Bryan MacKenzie steps down
By Sean Lawless on 25th Aug 16
Bryan MacKenzie is retiring from professional racing at the end of the season.
The 31-year-old Scot, who is in contention for the Maxxis MX2 title with one round to go, is taking the step back from racing to concentrate on impending fatherhood and running his Duns track.
"I don't know if this will come as a surprise or not,” he said. "Perhaps it will because I'm riding so strongly in the championship this season but maybe not because inevitably it has to come to an end at some point and I'm getting pretty long in the tooth.
"Believe me it's been a tough decision, especially as this year has been going so awesome – I've managed to podium in three-quarters of the 24 motos I've raced so far this year across two championships – and so to think about stopping when I'm still competitive, when I say it out loud, is stupid.
"But what you don't see is what it takes – and has taken – to get to this point in my career.”
The Apico Husqvarna rider started racing when he was six and made his debut in the adult British championship as a 16-year-old.
During his 15 years in the top-flight he's won one overall – at Desertmartin in 2013 – and taken a number of moto wins.
He also rode the second half of the 2009 MX1 world championship on a CAS Honda as a fill-in rider for his cousin Billy MacKenzie, scoring a top-10 race finish in Sweden.
Despite starting the 2016 season on the back foot after breaking his collarbone in pre-season training, MacKenzie's form has been sensational and he's looking good to match – or even better – his highest Maxxis finish of third in 2012. However, he's reached a point in his career where it's not all about results.
"The travel alone each weekend takes its toll on you, not so much physically but mentally as no-one in the world wants to drive between four and eight hours to go racing every weekend.
"This off-season would also signify my 17th pre-season prep of which I take very seriously. The thought of looking down the barrel of another brutal winter of training and cycling outside for up to four hours a day in freezing conditions with a headwind just isn't appealing to me anymore.
"I've given away a lot to chase the motocross dream, most notably my health.
"I've taken some heavy hits and picked up some injuries that will never recover.
"But I suppose the main motivator behind this decision is my daughter. By the end of the season my own little girl will be here and I'm really excited for her coming.
She's the new most important thing to me and I don't want to miss a thing.”
