Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Shawn Maffenbeier is a rider as well as a person that everyone likes and respects both on the track as well as off of the track. For years the Saskatchewan native has been at the top of the pro ranks in Canada and back in 2017, he became National Champion in the dog eat dog 250MX class. Fast forward to now and Shawn is a full-time 450 rider on the MX101 FXR Yamaha Racing Team. After injuring his knee late last summer Shawn had thoughts of retiring from pro racing, but after some personal reflection and some consultation with his wife Robin he decided to come back for at least one more season. We caught up with Shawn yesterday as he was fresh off a big win at the opening Future West MX race at Whispering Pines MX Park.
MXP: Hey Maff, how are you doing?
SM: Hey Palms! Right now I’m driving to Costco to do a little shopping. Tomorrow is my birthday so I’m headed out to pick up some things.
Well, Happy birthday! How old will you be?
I’m turning 30 so it’s a big one for sure!
It’s a big one but I don’t think turning 30 or even 40 is as big of a deal as it was years ago. I’m sure some days you feel like you’re 50 but for the most part, are you still feeling good?
I feel great right now. Yes, I know what you mean. When I was younger 30 seemed really old, especially for a pro motocross racer. However, these days as long as the body and mind feel good you’re almost still in your prime at 30.
Exactly! Well, I hope you have a great 30th birthday! Let’s talk first about your weekend at Whispering Pines. I was talking to Newf and he said you won and that you looked great. How did you feel?
You know it’s funny Palms but coming into the weekend I actually felt nervous. I don’t usually feel nerves until the nationals start but before the first moto this weekend I didn’t know where I stood or how I was going to feel once the gate dropped. I guess that is why it’s so important for us to get a few gate drops in before the opening round of the Triple Crown Series. I mean, you can practice and train all you want but nothing replaces racing.
It’s true, you guys spend so much time preparing for the nationals and obviously you need to, but a few real gate drops before Round 1 are important. So, how did you feel on Sunday?
I felt great in all three motos. The first Pro moto was pretty early in the day so the air was still cool and I’m not going to lie, my lungs were burning within a few laps. But in the final two motos, I felt great and my bike was working great. I’m so glad I did this race as it was good to ride the same track that we’re going to be racing on in June.
Overall, how were the track conditions?
Well, that was another thing that had me nervous coming in as a few new people are doing the track prep now. I wasn’t sure how it was going to be for racing. However, it turned out great and the track crew did an amazing job. The track got rough and there were multiple deep ruts in all of the corners. It was perfect and the racing was also great.
It’s good to hear that the race was a positive experience for you. I know sometimes pre-season regional races can go a little sideways. Will you be doing more races in May?
For sure! I might drive to Calgary this weekend and race there, but I’m not 100% sure yet. But I will be racing in Kelowna in two weeks and then I’ll most likely do the Sand Del Lee race later on in May. We have our team photoshoot a few days before so I may just stay and race. Other than that, I’ll be doing some more training and getting ready for the summer.
You live in Kamloops so I’m sure you’re excited to kick off the 2022 Triple Crown Series at Whispering Pines MX Park. But overall how excited are you to have the series going coast to coast again?
I’m really excited to have races in the west again as well as out in Moncton. It’s just a different vibe when the series goes across the country. I know Jetwerx did the best they could during the past two years but I’m glad the series is back to normal.
Not only is the Triple Crown Series back to normal but also this past off-season must have felt like normal with being able to head south and train with no restrictions?
It’s funny Palms, I didn’t realize how much I missed going to California to train until I got there a few months ago. Once I arrived and got into my groove it was like I never left. To be able to do all that I needed to do and ride and test with Al Brown was incredible. We were able to find some things out with the bike and make it better, the weather was great, it was just how an off-season of preparation should be.
That is great to hear Maff. Riders at your level need to get down south and prepare the proper way without having to worry about the weather and also to have limited distractions. So you had a great off-season and right now you’re feeling good with the bike. Are you close to the same bike package you had last year or are things completely different?
I don’t think we’re too far off what we had last year, I just think the package is better. Last year our bike was fairly stock and while I loved it, at times when I had to push out of my comfort zone I struggled a little. So the plan for this year was to go back to some old SSS Suspension settings I had from a few years ago and then work on making the power delivery smoother. From the testing we’ve done so far and then the race on the weekend I believe we’re close to what we want. Between Al Brown, Joe Skidd, Kevin Tyler, and myself, we’ve all worked hard to get the bike better and I think it’s going to be really good this summer.
I think one thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that finding success on a 450 is so much about set-up these days. If one thing is not quite right then it can throw the entire package off and if you don’t feel comfortable then you’re in trouble.
You’re totally right and since things can change so much from track to track you have to have a solid base set-up to start with, and then from there you make little adjustments. But I love this process and I like that guys like Joe and Al, who have been doing this for a long time, listen to my feedback and trust what I say.
Before we wrapped this up Maff let’s talk about last year for a moment. You injured your knee in a bizarre first-turn crash in Deschambault and that put you out for the remainder of the season. After you got injured were you like “I’m done with this sport”?
Not really! At the time I was more concerned about my wedding and would I be able to walk. This is hard to explain as I don’t want to come off the wrong way, but last summer was difficult because while I was racing and trying to do the best I could I was really focused on my wedding. I’m at the age where real-life things matter and to me getting married to the woman I love was a real priority for me last summer. I mean, obviously, it’s the same for everyone as getting married is something that hopefully only happens once in a lifetime. But I found it challenging to race at a high level during the summer knowing that our wedding was coming up. So when I got hurt all I could think about was that I wouldn’t be able to walk on our big day.
That definitely makes sense and sometimes people forget that although you guys are awesome dirt bike riders, you’re still human beings, and real-life things begin to matter more and more as you get older. So you got through your wedding and were able to walk and dance, but there was still talk that you might not be returning to race in 2022. I asked your Team Manager Kevin Tyler in October what you were planning on doing and he told me that he had a bike set aside if you wanted to keep going. Obviously, here we are now so you decided to come back. What was that process like for you?
It didn’t happen overnight that’s for sure. I kind of took some time off from everything as my knee was healing and obviously, when you’re healing from an injury you’re not thinking about riding or racing anyway. Once my knee began to feel better I got a 9-5 job and was working at that and then I started to think about whether or not I wanted to come back for at least one more year. I talked to Kevin to get his thoughts on what the 450 program might look like and then I spoke to guys like Bobby Kiniry to see what he thought. Everyone pretty much said the same thing, if I really wanted to and I was willing to do the work then for sure I should race again. But the real advice came from my wife as we sat down a few times for some heart-to-heart chats. Obviously, what I do affects her as well so she needed to be on board if I was to commit to racing again. Robin told me that if I wanted to race and give it everything I had then I should go for it. She could see that I still have the passion to compete and that if I quit now then I would regret it in the future. That was pretty much it and here I am!
I know I speak for a lot of motocross fans when I say that I’m excited that you are back. I’ll have to thank Robin next time I see her (laughs). Well Maff, it sounds as though you’re in a really good place both mentally and physically as you get ready to head into the 2022 season. Thank you for doing this and again, Happy 30 Birthday!
Thank you Palms and thanks for calling. I’m looking forward to this summer and if this is my final year I hope it’s a good one and I hope I can be a podium guy every weekend.
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