Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Welcome to this week’s Yamaha Motor Canada Behind the Lens where we travel back to June and Moto Valley Raceway in Regina. This long running track is where Round 4 of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals took place and in some ways it represented a turning point in both the MX2 and MX1 series.
In the MX1 class, Matt Goerke was well on his way to winning both motos, when during the final lap of Moto 2 his chain came off. This opened the door for Christophe Pourcel to cruise by for the win and the two riders would leave Regina tied in points. In the MX2 class, Cole Thompson dominated both motos on the slippery Moto Valley track and extended his already large points lead as the western rounds wrapped up.
Behind Cole, hometown Saskatchewan boy Shawn Maffenbeier was desperately trying to not only win in front of his family and friends, but also to make up the points he had lost at Round 2 when a rock and taken out his water pump. However, in the first moto Maffenbeier went into a deep Regina rut and got his boot snagged on part of his YZ250F. Maffenbeier ended being down for a long time and was forced to watch helplessly as one rider after another went by. Finally, he was able to dislodge his boot and get back into the race. From there he charged hard and was able to make his way back up to finish inside the top 20. With his second bad moto of the 2017 MX2 series before it was even halfway done, it certainly could’ve been lights out for the popular title favourite. But, as the story of the rest of series played out, Maffenbeier was able to rebound and eventually win the 2017 MX2 Championship. Now, there are obviously many factors that went into Maffenbeier’s championship winning summer, but for this week’s Behind the Lens photo I chose one the I feel represents perhaps the biggest reason for his success.
Shawn Maffenbeier has always surrounded himself with good people. Photo by James Lissimore
In every sport people always talk about how important experience is to finding the ultimate success for an athlete. Experience is something that you cannot buy or fake in life, it’s something that takes years to gain and the only way to get is by simply doing whatever it is you’re trying to do. If you look at 99% of the top athletes in any sport, the one thing they all have in common is that when they are at the pinnacle of their success, they’re all leading simple and effective lives. Part of leading this type of focused lifestyle is surrounding yourself with good people. It’s human nature that when people are successful, everyone wants to be around them. And when successful people have too many people around them, chances are that a few of them are bad, and like a vacuum they can suck the success right out of someone.
This is where experience comes into play as it can take an athlete years to realize this. When they finally do, they learn that to be successful all they need is a few trusted people around that can pick them up when they’re down, and also hold them up when they’re winning. For Shawn Maffenbeier, this past summer he had people like his Team Manager Kevin Tyler and his girlfriend Robin Hutchinson by his side at all times. They were there both when he won motos, and also when he was forced to push his bike back to the truck after his Round 2 DNF. Yes, Maffenbeier had a great team and a great family behind him this year and that is one big reason that he was able to bring home his first ever Canadian Championship. So, if you’re a talented rider who is searching for the same type of success that Maffenbeier was able to enjoy in 2017, simplify yourself lifestyle and most importantly, surround yourself with good people.
