Matt Phillips: Devil May Care – Feature Article

PROFILE MATT PHILLIPS

M a t t P h i l l i p s m i g h t c o m e a c ro s s a s a l a i d - b a c k c h a ra c t e r. Ev e n a l i t t l e re c k l e s s . B u t a m e t h o d h a s e m e r g e d b e h i n d t h i s 2 0 - y e a r - o l d Ta s m a n i a n’s m a d n e s s . A n d h e’s s u d d e n l y p o i s e d t o b e c o m e A u s t ra l i a ’s y o u n g e s t w o r l d e n d u ro c h a m p i o n .

DE I L M Y C RE ANDY WIGAN

L

iKAPTURE IMAGES, ANDY WIGAN

eaning back in his chair, Fabrizio Azzalin orders another bottle of wine from the passing waitress and resumes his story. Like most Italians, the CH Husqvarna team owner has a dramatic streak. He speaks with a strong accent and flamboyant hands, and he has us buckled over with laughter. It’s the Sunday night of the Enduro World Championship in Portugal – Rounds 7 and 8 of the 14-round series – and the newest addition to Azzalin’s race team, Australia’s Matt Phillips, has just gone 1-1 and consolidated his lead in the EJ-class standings. Along with Aussie enduro stalwarts, Geoff Ballard and Peter “Foodge” Burrell, I’ve joined Phillips and a few of the CH Husky team guys at a restaurant in the local fishing village to celebrate their victory. The table is overflowing with traditional Portuguese dishes – fried sardines, garlic squid and grilled groper – and no one’s bothered with minding their manners too much.

Azzalin tops up everyone’s wine glasses and launches into a series of hilarious stories about “the Stefan Merriman years”; about the Australian’s unconventional training techniques and bike set-up, and the other two world titles he should have won with CH Husky a decade ago. It’s clear that Merriman opened the powerhouse EWC team’s eyes to an alternative way of doing things ... and to the riding talent in Oz. Azzalin signed two other Australians – Chris Hollis and now Matt Phillips – in the years since, and I ponder the coincidence that all three have also raced for Geoff Ballard’s Yamaha team.

“I think Italians and Australians both understand that there is a time to be serious and a time to have fun,” Azzalin says, referring to the two nationalities’ cultural affinity. “Having riders who know how to enjoy themselves – and win, of course – is very important to me nowadays. Matthew Phillips here ... well, he’s a fun guy,” Azzalin says with a wink at his young charger, who’s busily de-boning an oversized sardine at the other end of the table.

Phillips hasn’t said much all night, but he’s hung off every word of the conversation. The 20-year-old has fast become a student of the sport; a sponge for everything EWC. But don’t think that he’s overawed by the occasion. The kid is itching to create some EWC history of his own.

The seafood banquet takes us late into the evening, leaving Phillips and I no time for an interview. We decide to catch up the following day at Lisbon Airport instead. What was I thinking?

56

57

PROFILE MATT PHILLIPS

MP was so keen to get to Europe in 2013, he signed the deal before even testing the Husqvarna TE310. He liked it.

“WHEN MY MATE DYLAN DIED, IT GAVE ME A DIFFERENT SORT OF MOTIVATION. I TOOK HIS PASSION AND DETERMINATION AND APPLIED IT TO MY RACING FROM THAT DAY FORWARD.” fter fighting five blocks of gridlock around Lisbon Airport, I finally make it to the terminal where I’m due to meet Matt Phillips. Knowing he communicates almost exclusively via social media, I try to Facebook message him. But the airport’s Wi-Fi signal is pisspoor, and he’s nowhere to be seen.

Increasingly desperate, I beg airport staff and even the Police to make PA announcements. They refuse. An hour later, still no Phillips. And with less than two hours until his flight’s due to leave, it’s not looking good.

Then, just as I’ve all but given up, I spot a stocky-looking character in a red T-shirt and headphones. He’s

58

casually checking the departures board, so I make a beeline through the crowd toward him.

“Wondering when you’d turn up,” he says, all smirk and smart-arse.

“Let’s do this thing, Wigan. Got a flight to catch soon, mate!”

I suspect he’s been snoozing in some obscure corner while I’ve been doing flustered laps of the terminal, but I resist the temptation to ask where he’s been hiding. “Hello, Matthew. Nice timing. Just arrived myself,” I tell him. I lied.

As we wander over to find a quiet corner in an airport café, I reflect on the fact it was just two years ago that Phillips first travelled without his family – an interstate trip from Tassie to Newcastle. It’s a stark

reminder about the kid’s meteoric rise in the off-road scene, and the leap of faith that his recent move to Europe represents.

RACING ROOTS Growing up in the small township of Wynyard in Tasmania’s northwest gave Matt Phillips the perfect leg-up for a life that would revolve around dirt bikes. “I got my first bike at five and rode around the paddock most arvos,” he says. “Where I grew up was only 200 metres from an infinite supply of riding terrain – trails, extreme stuff, quarries. So for me, going riding was always easy. I didn’t ride motocross tracks with groomed upramps. I was just freeriding;

hitting something and landing on something else. Riding was all about fun. And I’m all about fun.”

That he is. I’ve always known Matt Phillips as a good-natured bloke; a practical joker who’s also capable of rolling with the punches. But when did the young Phillips get serious about racing? “Well, there’s all sorts of levels of serious,” he says, philosophically. “When I was young, I had a really good mate called Dylan Burgess. If he beat me, I’d nearly cry, and vice versa if I beat him.”

At this point, Matt goes quiet, almost as if he’s holding back tears.

Turns out he was. “Dylan died when we were 13-year-olds, and that changed the way I looked at racing,” he goes on to explain.

“When something like that happens, you can either hate turning up to race or love it even more. It made me love racing more. That’s when I became determined to do well.”

In 2006, Dylan Burgess went on a group expedition in the remote wilderness of Tassie’s west coast, when a four-wheeler became stuck on a river crossing. Five people were washed over a waterfall, and Dylan was one of three who died in the tragic accident. Phillips doesn’t know too many details because he’d rather not.

“When Dylan died, it gave me a different sort of motivation. So I suppose you could say I got serious then,” he says, returning to my initial question. “Dylan was a cheeky,

smart-arse ranga, so I just tried to take the things I learned from him – like his passion and determination – and apply it to my racing from that day forward.

I still think about him a lot.”

The story makes me reflect on the 2008 Junior MX Nats in WA where I first saw Matt Phillips tear a motocross track to shreds. The nuggetty 15-year-old was way faster than everyone else, but an untimely red flag prevented what seemed a certain national title. Same thing happened the following year, when he crashed out of contention.

“Not winning those Junior titles was a hard pill to swallow at the time,” he concedes. “I had good opportunities and really good bikes,

59

PROFILE MATT PHILLIPS

and I knew I could win. For sure, it was disappointing not to convert that into a title or two.”

It became a bit of a theme. At the 2010 FIM World Junior MX Championships in France, Phillips captained the Australian team to second place, but mechanicals and big crashes cost him dearly in the individual results. It’s not as if he still laments those lost opportunities as a Junior, but there’s something in his eye that confirms he’s not about to let the same thing happen again.

OFF-ROAD BAPTISM Unlike most young motocrossers, Phillips spent more time in the bush than cutting laps around motocross tracks, so he was never averse to broadening his racing horizons.

“I also raced a bit of off-road with the Tasmanian Enduro Riders Club,” he recalls. “I even got the opportunity to race Seniors when I was 14, which gave me some very

strong competition early in my off-road career.”

It was only a couple of years later – at the 2010 Australian 4-Day Enduro (A4DE) in Portland – that Phillips’ off-road abilities would really become apparent. Though it was more a case of drifting into enduro, rather than a conscious decision to switch ‘codes’: “A Tasmanian team entered in the 4-Day that year. I’d just got my licence, so they asked if I’d join the team. Dad was into it because he liked the idea of a road trip with a good bunch of guys. Plus he was a little over the motocross scene as we’d put in a lot of effort for little return. We bought a Honda CRF250R, borrowed an 18-inch rear wheel and rocked up at Portland. All I wanted to do was beat Ben Burrell because he was the young off-road guy who was in the magazines,” Phillips says, with a giggle. “I didn’t tell anyone back then, but that was the hidden agenda.”

The 4-Day evidently gave Phillips

Clockwise from left: Phillips’ off-road debut at the 2010 A4DE. After winning the E3 class at the 2011 AORC, with Ballard’s Yamaha teammates, Chris Hollis and Stefan Merriman (who both rode for CH Husqvarna in Europe). At the 2011 ISDE in Finland, the 18-year-old fast became a highly soughtafter EWC rider.

60

an insight into a different racing culture, too. “That event was a real eye opener for me,” he explains.

“I discovered how down-to-earth everyone in the off-road scene was.

Geoff Ballard was one of the first guys I ran into and he was always up for a chat. Then I met Burrell. He was riding for GB, and a super-nice guy.”

Phillips stunned everyone when he finished second in the E1 class and seventh Outright at the event – just eight seconds adrift of Daniel Milner in fourth. Not bad for a 16-year-old at his first 4-Day! After one off-road event, Phillips was officially on the radar for Australia’s off-road team managers, but the young Tasmanian was yet to embrace the idea of racing offroad full-time. In his mind, he was simply having a bit of fun between motocross races.

In the 2010 MX Nats, Phillips had been running at the front of the stacked Under 19s class, battling guys such as Ross Beaton, Harley Quinlan,

Josh Cachia and Hamish Dobbyn.

“Mid-season, we turned down an offer from Suzuki because we wanted to stay loyal to Honda, and Errol Willis got the ride,” Phillips remembers. “That was a bit of a turning point. Had I taken that ride, I reckon I’d still be racing motocross.

As it happened, I had a crap back-end to that season. I blew a couple of gearboxes and finished fifth Overall.

And I knew a fifth place in the Under 19s wasn’t going to get me much of a ride the following year.”

MX vs OFF-ROAD But the motocross dream died a slow death, aided and abetted by

paid contract I’d ever been offered.

Dad always thought I was a better enduro rider, so I decided to take the contract with Geoff and ride the YZ475F for the 2011 season.”

AORC SHOWTIME Phillips didn’t squander the opportunity either. He figured things out pretty damn quickly, claiming four Outright round-wins in the back half of the year. In his rookie AORC season, he went on to win the Pro E3 title and finish third Outright, behind his two very experienced teammates, Chris Hollis and Stefan Merriman. And he’d done it aboard a beast of a bike that wasn’t exactly

team boss, Fabrizio Azzalin, began to ask questions about this Aussie kid. “After the Six-Day, I was kinda feeling out what was on offer for 2012, in Australia and Europe,” Phillips recalls. “Husqvarna’s Australian importer, Paul Feeney, and Fabrizio suddenly offered me the chance to race the EWC in Europe. I felt really pressured to make a decision. Everyone had an opinion and they were all saying different things to me. I mean, I was 18 and had never travelled overseas by myself. I still had motocross in my ear and in my heart, but I didn’t know whether the EWC opportunity would be there the following year.”

In the end, Geoff Ballard’s advice

“WHEN I FIRST GOT THE OFFER TO RIDE IN EUROPE, I FELT REALLY PRESSURED. I WAS 18 AND HAD NEVER TRAVELLED OVERSEAS BY MYSELF. AND I STILL HAD MOTOCROSS IN MY EAR AND IN MY HEART.” offers from those who’d witnessed Phillips’ lighting speed. “Toward the end of 2010, Craig Anderson offered me an Open-class ride for the Super X series on his Berry Sweet Honda team,” Phillips recalls. “That was a great experience. I beat Mike Alessi in a couple of races, so I was pretty pumped,” he says with a laugh. “But I didn’t do enough with the ride for it to get me anywhere.”

Ironically, it was the time spent in Newcastle with Anderson that led to Phillips’ opportunity to race off-road full-time. “That was my first trip away from home, so when Jess Gardiner asked me to come for a trailride with her and some friends, I was up for it. After the ride, they kept saying, ‘Why don’t you come and race enduro?’. Jess was riding for Geoff Ballard’s Yamaha team at the time, so I’m guessing she put in a good word for me.

“The next thing you know, Geoff and I exchange a few emails and phone calls. He then put a contract on the table for me to ride the Pro E3 class for him. I had no idea what to do,” he admits candidly. “I was still all about the motocross dream, but suddenly I was looking at the first

user-friendly in the bush. What many forget is that Phillips would have won the Outright that year, had he not been contentiously disqualified at one round for pushing the bike backwards because of a tyre problem.

“Yeah, it was a pretty good start to my off-road career,” he says modestly. “Even with the DNF, I was still a chance to win Outright if I’d won both rounds on the final weekend. As it turned out, they cancelled Sunday’s racing because of torrential rain, and Merriman’s Saturday win meant he got me for second Outright. All in all, though, it was a good year. Plus I got picked for the Aussie ISDE team.”

The kid was an overnight sensation. And at the ISDE in Finland later that year, he showcased his abilities on the world stage.

Incredibly, Phillips won a bunch of tests and looked set to finish fourth Outright until a final-day workperiod cock-up pushed him back to fifth in E2 and ninth Outright.

THE LURE OF EUROPE It’s no wonder that CH Husqvarna

helped Phillips make up his mind.

“GB was pretty upfront in saying I wasn’t ready for Europe and that I ought to stay one more year in Australia. I’m thankful for that now, because I definitely wouldn’t have been ready for Europe. That said, the 2012 season in Australia was tough.”

Phillips won the E2 class at both the AORC and A4DE last year, so why does he look back on it as a tough year? First, he failed to post any Outright wins. And second, he succumbed to distractions. “Once I’d made the decision to stay in Australia, I was really focused on training hard and I thought I could step it up and beat Toby Price,” he explains. “I had just assumed I’d be riding the YZ450F, as that’s the bike I’d got my best results on. But Yamaha Australia had other ideas, as the all-new 2012 WR450F was a hugely important model for them.

For commercial reasons, they made me race the WR450F, even though I just didn’t gel with the bike. It’s a great bike with an awesome engine, but I couldn’t get comfortable with the way it turned. I blamed GB and Ray Howard [YMA’s Motorsport Division Manager] for not trying

61

PROFILE MATT PHILLIPS

PROFILE MATT PHILLIPS

According to MP, the capacity to remain calm under pressure is the key to being a really good EWC rider.

No wonder the Italians refer to Phillips as “Toro“.

Translation: “bull”. Here, Toro sits in his china shop.

“THE 2012 WR450F WAS A HUGELY IMPORTANT MODEL FOR YAMAHA. FOR COMMERCIAL REASONS, THEY MADE ME RACE THE WR450F, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T GEL WITH THE BIKE.” hard enough to get me on the YZ-F. I even threatened to quit if they didn’t let me ride a YZ450F at the German ISDE that year. I lost all my motivation and my training suffered.

I was angry and unhappy. I was just over it,” he says, with more than a little candour.

On reflection, Phillips isn’t proud of the way he handled the situation, and he’s aware that his attitude shift didn’t go unnoticed in the AORC pit paddock, either. “I made a bit of a dick of myself at times last year because of that anger,” he concedes.

“In hindsight, it was unfair to put

so much pressure on GB and Ray. If I’d let go of the idea I had to race the YZ-F at the start of the year, I probably would have come to terms with the WR-F much earlier.

“Looking back, those tough times in Australia last season prepared me for Europe this season,” he says.

“Last year taught me stuff about dealing with people and about how to improve my race bike’s set-up.

Y’know, the funny thing is that, if Yamaha had allowed me to ride the YZ450F last year, I wouldn’t have come to Europe. So they pretty much did me a favour.”

FABRIZIO ON THE PHONE. AGAIN! Phillips got his way and rode a YZ450F at the German ISDE in late 2012. It might have been on a stock bike with his suspension fitted, but Phillips was the best-placed Australian. He finished fourth in the E2 class and seventh Outright, spearheading Australia’s best ever ISDE result. No wonder Fabrizio Azzalin still had an offer on the table for the young Aussie.

“I’d ripped the footpeg mount off my frame in Germany,” Phillips

FABRIZIO AZZALIN – TEAM MANAGER, CH HUSQVARNA RACING

A

fter the 2011 Six-Days in Finland, I spoke with Australia’s Husqvarna importer, Paul Feeney, about the possibility of getting Matt to Europe. But Matt was only 18 at that time, so it was agreed to look at it again for this season. Matt then did well at the Six-Day last year in Germany and we signed him not long after that. We won two

62

world championships with Stefan Merriman and we signed Chris Hollis a few years ago. So we obviously like the Australians.

They are tough riders, and they always seem to be good fun to work with. As a team, we are serious when we need to be, but we also laugh a lot. I have owned CH Husqvarna for 25 years, so it’s important to enjoy the process.

I think the spirit in our team suits Matt. He has adapted to the EWC quickly and he is riding very well.

But this is only the beginning. Now that Matt has the opportunity to ride and train with the faster and more experienced guys, he will improve a lot more. He is already a very strong rider, and with experience, he will get faster and more consistent on all sorts

recalls, “which means I needed to re-drill and tap the frame and put a Helicoil in it – all in a 10-minute work period. As it turns out, Mauro – the guy who’s now my mechanic on the CH Husqvarna team – helped me with the job. I managed to stay cool and calm, and I think he noticed that about me. Staying calm under pressure is a huge thing in the EWC, so I’m sure that helped me get the ride in Europe. Even before I’d tested a Husky, I made the decision to race the world championship. I’d signed a contract with the CH Husqvarna team by November.”

So, what sort of coin does a hot prospect like Matt Phillips get offered to race the EWC’s EJ (Under 23) class? “Well, I could have earned more sign-on in Australia,” Phillips says, matter-of-factly. “Actually, even if I win the world title this year, I still won’t earn as much as I would have if I’d won back in Oz. Yamaha Australia

generally pays riders well, but I didn’t want to hang around simply to earn a paycheque. And I knew I couldn’t win a world championship in Australia. The potential to earn good money comes if I can score an E1, E2 or E3 ride next year and collect some bonuses.”

PLAYING THE CONFIDENCE GAME With CH Husqvarna being such a high-profile team, did Phillips feel the pressure of expectation from the opening round? “Initially, they put absolutely no pressure on me,” he says. “It was almost like I was the hobby rider on the team. If I ran towards the front, that’d be a bonus.”

But it wasn’t long before he went from EWC newbie to EJ-class standout. “I wanted to get a feel for things at the two South American rounds before going too crazy,”

Phillips explains. “I suffered from nerves and ran fifth at the opening round in Chile, and backed that up with a third the following day. Then, the next weekend in Argentina, I went 1-2 and that did a lot for my confidence. We fitted factory KYB suspension, different clamps and a different-profile front Michelin. All of that improved the way the bike steered and how comfortable I was to push it.

After Spain, I got to the point where I expected to win. It was a bad day if I didn’t win.”

As they say, confidence breeds confidence. At the super-dry and technical event in Spain, Matt Phillips dominated with a 1-1 result. He then repeated the unbeaten record in different conditions the very next weekend in neighbouring Portugal, and stretched his championship lead.

GEOFF BALLARD – FORMER TEAM MANAGER & MENTOR of terrain. But the EWC is not just about the speed. More so than motocross, EWC riders also need to be thinkers; to be mentally tough. We hope to keep Matt and move him up from the EJ class.

But we will have to understand the new structure of Husqvarna and how the team fits into that before we can make any announcements about next season.”

I

’ve seen a lot of riders in 24 years as a team manager, and Matt is one of the most talented.

He’s definitely the most exciting to watch ride, too, and I think he has the ability to go all the way.

He’s pig-headed and mentally tough – much like Shane Watts.

Tell Matt he can’t do something and it’s the best motivation you can give him. I think he went to

Europe to prove people wrong as much as anything else, and he’s certainly done that. As a bloke, he’s good fun, polite and smart – a lot smarter than some people give him credit for. It was great to go over to the EWC rounds in Spain and Portugal earlier this year and see both Matt and Jess Gardiner do so well. Matt seems to have really gelled with

the Italian guys on the team, and there’s a strong connection between that team and Aussie riders. Fabrizio Azzalin actually started his team in 1989, which is when I started my team in Australia. Matt also gets on well with his teammates – especially Matti Seistola, who he trains and hangs out with a lot in Spain.

Having a good relationship with

all those blokes has been a huge plus for Matt. He’s still a flamboyant rider who’ll over-jump things occasionally or whip it when he sees you cheering on the side of the track, but he’s got a lot smarter about when to push and when not to.

I really hope he brings the title home, and I can’t wait to see what he can do on a 450 next year.”

63

PROFILE MATT PHILLIPS

“MY CH HUSQVARNA TEAM HAS SO MUCH EXPERIENCE. IT’S A GREAT ENVIRONMENT AND I’M VERY PROUD TO BE A PART OF THE TEAM AND ITS HERITAGE.”

Phillips has become a pit paddock and crowd favourite with his podium antics. He’s a real character.

TEAM CULTURE Matt Phillips is the first to admit that his success is largely due to the experience and advice of the team behind him. “Mate, the guys on my team are classics. They’ve all got a dry sense of humour and know how to keep things fun. But they’re very professional and have so much knowledge,” he explains. “Fabrizio has won world titles with guys such as Stefan Merriman, Anders Eriksson, Antoine Meo and Juha Salminen. And my mechanic, Mauro, has worked for every single one of those guys. Mauro’s often telling me to dial it back; to keep things under control and consider the bigger picture. It’s a great environment and I’m very proud to be a part of this team and its heritage.”

Phillips also speaks highly of his teammates, and spends much of his time hanging out and training with Matti Seistola, who’s got a place in Spain. “Both Matti and Juha Salminen have helped me

understand that going fast is about doing all those little things as well,” Phillips happily admits. “It’s about breathing right, taking advantage of walking the tests and hitting your marks. I’ve also learned to become a more controlled rider and smarter with line selection.”

Which is true. From the sidelines, Phillips appears a far more measured rider than the wild-man-against-therev-limiter we saw in Oz. “I think I flow a lot better and I’m looking for more inside lines rather than wideopen outside berms where you can come unstuck,” he says. “There are so many guys going fast over here that if you have one get-off, you lose a bunch of positions.”

T

he next time I catch up with Phillips, he’s back in Australia as the EWC takes a 10-week break between the final two stops on its calendar. Phillips has had a dingdong battle with Daniel Milner at the 4-Day in WA, finishing

third Outright after copping a questionable time-card penalty.

But he doesn’t seem too fussed about it. His mind is firmly focused on international matters; on the upcoming final two rounds of the EWC in France. With 2-1 and 1-3 finishes at the Romanian and Greece rounds of the championship, he’s built a comfortable 29-point lead as he heads into the final two rounds, which take place just after this issue of Transmoto hits the newsstand.

A TITLE WITHIN REACH I ask Phillips if he feels like wrapping himself in cotton wool to minimise the risk that an unthinkable injury could derail the oh-so-close title.

“Yeah, that’s played on my mind a bit because I don’t have to win in France; I just have to be there and finish. It’s definitely made me not push as hard with my training. The break has been good in that it’s let me spend time with friends and family back in Australia. It’s reinforced just

JUHA SALMINEN – 2013 TEAMMATE, EIGHT-TIME ENDURO WORLD CHAMPION

I

like what I see in Matt Phillips.

He’s a good guy. He’s relaxed and easygoing and fits in very well with this team. He doesn’t stress out too much about things and is very approachable.

He’s had some good results in the past, but he hasn’t allowed it to go to his head. Instead,

64

he’s very humble about what he’s achieved, and that’s good to see in a rider. As far as his riding is concerned, he’s still got to prove himself. So far, he’s doing great. He’s travelled halfway across the world to race this championship and he’s coping with the pressure of it

all. Sometimes I forget that he was only 19 when he arrived in Europe earlier this year. What stands out about him the most is that he’s willing to learn.

Anything I say or the team says to him, he takes onboard.

In Europe, it’s not possible to rely on all-out power to be fast

on the track. You need to understand bike set-up for the different types of terrain. You also need to be calculated in your riding and I can see that he’s adapting really quickly to it all. I feel he’s got a lot of potential and I really hope that he will deliver.”

how much I owe my family for all the opportunities they’ve helped me get in the sport.”

Phillips makes it clear that he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, but I press the point and ask whether he’s allowed himself the luxury of thinking what a world title would mean. “It would mean a lot – for me, the team and my family who’ve supported my racing so much,” he says, before reining himself in and qualifying the comment: “But it won’t mean much if I don’t get a deal to race the EWC next year. You can only try to keep improving, and I want the opportunity to compete against the best in the sport.”

Naturally, Phillips has kept a keen eye on his times compared with the frontrunners in the E1, E2 and E3, but he points out that he’s had to play a bit of a juggling act of late.

“My main focus has been on doing what it takes to win the EJ title, so I’ve kept a little in reserve. That said, I still need to improve my pace to compete with the big names in the E2 class, which is where I hope to be next year. And with the merging of the Husaberg and Husqvarna teams, there’s going to be fewer EWC rides available on top teams for 2014.”

THE FUTURE It’s clear that the CH Husqvarna team has a soft spot for the likeable young Aussie, but has there been any sort of commitment to a 2014 deal yet? “I’m waiting on an email that I’m hoping will confirm my deal,” he says. “If all goes to plan, I’ll ride a 450 in the E2 class for the CH Husqvarna team with Matti Seistola and Lorenzo Santolino as my teammates. Aside from E2 being the premier class, I think the 450 suits my riding style and 85kg weight better. Those E2 guys have been my heroes, but that kinda makes me want to beat them now.”

Phillips isn’t the sort of bloke who eases himself into anything, so I ask him whether an E2 ride in 2014 would be a ‘development year’, or does he see himself as a legit title contender immediately?

“I’d fly under the radar a bit, which means there’d be less pressure on me. You’d have to say that I might lack the experience required, but that won’t stop me trying. I’ve got nothing to lose!”

It’s a philosophy that’s worked for the kid in the past. Let’s hope it serves him well in the years ahead.

He’s still a flamboyant rider, but the new-look Matt Phillips is smarter and more measured when it’s called for.

JONTY EDMUNDS – EWC EXPERT, TRANSMOTO’S EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT

I

t’s been a steep learning curve for Matt, but he’s backed by some of the EWC’s most experienced technicians and an easygoing team manager.

Based on his ISDE performances in 2012 and 2011, there was no doubt Matt could ride a bike, but the EWC is a very different

beast to the ISDE. What’s great about the guy is that he seems to be enjoying what he’s doing.

In Chile and Argentina when everything was new to him – bike, country, championship, team, competitors – he wasn’t at all fazed. He’s a damn tough cookie and so far, he’s done

everything right in his rookie EWC season. He still has a fair way to go to reach the level of performance and consistency of the EWC’s big guns. But there’s nothing to suggest he can’t get to the very top. His results have been excellent, his determination and focus is good,

and his speed is ever improving.

From the Spanish and Portugese rounds onwards, you could see a new confidence in his riding style. He knew he could win, and from that point on, he’s hardly been beaten. Plus his times have got much closer to the guys in E1, E2 and E3.”

65