As we mentioned last week, there is no doubt that Belgian motocross is in deep trouble. Hardly any major events run throughout the season in Belgium, and little in the way for youngsters to first witness exciting events, to get them interested in the sport.

Matt Bates of the Power Maxed Arenacross series in Great Britain has taken it apon himself to try and get Belgian motocross back to its heyday. With sell-out crowds for his UK events, Bates has worked overtime to get an indoor event organized in Belgium and is taking a financial risk going to Belgium.

Local rider and former GP rider Jen Getteman is more than a little excited for the chance to race in front of his home crowd.

While Belgian fans got to witness a lot of indoor events in the 1980’s and 90’s its been more than a decade since a major indoor event has been held in the country of motocross legends.

Getteman, a former Belgian MX2 champ joined the Shocktech Kawasaki camp for this weekend’s penultimate round of the 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour, and we caught up with Getteman and asked him about his participation in the series and his home race.

MXLarge: Jens, how did it come about that you would do some of these Arenacross events?

Getteman: I had talked to Matt (Bates) to start the Arenacross series from the first race, but I was riding for a German team, and I had to do the the supercross races in Germany. Some rounds of the German supercross clashed with the Arenacross rounds, so we decided to just do the German supercross races. A week ago Matt called me again to ask if I was interested in riding Sheffield, Wembley and the last round in Belgium. So for me, I already did some supercross races in Germany and I wanted to try in England against the best supercross riders in Europe.

MXlarge: How did Sheffield go for you?

Getteman: It was very different from the one we had in Germany, like the dirt in England is very slippery, but overall I made some progress during the day, and I also had to ride the new bike. So had to set-up everything in the right for me. Overall I showed some good speed. I didn’t make it to the main, but I had the potential to go in there, with some good luck, but hey, its motocross and it can happen anyway.

MXlarge: You mentioned the tracks are different to the German races, but is there much difference in how the evens are run?

Getteman: Overall, its very similar, but in UK everything is in one day, and it’s a different format, and two heat races and you need good points to go through the to the final or the last chance. Its similar to Germany, but also different.

MXlarge: Obviously you have that round in Belgium, and as you know as well as anyone, Belgium motocross is at an all-time low, and it needs something to boost interest. Having an event like the Arenacross in Belgium, to attract interest from people who might not normally go to a motocross race, how important is that for you?

Getteman: I am pretty excited. Its something new (for this era) and I hope it brings something really exciting and I hope the people around here are as excited as I am. I think there will be a lot of people, because its been so many years that we had a supercross race in Belgium.

MXlarge: Did you go to the old supercross races in Belgium. I remember one in 2001 with Chad Reed, Stefan Everts and Joel Smets in Genk, I think you must have been around five years old back then. Did you go to any indoor events in Belgium when you were a kid?

Getteman: No, I never saw any of them, and I don’t even remember it. My dad, I know what he told me, he rode some supercross when he was still riding, but after that, we never had a race like that anymore.

MXlarge: It is amazing that you come from a motocross family, and you are 24 and can’t remember any event like this, which says a lot about the sport in Belgium at the moment.

Getteman: Yes, it does. I think its great to have one now in Belgium, for the racers and the people who love the sport.

MXlarge: You raced Grand Prix in the past, what is happening once this winter season is over. Will you do GP again or something else?

Getteman: No, I won’t try that again I think, for a privateer its too expensive. You need good material and to go against those good riders, it isn’t possible for me. I will do the German championship again, there are some good riders doing that series. It is two days like Grand Prix’s, so for me, at the moment, I just prepare myself for the German championship.

MXlarge: Last round of the Arenacross this weekend. Are you looking forward to that and what are your expectations?

Getteman: After last weekend in Sheffield, I showed some good speed, I want to get into the final and just get a good result. Start is important and I want to do my best. I can’t say I will be on the podium, but its possible and I want a good result for the team, I want to thank those guys for helping me over there and I would like to get a good result for them.