Matan Nir 4-19-09

Photo by nazzima.com

Israel’s Matan Nir is quite busy this year. He’ll be getting married, he and his business partner are opening a motorcycle and ATV dealership and he’s defending his fourth Israel ATV championship, yet he found the time and money to make his long time dream of racing a GNCC a reality.

That’s right thanks to sponsorship help from KTM, Matan recently raced a KTM prepped 450XC in the pro class at the Big Buck GNCC in Union, SC.

Racing ATVs in America is a lot different than in Israel where it’s actually illegal to race. And those of you without sponsorship help thought you had it rough. Illegal or not, die-hard ATVers like Matan still compete in underground organized events. In comparison, in Israel’s biggest series, Matan’s Ford F-350 pick up is equivalent to the FRE KTM semi truck and trailer.

As you can see the level of competition in Israel is far from ours in America. Despite this and the fact that he would be riding in mud and tight woods for the first time, Matan impressively finished exactly mid pack overall and 16th in the Pro class at round four in South Carolina.

After a phone call and a few e mails here’s what Matan had to say about his trip to America to fulfill his dream to race a GNCC…

Why is it illegal to race ATVs in Israel?
Because the laws that allow this have not been authorized yet, and whatever has not been authorized is illegal in Israel.

So organized quad racing must be pretty rare?
Yes but it’s slowly growing bigger every year.

Is there a series that you race in? Are points kept?
In Israel there are two main leagues; the single league which includes eight annual races, and the couples league which includes three annual races. In the couples you race in teams of two and they are considered more of endurance rallies.

How do you rank in Israel?
I have been the champion in both leagues for four years in a row now.

In your trip to America and your first GNCC race experience, what stood out to you the most? I was overwhelmed by the crowd and the number of competitors. I was also amazed how professional and organized everything was. We certainly don’t have anything established like this in Israel, not yet anyway.

What was the biggest surprise for you?
Adam McGill, Josh Kirkland and best several other riders treated me like one of the group although they met me only at the day of the race. That was really a good surprise. I was also surprised that not very many riders did the creek jump, but were amazingly fast through the tight woods.

I understand KTM’s John Maley prepped your race machine twice. Why is that?
I told him I hadn’t rode in tight woods and heavy mud before, so even though it wasn’t in his schedule he took me to a ride spot in North Carolina two days before the race to help me get used to what I would be riding in. It was so muddy that it took $40 at the car wash to get the quad clean again. Then John basically stripped the quad and carefully cleaned and re-prepped every part on the entire machine. I’ve never seen anyone so thorough. KTM and the FRE team went out of their way for me. I’m very thankful to them.

Did you have any fans back home watching the live timing and scoring information on gnccracing.com?
Yes I did, actually my fiancé new how I finished before I did. Also, the results were updated online, according to the GNCC site, by the Israeli site naZZima.com which accompanied and supported me on this journey.

Tell us about your entourage.
I came with five people; my mom who doesn’t miss any of my races, Tzachi who is a partner and helped with technical support, Ben who is a reporter for GNCC issues at the naZZima site, Eran the photographer of the site and Hadar who is one of the kids I train in Israel.

What do you race at home?
Enduro, rally and motocross on both ATVs and motorcycles.

What class did you race at the GNCC? How did it go?
I wanted to know my level among the best riders in the world so I raced the XC1 category. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be. The stress and tension disturbed me and only on the last part of the race did I succeed to ride as I wanted to. I finished 16th of 20 in the class and 102nd of 203 riders. In retrospect, I felt I could have done much better if I wasn’t so nervous.

What kind of advice would you give to a racer like you from another country that wants to race an ATV National here in America.
I would say to go for it and enjoy the experience. I know I sure did.

Tell us about the ATV that KTM set you up with. How did it compare to the KTM you race at home?
The KTM that I raced in America was a stock ATV to which KTM’s John Maley added some corrections that he thought would be needed to make sure I finish the race. The most important thing for him was that the quad would work well all the way to the end of the race. The KTM ATV I race in Israel isn’t set up as for woods or mud. In Israel we ride much faster and open terrain. KTMs seem to take more abuse than the other brands. I have a great machine and that’s what you need to win races.

I’m sure you got to meet a lot of people. Did anyone stand out?
Indeed I met many people. My mechanic for the race, John Maley stood out as one of the most caring people I have ever met. He didn’t really care about the score. He mainly cared that I made it to the end of the race, healthy.

Considering the whole experience, what were your likes and dislikes when it was all said and done?
I loved almost everything; the occasion, the festival, the atmosphere, the serious and professional attitude toward the race. All the trees along the runway were the only difficult thing for me. As for dislikes I would have liked to finish better, but all in all the experience was better than I could have imagined.

Would you call American quad riders spoiled?
I thought they would be before I came, but I didn’t get that impression at all after meeting a bunch of riders.

What else did you do and see while you were in America?
We concentrated on the race and didn’t have time to experience much more than the race.

 

Any parting words?
It was a once in a lifetime experience. I’m thankful to all that helped me make the dream a reality. Also I have to thank Redbull for supporting me and believing in me during all my fantasy journeys.

Know Matan Nir Better
Name: Matan Nir
Nickname: Matnir, 5, Chef
Age: 29
Birthdate: 29/6/79
Occupation: Su-Chef
Education:  High school
Home:  Moshav Orot, Israel
Born in:  Israel
2nd Language:  English
Racing #:  5
Current Quad: KTM 450 XC
Sponsors:  Redbull, D.L.B. Motosport, Avizarion (THOR), Nirav and Anarmit

What do you drive? Ford F-350
Must have ATV bolt on:  Redbull sticker
Cell phone and carrier:  Orange
Pets:  Baba (Golden) Aya (Wolf) Pastrana (Pekinez)
Magazine:  Moto
Website:  naZZima, fullgaz
Movie: Benjamin Button
TV Show:  Hells Kitchen
Food:  Meat
Restaurant:  Doesn’t matter as long there is good meat.
Worst Habit? Always on the phone.
Hottest Girl on Earth:  Penelope Cruz
Favorite Place on Earth:  Home
Worst Place on Earth:  Where it’s cold.
Coolest thing you’ve won:  Rotem
Who would you like to trade places with for a day? Nobody
My motto:  It’s all in the Head, Why walk if I can ride! My girlfriend engraved it on my ring.
What’s in your bucket list? That mine and Tzachi’s new motorcycle and ATV dealership succeeds.
Talent you would love to have? To manage better with tools like computers
Favorite athlete in another sport? Lance Armstrong

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