Big Business

Freestyle motorcross is more than just riding and jumping. The action is actually only the top of the iceberg. When Team FMX4Ever is present at a competition or exhibition, there is a lot of work put into that prior to the event. Just as with professional roadrace or mx-teams, a lot of the work is done before and after.

In January I went to Mattighofen in Austria for a contract meeting for the 2008 season. After talking with Alex Doringen and Pit Beirer it was clear that KTM has high hopes and big plans for the team. What started out 4 years ago as logistic support to KTM has now become full factory support of KTM for my team and it is now the world's biggest Freestyle team. I am the manager and a teamrider. Life is beautiful and busy.



Last week of januari me and my team were in Kiel for the Baltic Race Show. That's an annual event with karting and speedway. Let me tell you: speedway on concrete, that's crazy! After 4 heats they finally had one they didn't have to stop because of a crash.

We did an FMX show with 7 riders, ramp to ramp. Stoica, Gilles, roecky, Chris Birch, Morgan Carlson and myself made the public go bananas. Fredrik Berggren and Martin Koren each won one evening of the event. Both did backflips.

After that I went to Spain for the weekend, to check how my riders were doing. They spent all winter training there and being there was nice for me too. I did some laps on a motorcross track.20 degrees in the winter, pfff, now you know why motorsports are more alive there than in Belgium.

Meanwhile the boys are back in Belgium. Broecky and Birch did well and they are ready for the season. . Gilles Dejong has got the flip mastered and he already does a lot of variations. I think he'll be the Belgian Pastrana. The kid can do anything he wants on a bike.

Herning and more

On februari 8 and 9 the team went to Herning for the annual SX. It was the 12th time I rode there. Gilles and me started out on the KTM SX bikes and Fredrick Johansson, 5th in the World championship Freestyle MX, was also at the start. As by accident we were all in the same heat and that was cool. Being back on a SX track brought back a lot of memories. I started as 9th and fought my way back to finish 4th. And I passed Gilles so he had to go to the last chance qualifier. I still had the speed, but I have to admit my physical abilities were not what they used to be.



That same weekend Gilles and I went to Italy for a show with Vanni Oddera in the snow on an altitude of 2000 meters. Really cool and a unique location. We were between all snowboard riders and Gilles was pulling backflips on ramps and mats. That was cool. And the weekend after that was the busiest in the FMX4Ever history.

Chris Birch, Nick de Wit and Daniel Bodin did an X-Fighters promotion show in Latthi, Finland during the World cup ski jumping. Martin Koren, Bjorn Van den Broeck, Petr Pilat and Steven Stuyven did a show during le Festival de la Moto in Mons. I rented out bikes and ramps in Linz for the Masters of Dirt, Gilles Dejong represented Belgium in Liberec, Czech Republic for the official FIM Freestyle Motorcross World Championships and I was in the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam for a big show with Ronnie Renner, Morgan Carlson, Vanni Oddera, Mat Buyten. Without a good organisation this wouldn't be possible. So we're back to where I started this lettre. I'll be back with more news soon. Got a good story about some exploding bombs in Albania while I was there.

Be safe!

Jimbo

[www.fmx4ever.com]