Take 5: Stefan Hage
Last winter, a former motocrosser and enduro rider Stefan Hage known to set up his own team. With the Motor2000 KTM Team De Zeeuw has been very busy over the past twelve months. Hage also tied the knot and became the father of a daughter. What a year 2018 was, we look back with the trainer, team manager, supervisor, driver, mechanic and driving force behind the young team.
MXMag: The first year of your Motor2000 KTM Team is over. How do you look back?
SH: “There is so much to do in the first year, setting up the team structure, the team's sponsors, arranging the material, etc. While these tasks are divided in the larger teams, a lot falls on my shoulders within our structure. Fortunately, I have the help of Motor2000 so that I can outsource the handling of the material and tuning here, and our other sponsors are always ready to help us.
In addition to the amount of work involved, we look back on the past year with mixed feelings. At the beginning of the year we set a number of goals together with the riders, but we did not achieve all of them due to injuries. We know that injuries are a part of motorsport and have therefore given the riders time to recover with an eye to the future. However, we can look back with satisfaction on the way we collaborate with our sponsors and we have not encountered any technical problems.
MXMag: You spend a lot of time with the riders. Then I think of the guidance in addition to the circuit with training in the gym and nutrition. Do you think that is also a task of the team? Doesn't that responsibility lie with the drivers?
SH: “That's right, this is also what my 'job' is in the first place, to ensure that the drivers can arrive at the competitions trained and prepared. Because I have seen and noticed several times over the years that the other factors were not in order, I started a team together with Motor2000. This way I have all the control in terms of planning, preparation and which competitions are held. It is extremely important to know what you are going to do, and when this is going to take place, when you work with a rider who rides for a team it is sometimes difficult to agree so that we can do what is right for the rider instead of for the team. Of course there are things that you as a team have to comply with, but the focus must be on the drivers.
Team managers worry about who has to tune the engines, who has to adjust the suspension, etc., but in my opinion they do not spend enough on who has to fine-tune the rider (with some exceptions).
MXMag: In recent years, the youth trajectory to the FIM World Championship has improved greatly. What do you think of this development? Isn't there a lot of pressure on the drivers too early?
SH: “I think this development is positive, as I indicated earlier, I think it is very important that the riders are supported towards their goals. It appears to be increasingly difficult every year to find a team for talented drivers, so it is very important that you go through the process as best as possible. Peaking at the right time so that you as a driver are interesting for the (factory) teams is where the objective should be. Personally, I still see too many youth champions who, with too little experience, are more or less drowning in the bigger work, due to a too short-sighted approach. route in which only driving takes place in your own country. Finding the mix between having your name on the map and gaining the right training and experience is difficult for a rider to do on their own.
On the one hand, there is more pressure involved at a younger age, but if you go through the right process and sign a multi-year contract as a reward, the drivers have more peace and less pressure to grow. In addition, I think that the careers of the top riders will become shorter, due to the number of competitions, the workload of training and the travel involved. Maximize the period when the drivers are at their peak to achieve the highest possible results in their career and then be able to look back with satisfaction instead of a long career in which goals are not achieved,
MXMag: What does your 2019 schedule look like?
SH: “We are now staying in Spain from November 20 to January 20 to build a good foundation, both physically and on the hard circuits. In addition, around this time of year until the end of February, the weather conditions in Belgium/NL become so bad that it is very difficult to train properly. To avoid overcrowded circuits where driving is possible, we are staying here in Spain for a longer period of time. It is also important for Jens and Kelton to focus more on the hard circuits than the sand. Jens still combines his training here with school, so he will fly back and forth and will stay for a longer period around the Christmas holidays. When we return to the Netherlands, we will rest for a few days and will complete another training camp in Redsand in February, followed by preparatory matches in Ottobiano and Hawkstone Park.
If the preparation goes as planned, we will ride the EMX125 with Jens Walvoort, and the EMX2 stroke with Kelton Gwyther, combined with the DMofMX competitions.”
MXMag: What is your riders' goal and when was this season a success?
SH: “Jens Walvoort will focus on qualifying during the EMX competitions and also scoring as high as possible in the DMofMX. At the end of February we will know where we stand and complete our objective. We would have liked to ride 85cc with Jens for another year because he is still physically small and light, but due to the new rule he is no longer allowed to ride an EMX85 and we switched a year earlier. 2019 will be a learning year for him, but I am convinced that we will get the most out of it.
The same actually applies to Kelton Gwyther, only he is a big guy for his 16 years and therefore switched to the 250cc 2 stroke halfway through last year after an injury. For him it will be a whole new experience to ride in European competitions and the focus will be on qualifying for the competitions.
I would like to thank the team's sponsors and the people who are ready to support the riders every day.
Door: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photos: NiekPhotography
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