Matthew Lee on Hookit.com

Matthew Lee
Age
22 Years Old
Location
Lutz, FL
Main Sport
Moto > Motocross

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Imotoonline.com Interview

How old are you and when did you start riding?

I am 20 years old but I turn 21 on Tuesday, which is the 2nd of February so I'm looking forward to the birthday. My grandpa had rode and raced, so naturally my dad did too, and hes passed it along to me. My dad got me a bike for Christmas one year and I started riding at 5 years old on a sick, old school yellow Yamaha pw50, complete with black painted on #1 numbers and a set of training wheels. It wasn't long before the wheels came off though and I was out on the tracks, for sure I had a lot more fun once that happened.

What brand of bike are you on and what class are you riding now?

Im currently riding my two 2008 yz250f's and immediately after the 2008 Florida Gold Cup series I moved into the B classes, so I'm racing 125B and usually the 125(open no A) class or an age division.

I heard that you took a break from riding, what happened?

That was probably 4 years ago and I was actually off the bikes and not riding at all for almost 3 years straight. I didn't even start messing around on a bike again until August of 2007, and it was on my old 125 2-stroke from 2003 as we were still debating on whether we wanted to get back into the whole racing scene full steam or not. Nothing too serious happened to cause me to take a step back, it was just a combination of a lot of little things. First I had a pretty gnarly crash at MX of Marion County where I was knocked out also breaking my arm, and actually the bike was laying on top of me and the silencer left me with a really serious burn that still looks like its not healed to this day. Soon after that healed, at the time I was also playing soccer for my highschool, I actually ended up having a freak accident while out on the field practicing. I got tripped from behind and when I fell I landed hard on the same arm, simply put my arm folded into the shape of a Z. I had to get surgery, with a rod and screw, and the 2 injuries had kept me off the bike for a few months. All the while I was very focused on graduating highschool with honors and furthering my education at a university, and after almost 11 years of my life being completely about motocross I was wanting a break. As a family we decided that we would hold off on the racing for a little bit, which ended up turning into more like 4 years. But you know how this sport is, you cant deny the bikes sitting in the garage or ignore all the websites and videos, once you get involved you're hooked for life. So like a month after slowly getting back into it we ditched the 2-smoke and picked up 2 brand new 250fs, and I've been racing again for like a year and a half now.

You are back racing again, how is the year going so far?

The past year was awesome for me, actually one of the best in my career Id have to say. I posted alot of great results and definately surprised myself. Starting off 2008 I ended up finishing 2nd overall in the Winter AMs in the 250C class, which then led me to qualifiying for the regional in both my classes, Lites C stock/mod. At regionals I also qualified in both classes and even managed to win a moto in mod, it was in the mud right after the monsoon that occurred at Muddy Creek if anyone was there they know just how bad that track was! I qualified for my first ever trip to Loretta Lynns and it was a huge achievement for me, it was a such a good experience. Then just recently I won the overall in the 250C class for the Gold Cup Series before being advanced to B. So for me, the year was definately an overly positive one.

How far would you like to go in your motocross career? Is it just fun for you or do you have a plan?

I think the majority of peoples goals start off with them wanting to turn pro doing the thing the love most, race motocross. This was mine as well but I also realized fairly early on that this happens to the smallest percentage of kids who race, and that sadly I was not going to be one of them. So my future as of now is undoubtedly with school and getting my degree, I'm a junior at the University of South Florida working on a Bachelor's in environmental sciences, but that is not to say I am any less dedicated or committed to the sport. I love racing and hate losing, so I wouldn't do it anymore if I was just out there riding around going through the motions. So the plan to be the best I possibly can be remains the same.