Advantage: Mashburn

Words: Daniels

The KTM Orange Brigade rider of Parker Mashburn has been on the grind, at only 13 years of age he has been making progress on both the track and off the track. Mashburn is pumped to be able to work with Kyle Regal as well as his dad, Zak. Both have been putting the effort in to help him continue to move forward to get him prepared for the upcoming season. Parker is from a small town in the big state of Texas, where a lot of fast riders started from. With missing last years Spring Nationals due to a leg injury Mashburn has been putting in the overtime, training day by day. The #223 bike will definitely be one to watch for this season. 

MP: Parker, Kyle, Zak thank you all for taking your time to sit with us. Parker, what do you do on a typical day like this?

Parker: I wake up in the morning and basically just do school work until about 11 o’clock, then usually eat some lunch and head off to the track.

MP: What is it like to have another person like Kyle Regal help train you?

Parker: Its amazing so far, we’ve been just been putting in a lot of hard work here in Texas to do good at the Spring Nationals. Today is actually my first ride back on the supermini. It’s been great to have Kyle helping me along, he basically teaches me the same stuff as my dad, but it’s nice to have more than just my dad to motivate me, although my dad is a full time coach.. Kyle sometimes has some tips and tricks that my dad doesn’t have. 

MP: With the stacked competition that will be lined up next to you at Spring Nationals how do you feel coming into them?

Parker: Well, so far it’s looking pretty good, I didn’t get to go to last years spring nationals because I had a broken leg, but this year hopefully I can get out there and redeem myself. Although it was hard to come off of my injury not having any leg muscle but after I got my leg strength back it’s been going good from there. I mean it’s gonna be tough this year I’m in one of the most stacked classes we’ve got Marchbanks, Kobusch, Swoll, and just a bunch of guys with the same speed. 

MP: You have been with Team Dunlop for quiet some time, what is it like to be apart of the Elite Team? 

Parker: It is awesome, they take such good care of me. There is only a handful of riders on the Elite Team and I am pretty proud to be one of them. I am very confident with them, they have never doubted me once. I always get good starts and they are just amazing Tires.  

I MEAN IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH THIS YEAR. I'M IN ONE OF THE MOST STACKED CLASSES...WE'VE GOT MARCHBANKS, KOBUSCH, SWOLL, AND JUST A BUNCH OF GUYS WITH THE SAME SPEED.

MP: Being a part of the KTM Orange Brigade team has to feel awesome, tell me about it? 

Parker: Well Christy, and all them over there are amazing. I mean they always keep me good with bikes and everything, they are just a really good team to be apart of. 

MP: You said you live around the Dallas, Texas area, what is like to be able to live in a state where motocross is a popular sport? 

Parker: Yea, I live about an hour away from Dallas in a small town called Morgan Mill, Texas. It’s awesome to be able to  live in a state where there are several different tracks to ride on, We usually ride at tracks like Oakhill, Quicks Moto Ranch, River Valley, and even our track. It is really an advantage over all my competition because I can go to the track and there’s a bunch of kids that are my same speed, which really helps me a lot, to get faster, and it helps me get better with the things I need to work on. 

MP: Parker, with the level of talent you have, I know there is a list of people helping you out, give them a shoutout for all they do for you!

Parker: Yea for sure! I’d like to thank Jeff and Danna Quick, Kyle Regal, Quick roofing, KTM North America, Orange Brigade, EBR performance, FMF, Dunlop, Troy lee designs, Scott, Dubya USA, Odi grips, Dt1, DC shoes, Neversummer industries, Motion Pro, Motorex, Vertex Pistons, Atlus Motorspotrs, Sidi boots, Rival MX foot pegs, Skullcandy, and Hinson. Thank you all!!!

MP: Kyle, With helping Parker get prepared for the Spring Nationals coming up, what potential do you see in him for this upcoming year? 

Kyle: Well honestly I think it’s a huge year for him, he’s gotta really get some good results on the supermini before going to the big bikes. The plan is 

...HE HAS GROWN A LOT SO, THE PLAN IS AFTER LORETTA'S HE WILL BE FULL TIME BIG BIKES. I'VE HAD HIM ON A 125 FOR AWHILE...

as of now, he has grown a lot so, the plan is after Loretta’s he will be full time big bikes. I’ve had him on a 125 for awhile, just waiting on bikes was the biggest thing, but now that he’s got that its much better he’s actually back on the Supermini today. But… Honestly, I expect him to do good, he’s gonna be a 13 year old in the Supermini Class. He’s still young but with his size and his attitude it shouldn’t be a problem for him to be battling for podiums each and every race. 


MP: Zak, First off A lot of people that may not know you think you just coach your son, is this the case?

Zak: No. I have worked with Parker myself since he was two. He has worked with some other guys briefly but he is so used to what I teach and we both trust it. He is currently training with Kyle regal. A lot of people don't know it but I trained Kyle every day for about 3 years and Kyle trains exactly like me so it works out great. Parker loves training with Kyle

MP: Talk a little bit about Parkers riding style what do you see in him for the upcoming season as Spring Nationals are sneaking up.

Zak: Parker has a really slick riding style. It's his own. He flows really well. He moves around on the bike a lot. He's going really good right now and I think he will do good at all of the Nationals this year. Parker is a kid that needs to ride a lot, Just as Kyle Regal was and he has been riding a lot.

MP: Talk about what got you started into coaching kids, what makes you keep doing it?

Zak: I got started coaching kids because when I was young we paid a lot of money for me to go to a guy and he never paid 1 second of attention to me or about 10 other kids there. As I was growing up I studied the sport. I studied the fast guys and figured out what made them fast, not because I wanted to coach but because we didn't have the money for me to ride like I wanted to and needed to. As I got older I figured out that I had a ton of knowledge about the sport but not the talent to be a pro nor the money. I've always enjoyed helping kids and it just turns out that I can help kids at the sport I love and have a ton of knowledge about. It is my passion. I will never stop teaching. My teaching is more about safety than speed and the need for safety will never go away in this sport.

MP: Finally, with you being a Moto dad what's one piece of advice you could give to other motocross parents that may be reading this?

Zak: Let your kid have fun. I am still learning to be a Moto parent every day. Fun is the key. I think I took a lot of the fun out of it for my boys when they were young. I was a dick. I didn't mean to be, that's just what I saw so it's what I did. And it has taken me a while to get away from that. I'm still not where I should be but I'm working hard on it. I am far from a good example of a Moto parent. When I was young no one ever encouraged me to be good at anything so I encourage and then some. Over compensating is the word I think. Anyhow my advice would be to have fun with your kids and enjoy it. It won't last forever.

MP: Thank you for your time Zak, good luck with your training this year and good luck to Parker throughout 2015 season 

Zak: Thank you!