Fault puts brakes on title defence

By Russell Bennett
BAD luck was all that prevented Macclesfield man Mike Reefman from claiming back-to-back titles in Las Vegas’ Mini Moto SX competition.
Reefman returned to the United States last month to defend the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA) crown he won last year.
The only Australian since Chad Reed to win an AMA supercross title, Reefman’s brake locked up on the first corner of his pet 35-and-over event and he had to recover from 15th place to claim a fighting second position.
He also had to scrape from 21st to finish 14th in the world class.
“I had a bit of a bad run all weekend,” he said.
“But sometimes things just don’t go your way.
“I’ll definitely go back again next year to try to win back the title.”
Reefman, now 41, had to shell out $4500 from his own pocket just to compete on his sport’s biggest stage last year.
This year corporate sponsors chipped in for his airfare but he was still down $2500. He is still looking for more companies to get on board and help fund his dream.
Reefman started riding at the age of three after his father introduced him to motorbike racing. He said the sport was ideal for younger participants.
“It’s a good role model sport for young kids,” he said.“If they look up to people who don’t drink or smoke, it’s probably a good thing.”
Reefman is a strong advocate for living a clean and healthy lifestyle and says his sport has often been on the wrong end of negative stereotypes.
“It’s actually a very clean sport. I don’t drink or smoke. If you want to be the best, you have to stay extremely fit,” he said.
“It is the complete opposite to what a lot of people think. It’s not a ratbag sport.”
Reefman recently won the first round of the Victorian moto-cross series and has round one of the New South Wales to look forward to in the coming weeks.