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Interview: Rising U.S prospect Jack Chambers Part 1

Big 2023 ahead.

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Having endured some challenging first steps into life as a professional, which has been scuppered by injuries and misfortune, Jack Chambers enters 2023 full of optimism that he can begin to truly stamp his mark in both supercross and motocross.


Words: Edward Stratmann | Lead Image: Jack Chambers


Part one of our chat focuses on having Zach Osborne as his trainer, the adversity he’s faced so far, his preseason training with Chase Sexton and Justin Starling, his unlucky on-track tangles with Jo Shimoda and his appreciation for his family helping him get to where he is today.

Read Part 2 here

Edward Stratmann: How’s life for you right now? How are your preparations for the new season going training alongside Chase Sexton and Justin Starling at your place?

Jack Chambers: Just winding down the day right now. Went to the doctors in Orlando and did some therapy with my chiropractor and rode some supercross today. Preseason has been up and down, it’s been tough. Been cool training with Chase, he’s a smart guy, he knows what he’s doing definitely. I’m still a fair way off in terms of lap times, but it’s tough cause it’s my track at my house and obviously it’s another supercross track, but just going through the daily ups and downs of being close to him and then not. And just he’s doing things that aren’t really possible on a 250 sometimes. I just take it for what it is and keep working and putting my laps in, and just know that I’m not on his level right now.

ES: Any particular takeaways from working with Chase and Justin, plus from having Zach Osborne as your trainer?

JC: Chase is really good in the whoops, a lot of it’s just commitment and entry speed. He’s almost not even on the throttle in the whoops. I mean if you watch Stew, you can tell, I mean, he’s just wide open coming out of the corner and just hits and levels out with the throttle a little bit. And Chase does that a lot too. Sometimes I’ll hit the whoops good and think “that was a good run” and that’s the feeling everyone strives for in racing when riding supercross. It’s been fun for sure.

Zach Osborne is my trainer and he’s at the track a couple of times a week. He’s awesome and he’s training for himself right now too, so it can be tough for him to balance everything he’s doing, as he’s got to prepare for his new racing endeavours. He rides at my track and we basically have a field and a sand turn track that he rides on. He’s out there as much as he can be, especially with his new baby and taking care of the kids keeping him busy.

ES: It must be so beneficial not only having the track at your place but also having so many experienced and knowledgeable people in your corner?

JC: So we bought the place a couple of years ago, maybe even three or four years ago. My Dad has always wanted a piece of property. It’s basically an old orange grove and he actually grew up riding on it as a kid with his Dad. The place here is probably one of the more rural areas and it’s not as populated, but there’s a lot more neighbourhoods coming in. I’d say the track will probably stay here a couple more years just because of how Orlando is moving closer and closer to us with the population here and everything increasing. We might even get to have it five more years then it’ll just be a farm I get to raise my kids on.

The track is so good as it’s literally right around the corner from my house. I ride out my gate, down the road and I’m there. I can ride my bike to the track in the morning, but I usually drive my van there though so I have a place to set up everything.

The noise isn’t too bad for the neighbours though, as even when I’m unpacking my van at home I can’t hear too much. But you can still hear Chase every once in a while when he hits the whoops, or is on the rev limiter or if the pipe is facing this way. But it’s very distant, so I don’t think it’s to the point where it’s annoying.

At this stage, we haven’t really had any issues with neighbours, but we have had a couple of people fly drones over to check it out. My Dad especially doesn’t like that as it doesn’t sit well with him that somebody is trying to look at our property.

Last year, I trained at the 83 Compound and I’m really good friends with Jett Lawrence. He’s just bought the place. But it’s just tough this year with me being a privateer. Money is kind of more in my hands now and I have to take care of more things. You know with the money you spend on even fuel to get over there to ride at that place, it’s not worth it. My Dad just built this track last year for me so I would have multiple places to ride.

My Dad really wanted to do the track for me and he’s super into it. I’ll usually be at the track riding and when I’m done, If I don’t have gym afterwards, I’ll go out in the water truck, I’ll prep the track and basically do my own track work. And bike work too, really everything right now. I have a mechanic come in for the season, but it’s tight with money and everything so I’m basically trying to do everything on my own. My parents have also been so supportive, but they’re also teaching me to do it on my own for myself. So If I want to do it on my own and not on a factory team, I’ve got to learn.

ES: This has obviously given you a massive appreciation for your parents seeing them help you so much while making you mature quickly and to be so dedicated. This must make you so motivated to succeed?

JC: Yeah absolutely, you know, I’ve probably added five or 10 years onto my Dad’s retirement (laughs). I understand that, but they really do help me out so much and they make sure I have practice bikes, which they help me out with as I have bikes from the team (Rides Unlimited) for races. But even this year with the switch to the new bike, there was even a discussion to do our own thing.

ES: While your season was ruined with injury, it still would’ve been a terrific learning experience for you?

JC: I got hurt in June during outdoors. I only raced three outdoor rounds, I tore my ACL in the first turn at Thunder Valley. Shimoda like barely hit me from the inside and then I put my leg down. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. I honestly let off too soon because I got such a good start at Colorado at elevation. I was almost surprised how fast my bike went, as I was expecting it to be slow at elevation and it was the second moto. I was really pumped up on the line, I was listening to music, ready to go and fired up. I think I got 18th in the moto before and believed I could do even better and I was really liking the track.

I came around the first turn and felt the pop and heard a pop too, it was loud. I knew immediately something wasn’t right so I made it round another lap kind of cruising. I put my leg on my seat and was bending and stretching it. Immediately I didn’t think ACL, as my knee wasn’t hurting, it just kind of cracked. My mechanic put on the pit board “go if you can” and I was feeling alright. My Dad was calling for me to be pulled off the track. So I ended up staying out and put the hammer down to see how many guys I could pass. Then I did another lap and I was within the top 10 or 15 on lap times was what my mechanic repeated to me after.

Then I felt my knee kind of give again, it was loose and I couldn’t straighten it all the way to lock it out. I knew something was wrong. My mechanic was then waving the pit board for me to come in. I was in 40th place and I was already probably a minute down and the leaders were about to lap me on the third lap. I had spent so much time checking and feeling my knee. I didn’t know what to do. It hurt then it didn’t hurt. Then I did the next lap and felt good so kept going and had the mindset to get hammering to see how many guys I could pass. But then again, I was in 40th and there wasn’t much I could do, but I still got 21st overall with a 18th placed first moto. It was decent overall.

I didn’t expect that to happen and for my season to go this way. I was really looking forward to the east coast outdoor rounds more. I’ve grown up on the east and on the sand and I’ve never been to Southwick. I love the sand so I didn’t really get to show what I could do.

For my first year in supercross, you know the nerves and everything and not knowing the stadiums, the dirt or the tracks – all that stuff and being a bit scared was tough. To have Zach there, not every round, but for a lot of them to help me with stuff – the guidance from him has been awesome.

I’ve never been the best although I’ve won a lot of amateur races against good guys. I’ve raced against Levi Kitchen and I’ve beaten him. Obviously he excelled a lot more towards the end of his amateur career than what I did. But there were times in my last year in A Class when we were battling and I was getting up there.

You know, I’m not on a factory team. I don’t have the factory support that I had the goals and dreams of getting. But I’m out here still doing it if I can and I just turned 20, so being my second year racing supercross I have some big goals, but I’ve still got to look at it for what it is. At three years old I started riding dirt bikes and you know I’m here racing. You need to have a good perspective on life and just stay positive and look at it from the big picture.

ES: Listening to what you said, you obviously found the step up to the pro ranks huge in terms of not just the competition but also the atmosphere, the pressure and everything else?

JC: Yeah, my first outdoor round was probably the highest of highs and the lowest of lows – you do well then get injured. I went out in qualifying at High Point, my first race in 2021. I just did that round then raced at RedBud – just to kind of get my feet wet and race into the pros and then I’d train for supercross. I qualified in ninth place. I was lined up right next to Colt Nichols on the gate and I was up there with the big dogs. I thought okay “this is it, this is my pro debut so let’s do it” but as soon as I crossed the gate I hit neutral. I was dead last. Around the first lap, I’d made it all the way up to 15th. I was literally slicing through people. I passed so many guys and I came around, got the pit board for 15th and thought “wow, oh my gosh” and I didnt even understand it. I guess I didn’t really realise how fast I was going on that first lap and then I kind of got a little overconfident and started rushing things.

I got to a point where I was up near the factory guys and then I crashed overriding, not knowing the level to push for 30 minutes, as I’d only been doing amateur races and 10 minute motos and Loretta’s was only 20. So after the crash, I went back to 40th then back to 30th and I think got like 33rd in that moto. I was, to say the least, not stoked when I came off the track.

The next moto I lined up on the gate and I got off from the start and Shimoda got hit from the inside and somebody else got hit from the inside and I ended up getting tied up with Shimoda of all things. The same person that hit me in the corner before at Colorado – obviously not on purpose, but that’s how it worked out (laughs).

I knew I was going down, so I went down and went to pull my bike up and his handlebars got stuck in my rear wheel. Me and him were trying to pick up our bikes and I’m waving at my mechanic to come over and he was trying to get permission to cross the track.

There were other mechanics from other teams helping too. We were just like “how did this happen?” We spent two laps trying to get going. His handlebars went through and broke a spoke and into my chain. It was so locked in, there was no way to bend the bar or bend the spokes to get it out. My mechanic then got out some vice grips to cut the spoke, but broke them. Then the next step was to take the chain off. Somebody else took the chain and the master link off while my mechanic was working on something else. And they threw it in the dirt.

They got Shimoda going and by then the field had come around twice now and we were like “where’s my master link, my chain is off?” So me and my mechanic are literally down on the ground sifting through the dirt, then I found the clip, put it back on. Then I was like ”what about my spokes, they’re ruined?” So he just bent the spokes around and wrapped it around the wheel. I was wondering if it was cool to ride like this, And he said “trust me it’s fine, I wouldn’t send you out if it wouldn’t work” so I got out around where seventh and eighth were running. I then ran close to their pace for three laps and then from all the adrenaline wearing off and being amped up, I just completely tanked and ended up getting 37th. Definitely wasn’t what I was hoping for in my first outdoor race.

Read Part 2 here.

Features

Stat Attack: Indianapolis Supercross Review

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With the tenth round of AMA Supercross in the books, statistics maestro Paul Pearcy has provided MX Vice with some brilliant numbers to tuck into from what was a great night of action. Enjoy

250 Class

Qualifying

  • Top 3
  1. Max Anstie: 49.492
  2. Tom Vialle: 49.492; (Max got top spot because his time came in the first session, while Tom’s time came in the second session)
  3. Pierce Brown: 49.719

LCQ

  • Top 3
  1. Jeremy Martin
  2. Ryder Floyd
  3. Hardy Munoz
  • Laps Led
  1. Jeremy Martin: 5
  2. Hardy Munoz: 2
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jeremy Martin: 52.413
  2. Preston Boespflug: 53.150
  3. Gage Linville: 53.549
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jeremy Martin: 53.655
  2. Preston Boespflug: 54.259
  3. Ryder Floyd: 54.373

Race 1

  • Top 3
  1. Cameron Mcadoo
  2. Haiden Deegan
  3. Seth Hammaker
  • Laps Led
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 12
  2. Daxton Bennick: 1
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 49.561
  2. Tom Vialle: 49.660
  3. Cameron Mcadoo: 49.854
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 50.830
  2. Haiden Deegan: 51.086
  3. Seth Hammaker: 51.907
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Preston Boespflug: 2.970
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 3.184
  3. Jalek Swoll: 3.287

Race 2

  • Top 3
  1. Haiden Deegan
  2. Cameron Mcadoo
  3. Tom Vialle
  • Laps Led
  1. Haiden Deegan: 12
  2. Jalek Swoll: 1
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 49.493
  2. Tom Vialle: 50.690
  3. Pierce Brown: 50.868
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Haiden Deegan: 51.522
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 52.214
  3. Tom Vialle: 52.580
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Jeremy Hand: 2.040
  2. Coty Schock: 2.315
  3. Max Anstie: 2.634

Race 3

  • Top 3
  1. Tom Vialle
  2. Pierce Brown
  3. Cameron Mcadoo
  • Laps Led
  1. Tom Vialle: 13
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Tom Vialle: 49.844
  2. Chance Hymas: 50.020
  3. Cameron Mcadoo: 50.175
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Tom Vialle: 51.493
  2. Pierce Brown: 51.563
  3. Haiden Deegan: 51.892
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Marshal Weltin: 1.984
  2. Seth Hammaker: 1.997
  3. Nick Romano: 2.233

Overall

  • Top 3
  1. Cameron Mcadoo; (1st win of the season, 80% podium rate this year)
  2. Tom Vialle; (80% podium rate this year)
  3. Haiden Deegan; (40% podium rate this season)
  • Laps Led
  1. Tom Vialle: 13; (Tom is now tied with Austin Forkner for most laps led this season at 37.  34% of total laps raced)
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 12
  3. Haiden Deegan: 12
  4. Jalek Swoll: 1
  5. Daxton Bennick: 1
  • Best First Lap Position Average
  1. Tom Vialle: 3rd 
  2. Cameron Mcadoo: 3.333
  3. Jalek Swoll: 4th 

Points

  • Top 10
  1. Cameron Mcadoo: 98
  2. Tom Vialle: 96
  3. Pierce Brown: 87
  4. Haiden Deegan: 82
  5. Coty Schock: 79
  6. Seth Hammaker: 72
  7. Daxton Bennick: 71
  8. Max Anstie: 62
  9. Chance Hymas: 60
  10. Jalek Swoll: 58

450 Class

Qualifying

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence: 48.523
  2. Eli Tomac: 48.554
  3. Cooper Webb: 48.568; (The difference between 1st and 3rd was .045 seconds.)

LCQ

  • Top 3
  1. Kyle Chisholm
  2. Justin Starling
  3. Devin Simonson
  • Laps Led
  1. Kyle Chisholm: 7
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Ty Masterpool: 52.415
  2. Kyle Chisholm: 52.810
  3. Freddie Noren: 53.248
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Kyle Chisholm: 54.223
  2. Ryan Breece: 54.271
  3. Freddie Noren: 54.390

Race 1

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Chase Sexton
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 10
  2. Ken Roczen: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 48.639
  2. Ken Roczen: 49.225
  3. Cooper Webb: 49.581
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 51.023
  2. Cooper Webb: 51.383
  3. Ken Roczen: 51.402
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Aaron Plessinger: 2.774
  2. Eli Tomac: 3.095
  3. Chase Sexton: 3.785

Race 2

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Ken Roczen
  3. Chase Sexton
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 10
  2. Ken Roczen: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 49.499
  2. Ken Roczen: 49.713
  3. Chase Sexton: 49.849
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 50.735
  2. Chase Sexton: 50.884
  3. Ken Roczen: 50.908 (That’s a difference of .173 in average lap times over 16 laps)
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Ken Roczen: 2.537
  2. Malcolm Stewart: 2.641
  3. Chase Sexton: 2.676

Race 3

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence
  2. Chase Sexton 
  3. Ken Roczen
  • Laps Led
  1. Ken Roczen: 10
  2. Jett Lawrence: 6
  • Fastest Lap Times
  1. Ken Roczen: 49.131
  2. Chase Sexton: 49.284
  3. Jett Lawrence: 49.314
  • Best Average Lap Times
  1. Jett Lawrence: 50.477
  2. Chase Sexton: 50.483
  3. Cooper Webb: 50.594; (That’s a difference of .117 in average lap times over 16 laps)
  • Most Consistent Lap Times (Least difference between fastest and slowest lap times)
  1. Chase Sexton: 2.528
  2. Cooper Webb: 2.885
  3. Jason Anderson: 3.079

Overall

  • Top 3
  1. Jett Lawrence; (The only other person to have a perfect sweep at a triple crown was Ken Roczen in 2020 also on a Honda.  Jett has now won 50% of the races this season, with a 60% podium rate)
  2. Ken Roczen; (Ken has a 50% podium rate this year)
  3. Chase Sexton; (Chase has a 50% podium rate this year)
  • Laps Led
  1. Jett Lawrence: 26; (Jett now has 130 laps led, 50.7% of total laps)
  2. Ken Roczen: 22; (Ken has the second most laps led at 49, Just 19% of total laps)
  • Best First Lap Position Average
  1. Ken Roczen: 1st 
  2. Jett Lawrence: 2nd 
  3. Jason Anderson: 4th 

Points

  • Top 10
  1. Jett Lawrence: 210
  2. Cooper Webb: 189
  3. Chase Sexton: 185
  4. Ken Roczen: 175
  5. Eli Tomac: 174
  6. Jason Anderson: 165
  7. Aaron Plessinger: 162
  8. Justin Cooper: 120
  9. Justin Barcia: 109
  10. Dylan Ferrandis: 107

Lead Image: HRC

Love what we do? Please read this article as we try to raise £30,000.

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British MX Nationals

Thank you. It’s been a hell of a ride.

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Since buying back MX Vice in November 2019, it has been challenging. One of those crystal balls would have been handy for navigating some problematic situations. Who would have thought COVID-19 would be a thing?

Those who follow MX Vice know we started from nothing but an idea. A fan who loved the sport created a Facebook page, website, and social media presence that would become disruptive. It has made numerous talented media people who were allowed to run with it for over thirteen years. Being in the UK/Europe has always been difficult; I’ve always believed that if we were a US media company, we would have been embraced and appreciated for our work ethic and the content we produce. We always cast one eye over the US in Europe, and you can’t blame the top European riders for doing the same.

MX Vice has always tried to give people a voice, especially the riders who are not in the limelight and the teams that put so much into the sport. We love people’s passion and sacrifice to improve and challenge themselves. That, for me, was the natural pull, not the money but the passion and sacrifice. We all know we would not be in motocross if it were about the money. I always considered MX Vice the media version of Steve Dixon’s team in MXGP (which I have a huge amount of respect for), where we have always tried to challenge without the factory budgets.

We knew it would be tough this year with so many businesses and brands cutting marketing budgets and reducing costs; this was never going to be good for us. We have just had two incredible months of stats, with January and February bringing in over 1 million people to the website, which is quite bittersweet. As much as the funds are low, so is my energy and health. COVID impacted me more than I could ever envisaged. My health has deteriorated ever since I caught COVID; my immune system is not in a great place, and when I try and work to the standard I set myself, my body breaks on me, and it takes me days to recover. Ed Stratmann has been a revelation since he took the editorial reigns and has pushed MX Vice to new heights, which is incredible given the lack of resources he has had to work with and support from myself. I have been missing from the podcast show to reduce my time, as I am now self-employed and working for two companies to pay the bills.

Every journey ends, and that’s not what we want. Over the past 13 years, we have given it everything, leaving no stone unturned. We’re proud of how we have disrupted, challenged decisions, held organisations accountable, and illuminated incredible stories.

We will have an auction for signed shirts donated by riders, podcast equipment, and memorabilia to pay off the invoices of some contributors. If, however, you want to see MX Vice continue, you can donate here: https://ko-fi.com/mxvice or purchase a shirt or memorabilia. If we meet our target of £25,000, which is currently outstanding to run this year, then Ed and I will continue. However, we fully expect this won’t happen due to the large sum required.

It’s hard out there at the moment. Take care of your health and family, and never lose your passion for the most fantastic sport in the world.

Burf.

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Features

Lit Kit Gallery: MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina

The best from round 1.

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Check out some of the freshest fits, helmets and more from the MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina. Lead Image: Nestaan Husqvarna – Full Spectrum.

Photo credits: Red Bull KTM – Ray Archer / Nestaan Husqvarna – Full Spectrum / Yamaha MXGP – Full Spectrum + Eva Szabadfi / JM Honda / Kawasaki MXGP / Fantic MXGP / Yamaha MX2 – Full Spectrum / HRC MXGP / GasGas – Juan Pablo Acevedo


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