. If I lose passion for it, then I need to stop and someone else needs to have a go.
GateDrop: Perfect. Thank you very much for your time, Mark. Much appreciated. Good luck for the MXoN.
Chamberlain: Thanks, mate. Good luck to Ireland as well.
