Watdoejijnou: Ben Damen
In the #Watdoejijnou section, MXMag.nl looks at what former motocross riders are doing today. Their family life and their current work. How do they look back on their career, the highs and lows. This month we have a conversation with Ben Damen. The Brabander ran the Rabbit Racing-Kawasaki Team and was at the start of Kay de Wolf's career, but he also worked with Max Anstie!
MXMag: Briefly introduce yourself:
BD: “Most people know me, Ben Damen, as a MON and KNMV rider. I always rode with starting number 99 or 180 and by far most of my active career on a bright green machine. My father Rob has a vivid imagination and we drove around the country in a bright yellow camper with cartoon characters for many years. Later we set up our own team with riders of all levels. The Rabbit Racing Kawasaki BeNeLux Team was active in the Grand Prix with Bas Verhoeven and Steffie Laier. We had international successes with Max Anstie, but we were also active in the Netherlands. Kay de Wolf, Ronnie van Rooij, Maurice Klijn and Joey Reijnders made their mark in our colours. This also applies to Jack Brunell who managed to shine many times during the Goes Supercross.”
MXMag: What do you do for a daily living these days?
BD: “After many years in motorsports, I switched to the bicycle industry. Considering my birthplace near the Drunense Duinen where mountain biking is very active, this turned out to be a good choice. In 6 years we have grown into a company with a team of seven permanent and flexible employees. We offer many bicycles in the high segment of Mountain Bike and Race, but we also provide many E-bikes from various brands. It is very nice to work with the local community and the 'why' of many cyclists suits me very well.”
MXMag: How do you look back on your motocross career?
BD: “The question is, can we talk about a “career” in my case? I received a lot of training from John van den Berk in my teenage years, he taught me a lot of technique. That has also brought me the results, together with my efforts. Because there was little evidence of aptitude. I was quite a reckless figure in my youth, on or off! I had these crazy antics that I had to do certain double jumps or other jumps before I went home. This often caused me to end up on the track, with the necessary consequences. I often suffered from competition tension and would drive around like a newspaper during a competition. I always wanted to prove myself because we were signing better and better drivers within our own team, while I wanted to be at the center of that. Ultimately, I became much more successful with my position as mechanic/team manager. I was able to convey what John had learned well to the several young riders we were going to coach. I think we had a nose for good riders but also nice people around us. Kees de Omroeper has also been a good advisor in this regard, he would do well as a scout! He drew our attention to Kay de Wolf and Wim Geven came up with Jack Brunell.”
MXMag: The highlight of your career?
BD: “For me personally, I really enjoyed a successful Red Bull Knock-Out. I really felt like a hero there! With about 200.000 people on the pier and I started from position 700 after which I managed to come back to 42nd place by memory. We were like rabbits there on those ramps. In addition, I often had outliers and the results were quite variable. I was riding 85cc really well in my last season at the MON when I broke my upper arm. After that I spent a lot of time in the gym, so I decided with Dad and 'De Berk' to switch to the 125cc. I also did well there with the KX144, but an injury prevented me from scoring a good end result.
With Rabbit Racing-Kawasaki we really enjoyed the many successes with Max Anstie. As a 16-year-old boy, I felt like I was really the man. What started with the supercross competition in the Schijndel riding school ended with the World Youth Championship. I think Max lost that title fight to Ken Roczen. However, we rode everywhere, I still remember very well the races in Paris (Bercy), Goes, Cardiff, Sheffield, Las Vegas. That was of course a great time! Those guys have all reached the top; Anstie, Jeffrey Herlings, Alessandro Lupino, Alex Tonkov and Roczen.”
MXMag: The low point of your career?
BD: “Are you asking me something there? I have suffered a lot of injuries, which have often caused me great sadness. On the other hand, I was also motivated to get back on the machine quickly and that will benefit you for the rest of your life. Doctor Vanvlerken in Lommel pretty much became my second home. I think the sporting low point is the realization that it wouldn't be possible for me as a cross rider. I enjoy competing at the KNMV and it also went so well during the training. We started riding the ADAC and the training went well there too. I stood among names like Butron, Strijbos, Krestinov and then the nerves and performance pressure got to me and then it was over. That disappointment time and time again has made me bow down, despite good conversations with Martin van Genderen about self-knowledge, approach to the competition, etc. I slowly came to the realization that I was more successful at managing people and running the business. I decided to join a match every now and then for fun and actually that's when the fun came back. The motorcycle business was in decline at that time, we had invested for years to get Kawasaki up and running in the Netherlands, and when it was time to share, there were other privateers on the coast. This has made us lose motivation. I didn't like going to the cross country as much to spend time with my then relationship and work on the case. Things got messy and I was no longer happy with day-to-day business operations. We had received odors here and there from some sponsored riders and then decided to get out. The arrival of my son Jesse made me decide to sell everything myself and never leave again. I know what adrenaline it produces, but fortunately I have always escaped with broken bones. I don't have a bike as big as I had on my bike, and that's not possible for my family. That's why I want to try to keep Jesse away from that.
Best motorcycle ever ridden?
BD: “You know I have a green heart, the KX450F was a wonderful machine. Especially when my father had prepared it. But the 250 KX2013F was also a super machine! I once won a few test starts with it from Tommy Searle during the TMV Dealer day at the Valkenswaard circuit. Dad was very proud of his results.”
MXMag: What is your view on the current motocross world?
BD: “I must honestly say that I don't follow a lot of it, the love is still there but I have completely said goodbye to it to start a new chapter. I can truly enjoy Kay de Wolf's performance given our past. We are also still in contact with Jack Brunell, who has always remained a friend of mine.”
MXMag: Thank you very much for your cooperation!
BD: “Thanks Steven, nice to look back at what was going through your mind at that time. I could say so much more about this. There was nothing else for me then but motocross, the rest didn't exist! I had a great time and didn't realize enough what it was like to have the opportunity to practice such a luxurious and cool sport. The successes and the goosebumps it gave us on and off the course will always be nice to remember. If you're going to ask me what I would miss the most? Then those are 'De Belt' in Hardinxveld, the goosebumps of the Supercross successes and the voice of Kees the Announcer through the sound system!”
Door: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photos: Archive
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