Ask anyone where to find Dan McEntee in a MX Nationals pit and they’re almost guaranteed to say “Dan? Yeah he’s way over the back there” and sweep-point in a vague direction that encompasses at least half of the pits.

The 22-year-old Oakdale, NSW, local is the epitome of your classic privateer. He and his brother Mat work fulltime, buy their own bikes, parts and fuel, drive through the night to each round, then return on Sunday night to get back in time for work on Monday morning.

McEntee has been paying his own way in racing since he first got a job when he was 16, but that doesn’t make it any easier. He estimates he spent close to $50,000 this year just to complete the championship in the premier MX1 ranks on board a Kawasaki KX450F.

“To be honest, I almost pulled out at the halfway point of the nationals this year,” he admits. “I bought two bikes at the start of the season and had $20,000 saved up to fund my racing, but I’d spent all that halfway through the series.

Image: Simon Makker.

“When I’m not at work I’m riding, so that’s fuel money, paying to ride somewhere and the bikes wear out faster because I’m riding more. Everything costs money. My little brother Mat was struggling for money through the season and sold his bike, so I gave him my spare bike to use for the rest of the season and had to ride out the championship with one bike.”

After a full week of working fulltime for his older brother Curt’s carpentry business, Dan, Mat and their mother leave for the races on Friday evening and drive their Mercedes Sprinter until about midnight before parking up.

Saturday is spent driving the remaining distance to the track and setting up the pits. Straight after racing on Sunday they get back on the road and drive through the night in order to turn up to work on Monday morning.

“We’ve got beds and stuff set up and Mat and I sleep in there both on the road and when we’re at the track,” he says. “It can lead to some pretty funny moments – we usually try and sleep while mum drives and it always feels like we’re doing about 180km/h when we’re in the back. It can get a bit wild when mum goes around a corner and we roll into each other. We end up going off at mum to slow down almost every weekend!”

With 2015 being Dan’s first full season (he’s picked up mid-season injuries every other year he’s been in seniors), he claimed the privateer North Cup, which he says was some good recognition for the hard work and money he’s spent getting to all 10 rounds. Overall he was a solid 13th in the standings amidst a selection of team-supported riders.

Image: Jeff Crow.

“It gives us something to aim for and race towards to get my name out there a little,” he says of the North Cup. “Getting the free oil is good, otherwise we go out and bust our guts and come home with no reward for the efforts we put in.”

McEntee’s secured a loan and bought a KTM 450 SX-F for the upcoming supercross championship where he’ll do at least a couple of the rounds close to home at Bathurst and Sydney with the aim of being the top privateer and a contender with the racers with team rides. As for next year, the jury’s still out as to whether he’ll again race an entire MX Nationals season.

“I’m undecided at this point in time. I might do a few rounds but after four or five years of doing it tough and spending so much money with next to no return it’s kinda hard to justify,” he admits. “I’d like to say I’ll be at some of the local rounds, but we’ll have to see what happens.”

And lets hope he does return with more support on his side, because at his age and with his encouraging form witnessed during 2015, McEntee has established himself as a motivated rider capable of further climbing the order with more experience and backing into the future.