MXlarge: Billy, hey, I heard a rumor you are coming back to do a round of the Red Bull Nationals, is that true?

Mackenzie; Yes, it's true, I am going to do the Red Bull nationals on April 4, but I would also like to do Mantova, but only if i can work things out financially for that one.

MXlarge: What made you decide to come back?

Mackenzie: Well, the reason I am coming back is because my mum passed away last saturday, so i'm doing a few races to keep my mind occupied. the funeral is on the 1st of April, then I am going to race the Red Bull Nationals on the 4th, then I want to also try and race the Grand Prix of Italy in Mantova the following week, but that was only an idea I came up with tonight! I need to work out what needs to be organised for the race and see what help i casn get before i commit to anything. I like Mantova and it’s a circuit if you get a good start you can run well.

MXlarge: Sorry to hear that man. Hope it all goes well. I lost my father a year ago, really sorry to hear it man.

Mackenzie: Thanks, yes, it's not nice.

MXlarge: How has it been over there in Australia anyway? Is it a different intensity level than preparing for the GP season?

Mackenzie: Since I am over here I am doing everything I should be doing, but i guess just not with the same level of intensity i did last year. i really put everything i had into it last year, and i pretty much got nothing for my efforts. I put everything into making my year the best it possibly could be and it didn’t work out. I didn’t enjoy riding my bike last year, many reasons but injury was the main cause. I had done everything I should in training, with so much commitment and then to not enjoy my season, it didn’t make any sense to me. I had trained more casually in the past and had better results.

MXlarge: So how different is it in Australia with training and inbetween?

Mackenzie: I've been doing all the same training and all the motos on the bike i should be doing, but like i said, just with less intensity. I am riding more like i did in 07 now, standing up alot, keeping momentum and balance, not like i have been on the honda the last few years. I'm using the bikes power and riding precise i feel. The weather is lovely over here, so it makes me enjoy my training everyday and also riding the bike. I have a good group of friends here that i ride with each week, and on the track i am just really focusing on my technique and laps times within myself. I am confident that i am riding fast, and my lap times during the motos are consitant.

MXlarge: I still remember you laying on the start grid in Japan like you didn't care about even being there and then going out and winning the GP.

Mackenzie: That’s the thing and what I mentioned. What works for some people doesn’t work for me and I’ve tried it all. I’ve been with some fantastic trainers over the years, namely Willy Linden, Kirk Gibbons and Jamie Dobb they have trained me well, but the best years I feel I had was 2007 and 2008 when I was just training with my cousin Bryan. We had more of a casual layout of our training rather than being up at 6am everymorning busting my body about. The work load was the same, the actual amount of training was no different, but we just had fun doing it. I feel i enjoy more the hard work on race day than the hard work during the week. if i enjoy my training during the week, then i also enjoy the hard work on race day. Right now my training is great, I am just getting up in the sunshine and listening to my music and it’s fun again. When that is working well, the results will come.

MXlarge: I was talking with Kevin Williams the promoter of the Australian Motocross series and he mentioned that he wondered if you could be consistent for a complete series. Does that bother you at all?

Mackenzie: Not really, I don’t really bother with what other people are thinking, or what other riders are thinking. I am confident with myself, I am having good days on the bike in training and it’s all good. Nobody knows anything about me over here i guess, but from the training and riding I am doing I feel like a new rider and I am going fast. I need not to get too excited,i guess i also sometimes lose my concentration at some point in the race in previous years, but I am doing everything I can. I want to get out of the gate, and set a pace I am comfortable with, and not get tired,crash, or lose my concentration, and hopefully that will be good enough for a result.

MXlarge; When you made the decision to race in Australia I figured the Aussie lifestyle and mentality might suit you.

Mackenzie: They were all the things I thought about before making the decision, about my life and my racing. It wasn’t a rash decision, i thought about it very carefully and all the factors that would contribute to my career. For me it was the best thing to do at the time, and i dont regret my decision. I couldn’t think of anything worse than living in Britain now i have experienced life in Australia, and that was another thing that I didn’t like was the pace of life i was living. I have ridden since I was six and I never felt like I did last year and that scared me a little bit. I just wanted to enjoy racing again and that is what has happened being here (in Australia).

MXlarge: So it does suit you then? Aussies are pretty easy going people, and you seem like a bit of a free spirit.

Mackenzie: I guess so, and that is one of the things, I didn’t like the way my life was being controlled and people were always telling me where I had to train or ride, it was like the rule to abide by, and I didn’t like that. Kawasaki are a great company, and with my history in grand prix's are happy for me to contest the races i want as long as my commitment is the Australian Nationals. I am feeling fresh over here, confident and ready to race.
being in Australia has helped me, I am 25 nearly 26 and i guess theres only a few more years left, but I think in the coming years I will use the things I have learned from my experience and racing to again use my full potential. I think in the next few years I will be on top of my game. I would like to come back and race some GP’s, but I also think about America. These are things that i am looking to in the future.