IN THE ZONE:
ENZO TEMMERMAN
Enzo Temmerman had a strong end to the 2018 season and a successful end to his campaign in the 65cc class, going out on top with a number one plate at the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championship in the (10-11) Limited class. The Californian showed the same level of speed throughout the 2019 season as he grew more comfortable on the 85, racking up titles and podium finishes at the JS7 Freestone Spring Championship and the FMF Cal Classic. Temmerman had made improvements throughout the year and was competing at a high level towards the end of the season, adding more trophies to his collection at the AZ Open. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken wrist in one of his last motos of the weekend and was forced to spend the entirety of the winter on the couch in recovery mode, but he’s been back on the bike for a couple of months and he’s working hard to reach his full potential this season at Loretta’s. We had a quick chat with Enzo to catch up on what he did over the offseason during his recovery, recap the 2019 season, and get some insight into what he’s planning on doing heading into next year.
What have you been doing during the quarantine for the last few months?
Yeah, I just started homeschool so I've been working on some school and then also just training and riding a lot.
Were you still doing public school before the whole coronavirus pandemic?
Yeah, we were doing public schooling. We were planning on eventually doing home school but because it's quarantine now we just got a head start on it just a little bit.
There are some races throughout the year that you normally wouldn't attend, does that have to do with your schedule with public school?
Yeah, well at AZ Open (last year) I actually had an injury so I wasn't able to do any further races and when I was that's when everything started shutting down. I had a crash in my last moto on a small little double and I broke my wrist. I had to have surgery and I was out for about ten weeks.
When did you get back on the bike and start riding and training again?
It was about two weeks before Freestone. We were gonna try to go there but then it got canceled.
What's the riding situation been like for you out there in California?
Yeah, we have a track about fifteen minutes away that just opened up and then we have one about an hour away in Bakersfield that we can go to.
Do you do a lot of riding by yourself or do you have a regular group of people that you're able to train with?
I usually put in motos by myself but being at the public tracks there are a couple of riders around to ride with -- like Ryder DiFrancesco or Alvin Hillian, there are a couple of local riders that practice at the same tracks.
What were you doing with that downtime during your injury to stay in shape?
I was putting some time in on the spin bike or just doing some running throughout the day just to stay in good shape for when we came back.
During the downtime that you've had with no racing going on, what have you been doing to stay entertained?
When Supercross started and they had Supercross Futures, we would go to watch my cousin (Maddox Temmerman) race in the 50 class. We were still going to the races and watching everything like we usually do.
Yeah, he was going good last year at Cal Classic and Mammoth. What's it like for you to help him out as his big cousin?
Yeah, it's pretty cool. Everything that me and my dad might've done when I was young, we can help my uncle and my cousin out a little bit. It's just nice to have somebody to go to the races with and sometimes I ride with him and push him a little bit on the track.
Despite the injury last year at the AZ Open you still were able to win a number one plate there. It was probably bittersweet, but how was the weekend overall?
Yeah, the day before I won the Mini Sr. 1 title and then the one that I did have an injury, I think I was 1-1 going into it so I was looking pretty good for the overall. I was in 2nd and if I finished 2nd I would've won, but I was going for the pass and then cased a little double and broke my wrist pretty bad. I already had a championship and a 2nd place overall and then I DNFd that moto and I had one moto in my other class so I missed that one, too.
Were you racing the Supermini 1 class on a supermini or doing that class on your 85?
I was on a supermini. It's a little bit tricky going from the 85 to the supermini but we still tried it. Last year after Loretta's we started training on the supermini a little bit just to get stronger on the 85 but right now we're currently just riding the 85 'cause that's what I'm racing at Loretta's this year.
Were you able to get any gate drops in this year once your wrist got healed up?
Well, actually we were just training and then trying to train enough to be able to do Freestone and the day before we left we decided not to go because of the pandemic, and then it got canceled so we didn't miss out on anything. We also did a few of the Road to Mammoth races and one of them was a Loretta Qualifier too, so it was a double race.
What do you think about the Super Regionals this year?
I think it'll be cool to have some different stuff. There's definitely going to be a lot of people there since you don't have to qualify through the Area, you can just sign up. So it'll be packed and I guess we'll see how that goes, it should be fun!
Have you talked with the Orange Brigade team about what your plans might be following Loretta's this season moving into next year?
I'm not sure. We'll probably do Supermini or maybe try and hop up to the 125 but it all depends on after Loretta's.
How are you fitting the 85 right now? Have you hit a growth spurt or anything?
I've stayed about the same, so I'm still fitting it pretty good.