Brandon Clarke
At just 18 years old, Team Green Kawasaki’s Enzo Temmerman has already endured more hardship than most people do in a lifetime. If his name sounds familiar, you might have caught him on the box at Glendale, taking home a second-place finish in SMX Next. But to truly appreciate that moment, you have to understand the road that got him there—a road paved with injury, setbacks, and an almost relentless string of bad luck.
Glendale: A Pivotal Moment
Temmerman got off to a solid start in the main event, exiting the first turn in P6 before quickly going to work. By lap three, he had climbed into third and was putting serious pressure on Landon Hartz when a crash in the sand section involving Jeremy Fappani brought out the red flag. Racing came to a halt for nearly ten minutes.
I asked Enzo what it was like to sit through that pause, knowing he had momentum on his side.
“Yeah, that was actually really hard. Before the race, you’re getting warmed up, getting hyped up, ready to go. The gate drops, and you’re in the zone—laps one and two are mayhem, but by lap three, you’re in a groove. Then they throw the red flag, and you go from being locked in to… nothing. Your body cools down, your mind settles, and suddenly, you’re sitting there for ten minutes. When the green flag waves again, it’s like going from zero to 100 instantly, and that’s tough.”
Tough, but not impossible. When racing resumed, Temmerman got right back to work, ultimately fighting his way to a P2 finish behind fellow Team Green rider Landen Gordon. He wanted the win, no doubt, but considering where he was a year ago? This result meant everything.
A Year of Setbacks
Rewind to 2023—Temmerman was set to make his Supercross Futures (now called SMX Next) debut at Anaheim 2. During free practice, he cased a triple, went over the bars, and bruised his ribs badly enough to sit the race out. Arlington was next on the schedule. This time, a mistake on the dragon’s back led to an awkward case, breaking his wrist. Just like that, his Supercross Futures season was over.
Fast forward to the fall. Determined to bounce back, Temmerman began preparing for the 2024 season. But in December, disaster struck again—a massive crash left him with a broken femur, collarbone, and wrist. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
“That was a really low point for me,” he said. “I was making progress, feeling good, right when I needed to be peaking. When you’re 16, 17 years old, those are crucial years to get good results and land a pro contract. So yeah, I was really bummed.”
A broken femur is bad enough. But throw in a collarbone and wrist and it’s like the school of hard knocks is doubling down on its tuition fees.
At A1 in January, he rolled into the stadium in a wheelchair, arm in a sling, and wrist in a brace. That night, he developed a fever. Initially, he thought he had just picked up a bug at the race. But a few days later, he was violently sick and finally saw a doctor. That’s when they noticed his leg was bright red and swollen—clear signs of a severe infection.
The next day, he was rushed to Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno where they took a look at the severity of it and performed emergency surgery the next day to drain out all the fluid. The infection had spread so aggressively that in one of the surgeries, the doctors had to remove a large portion of his quad muscle. He spent two weeks in the hospital and had five more surgeries. Every two days cutting him open to drain his leg again. During that time, he lost about 30 pounds in the process.
“If you look at me before my injury, I wasn’t a hefty kid—I was already pretty scrawny,” Temmerman joked.
The infection slowed everything down. His femur wasn’t healing properly, and neither were his collarbone and wrist. By February, his body finally started responding, but he had a long way to go. The road to recovery wasn’t just about getting healthy—it was about proving he still had what it took to compete.
The Fight to Loretta’s
Many will tell you Loretta Lynn’s isn’t the end-all, be-all. But if you ask someone like Star Racing Yamaha 250 team manager, Jensen Hendler, he’ll tell you that is where everyone gets noticed. Temmerman and his father knew he needed to qualify for Loretta’s in 2024 to stay on the industry’s radar.
Problem was, the first area qualifier was in March at Kern County Raceway Park. Temmerman still hadn’t been cleared to walk. But that didn’t stop him.
Tough as nails, he forced his boot onto his weakened leg, hobbled out to his bike, and rolled around the track—his injured leg dangling off the side. Spectators thought he had re-injured himself. In reality, he was just doing what he had to do.
“My doctor was pretty upset,” he admitted.
@enzotemmerman21 Broken leg motos yup Vc to my awesome gf
♬ Lady Killers II – G-EAZY
Still, he wasn’t ready to race—at least not yet. Another hospital visit was needed to drain his leg again. By the time the final regional at Hangtown came around in June, he was a little strong and barley squeezed his way into Loretta’s. That was unfamiliar territory.
“I usually go to the first regional, get in, and if I don’t win, it’s a disappointment. This time, I just had to make it.”
Temmerman did what he had to do. He qualified.
SMX: The Road to Redemption
By fall, he was back racing SMX Next, eager for redemption. In Las Vegas, he finished P5 on the hybrid track. It still wasn’t quite the same as the stadium crowd you dream of as a kid, but close. However, just one week later, tuition fees were due again—a crash left him with a dislocated and broken shoulder, along with a torn labrum. Another seven weeks off the bike.
Which brings us back to Glendale.
With barely any time to prepare, Temmerman lined up once again, nerves high, adrenaline pumping, ready to prove that he belonged. That P2 finish? It was more than a podium. It was proof that no matter how many times he gets knocked down, he will always find a way back.
Three Generations of Racing
If resilience is in Enzo Temmerman’s DNA, it makes sense—his family has been at this for three generations. His grandfather raced in the Belgian Championship before his dad and uncles moved to America and picked up the sport as teenagers. His father, though he had his pro license never made a career out of it. He once however lined up next to Ricky Carmichael at a Hangtown National. He knew if Enzo wanted to make it, he needed to start young.
By age two, Enzo was on a bike. He dabbled in BMX for a bit—until he broke his femur the first time. After that, the focus shifted entirely to motocross.
Temmerman has a lot of heart and determination and is as gritty as they come. He’s been through the ringer, battled back from injuries that could have ended his career, and still shows up with a smile on his face. Friendly, laid-back, but fiercely determined, he’s exactly the kind of rider you root for.
I can assure you that whatever the track or life throws at him, Enzo Temmerman will always find a way to fight back.
Images: @octopi.media
