Jack Chambers got drafted in by DRT Kawasaki last year but this year is his first full season racing the MX2 World Championship. After getting an experience last year it helped him to prepare for the 2024 season and so far he has been solid.
After the Spanish MXGP, Kevin Frelaud from DailyMX caught up with him to discuss his weekend, how he finds racing GP’s and more…
Solid, Jack. 11-13 for you here in Spain for 13th overall on the day. It’s better than last year at the same place but you probably want more… How did the weekend go for you?
Chambers: Yeah, I’m not expecting too many results as of now. Couple of changes we’re making each weekend to the bike, not a lot of testing can be done during the weeks as we’ve just come from Argentina and the race bikes have been in the crates. So moving forward, hopefully this week we can get some testing done going to a sand track, a soil that I’m a bit more comfortable on being from Florida and softer so we don’t ride hard pack ruts like this. So yeah, I know where I should be and I feel like that’s you know the 5-10 range for now. With some better starts I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but it makes it better on yourself.
I did get a good start in the qualifying race, but I just didn’t have the pace in the qualifying race. So yeah, I know I have the speed somewhere, I’ve shown it before and I just need to continue. I just need some top 10 and work my way up to top five. And you know, hopefully somewhere at the end of the season we get a podium. That’s the end goal, yeah.
Obviously last year you got injured in Germany, like a freak accident. You’ve got the first taste, the experience last year, so when you went back home for the offseason, I think you were back home in America. Did you do anything specific to prepare? Because the first year, obviously you didn’t prepare for MXGP, this year you could prepare for it. What did you do different?
Chambers: Well, a lot different than last year as I rode outdoors on the offseason instead of Supercross and I trained with Zach Osborne my trainer. We made a couple changes to my track, we left it as rough as possible and been riding really rough tracks but it’s just soft soil and not many places we can go in Florida with hard pack so I’m getting used to that. Also, a three speed transmission is what we have here and I practice all off season on a on a 5 speed. So yeah and even during the week I’m on a 5 speed. So yeah, some changes to be made, but I think we’re in a good spot for, you know, it’s a long season. It’s 20 rounds and I’ve scored points in all four moto’s this year, so no malfunction so far. And I’d say it’s a positive end weekend, I feel like I rode better, but I’m say there’s still a gap to close to those front guys.
I believe you prepared in Florida for the Argentinian GP. Where those tracks you were prepping on close to what you got in Argentina?
Chambers: No, not even close. I do enjoy high speed tracks but I don’t think that anything that I’ve been riding on would prepare me for for Argentina. Such a different soil and it’s almost like riding on volcanic ash. But yeah, very loose and slippery. I do like that stuff, but it’s very foreign to me and honestly, each track we go to, it’s a learning experience. So, I’ve never been to Sardinia, which is the next round, and I’m looking forward to it. Just like I said, yeah, looking forward to it, a sand track, but yeah, no expectations, just some goals I want to achieve. And we just keep setting, keep resetting the goals each weekend and I think we’ll get to where we need to be.
Being the solo American rider in the World Championship, I’m curious to know if any of the AMA guys got a hold of you to talk about your experience.
Chambers: Yeah, I did an interview last year with Racer X, but nobody directly from AMA, but Racer X is pretty tight with them. So yeah, Davey Coombs obviously is a high up and and runs Racer X. So, we had a good chat and there’s been some Americans do it before.
Obviously my trainer, Zach Osborne and yeah, a handful of other guys that have come and done it. But it’s not for everyone. It’s the living, the eating, the training. It’s so different each weekend in the States, like you race just on Saturdays, come home sometime Saturday night and you train a lot during the week. Here you don’t train much during the week because you have such a big weekend and being able to manage you know Saturday to Sunday and now we have Friday start practice. So it’s a long weekend of being on the bike and being focused and at your highest level you can be each time you go on the track.
I remember last year you told me at the first round you were in Switzerland. I don’t know any of these guys. You know, now… These guys must be a little bit more familiar to you and you also maybe know a little bit more what to expect from them on the track. Does that help you?
Chambers: I would say that when I first came over here, not any verbal things had been said between me or the riders but I could feel like there was a bit of like they didn’t really give a crap who I was, like they had no clue. It’s not like I had been winning in the States or anything. So I feel like now I’ve kind of, I wouldn’t say prove myself, but gotten to the point where they know I’m going to battle and I’m not just going to let them them by. So I think that’s good and I’m getting a lot more respect. You know, we finished the races and the guys will give me a thumbs up or they’ll stop and say, you know like that was good battle, good on you or whatever. So but yeah it’s been a lot different being that I am yeah the only American. There’s a couple people in the paddock that speak English and are from Canada. I know a couple people from there, a photographer or two. But I think that, yeah, it’s just a whole world of difference, you know, in the US paddock, I go to everybody’s pit. I know everybody there, they know me, but yeah.
With your experience, are you impressed with the way Tom Vialle is adapting to the Supercross because you’ve pretty much done the opposite thing. He went from MX2 to the US to ride Supercross and you have went from the Supercross background to ride in the MX2. So, you know what he has been riding for the last few years. Are you impressed he’s been able to adapt to Supercross right now?
Chambers: Yeah, I think he’s a two time world champion here and if you can ride these tracks good I wouldn’t have any doubt that if you have some sort of flow you’re going faster on these tracks and it’s a different concept to learn Supercross and it takes a lot of focus. But yeah, I’ve practiced with him a couple times last year at Alvin’s (Baker) when I was on KTM there. But yeah he’s definitely picked it up a notch and it’s cool to see and even to see Prado go over there.
I think that a lot of Prado’s success in the past two races has been because he didn’t you know, hammer the whole offseason on outdoors. It was a grind for him to do Supercross and I think that’s what has helped him. I mean on these tracks with the ruts you have to be just kind of smooth and just roll the speed and everything and I felt like back when I was home when I’m riding sand like it’s just hammer. So I’ve got to maybe, I wouldn’t say calm down, but just relax a bit through the ruts and get a better flow going.
American riders and I’m going to name two, Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia, both say, you know, after their AMA career is over, they could see themselves riding MXGP, kind of like a retirement plan. Do you feel MXGP riders get enough credit for the AMA riders?
Chambers: No, not at all. And the way you said it makes it sound like a bit disrespectful. The way that they’ve said it like a retirement plan. That’s what we saw with Ryan Villopoto when he came over here. He didn’t dominate.
Obviously I don’t have much outdoor experience. I’ve raced I think now already double, almost triple the amount of outdoor nationals I’ve raced in the States. So the only thing I’ve ever done really is amateur motocross which is 15-20 minute motos which are sprint races and then just train supercross. So I’ve had a couple years of injuries and not having an offseason.
So I think that now that I’ve had an offseason I come off both motos and I never really felt like I was too winded. Obviously I was in a battle for the second moto so it was a bit more energy exerted but I feel like my fitness is a lot better than what it was last year. So having a whole off season having Zach in my ear and just pushing me. So I think we have a ladder to climb to get to where we want to be but I don’t I wouldn’t say that we’re miles off. Obviously to win, yes, we are. I think today there was four or five seconds from my best to their best, but yeah.
Could you see yourself settled in Europe maybe for the next 5 to 10 years and try MXGP after MX2? Or have you have planned to go back to the US?
Chambers: I think when I first came over here it was to get experience, get a factory ride and come back home. It’s not going to happen like that unless I’m winning. So I think once I get to the point of where I’m winning and I’m doing podiums, maybe that is where my brain kind of turns to whether I want to go back home. But for now I’m enjoying it here. Obviously I’d love to be at home in Florida and on the lake right now after a Supercross day, but it’s a bit different. So I wouldn’t say my plan is to stay here until I move to the 450 but next year will be my last year in 250 class and then I’ll have to go 450 here. If I’m to the level and I’m up to the speed, yeah, I’ll go. I wouldn’t say if the money is right, but money talks.
So if I’m able to to make a living here and keep progressing, obviously the goal is to come back to the States and race the best in the States and there’s also the best in the world. But you can’t say that these guys aren’t the best in the world either. So I want to race them all and stack myself up against him, but I actually came from an off road background with racing in the woods and endurance races so like enduro basically. So yeah, I raced those conditions (GNCC) until I was 15. And then I somehow just got invited to Monster Cup and trained Supercross at Tim Ferry’s for a month or so. And I went there and got 4th overall. That that was kind of my turning point of wanting to race and do this a living. Like I want to make a living but also you know want to win. I wouldn’t say I’m to the point now where I’m like I’m close to winning because obviously I’m not. But I think that is everyone’s goal.
Anyone if anyone who’s out there on the line, If they don’t want to come out here and win that, they’re not in the right sport and everybody has a dream as a kid to come and do this.
Interview: Kevin Frelaud/DailyMX
