Motocross Comfort: With a parking heater for the perfect racing experience

It's a tight-knit community: after a long day on the dusty motocross track, they love sitting together in front of their tents, campervans, and VW vans, reliving the races or preparing for the next race day. In the motocross world, this is called "petrol chatter." Often at the centre of the conversations is Benjamin Koob, one of the scene's colourful characters.

Benjamin has turned his hobby into a profession. The trained motorcycle mechanic has always enjoyed riding motorbikes. Many years ago, he caught the motocross bug. Initially, he joined the "MX Hessencup" as a racer, and for a while now, he's been part of the organising team for the series. He's also become the chairman of the local MSC Sechshelden club, organising his own events.

He's particularly proud of the "Ladys Weekend," where only women are allowed on the track to try out motocross without any male commentary. Protective gear, motorbikes, and everything else are provided for this. Alongside this, the enterprising motocross rider works as a freelance editor for various national magazines, conducting many interviews with riders from regional races and even world championships.

Key concerns for motocross riders: power supply and warmth

At larger motocross events, around 300 riders participate. Including mechanics, companions, and spectators, about 1,000 people gather. "Race participants either come with a transporter or a motorhome, which usually has a rear garage. They typically sleep on the event grounds from Friday to Sunday," Benjamin explains. Since races take place outside of towns, participants have to provide their own power. "If 300 people were running their generators, the noise would be very high," says Benjamin, "so most rely on batteries, solar panels, and parking heaters. It's a big topic."

Benjamin always travels with a VW T6 transporter. "It used to be difficult to get heat in the van at night. I didn't have a parking heater, so I had to adjust the fan levels manually. That meant I had to keep the engine running for heat to eventually come." This couldn't go on. First, Benjamin installed batteries and an inverter; later, he added an auxiliary heater and the Air Top 2000 STC air heater from Webasto.

Control the perfect temperature in the van with Webasto's ThermoConnect App

"At first, I had to go to the driver's cab to manually turn on the heater, but with the Webasto ThermoConnect App, I can now easily switch between the auxiliary heater and the air heater," Benjamin says delightedly. "It brings the perfect temperature to the van, which is great for me when I'm putting on my racing gear in the morning or stepping into a well-preheated van in the evening."

Benjamin likes the system's flexibility: "If I sleep in the rooftop tent on warmer summer days and forget to turn on the air heater, I can just quickly switch on the auxiliary heater using the app. That's enough for a comfortably warm start to the morning."

Best conditions for the race and recovery after: warmth in the rooftop tent and hot water

Rooftop tents are becoming more popular in the motocross scene. But how do you get the warmth from the van up to the tent during colder seasons? Creativity and DIY were needed: "I simply extended the air heater's pipe and put it in my Layzee rooftop tent. The warmed air is directed upwards through the pipe. I've already slept in it at minus 10 degrees Celsius in winter. Of course, this isn't an official Webasto modification, but it works for me," says Benjamin.

To prevent any issues, Benjamin even installed a kind of theft protection: "There's a metal plate for the vans that you place in the side window of the door and close at the top. I drilled a hole in the metal plate to run the pipe through. With the mobile app, I can turn on the air heater in the morning without having to get up, and it warms the rooftop tent."

Evening rituals change: from "petrol chatter" to parking heater talks 

While "petrol chatter" is a nice ritual, evening conversations among motocross riders increasingly revolve around the topic of "self-sufficient living and power." This starts with additional batteries in the van, solar panels on the roof, and goes all the way to electric motocross bikes, for which there are even e-racing series now.

But the later the evening, the more conversations shift towards parking heaters and "power chatter." Those with a Webasto parking heater can get into a pleasantly warm vehicle, sleep better, and be well warmed up the next day - the best starting conditions for the next big race.