Hamish Macdonald is a pro rider in the Sherco Factory Team in the Enduro GP and E2 classes . We chatted with the double world champ about his racing and motivations ...

How long are you at home for ? I ’ m home now until February . Tell us a bit about your start in riding ?

My first bike was a Yamaha PW-80 and I would have been probably been about seven or eight years old . I think my first race would have been a local flat track or grass roots MX , but my first official race was the Nut Buster in 2012 !

Dad rides once a year at the Nut Buster , and also my two older brothers , Angus and Mitchell , ride every now and again .

Did having older brothers who ride and raced motivate you ?

Yeah it motivated me a lot , I didn ’ t like to lose to them , which I think added to my drive to win !

You and your brothers were home schooled , did this time at home help ?

Yeah ! It was crazy , we were always out digging jumps and getting rowdy . There were some big crashes ... Mitchell was good at that . After school in the morning we would go out and ride or what ever we wanted really , as long as it was outside .

How old were you when you first dreamt of being World Champion ?

I think around in around 2015 or 2016 I saw a video of Jack Edmondson riding over some rocks at a world championship event where he crashed . I had a laugh and thought to myself I could beat this guy [ laughs ]. Four years later we were living and racing together in the same team - we are having a blast together .

Do you have any advice for young Kiwi riders ?

Yes , chase your dreams . And know that it ’ s very hard to find success in our sport in New Zealand .

KIWI RIDER 43