By Brett Dailey

Our second intermediate candidate is Atlantic Motoplex’s Zach Heydeman. One of the fastest intermediates in the region, Heydeman just turned 14 years of age! He looks older than his age, stands over six feet tall and he rides with the style and poise of an old vet. This maritimer has a bright future ahead of him.

ZACH HEYDEMAN
Date of birth: June 14, 1992
Hometown: Shediac Bridge, New Brunswick
Classes: 125 and 250 Intermediate
Bikes: Yamaha YZ250F and YZ450F
Sponsors: Atlantic Motoplex, Yamaha Canada, Parts Canada, Z-Leader goggles, M2R, Factory Connection Canada, Bondi Engines, Factory Backing. I want to especially thank Trent Corney from Atlantic Motoplex for all of his hard work with the race team.

RXC: How has the spring series gone for you?
Zach Heydeman: It’s been going well, a lot better than what I expected this year in Intermediate. I didn’t think I would be running in the top three but that was my goal so I’m doing that and I hope to stay on the podium for the rest of the year.

What place are you in now for the Spring Series?
In the 250 class I’m in second and in the 125 class, I’m pretty sure I’ll get third.

Any highlights from the spring series?
Fox Hollow was good. I finished second overall in the 125 class with a 1-3. I also led for about three quarters of both of my 250 motos so that was a good round.

You tried the first two nationals this year, Ste-Julie and Gopher Dunes, at the age of 13. What was that like?
Well, certainly not what I’m used to riding. It was good experience; those guys are wicked fast. I’m excited for Riverglade because I had a lot of fun riding with those guys. I got killed but I still had a lot of fun. I just learned so much.

What were your qualifiers like?
Well, I didn’t qualify. In Ste-Julie, I think I was 25th in my qualifier and 7th in my LCQ so I almost made it. At Gopher Dunes, I was in qualifying position but I crashed.

Was it the pace, were you nervous, or what?
A little bit of both, I think. I was nervous on the starts. Those guys are all in it for serious money. I seemed to have stacked qualifiers so I wasn’t feeling too confident on the gate.

You have lots of time on the Moncton track and now two nationals under your belt so do you think this is your round to qualify at?
Yeah, I know the track really well. Last year there weren’t too many riders that didn’t qualify so I’m hoping that I will qualify this year. I was pretty close at the other rounds and I’m riding a lot better now.

What’s your goal if you do make it into the program?
Well, I don’t really have a goal right now. I’ll take that one when it comes.

What have you been doing for training?
Well, I usually just ride and I do a little bit of jogging. I started that after I went down to the Thompson’s in Ontario [mxschools.com].  I did a little bit of training with Cole but I don’t do a lot of off-bike training, just riding.

How much do you ride during the week?
Pretty much every day when I was there. Two or three times a week when I’m at home. Sometimes I will go to the Strang’s and just stay and ride all week. Including racing, I typically ride three or four days a week.

Tell us a little bit about the Thompson’s. Why did you decide to go there?
I went down there basically just to do some training. I like riding with Cole—he and I are about the same speed. I usually get some lessons from his brothers, Kyle and Justin. I went down and did some work and I went to their school and then, the next week, I just did some teaching with them.

You raced an Ontario provincial recently? What did you think of that?
Yeah, I raced RJ’s. In the 250 class, I was top 10, I think. I couldn’t get a good start there. I crashed in the first 125 moto and had to pull off. Yeah, it wasn’t my best day … in the second 125 moto, I was running around third but they put in this huge set of whoops there and I crashed and knocked the wind out of myself so I just pulled off.

I heard you raced in Michigan as well. How did that go?
That went really well for me. They have an afternoon program at Baja and I raced the 125 class. I raced 125 B and the four stroke class. In 125 B, I got third in the first moto and fifth in the second moto. In the four stroke class, I won the first moto and got second in the second moto.

What are your plans for the rest of the season?
Hopefully just do the same thing I did in the Spring series and try to catch up to Nathan [Slater]. He’s riding good. I think he’s moving to pro for the next series. I’m not sure, but I think he and Kyle Elliott are going to pro. So, I’m hoping to win the Intermediate class for the next series since they were the only guys that beat me.

Okay, see you next weekend.
Thanks.

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