Interview with Mark Boot
In the CPB motorcycle showroom and workshop, the cups of Mark Boot (18) are literally stacked in rows. CPB motors from Bergh-Haamstede is not just a sponsor for the young Zeelander, because here dad Eddie is in charge! The MX bug has now taken hold of the Boot family. Mark himself could reportedly race a bike before he could cycle, when he was three and a half. We don't know what the situation is with cycling, but Mark can certainly race fast. Especially in the sand!
Will you be at the start on Sunday during the annual Christmas Cross in Stekene (Belgium) on a circuit that you have to lie down?
Mark Boat: Indeed, that loose surface of a one-day race is very appealing! Just say the corn crosses. The Christmas Cross is always a lot of fun, that's why we wanted to do it again this year. It has also been since the mini-GP in Lierop that I have ridden. That's quite a long time for us. And I must say that I'm itching to get back into it!
During the 3-hour competition in Axel at the end of October you came second after Jurgen Wybo, a nice experience?
Mark Boat: Yes, really great, the competition was well organized by the way. Of course I wanted to be in the best team possible, (laughs) but that turned out not to be that simple. I knew Glenn Van Vugt from when he rode in the KNMV as a youth team. So that was fine and then Jordi Van de Wiele was added. Well, Jordi is also fast, but he can sometimes be reckless! When it broke down and I had to get on the bike in cold weather... that was less. Such an endurance race is also a lot of fun to do.
You didn't race that often in the Netherlands this season. You are probably better known in Belgium than in the Netherlands?
Mark Boat: You could put it that way. I didn't feel like driving in the Netherlands. Of course it plays a role everywhere if you have a lot of money to buy the best material and so on, but I think the atmosphere during the ONKs is so inflated. Things are calmer in Belgium. There is also a lot of top material at the start for a Belgian Championship, yet the atmosphere in Belgium is friendly. Moreover, I meet some guys who I rode with when I was younger. I like it that way.
You started the season with a surprise: victory in the first Radson MX2 Trophy in Beervelde?
Mark Boat: Yes, that sand quarry in Beervelde was also perfect for me. Like I said, I grew up on that kind of sandy surface! To start as leader of the championship brought some pressure. The second half of the season in particular was somewhat disappointing. I sometimes had some bad luck, a flat tire, mechanical problems too, and I also had a bit of a problem with myself, which caused me to miss my starts. If it's not right between your ears, you can't perform. There could have been more to it than that sixth place in the final standings of the Belgian Championship. Although I especially need to get faster on hard tracks. Boys like Nick Triest and Jeremy Delincé have ridden on those types of tracks from an early age and it shows.
Will we see you again in Belgium in 2010?
Mark Boat: That's true, we are going to ride VMCF again, combined with the BC competitions. In the VMCF you usually also get to ride on Saturdays and that is an excellent training. I also feel like I've made some progress on hard tracks. Now it's a matter of maintaining that confidence on the bike. It's so often in our head!
You have a nice track record, including the Dutch title 85cc (2006). Too bad you couldn't show that internationally?
Mark Boat: In 2006, on the advice of Harry and Stefan Everts, I participated in the Junior 85cc World Championships in Finland. One series I turned 11de and that was not a bad thing as I had very little international experience! You know, we don't have a big sponsor or anything. I am also not in a team and then it is simply impossible to do international races. My father has already done a lot for cross country. That's no different now, by the way. We both do a job on the side: a paper route. The motorcycle shop also has to run when you are away traveling. If we have to accommodate all that, you have to recruit a lot of people every time...
Motocross is sometimes mentioned in the local newspaper (Provincial Zeeuws newspaper). How is the popularity of MX with you?
Mark Boat: Yes, that's right, we do have a good reporter in Herman Heuvink. He also often writes about sidecar motocross. Unfortunately, I can't call it an MX paradise here! Everyone in the village knows that I cross, but it is not like in Flanders. Big food festivals, supporters' clubs, we don't have any of that here. Here it is all about football that counts. In primary school there was always a lot of fun about motocross. Like: yes, that will all work out. Definitely sit down and accelerate. It wasn't until high school when kids started tinkering with mopeds that some of them thought it was kind of cool. Oh yeah…
Would you like to thank someone else?
Mark Boat: First of all I think of my father. He is always there for me and he makes sure my bike runs like a rocket! Of course also my mother, my sister and my girlfriend. And also all the people who support me.
Photos credit: CDS
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