WorldSBK
SMEARING THE RED The remarkable lens skill of Marian Chytka was apparent at the last round of WorldSBK in Imola and where the weather allowed some interesting interpretation of the 2019 cast list. Jonathan Rea at last managed to splash through Ducati’s widening ‘red puddle’ Photo by MCH Photo
MX
TIM’S TURN
From a face full of Mantova sand and a 40 point deficit in the championship standings, Tim Gajser reoriented his attack over the course of two weekends. A brace of MXGP wins sliced the gap to just 10 and the HRC star now has Tony Cairoli squarely in his goggles Photo by Ray Archer
MotoGP
IN THE MOOD FOR MUGELLO Thick black lines could be the order of the day from Jack Miller and the rest of the factory Ducatis this weekend around the sensational curves of Mugello. If Marc Marquez conquers again then the rest of 2019 could be in real trouble Photo by CormacGP
TWO TIMIN MXGP
GRAND PRIX OF FRA
SAINT JEAN D’ANGELY · MAY 25-26 · Rnd 7 of 1
MXGP WINNER: TIM GAJSER, HONDA MX2 WINNER: JORGE PRADO, KTM
Blogs by Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer
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MXGP WORLDSBK FRANCE POR
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MXGP FEATURE
MXGP FRANCE
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MXGP BLOG
MAKING THE 180... That was some reversal. It is almost impossible to dislike Tim Gajser. Off the bike he has hardly changed from the adolescent, innocent and giggly person that rattled MX2 as a teenager. On the bike he still fits former Team Manager Giacomo Gariboldi’s description of being “like a bull”. He can often be the picture of formidable pace, power and aggression on the HRC CRF.
inspiration such as Arco di Trento and Portugal (where his pursuit and pressure on Tony Cairoli revealed shades of a new, more measured #243). My overriding sentiment concerning the Honda man at present is a longing hope that he doesn’t pick up an injury as he seems to be the only candle-holder to Tony Cairoli’s competitiveness.
His 2015-2016 MX2 and MXGP back-to-back title winning campaigns at the age of 19-20 is still one of the most impressive dawns I have seen in nearly two decades of covering Grands Prix. Since that time Tim has learned the ‘other side’ of the premier class; too many crashes, some bad luck and some hard injuries have interrupted the better part of the last two years. Harshly, a portion of the brilliance has ebbed away.
MXGP has just finished a first ‘three-in-a-row’ and among that spell of races in Italy, Portugal and France the two sides of Gajser were aptly displayed. Significantly the Slovenian also showed one of his strongest traits – mental fortitude – in that small episode.
So far in 2019 Gajser has not backed-off from that all-out approach. There have been scary crashes in Argentina and Great Britain and moments of
Firstly there was the disaster in the Italian sand of Mantova with multiple mistakes and tip-offs in each moto leading to sixth overall and a twenty-four point loss to Tony Cairoli in the standings. Remarkably Gajser managed to deal with a humbling and humiliating weekend (Mantova itself has not been kind to the rider after
his crash and broken jaw in the pre-season of 2018) in a matter of days and hours with that resurrection in Portugal. His 1-1 at Agueda was gained with two ‘assists’ by an unusually error-prone Cairoli but you could argue that Tim’s presence and pressure was a direct cause of the engine stall and crash by his principal rival. Suddenly the gift in Italy didn’t look so dramatic with a six point retaliation in the sunshine. In France the ‘swingback’ went even higher and the gap shrank to ten. Mantova (where Cairoli went 1-1) would have been depressing for Gajser and HRC with the full knowledge that their KTM rival is an absolute master of the podium consistency needed to acquire gold number plates. Gajser might have the edge or is at least the equivalent when it comes to raw speed but has yet to convert a poor meeting into a respectable haul of championship points. That he was able to transform a day that would have bruised his ego as much as parts of his body into
By Adam Wheeler
a set of performances that delivered a second overall GP win of 2019 was emboldening. “Monday was tough,” Gajser told Lewis Phillips of MX Vice Podcasting fame of the immediate post-Mantova malaise “because you start to realise what you did and the stupid mistakes. I was trying to forget about that as soon as possible.” “It is definitely always tough when you come from a bad weekend and also the confidence goes a little bit. You start to question ‘am I good enough?’ stuff like that. I am so happy to have an amazing team behind me and also my girlfriend. She is always right there, mentally trying to say everything so that I feel better.” Riders frequently make platitudes (and rightly so) to their teams for the work and effort made to give them a platform – technical, physical, mental and maybe spiritual – from which to perform. Gasjer is frank and honest about how he leans on his support
group after disappointments like Mantova, but despite all the headhelp he still has to embark on one of the hardest and loneliest sporting pursuits alone. Nobody else in the world knows what it is like to push that factory Honda to live with a nine times world champion and to push KTM away from the top of an MXGP podium. Tim may seem meek, almost vulnerable, in person but there is no escaping the depth of the salvage act he performed from Monday 13th May to Sunday 19th and again in France another week later. The MXGP world championship has been decided by 51, 50, 84 and 43 points in the last five years and without going to the final round on each occasion. This means the graft and the foundation building of a title win has gone-on long before the final stretches of the calendar comes into play. Portugal will have been a relief for the HRC camp. A small stumble for Cairoli with his sights set on the record books but a hearty revival from his closest
pursuer. It showed the kind of resolve that we as fans rarely get to see or understand about elite sportsmen: that process of how they strive behind the scenes to drag fortune back into their arsenal. Gajser did his job, realised his potential once more and satisfied his personal motivation at Agueda and then revelled in it in France… but he also unearthed some of the essence that separates people like him from people like us.
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JASONANDERSON @ P R O T A P E R
P R O T A P E R . C O M
FEATURE
Poised to eat THOMAS KJER OLSEN it IS GETTING HUNGRY all By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer
FEATURE
T
here are a lot of people looking at Thomas Kjer Olsen. We don’t mean the curious staff of the sushi restaurant near the racetrack at Mantova for the Grand Prix of Lombardia where we are taking photos. We don’t really mean all those MXGP fans and followers that recognise the Rockstar Husqvarna rider is the best hope of taking it to MX2 conqueror Jorge Prado. Instead we were thinking of the Dane’s prospects. In just his third Grand Prix season ‘TKO’ has already held the red plate as series leader, has claimed another overall win and arguably stands as one brightest talents in Grand Prix: certainly one that could and should blend ideally with a 450 in the MXGP class considering his height and strength. After establishing himself with aplomb in 2017 and 2018 there is now a bit more urgency in the 22 year old’s bow wave. The last time Thomas featured in OTOR we were essentially discovering a rising star. Now Olsen has stepped up to the mantle of principal Red Bull KTM ‘challenger’, and is well placed in a young flock of riders that Husqvarna are currently cultivating to eventually have an impact on MXGP and dilute some of the strong orange shade with a dash of white. He still has one more year in the MX2 division before he ages out but #19’s time is very much now. If Thomas’ sporting situation has changed slightly then his character and quiet demeanour has not. He smiles easily and exudes calmness. You can feel he is perhaps a person that doesn’t get rattled…even when asked to perform the slightly tricky task of holding two pieces of sushi above his head. His talent spreads far obviously.
“I ALMOST FORGET SOMETIMES THAT I’M A PRETTY GOOD MOTOCROSS RIDER. AFTER THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX IT SET IN A BIT MORE THAT I WAS LEADING THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.”
even had it on the practice bike sometimes! To be honest I haven’t thought too much about it. I’ve been working on my own racing and riding and trying to be consistently ‘up there’ because I don’t think it helps to have that ‘oh, I’m in the lead I must keep it’ feeling. I’m stoked about it but it is something that is towards the back of my mind.
THOMAS KJER OLSEN
OK, so you’ve had the red plate. You’ve obviously dominated the EMX250 series but this position at the top of the world championship must have carried some sort of effect. Many rider publicly claim that it doesn’t mean much… You’re right. The first time I had it in Valkenswaard this year it was really something different to see your bike with that plate on. I quickly got used to it, and
FEATURE
It’s a cliché that riders don’t think about points or standings or red plates, but some will never reach that position in their careers… That’s right and I did think about it after the British Grand Prix but I have always been the type of guy that when I am on the bike those sorts of things don’t come to me too much. For sure I want to win a world championship but to lead one is also a milestone. Even in Danish motocross nobody has ever done it. It’s a huge accomplishment.
It’s good to hear you say that because some riders can really buckle or struggle with pressure. On the other hand you have to be pretty cold or super-disciplined not to look around you and recognise that you are at the top of the world… Yeah. I had a good first year when I came into Grands Prix and I feel that I have kept being the same since then: pretty humble and not really looking back to see how far I’ve made it. During the big break we had in the calendar recently I went back to Denmark and saw a round of the national champi-
THOMAS KJER OLSEN onship. I was standing at the side and I was thinking ‘wow, these guys are going so fast…’ I still think the Danish series
“[ON PRADO] IF I HAVE THE SPEED TO BEAT HIM OR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ROUGH HIM UP A BIT THEN I’LL TAKE IT. I CANNOT BE TOO SWEET TO THE GUY! HE IS ON A RAIL.”
is quite good but the GPs is another level. I almost forget sometimes that I’m a pretty good motocross rider.
After the British Grand Prix it set in a bit more that I was leading the world championship. In your first year you impressed everybody, in your second year there were a lot of podiums but also that discovery of new limits with your training and possibilities. Do you feel a bit wiser now and does that translate into a bit more speed? Yeah, exactly. It is a long and draining season and I’m still learning about my body. At one point [last year] I wanted to keep training during the
season like I was in the offseason but I just couldn’t do it. I needed a bit more time off when we had back-to-back races instead of practicing my brains off. I had to recover well and I learned a lot about myself and even still this year. I think I am more open-minded this year, especially about bike set-up, compared to previous seasons. An example of that? In the past I’d have my base setting from the winter and I didn’t have the confidence to change it during the season, for example. As I got better
FEATURE and better at testing it meant I could trust myself more and know when a change will also feel good in a race situation. I know I was in the Europeans for some time but I got thrown into GPs quickly and proved to be good pretty quickly and coming into a factory team there are so many options: I was not used to testing that much! So it was difficult but I think everybody goes through it. There is still a lot to learn about the bike and my riding style but I am beginning to feel more about how it should be.
When you were at that Danish race were you a bit of a celebrity? Haha. It is not bad at all but I did have a lot of people coming up to me and they are really happy to have a Danish guy fighting for a championship. I had a lot telling me how they are watching every Sunday and even some non-motocross fans, like my mum and Dad’s friends, saying how they watch each GP as well now. It’s kinda cool to bring even a small bit of attention to the sport in Denmark.
Are you aware of the influence you have? Especially for kids or new fans? Yes but it is so difficult to get that into your brain; to think about how you had idols when you were a kid and that you might be the same now for a kid in Denmark. It is difficult to imagine. I’m just me! I still look at some guys. I mean I still have idols inside and outside of the sport.
personalities and their work methods because, although it is a completely different thing, our mindsets and stuff are still so much alike. When your hobby becomes your profession it can become quite different and I think there is a lot to be learned from other sports. I like watching [sports] documentaries. I can see so many similarities to what I am doing…even basic training. You sometimes forget that you don’t always have to suffer. When I look at a guy like Tony [Cairoli] it really looks like he is enjoying riding motocross. I don’t know him personally but from the outside it seems that he has a really good balance of liking his racing but also working really hard. It one thing I look up to a lot.
Do you ever think that people are seeing your results and wondering what a good 450 rider you could be? Are you aware that you’ll be sought after by most brands and teams for the next step? Er, yeah. I mean, I’ll still be in the MX2 next year – that’s a 90-10 certainty because I feel that I should get all the years that I can from the 250. It is a bike I really enjoy riding. I know I am a heavy guy but there are still a lot of things I want to find out about, and people I want to work with before I go into that MXGP class. I think it is important to get all the experience that I can before I move up. But, yeah, it has been a bit in the back of my mind that in the next couple of years the change will have to happen.
“I DON’T THINK YOU NEED TO BE AN ASSHOLE TO WIN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. I DON’T WANT TO CHANGE WHO I AM.”
Is it also nice that people will be chasing you? For a section of the gate – former world champions and GP winner even – it is the other way around. It must be good for the confidence… Yeah, I know people are looking at me for the 450. I feel it will suit me well and I am looking forward to moving up and having that power. But it feels far in the future. I hope I can continue getting better and hopefully those offers will come. I haven’t been talking to anybody! It feels like it is too far away. I’m at a great place right now. I feel like it
You’re in your third year. Can you imagine doing fifteen like him? And still be winning! Ha! He’s still winning but it takes a lot of sacrifice. It would be really tough but if you could find a way to make it fun then time would move faster.
THOMAS KJER OLSEN
Who was it for you? Where would you be standing and waiting in the paddock now as an eight year old? I didn’t really go to the GPs much when I was younger but I would always be watching Stefan Everts and my grandparents made me tapes of him riding. So I was watching a lot of videos. A bit later it was also James [Stewart], [Ryan] Villopoto and Ryan [Dungey] and those guys. Outside of motocross I was watching basketball and it was cool to see their
FEATURE
is my family and I’m at home. On my off-days I’ll still go to the workshop to chat to the guys. We are working together but they are also like my friends. People have seen the news that the team will change for 2020 and the stewardship of the team will change. What’s your opinion on that and will it alter much for you? I don’t have any worries about it. I know we have some great people behind the new structure, with a lot of the same guys involved, and Nestaan [lead sponsor] is moving over also. I know they will take good care of it. I’m not doubting anything that is going on. How do you go about beating a rival like Prado? He takes holeshots at will, weighs little, has great technique and has a burst of intensity in the first laps like no other. How do you find those weaknesses? [Smiles] It’s difficult.
THOMAS KJER OLSEN It is also still early in the season, so it is not like I have a game plan where I will go out and do this-this-and-this to beat him. If I have the speed to beat him or the opportunity to rough him up a bit then I’ll take it. I cannot be too sweet to the guy! He is on a rail. He is so good at those starts and when he gets them then he just pushes forwards. So if I can try to get in there and mess with his flow a little bit then this would be the best move.
Is it possible to make a strategy? Even each weekend? No…and I don’t know if you guys looking-in think I should do that but [in] this sport it is so difficult to plan-out a race because so many different things can happen. I’m focussing on my own speed and if I have it then we’ll have a race. Lastly, are you too much of a nice guy to win this thing? Haha, I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it. When you say that I think of Aaron Plessinger. A lot of people were saying the same about
him. I don’t think you need to be an asshole to win the world championship. I don’t want to change who I am. For sure I can get rougher on the track if I wanted to but when it’s not necessary…
FAC E F OA M
MXGP BLOG
THE NEW GAME FOR ICEONE... I’m glad there are three spots on an MXGP podium. For what feels like an age – and quite amazingly so considering the longevity and all the different tracks and conditions – there have been two-three athletes monopolising the premier class of the FIM World Championship. Cairoli, Herlings, Gajser. Only Clement Desalle has broken that little triumvirate and you have to go back to April 2017 when another rider – Gautier Paulin – last joined the party. In the last few years being able to reach the hallowed ground of the top three has become more and more of a precious result (and at a time when Grand Prix saddles are diminishing) so it is encouraging that the fight for a trophy, any trophy, still delivers some of the best stories in the championship. Yes, Tony Cairoli’s return to brilliance in 2017 was inspiring, his battle against Herlings in 2018 was gripping and in 2019 he seems set for the record books. And then Herlings delivered the most comprehensive
championship win of the modern era. And Gajser exists in a window of speed/performance/peril that makes you want to watch through your fingers. But it is also achievements like Paulin’s rostrum finishes this term with a fourth different motorcycle in MXGP (his wildcard victory in 2011 with Yamaha was notched in the old MX1 class, so we’ll use that technicality), Arnaud Tonus’ resurrection from the kind of injury problems that have effectively ended other careers and Pauls Jonass’ maiden MXGP silverware that also help enrich what Grand Prix has to offer. The case of Jonass has wider context. The 2017 MX2 world champion had had enough of the 250 by the start of 2018 but how do you fit in a KTM structure that already boasts Cairoli and Herlings? The latter was only 23 at the time so hedging Pauls for the future was also slightly unjustifiable for the factory. The decision to slide the Latvian across to the Rockstar Energy IceOne Husqvarna team
(all part of the KTM Group of course) seemed like a sensible move although it was confusing to deduce how Kimi Raikkonen’s outfit were morphing from a crew that housed the proven talents of Max Nagl, Tyla Rattray, Paulin and Max Anstie since 2015 into a more speculative effort. Team Manager Antti Pyrhonen’s immaculately presented squad is almost the definition of ‘factory’ in MXGP: fantastic resources, an F1-spec workshop, and an enviable two-truck set-up that is spotless and ordered and exudes the air of exclusivity. By resources I mean the provision for a training and riding programme that a great many riders would snapup in an instant. The framework served admirably for Nagl in that ’15 season where the team and Husqvarna led the premier class standings until the German’s fateful and unfortunate broken leg while contesting the Qualification Heat for his home round.
By Adam Wheeler
Signing Paulin from HRC was a statement in itself and the IceOne environment served Max Anstie so well in 2017 that the then-rookie would decimate the Motocross of Nations in the UK with one of the standout results in the 70+ years of the competition. 2018 was an odd season of missteps that served to give IceOne, Pyrhonen and the KTM Group some beneficial perspective for 2019. Jonass was a rookie late to the game after knee surgery while Arminas Jasikonis represented another optimistic punt. The 21 year old Lithuanian has youth, strength and willingness on his side and is perhaps one of the clearest examples of a ‘rough diamond’ in the MXGP pack. In fact, from all the factory riders across the manufacturers (and with the exception of Brian Bogers) he is the only racer not to have won a Grand Prix. The potential is there and his lofty position in the MXGP championship standings is testament to how Jasikonis has matured and curbed some of his wilder decision-making.
It must have required some soulsearching for IceOne to put aside fierce ambition and designs on Grand Prix wins and the championship to replace podiums for progress. But, as Pyrhonen admitted to me at Mantova, something like a fourth position overall for the likes of ‘Jasi’ or Pauls represents a barometer of gain (or even success), while the same classification with an athlete of Paulin’s ilk can be construed as ‘what’s the problem?’ Antti was unafraid to talk about the difficulty of matching the standout elite of Cairoli-Herlings-Gajser, and the kind of inevitability that team managers used to whisper about when Cairoli was in the midst of his five-title run at the beginning of the decade. It is very, very tough for any team or rider to supersede the kind of formidability that has been seen in the last three seasons of MXGP. Thus a podium appearance is not to be sniffed-at in 2019 and the fact that Jonass packaged two starts and his sand acumen at Mantova to finish runner-up means the achievement must rank as one of the best in the team’s history.
Jonass is already the most successful motocrosser from his country in the history of the sport. A world champion, a European champion and a Grand Prix winner. He undoubtedly has the capacity and the resolve to deliver the goods (and follows the bizarre trend of rookies excelling in their maiden MXGP seasons as seen by the likes of Romain Febvre, Gasjer, Herlings, Tonus,) but credit has to go to IceOne for a degree of reinvention. Their system of work and ethos would seem to be unaltered but the realignment of how they want to make a mark in MXGP in the coming months (maybe the next two years) is ultimately leading to a more promising scenario. Their allure is increasing again. They are drifting from a team that invited questions to one that is delivering answers. Dislodging Cairoli, Gajser, Herlings with any hint of regularity is now a means for anybody to define championship contention and credentials. But there are other spaces for prizes, and the kinds of narratives that also transmit some of the magic of racing.
PRODUCTS
www.actiphwater.com
actiph There is a cool story about the UK’s first alkaline, ionised water drink (widely available in supermarkets like Morrisons and newsagents WH Smiths) created by Jamie Douglas-Hamilton. The Scotsman was part of a crew of six that rowed 5000 miles across the Indian Ocean from Australia to India burning up to 10,000 calories a day. In that time they started to mix fresh water with a little salt water to replace key minerals. The experience prompted DouglasHamilton to investigate hydration further and after research in Japan with ionised water he founded his own brand. Actiph is bottled from a spring water source in Shropshire. They add their unique formula of electrolytes and minerals and the ionisation is done by ‘electrically charging the water using platinum and titanium plates, we can strip out the sour tasting acidic ions’. The result is a strangely smooth taste and, odd as it sounds, water that’s very easy to drink – and we know, having consumed several bottles at the British MXGP at Matterley Basin this year where the Actiph team had plenty of samples. Thanks to the likes of British Championship leader Shaun Simpson and the Bike it Dixon Racing Team Actiph is making inroads into MXGP. We can also vouch for the bottle itself with a quality plastic locking cap meaning it’s an ideal choice for taking to the gym or a sports field. For more information click on any link.
FEATURE
A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP By Adam Wheeler, Photos by TLD
ADIDAS & TROY LEE DESIGNS IN MOTOCROSS
FEATURE
T
he Adidas logo has been a noticeable part of Troy Lee Designs racewear for a number of years in acknowledgement of an amiable friendship between the revered helmet designer and a segment of the sportswear giant. In the second part of our talk with Director of Merchandising Jeff David, the American explains how the bond with Adidas grew significantly into some very special limited edition riding gear. There were the Nike motocross boots worn by James Stewart and Ryan Dungey towards the end of the decade (apparently the cost/profit margin of manufacture for such a niche market meant that the project and development was short-lived) but no other memorable forays by sports giants into the sport. Adidas however have had a small link with Troy Lee Designs easily spotted through their retro three-stripe logo on the TLD KTM race gear. The combination of the brands has moved from mutual respect and fleeting to something far more impressive so we fired six questions at Jeff David in our recent visit to the facility in Irvine to find out more and why the increased speculation by Adidas could be meaningful for motocross…
The collaboration seems to have grown as evidenced by the release of the ‘Ultra’ kit and things like the Cole Seely show. So what is the current position? It has been several years now since Troy first partnered with Adidas and from the get-go it has been very exciting. They have been offering ideas for new materials, and for the collaboration on the pant and jersey we went to their HQ in Oregon and they did a lot of work on the specific fabrics to use as well as the ergonomic factors. They have a large lab up there where they can hook sensors to a rider’s body and get a full reading of the articulation of the pant and jersey. Which they in turn evolve into different pattern designs, so they really helped in that aspect and gave us some guidance. It was unique from anything we’d done in the past and they have more new ideas going forward that we are currently working on; mainly to do with materials again and outfitting the rider/racer in ways that they do in other sports and how that is trickling down into the moto and mountain bike side. Moto has been pretty traditional with materials in the last twenty years but now we’ve seen that change with more stretch fabrics and tighter fitting, more performance-driven. What we are trying to do is have our racers layer-up from inside-
out. They might have a compression type form of protection with padding but then the jersey on top will be part of that performance package and the more with the pants. The work in Oregon: was that a result of talks, meetings and ideas over a period time? Years in the making. At first we just made some gear with their logos on it and it evolved from there with ideas going back and forth between Troy and our design team with their teams over there. The department we are working with really want to push the envelope and give some unique ideas that we can bring into our industry: things that people have not seen before. It’s what entices them and we’re really excited to do the same thing. Working with a brand like Adidas we can learn so much from them; they have so many resources and knowledge of materials, patterns and fits that might be new to our industry.
“WORKING WITH A BRAND LIKE ADIDAS WE CAN LEARN SO MUCH FROM THEM; THEY HAVE SO MANY RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIALS, PATTERNS AND FITS THAT MIGHT BE NEW TO OUR INDUSTRY.”
TLD & ADIDAS
How long did you need for the Ultra gear to come to fruition? About two years to make. A lot of testing. We’d get prototypes and test them with our riders and work out what worked and what didn’t, tweak it, use different materials all the way up until the point where we came up with Ultra.
FEATURE Adidas is obviously a huge global brand spending million and millions on other sports and athletes. How did you find the attitude to motocross and a niche scene compared to something like football or athletics? I think they wanted to look at something that was a little bit different, an opportunity. A couple of guys on their team over there are huge moto fans and ride. They started working with Troy and really liked what we were doing and the fact that our brand is pretty unique with the art and the design. They thought they could help us evolve the gear, and that gear for us is limited edition and sells out very quickly. The global response is amazing,
especially in Europe with all the interest and traction. It has been really good marketing for us as well as our partners. The formation of the Adidas and TLD names is quite a big thing for the industry so it must be tempting to want to go much bigger, especially with the resources they have… For sure…but we really wanted to keep it limited. We feel that it makes it specialIt’s an interesting philosophy though because it’s like holding the key to a big door and only slightly opening it… Yeah, besides the gear we just came out with some shoes so there are little things that
we’ll keep doing but overall we wanted to keep it special: that’s the goal. Just generally, how is TLD pushing towards the end of the decade and into the next? We are really putting an emphasis on our art, which has been one of our key trademarks for the decades that Troy has been in business. It is about combining the technology and work with safety of the products with the art and style in bike, moto and sportswear. We are really focussing on that. We have a wide demographic; from kids that are 5-6 to 60-70 year old guys that still ride. Our motto has always been ‘Mild and Wild’: we we’ll always have
young graphics and colours that will capture attention; once we have that part of the market and have them liking and ‘into’ our gear then it is easier to create some brand loyalty as the rider and customer gets older.
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that gear that is a little more tuned down but then we also want the wild stuff. If you look at Mountain bike or Supercross Troy always wants what he calls the ‘TV package’ the gear that will standout and you think ‘wow’. Whether they buy it or not, it gets their attention. That’s what TLD has been known for. We’ll always try to push the envelope. Another priority is the youth side and we are always trying to capture some of that youth market and that means always looking at new and young blood on the artistic side with that fresh vibe to it. We’re evolving in one aspect and bringing in some new tastes in others. We won’t rest on our laurels and we will look for the
AMA BLOG
TWO DOWN... Round two of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships just wrapped up at the Pala Raceway in Southern California and we didn’t get a lot of questions answered in the wake of round one. Some great rides however, and it’s funny though because only four motos in and there are some riders and teams that definitely need to be looking for the panic button. Let’s dive into it yeah? -One rider that seems to be immune from issues so far is Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac. The defending champion rode amazingly to win both motos and has three out of four to start the year. At Pala he rode steady for the first half of the first moto in fifth, then fourth and then third place. From there he hit the afterburners and zipped around Honda’s Ken Roczen (the early leader) and Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin. It was quite a performance and some big names that he zapped along the way. Second moto he stalked Musquin for a while before deciding that was it, he wanted another chequered flag. Tomac looked to be on his game all day long and if he keeps that up, it’s going to be a long summer for everyone else.
-Adam Cianciarulo claimed his third career 250MX national and coming off his win last week, he has proven that he’s figured this outdoor game. Always a better indoor rider than out, Adam’s circulated with the poise of a veteran out there and his fitness seems to be on point as well. We believe that AC will be on a 450 at the Kawasaki truck next year so what if he goes out of 250’s with the title that no one thought he could get? What a story that would be? Long way to go but Cianciarulo, like Osborne in his title year, seems to have the maturity and fitness to salvage any bad situation that happens to him.
-Justin Cooper of the Star Yamaha squad was fast all day at Pala in both practices and he streaked off with the first moto win. Second moto wasn’t as good, he scored a fourth but it was a second overall on the day for the kid. Incredibly, Cooper has yet to win a 250SX or MX race but has a ton of podiums. The win is coming, no doubt about it but for now, the kid has to wait. -We wondered about Ken Roczen and this virus he’s dealing with in terms of the nationals. If you’re not physically on your game outdoors, well it could be a long summer. Well, he won last week and looked great. He told us that he’s figured out the issues which he thinks came from taking antibiotics after the burns from the lime back in San Diego. And it looked like he was right.
By Steve Matthes
This weekend he was checked out in moto one before being caught by Tomac and Musquin and in the second moto he finished third. Third overall for Roczen is good on paper but had he been 100% physically, there’s no way he gets caught like that in moto one. So we’ll wait and see how #94 rebounds from this in Colorado this weekend. -Zach Osborne and Jason Anderson, teammates on the Rockstar Husqvarna team, have battled hard in three out of the four motos this season. Osborne says that they both joke about it and there are no hard feelings. Which is great because it’s been intense for both of them. Osborne’s close to winning a moto, or at least getting second behind Tomac if he can start out front while Anderson has been impressive with limited time to get ready for mx after injuring himself in supercross. -The relationship between MX Sports and Glen Helen (the track) in Southern California can best be described as complicated. For years Glen Helen was
the track in Southern California for the national but issues arose between the promoter MX Sports and Glen Helen and they split for a few years. The subsequent venues that MX Sports went to weren’t great (Lake Elsinore) or had issues (Pala and the traffic flow) while the USGP’s that Glen Helen hosted were a friends and family only deal. Both sides realized they needed each other and an agreement was reached for the past few years to have the national there. Well, more tensions between the sides caused another split and we were back at Pala (but with improved traffic flow). Glen Helen people know they have the heritage and the hills so they’re not easy to deal with according to many people that have. Pala is less of a track but having said that, it’s still got some elevation and I enjoyed the departure from the usual track prep. The surface was left harder and more towards it’s natural state. Crowd looked good also. Will this be the permanent home of the series in SoCal? I’m not sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if both Glen Helen
and MX Sports finally divorce each other, it just doesn’t seem like either side wants much to do with the other.
PRODUCTS www.ktm.com
ktm It’s been two years since KTM launched a new Enduro range with fanfare and highlighted their new two-stroke fuel-injected technology. The Austrians have not sat back on their previous efforts and are striding ahead, as much with their dirt bike R&D as they are on the Street and road racing side. The 2020 Enduro line-up has ample two-stroke choice with the new 150 TPI to go with the 250 and the 300 (all meeting important Euro4 emission regulations). The four-strokes span 250 EXC-F, 350, 450 and 500 and there is the premium Six Days model (littered with Powerparts upgrades) and the limited edition 300 TPI Ezrbergrodeo (just 500 units). The new generation is fairly comprehensive with re-designed chassis’, new and more efficient engines with reworked cooling and exhaust systems, airboxes, handlebars, Brembo brakes and much more.
FEATURE
THE TRUE
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP/Alpinestars
CALLING
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“[MAVERICK] VIÑALES IS REALLY FAST, SO IS [JACK] MILLER. I HAVE NOT SEEN MARC [MARQUEZ] RIDING IN PERSON BUT CAN TELL HE IS FAST. QUARTATARO ALSO...”
Andrea Dovizioso, 33 years young in March and now seven years on the fierce Desmosedici, is once again Marc Marquez’ principal threat in Grand Prix. ‘Dovi’ has to cope with one of the most talented motorcyclists to have graced the FIM world championship grid and the Italian – as the second oldest racer in the class – is vastly decorated himself with 22 wins (and almost 100 podiums) in all categories. Andrea smiles when we explain our interview slot is about motocross. We’ve spoken before about current themes in MXGP and Supercross usually before or after the daily media debriefs that routinely take place in the room below us. This is the first time we’d like to learn more about #4’s story and why he’s become almost obsessive about dirt bike racing
again among a pool of peers in MotoGP that cannot get enough of the mud. His face darkens a little when he explains that he can only ride “twice a month” but I still recall the relaxed expression of wonderment when I bumped into him in the Nashville Supercross paddock in April just before the Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin. Rather than discussing Ducati’s potential or forward-thinking approach to aerodynamics or how Marquez can possible be beaten…the chance to talk MX doesn’t seem like such a bugbear for a part of the job that riders traditionally find to be a chore. What are your earliest memories of motocross? I remember very, very well because that was my first time on the bike. I was ‘born’ on a track because my father raced, so from the first months, as a family, we were around race tracks. I was playing with the bicycle as a kid at home and it was some of the best moments because the family’s job was in the same place as the house so we had a small garden and I could ride this bicycle easily and my father could prepare a really small track. I was still four years old and had learner wheels! Of course I saw my Dad with a motorbike and I wanted one
as well, so I pushed for it. I was told if I could ride the bicycle without the learner wheels then I could have one. It happened immediately and I remember this well because – I don’t recall many days afterwards it was – but he gave me a bike as a surprise. He called me to come out of the house and it was dark, already the evening, and I opened the door and the bike was there! It was a Malaguti: red and blue. I can remember that emotion: it must be like scoring a goal in a cup final it was so strong and so nice. I started to ride that small track in the garden and at tracks where my father was racing. Fortunately I still have the bike at home! I have a friend who is a couple of years older who still races motocross at a low level and he also started with the same, used bike so he helped me and now I have one again. Was there a time when you lost some of the love of it? Maybe a scary crash or an injury? Never, never. How did you get better? Did you have someone showing you or a friend you rode with? I raced motocross but we were also riding the pocketbikes a lot. I finished second in a regional MX championship and I did some Italian Championship races but I never made a full season. I was
DOVI ON MOTOCROSS
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here is a wide and shiny view from the top of the Mission Winnow Ducati hospitality in the heart of the Jerez paddock. We have scaled the structure and traversed a narrow walkway to reach a terrace area complete with sofas and tables. The sun is shining brightly and reflections bounce off the sumptuous collection of brightly coloured units that have been assembled together for the first time this year in MotoGP.
FEATURE good but nothing special. Not like [Tony] Cairoli…who was also racing at that time. My speed was good but not great and I stopped for some years because of MotoGP. I started again in 2005 and after that my passion grew again yearby-year but in the last fourfive years it increased a lot. I follow everything with a lot of detail, all the races and the practices. I bought the TV package to see all the Supercross and I can also see the Free and Qualifying Practices. I watch all the races – sometimes a day later – just to understand the riders; not only to see the result. I really enjoy that. I love seeing and working out how the riders approach every situation. The same for motocross [MXGP] I’m really involved. I think this has improved my speed in the last four years and I try to ride as much as I can now. Recently I have found a really fast rider – Danilo [Petrucci, teammate] – and most of the time he is faster than me! We are training together now…so I am really complaining about that! But that’s the reason why I wanted to work with him because he is really good and motivated. [Maverick] Viñales is really fast also, so is [Jack] Miller. I have not seen Marc [Marquez] riding in person but can tell he is also fast.
In MotoGP you are one of the best in the world but when you are on a dirtbike with people like Cairoli or Alessandro Lupino or those who are Pros, where and how do see they are better than you? The biggest difference right from the beginning is the
on the bike and I am angry about that. I would love to do more but I cannot because of the MotoGP and I have to get everything right for that. That’s normal. Talking more about the intensity: you see how the good guys can play with the bike, how they land through the bumps. It is all so amazing. How they scrub those jumps…also their line choice and the way they ride on a race weekend: we simply cannot do it. The level is something else. We never test or train in those conditions
“YOU SEE HOW THE GOOD GUYS CAN PLAY WITH THE BIKE, HOW THEY LAND THROUGH THE BUMPS. IT IS ALL SO AMAZING. HOW THEY SCRUB THOSE JUMPS…ALSO THEIR LINE CHOICE: WE SIMPLY CANNOT DO IT.” intensity. It is the first big thing. I mean, there is a way to ride very smooth - and it is the way everybody tries to achieve - but they have a lot of hours on the bike, and they are used to moving the bike and the body in that way and find the intensity quickly and not drop it – like us – in five minutes. The more intense you can be the more you can improve your riding, your position and a lot of things. If you can push for [only] seven minutes then it is too short a time to learn and improve. What I miss is hours
and we’d be twenty seconds slower. On an easier track – like the ones we actually use for riding – then maybe it is eight seconds. One of the nice parts of the Cairoli story is how a skinny Sicilian kid moved to Belgium and became one of the best sand riders in the world because he immersed himself in that environmentExactly. Is sand a nightmare for you? At the moment a little bit! If you can only ride twice a month…[then you won’t get
DOVI ON MOTOCROSS
Bradley Smith? Four-five years ago I know Bradley was fast [then]. [Fabio] Quartataro also. There are quite a few and in the end I think these guys really wanted to race [motocross].
FEATURE
the practice] if you are born in or around a sandy track then it is a different story. For me it is not quite the moment. When was the last time you raced? Every year we create a small charity race in December; the first weekend we have free then we are racing! How is the dynamic or even the mentality compared to how you approach a MotoGP race? Oh, everything is different! The mentality, and the way you approach the training and the race, the bike. There is not a single similar thing.
What about the level of fun? No! For me motocross is way-more fun. 450 or 250? 250 because I don’t really have enough power or intensity for the 450 and the tracks we use are not right. The 450 is OK in America and when I travel there I usually take the 350. The tracks and jumps are too small in Europe. It’s not fun. I remember you picking up a Rinaldi-race spec Yamaha in your Tech3 days. Your name and position in MotoGP must have helped towards
some decent dirtbike kit and opportunities… For sure! I am lucky. Just recently, when I went to America, I received all the best stuff from Alpinestars to go riding, a bike and good access to Supercross to speak with all the riders. It [MX/SX racing] is another world compared to ours and is easy [for access]. I think they also like to see a MotoGP rider that is passionate for their sport. It’s easy to
Marc has a good story about going to one of the Grands Prix at Bellpuig in the early ‘00s and seeing Mickael Pichon and Stefan Everts racing. He has those strong memories as a kid. Were you also affected by seeing and watching others?
I followed the races but as a kid my Dad never really took me to see many, in motocross or MotoGP. I think you will see many of the current guys here have a photo with Valentino when they were younger! Their parents brought them to the world championship and those photos of him in the paddock exist: that never happened to me because we were racing pocketbikes and we never really had the contact with this world. It seemed like a place far away from our
world. A different story. When I see the photos of Quartararo, Viñales and Marquez with Rossi is seems very strange to me. Valentino finished the pocketbike races when we started but there was never really the possibility. Time’s up. The next set of journalists have already scaled the Ducati terrace and are waiting patiently. Andrea has already completed an unusual pre-event media opportunity at the Fundación Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (an equestrian school) and the Thursday schedule of non-racing matters is in full flow. Dovi is appreciated among journalists for the way he can articulate what MotoGP feels like, and the almost-scientific approach riders need to live in the acute margins of performance necessary for success. It does seem as if we just nicked the surface when it comes to similar thoughts on motocross, his impressions of the technicality behind it and contrasted to his day job between Friday-Sunday. Mission Winnow Ducati might be asked for a ‘part two’.
DOVI ON MOTOCROSS
speak with them. Sometimes the mechanics from the Rinaldi team text and tell me where they are going to test or train and if I have time I will go. It’s really nice.
PRODUCTS
www.scott-sports.com
scott sports For those trainers in need of trainers, Scott have reworked their slim but quality offerings of runner’s footwear with the new Kinabalu RC 2.0 shoe. The most striking aspect of the trailing product is the yellow colour – you certainly won’t go amiss with this shade – but there is also design thinking in the construction. The sole is engineered with different ‘cleats’ to maximum traction; Scott say the ‘outsole is optimised for fast efficient running on man made trails’. We have a pair and the shoe is light and flexible and the Kinetic foam apparently returns 14% more energy than standard EVA. There is also an internal fit system to ensure those blisters remain elusive.
Photo: R. Schedl
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FEATURE
THE CHAMPION’S FIT
HOW ANSWER USE THE UNIQUE SKILLS OF RYAN VILLOPOTO AND HOW MX2 WORLD CHAMP JORGE PRADO LIKES TO GET DRESSED FOR WORK By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/Answer
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ne of the most proactive and appealing gear brands to come out of the United States is Answer with a forty-two year existence and some genuinely great liveries and athletes in that stable. Today Answer cannot be ignored in MXGP thanks to the Red Bull KTM duo of Tony Cairoli and Jorge Prado ruling both classes of the current championship and having used a spread of Answer kit for the last two years. In the United States the firm count
on the JGR Yoshimura team and have no less than Ryan Villopoto as one of their figureheads and developers. We caught up with Brand Manager Randy Valade to talk about Villopoto’s growing influence and role at the Los Angeles-based company and also MX2 World Champion Jorge Prado about the gear itself and the using the midlevel Elite product.
Randy, it’s two years now with Ryan so have you been able to fine tune how you use him and also what he might want out of the association? So initially we brought him on as a brand ambassador. We all know his background and that he was one of the best to have ridden a motorcycle at that point. He was looking for a brand he could do fun stuff for and that’s how it came about with Answer. We are using him for a lot of content creation
I guess it is good in some ways, although it can be harsh for our designers! At the end of the day it is fun and since he has been with Answer he’s done some races but also some off-road stuff and Yamaha have given him a WR. We did a 2021 photoshoot at Beaumont with Nick Wey. Is there a difference between his role and Nick’s? Yeah, Nick is more of a tester. He speaks very well with our dealers and reps as well so we use him at some of our trade shows. It is a little bit of a different role but we still use Nick for content creation. He is our go-to test guy with anything new that comes in. He’s also been overseeing the rig for the Answer Grassroots tour at events.
“I THINK RYAN WOULD AGREE THAT IT IS CRAZY TO SEE THE DEVELOPMENT OF FABRICS NOW COMPARED TO EVEN A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. Is it tempting to get Ryan in at an earlier point and call on that elite level experience? Maybe use him at the ideas stage? Yeah. He was just here looking at some helmet designs and comps for a product that we are looking to bring out in two years time. We bring him in and he checks them out.
He saw a few things on the helmet today that even we didn’t notice so it’s good to have his expertise and he is still very knowledgeable about what is going on in the market with motorcycle products. A small example? So for this helmet it was the angle of the bottom of the shell and a comment about the visor that might help with ventilation. He initially liked the midrange Elite riding gear didn’t he? Yeah, he tried a bit of everything but is now stuck with Trinity: our high-end stuff. That’s his go-to, but when he first came on-board he loved the mid-range. We stuck some Syncron on him for the photoshoot – our entry-level gear – and he liked that too. That’s our big focus: to make sure we have a good fit across the range and that it is very similar. Obviously there are different materials and fabrics involved but we want that uniform fit across the platform. Maybe it is more of a question for Ryan but riding gear must have evolved since he last pulled on a pair of race pants in anger… Right! Definitely. I think when he first pulled on the Trinity pant he wasn’t prepared for how stretchy and comfortable it would be. I think he would
ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO
and development of the new products: he is obviously very knowledgeable about products from his experience and years in the sport. We show him new designs and concepts and he always has a lot of good feedback. He’s very upfront and doesn’t beat around the bush! If he doesn’t like something then he tells us, some of our guys will give some input and might suggest ways to change an item whereas he’ll just tell us it sucks and we have to alter it.
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ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO PRADO: “LAST YEAR I WOULD USE A PAIR OF GLOVES ONCE BEFORE I GO RACING: THEY’D GO INTO THE WASHING MACHINE AND THEN THEY’D BE READY! I’M NOT SURE WHY BUT THIS YEAR I LIKE THEM BRAND NEW AND OUT OF THE PACKET.”
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agree that it is crazy to see the development of fabrics now compared to even a couple of years ago. Can the market sustain the range of options for the customer now? From cheaper gear to this expensive highperformance stuff: is there perhaps too much choice? I think it is tough because there are a lot of brands going down the ‘athletic fit’ route and we do with our Trinity stuff. Is there a huge market for it? I don’t think so. There are a handful of racers that prefer that product but let’s be honest we are selling most of our product to guys who just want to ride for fun and who might not be in the shape to really make the most of the high-end stuff. Some brands are heading in that direction and maybe they see the market in a different way to what I do. We create these elite products that the athletes want to wear but we know we’ll sell the entry level and mid-level stuff and maybe the customer has seen Trinity on the track or TV and wants to see more. That must be hard for development as well because you want to pour time and resources into something like Trinity or prototypes but then most of the business is coming from other products… That’s right. It is a bit of a double-edged sword at the end of the day! We want to keep moving forward with new technology and we’re working on something now for 2021 on the higher-end platform with one eye on the fact that we won’t sell a ton of it…but we will sell what we order. Hopefully someone will see what we are doing and it will make them want to check out something from Answer in the stores
ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO
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Jorge, this is the second Grand Prix year with Answer. Honestly: impressions? It’s two years now and overall I’m really happy for a couple of reasons: it’s really light and keeps me fresh. This is important, especially when the temperatures go up during the summer. Sometimes you really feel that you need some fresh air when you are riding. I also love the colours. When you are training and riding every other day it can be boring to always
have the same stuff. It actually gives you some motivation to go onto the track when you look good and can wear different colours and combinations. The designs are cool and in my case I like to wear different things. It can be tricky at KTM to have many alternative colours but we still have special liveries coming during the season.
Are you fussy about what you ask from Answer? No real special demands. We ride with the product that Answer sell. We check the sizes, and then it is good to go riding. In the beginning the
point between loose/easy and the new generation of tighter fitting. It’s really comfortable.
Are you a fan or are you indifferent to the tighter athletic fit of race gear these days? The Answer gear has a good thing going because it looks tight but at the same time it isn’t. They found a decent
goes up I’m making sure they are as tight as they can be on my hands. I really want a good feeling on the gas, clutch and brake. Answer has many different models and they have changed the design as well
Is the distance from Answer in the USA ever a factor? The link with the U.S. is good and that was a surprise for me; they like to involve the riders in their projects and Do you get through a lot of their new product. We test product? How many sets in a it all as well as some protoGrand Prix weekend for exam- types and can advise on fit ple? and dimensions. It’s the first I’m lucky that we get enough brand where I’ve been able to material! For sure we try to do that kind of testing. I also use it until they almost break use the chest protector and but we have enough and we Answer socks. use good material all the time in training and a fresh set at Is there anything you are esthe GPs. The quality is good pecially picky about? because the material is strong I’m very particular with the and I have never broken any gloves. I like them really tight. pants or a shirt. When the 15 second board
as the colours for next year. It’s another thing we can test. Last year I would use a pair of gloves once before I go racing: they’d go into the washing machine and then they’d be ready! I’m not sure why but this year I like them brand new and out of the packet. Completely fresh!
ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO
jersey was kinda tight around my arms and I was worried about arm-pump but it’s not a problem and I was even a little surprised about that. The fit of the pants is just right – again we use off-the-hanger stuff – and even with the full knee brace it fits good.
PRODUCTS www.ride100percent.com
100% Any visitors to the OTOR website would have seen our recent small article on 100%’s Armega. To summarise, the American firm have created and launched a new flagship goggle that they claim is ‘unparalleled performance for the modern racer’ and ‘the most sophisticated moto goggle ever made’. That sophistication comes through the resistant UltraHD lens clarity – the clearest view yet in a range of light and conditions – six moulded lenslocking tabs that are integrated in a very slim but strong frame that boasts a climate control system through the vents. Elements such as fetching design, removable noseguards, 3D foam and a wide field of vision are a given.
It will be 100%’s priciest moto goggle yet but the Armega goes directly into competition for performance and recognition with Scott’s Prospect and Oakley’s Airbrake. The website explains more and outlines all the specs and advantages and looks the business. Have a click.
TTH HRRIILL LL YOU R
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GOING PLACES IN A HURRY
BRANDS, COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS MOVING AT PACE IS SOMEHOW THE ESSENCE OF MOTOGP AND WITH A MUCH LARGER AND RENEWED PRESENCE REV’IT HAVE STEPPED UP TO JOIN THE PARTY IN 2019. By Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP
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he Dutch company formed in 1995 and have ten years in Grand Prix thanks to their leathers and protection and are now pushing strong. “This Racing Technology Centre represents us stepping up our game,” says MD and Founder Ivan Vos from inside the confines of the dark, plush and brand new double-tiered facility in the Jerez paddock for what is the unveiling of REV’IT’s emblematic statement. “We want to lead and not follow.”
“We will do that by being authentic and innovative and we are investing in MotoGP not only for marketing but for development.” Vos created REV’IT after succeeding with an importation company in Holland and identified that the choice for motorcycling gear was either pretty poor or very expensive. “We try to capture the excitement of riding motorcycles but also bring an eye for detail to our products at an affordable price point,” he states.
An example of how REV’IT accelerated quickly can be see by the structure of their 5000m2 facility in Oss where they have amassed a modern storage and shipping facility, office space, R&D basins and then amenities like a gym, diner and studio where employees can take a 21st century approach to vocation and play. “We have created our own world for work and relaxation,” Vos says.
REV’IT & MotoGP
REV’IT grew. They established an in-house lab to rattle through a portfolio of products, distribution in seventy countries, an office in New York and a staff roster of more than a hundred people. Over time they sought deals with companies and manufacturers like Gore-Tex, Tryonic, Ducati, Yamaha and Husqvarna and won prizes on the way for their design. REV’IT soon became an accessible firm and one renowned for quality and diligence.
FEATURE
The R&D dept – formulated in 2016 - boast machines (the Darmstadt) and means to carry out simulation tests on products and materials for abrasion and other demands that motorcyclists might have. Alpinestars have famously opened up their lab for media eyes and where a full range of trials on things like steps, resistance, decolourisation, temperature, buckle closing and impact testing (to pass CE rules), and REV’IT have realised that the same spec and technology frame of reference is essential for top-drawer
product evolution that have to tick boxes of safety, protection, style and value for money. For REV’IT this also includes 3D printing. The company expanded in line with their catalogue and road racing was a part of that projection. Their first official rider deal was with Randy De Puniet in 2008; “this first year was really good because I crashed a lot!” the Frenchman joked. Kenan Sofuoglu gave them world championship credence and they now have six prominent racers
“It’s been six years together now and it was around the time when riders were really starting to scrape the elbow for the first time,” says Petrucci. “It’s really nice to be part of the development because they are a brand that follow the riders closely and put them in the best conditions.” “We have confidence, and we know that we are regarded as a world leader for Adventure riders but in the eyes of people for sport we know this might be Alpinestars or Dainese,” says Egbers. “So we want to change the mindset of the consumer by doing something different.” “We are like three or four brands in one,” he continues. “We want to appeal to the commuter, the sports guy, the enthusiast and the Adventurer. There is no platform in the world better for reach to the sports market than MotoGP.” REV’IT use words like innovation and ambition but seem to be backing them up with a flurry of action and intent. The spotless black RTC unit in the paddock is just one facet how they view MotoGP as a passport to more prominence.
REV’IT & MotoGP
most notably Danilo Petrucci and Alvaro Bautista. “We select riders based on their profile and whether they will fit into our family, it sounds cheesy but we want people to be a part of our vision and process,” says Global Marketing Director Egbert Egbers.
MOTOGP BLOG
THE NEXT STEP FOR GREATNESS? Five races in, and Marc Márquez looks well on his way to the 2019 MotoGP crown. On a bike which is fast, but harder to ride – see the results of Cal Crutchlow for a comparison – Márquez is finding new ways to win, new ways to beat his rivals. He makes winning look easy – he has led for about 70% of laps raced – and his margin of victory is convincing. Even after slowing down to celebrate, he won by 9.8 seconds in Argentina, 1.6 seconds in Jerez, and nearly 2 seconds at Le Mans. He also crashed out of the lead in Austin, when he was nearly 4 seconds ahead. He is tearing up the record books too. His current tally of premier class victories stands at 47, level with Jorge Lorenzo, who is in his thirteenth season compared to Márquez’ seventh. He has 73 wins in all Grand Prix classes, just three behind Mike Hailwood. In premier class victories, he has only Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, and Mick Doohan ahead of him. In total GP wins, only Rossi, Ago, and Angel Nieto have more. At 26 years of age, it seems like
only a matter of time before he catches them. Or will he? Extrapolating future success from previous seasons can be a dangerous affair. In the six seasons between 2000 and 2005, Valentino Rossi racked up 53 wins. But he had grown bored of doing it so easily, even after switching from Honda to Yamaha and winning first time out on the M1 as well. He toyed with the idea of a switch to F1, lost sight of development of the Yamaha M1, and ending up claiming just 5 races in 2006, compared to 11 in 2005. He lost the 2006 title to Nicky Hayden in an unforgettable season ending. Rossi was 27 years old at the time. Could this happen to Marc Márquez? So far, there is no sign of his motivation starting to lag. He is as dedicated and concentrated now as he has ever been. Outside distractions are eschewed, even romantic ones, despite reports of various amorous
liaisons. Yes, Márquez has driven an F1 car, but he has shown no desire to actually pursue a career on four wheels. He rides flat track and MX bikes to train, and because still loves it. His heart is clearly still in MotoGP. Will Márquez ever need to find extra motivation? At the moment, winning itself is motivation enough. He has shown no interest in statistics or records, just in winning, and in finding new strategies, new approaches, new ways. Outfoxing his rivals is as rewarding as beating them outright. “Sometimes you need to find different strategies for your opponents,” he said at Le Mans. “If not, everybody expects you to do the same. If somebody is doing something new, in some races pushing from the beginning, in another race saving the tire, you don’t know if he’s saving or pushing.”
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But once Márquez proves to himself that he can beat his rivals in any way he chooses, will he seek out fresh challenges? He has reason to stay loyal to Honda. After the 2015 season, he started to exert his influence over HRC, asking for changes to be made to development and testing programs, to ways of working, even to senior personnel. HRC obliged; they know that right now, they need Márquez to win titles, and do not want to lose him. Márquez has bent HRC to his will, and that is a valuable prize. Perhaps money will tempt Márquez away. Ducati tried to poach the Spaniard ahead of the 2019 season, but he opted to remain with the Repsol Honda team. KTM can ask Red Bull for almost any number Márquez should care to think of, and probably double it. But Márquez has never shown a mercenary streak. He gets paid plenty – since Jorge Lorenzo left Ducati, he’s probably the best-paid rider on the grid – but money can’t buy you race wins and MotoGP titles, and those are the only things that count for Marquez.
By David Emmett
Would he switch to Ducati to dismiss the comparisons with Valentino Rossi, and criticisms that he has only won on with Honda? Maybe if Rossi himself were to start the goading. Márquez seems immune to fan criticism, but if Rossi started playing up the point that he won on two different bikes, that might just work. But even then, Márquez’ priority is simple: winning more races, winning more titles. In that, Márquez is more like Mick Doohan than Valentino Rossi or Jorge Lorenzo. More like Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, whose love of winning was so immense that they nicknamed him The Cannibal. His hunger for race wins is greater than for fresh challenges. I suspect that the only way we will see Marc Márquez with a different manufacturer is if Honda can no longer satisfy his appetite for victory.
FEATURE
nature By Steve English, Photos by GeeBee Images
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FEATURE
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or four years in WorldSBK Jonathan Rea has been King. That might not be the case any longer (despite the recent rally at Imola). Alvaro Bautista is the man poised to perform regicide and ascend to the throne. The Ducati rider has been almost unbeatable this year. In hot or cold conditions, at ‘stop and go’, or even flowing race tracks he has asserted his dominance. It has been as impressive as it has been unprecedented. You can’t help but be impressed by Bautista. If he were a chess piece he’d be the Queen. He’s the most valuable piece because he can move in any direction and put itself anywhere on the board. In Assen Race 1 we saw this illustrated perfectly, as he ducked and weaved behind Rea probing for an opening. He was able to hold tighter lines or long sweeping lines. He was able to try and roll through corners with high corner speed, or try and out-drag his rivals. A jack of all trades... and a master of them too. Is he that much more talented than his new rivals? Of course not, but he has been developed and nurtured in a very different environment. What is it that makes Marc Marquez special? His otherworldly ability to save a crash is amazing, his ability to think
on the fly and adapt to conditions is hugely impressive but it’s his commitment that really impresses. Every corner of every lap of every session of every round of every season, he’s on the absolute edge. For the seven times world champion that’s eleven years of Grand Prix competition, in addition to his time in the Spanish CEV championship where he cut his teeth. For thirteen years he’s known nothing other than having his back to the wall and coming out swinging. Anything less, and he’s be nowhere. That’s what the Spanish championship and 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP has taught him. “It’s instilled in us,” explained former peer Bradley Smith. “Am I surprised that Alvaro is doing what he’s doing? No I’m not because he was riding so well when he left MotoGP. He was at the height of his career at that point. I don’t want to be disrespectful to any of the Superbike guys, but their system is different. In the Grand Prix paddock from when you’re 15 or 16 years old you’re wide open from the first lap you hit the track. You have to stay at that level and it gets ingrained in you.” “Year on year you get better. Playing with that 98-99% level because if you don’t ride at it, you don’t get a job next year. It’s so finely tuned.
“He might take it down 5% but that’s the maximum he’ll ever do because he needs to ride at that level. If he’s below that he’ll make mistakes. He’ll get the jitters because it’s not natural. He’d start making mistakes because he’s not at his usual intensity. It speaks for itself and the proof is in how the race unfolds, how his lap times are, and how the gap is to the guys behind.” Bautista might have taken longer than a lot of rivals to reach the Grand Prix paddock - he was 18 years of age - but he was forged in the red hot nature of the Spanish 125GP championship. At the time, young riders looking to establish themselves raced full seasons in both the world and national series’. In 2002 he was runner-up to Hector Barbera in Spain, while his rival was finishing the season as a regular front runner on the world stage.
The following year Bautista dominated in Spain by winning the final five races. He finished on the podium in every one and was only beaten by Jorge Lorenzo and Tom Luthi. In full terms of both Grand Prix and the CEV championship, Bautista had established himself as one to watch. He looked to be the coming man in 125GP after podiums in 2004, but he stumbled thereafter. Entering the 2006 season was make or break. He needed to win the championship or else he risked falling through the cracks. It’s hard not to see similarities to this season. Claiming the 125GP title rejuvenated his career. He was always a front-runner in 250GP and showed plenty of flashes in the premier class. The ‘down’ years taught him how to dig deeper in every session, and what needs to be done if you’re to make it in the Grand Prix paddock. “There are so many external things that affect riders,” continued Smith. “Just from talking about myself and how I’ve approach racing. It’s been the same since I was 14 or 15 in the Spanish championships. Now for riders it’s even earlier! They’ve been racing in the same way since they were eight years old. When they turn up in the juniors, these kids are flat out from six, seven or eight years old.
ALVARO BAUTISTA
I can’t explain how much of a difference that is but you’ve got to believe that if something has been that way for 15 years, 20 years however long, it becomes normal. That’s why we see it in the SBK races. He can’t ‘not’ do it! He goes and goes and has to keep riding like that. He might open 1.5s and you see him eight or nine laps into the race and he has a 10-second lead and he keeps pulling away.”
FEATURE That’s why the kids are going to be even better than we are: I believe that.” That crucible of development is different to what the majority of Superbike riders have come through. Bautista - and others that have come through the Grand Prix paddock in general - don’t have more natural talent than their new rivals but they are conditioned differently. If Rea or Michael van der Mark, Tom Sykes or Alex Lowes traversed the Grand Prix paddocks as kids, there’s little doubt that their talent level would have been enough to make an impact. The difference is that in 125GP, if you weren’t on that absolute limit you’d
struggle to score points. The same would not have been the case in British national championships, or even the World Supersport series. That’s not a ‘knock’ on either of those championships at all either. The top talent in any competition are, and have always been, world class. The difference is depth. When you combine the mentality that riders develop in Grand Prix racing and the clear advantages that the brand new Ducati V4R has, it’s clear that it creates a perfect storm for Bautista to show his ability. He’s not the best rider to come across from MotoGP in recent years, but he is the one that comes across in the best cir-
cumstances. Would he achieve what he’s achieved with a Honda like Nicky Hayden? Of course he wouldn’t. The same could be said for every bike on the grid. WorldSBK might be looking to create some parity with regulations but it is production based. The Ducati V4R is the newest bike on the market, has the most power and is the most expensive base bike on the road. It should be the best bike. And it is. Bautista is showing himself to be a rider that is best suited to getting the most from it too. His adaptation to the Pirelli tyres has been incredible but it’s also been helped by the development direction of the
It’s the polar opposite of what we’ve seen as successful in recent years. Have a look at Rea or Chaz Davies: they brake deep and hard and try and spend as little time on the edge of the tyre as possible. Now look at Bautista’s style. He’s flat out every corner of every lap but he’s also looking after his tyres.
He’s doing that with his style and his electronics. The Ducati is great package and he’s riding it like a 250cc Grand Prix machine. He left MotoGP feeling that it was a missed opportunity. He was riding better than ever and went to WorldSBK with a chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove the doubters wrong. Bautista’s issue in MotoGP wasn’t that he wasn’t talented enough or fast enough it was that when the music stopped in last year’s game of musical chairs he was left standing. Hell hath no fury like a scorned rider. “Bautista is riding a race like he’s in MotoGP, wide open from the first lap, and not looking behind until
you cross the chequered flag,” Smith observes. “That’s what he is doing and why we see such good results. I don’t think we’ve seen the best from Rea yet - other than a handful of races - but that’s because he’s kind of not sure what to do moment. Does he just take loads of second places as the bike can’t compete with Bautista at the moment? He is in a no man’s land and the mentality is so different as a result. In the last three laps of every race we’ve seen the real Johnny come out, because he goes into second and pulls the gap and ends up in second.” “He’s gone toe to toe with Bautista a few times for eight or nine laps. The sprint race in Australia or race one in Thailand are the best examples. We have seen him do it, but when Bautista is a second clear at the end of Lap 1 everyone is in a fight for second straight away. It changes your approach to not being about getting the best out of what’s underneath you, it’s about getting those 20 points.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA
product. The larger profile tyres are much more similar to what he left behind MotoGP with Michelin’s tyres, except the front tyre is actually a lot stronger. He can ride a Superbike like a MotoGP bike and now he’ll be forcing the other riders, and teams, to develop their packages towards that style.
SBK BLOG
CRUCIAL TIMES... WorldSBK is in the middle of another long gap between races that makes it a little frustrating when you see all other motorcycle series in full swing. There is a test this week in Misano which will offer a couple of pointers as to where we will see things go in the coming races. There will be one new arrival at the test in the shape of the Ten Kate Yamaha R1 with Frenchman Loris Baz on board. It will be great to see the Dutch squad back at the race track but I can’t honestly see them making an immediate impact on the field given that this is the first time their racing machine will have run outside the workshop and also the first time in a fair few months that Baz will be lapping at racing speed. There is always the temptation in these instances to try and hit the track running, to be at the same pace as your peers from the outset. I hope, however, that Loris and the team ease into things gently and ‘walk’ for a few laps before trying to light the afterburners. The other intriguing thing for this test is how Kawasaki will approach it. Jonathan Rea won last time out
at Imola, in both race one and the Superpole Race, but I reckon he left Italy smarting a little at the misfortune of not being able to score a maximum in race two due to the weather and missing the opportunity to claw back more points in the title race. I go back to the start of the year when discussing the impact Bautista had made and the suggestion offered by someone close to the team that he would struggle in Imola. Ducati had taken the opportunity to test there in the weeks before the race but the Spaniard was still off the pace. Was it down to his riding style or was Alvaro just taking a measured approach to his feeling about the race track? He was vocal in his views on the Sunday that he felt the track was unsafe in the dry and therefore much worse in the wet.
Despite that win, Rea has spoken in the press about the need to improve the set up of the Ninja ZX-10RR to keep him on par, or ahead, of the Ducati. Last year, the early season test took place after Assen, in Brno, and Rea and the team found something extra that raised his level again for the rest of the season. That set him off on an incredible winning streak, with only the Yamaha’s of Van Der Mark and Lowes occupying the top step mid season. At the end of the year Rea’s crew chief Pere Riba said that in the Brno test they were able to try some changes to the bike’s set up that he had been thinking about since Buriram, and that was the first opportunity he had had to put them to the sword. We are in a similar situation again. In Motorland Aragon I spoke to Riba on Saturday night and he echoed
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that view, that there were things he would like to try but with 100 minutes of track time on a Friday, to get ready for Superpole and a race, there is no gap in a race weekend to test a change in chassis set up or engine strategy. This therefore makes the coming two days in Misano a make or break outing for the KRT squad. I expect to see Rea turning a lot of laps, working on outright speed but also race pace, making 15-20 lap runs to see how the chassis behaves on a worn tyre and lighter fuel load. If Riba’s little light bulb moments prove productive I predict a closer battle from Jerez onwards. That said Ducati are testing as well. I am sure there are areas that Bautista can improve on but I think the biggest benefit for Ducati will be a positive test for Chaz Davies. He seemed to have made friends with the V4R in Imola and the Misano test may be the opportunity for him to cement that relationship and get back to winning ways. It had been reported that Honda would not be present in Misano because HRC had not allocated a
By Graeme Brown
budget for testing, but the Moriwaki Althea Honda squad are going all in with a three rider line up. Leon Camier is still not fit after his Imola Superpole accident but they have drafted in former WorldSBK, and current BSB runner, Xavi Fores alongside All Japan JSB1000 series rider Yuki Takahashi. They will work alongside Ryiuchi Kiyonari to test the current Fireblade. It’s an interesting situation to have three riders steering a machine that is widely rumoured to be being replaced at the end of the year. However, we are now in the run up to the Suzuka 8Hr and Honda may see this as a valuable opportunity to get some extra track time under their belt for what is arguably a more important race for them. There is still speculation and rumour about how the manufacturers will approach the WorldSBK series in 2020. Will Honda give HRC free reign to develop a title winning Fireblade? Will Yamaha have a new R1 based on the M1 MotoGP machine? And will Kawasaki throw the kitchen sink at a new homologation special? Time will tell but other changes may be afoot in WorldSBK beyond the bikes themselves.
New FIM President Jorge Viegas set the cat amongst the pigeons in an interview with Polish journalist Grzegorz Jedrzejewski when he said, in relation to the historic reasons why Dorna took over the rights to promote WorldSBK in 2012, that “this is not the solution……..we in the FIM, and me in particular, are working to change that and you will have news soon……” He went on to say that ‘WorldSBK cannot be a second division of MotoGP’. Dorna supremo, Carmelo Ezpeleta, offered a very quick, and apparently, angry rebuttal of those comments saying that he knows they need to make WorldSBK more attractive but they will continue with the series. It’s an interesting and I think a valid point. For sure Dorna will be happy to continue with WorldSBK. As far as I am aware the series makes money for them in TV rights and advertising, despite it appearing to many on the outside as being a poor relation to MotoGP. It has been said in the past that WorldSBK needs revolution, not evolution. If radical solutions are needed then Dorna haven’t so far come up with the right one in the seven years of their tenure.
SBK BLOG
There has been a lot of changes in the technical regulations and the race formats over that time but nothing has raised the championship to a level that Viegas might consider it to be in the first division. I’ve said it before if there is a new media or promotion strategy that will change the world, I honestly can’t see Dorna applying it to WorldSBK ahead of MotoGP. Maybe Viegas has a point then. The big question is: is their anyone out there willing to take the Superbike championship on? However, flawed he and his FIM colleagues feel the current position is, maybe Dorna are currently the best people to keep Superbike racing at a world championship level alive and kicking. I will be watching this space very closely. One thing that makes any series successful is close, entertaining racing. We have had that in WorldSBK this year, but generally for second place. Maybe this week will see those currently vying to be the best of the rest finally make a step forward to challenge Ducati.
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FEATURE
ONE FOR THE AGES Words and Photos by Steve English AKA ‘sTTevie’
COULD THIS BE THE BEST ISLE OF MAN TT EVER? DON’T RULE IT OUT
Last year’s Isle of TT was the fastest in history. Not only did Peter Hickman smash the lap record and become the first man ever to lap at an average speed in excess of 135mph around the fabled Mountain Course we saw lap records in every class. It was a stunning festival of speed. It was beautiful and frightening. This year should see more of the same. Can Hickman move the goalposts further? Can Dean Harrison overcome the disappointment of 12 months ago when he held the lead of the Senior until the final miles? Is Michael Dunlop still the favourite? What can John McGuiness do on his comeback? What about Hutchy? Or Conor Cummins? James Hillier has finally won a Northwest 200, can he use that momentum at the TT? So many questions. When you look into the crystal ball you can see so many different answers. Over two gruelling weeks those answers reveal themselves. Practice Week and Race Week. For those two weeks a rock in the middle of the Irish Sea becomes the centre of the world. This year promises to be very special.
FEATURE
THE 135MPH MAN
WHEN PETER HICKMAN WENT TO THE ISLE OF MAN TT FOR THE FIRST TIME IT WAS BECAUSE HE HAD NO CHOICE. RACE ON THE ROADS OR STOP RACING. NOW HE’S THE MAN TO BEAT AS THE REIGNING SENIOR TT WINNER AND THE OUTRIGHT LAP RECORD HOLDER
Last year Peter Hickman completed the set. He finally added an Isle of Man TT victory to his Northwest 200, Ulster Grand Prix and Macau Grand Prix success. The 32 year old is the only rider in history to have posted a 135mph lap. He is the man to beat again this year, but how did it all come about? Hickman, from Lincolnshire, was an established British Superbike rider but his career was reaching a crucial turning point. At 27 years of age he needed to make a choice: keep finding money to go racing or face a different future. The winter of 2013 was spent ensuring he was ready for the year that would ultimately define his career.
“IS IT SCARY? FOR ME NOT REALLY. I PREPARED AND LEARNED THE TRACK. I WAS CONFIDENT IN MYSELF TO BE ABLE TO DO IT. SO I JUST KIND OF GOT ON, REALLY. AFTER MY FIRST NIGHT AT THE TT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO FIND THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE IT. DOING 190MPH DOWN A PUBLIC ROAD IS JUST AN UNREAL EXPERIENCE, BUT MOST OF ALL IT WAS A REALLY ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE.”
on the run down to University I was absolutely flat out and doing nearly 200 mph on first lap through the speed trap! I’d never been there before, but I prepared and learned the track. I knew where I was going and I knew it was a straight line. It didn’t scare me. I was confident in myself to be able to do it. So I just kind of got on, really.”
Indeed he hasn’t. Hickman is now a regular contender in BSB. He’s been into the showdown, the championship decider for the top six riders, for the last two years. Hickman is now a bonafide star of the British championship. He’s a man in demand. It’s all so very different compared to when he was forced to race on the roads initially.
“After my first night at the TT it was difficult to find the words to describe it. Doing 190mph down a public road is just an unreal experience, but most of all it was a really enjoyable experience. I felt really comfortable out there straight away, didn’t push hard and “At the time the goal was to just concentrated on learning find a way to stay in the British as much as possible. It was Championship. Unfortunately a different experience on the I couldn’t do it without a big closed roads compared to the chequebook. I’d never had one, laps I did on open roads to so I had to find another way to prepare for the TT. Obviously keep racing bikes. One of the you can use both sides of the ways I could do that, and the road, and there’s nothing comcheapest way, was to try some ing the other way! There were road racing. I didn’t fancy bumps in places I never realdoing all the kind of national ised there’d be bumps.” Irish stuff, but I fancied the Northwest, the TT, the Ulster “I was the fastest ever newand Macau. That was why I de- comer and I ended up getting cided to have a go at it. Then a good BSB ride off the back it turned out that I’m alright at of it - I’ve never looked back it!” since. With a decent BSB ride I actually won a race. People “Is it scary? For me not really. started to think ‘Oh, he can A lot of riders say they’re nerv- actually win races in BSB.’ I ous and not sure about things. never looked back from that My first ever road race was the point.” Northwest 200 in 2014, and
Making that switch at 27 also offers Hickman some perspective. Would he have raced on the roads at five or six years earlier? Probably not. Having the benefit of that added experience and extra maturity to understand his own limits allowed him to jump into the road racing crucible as a contender.
Hickman had run out of options in BSB, and with only three top five finishes in over 150 BSB starts, the phone wasn’t ringing off the hook with offers. Within a year he had turned being the fastest ever newcomer at the TT into rides that allowed him to become a BSB race winner.
“I go to the TT because I enjoy it. I go because I want to be there. I’m not going for a big cheque. I go there because I want to. Initially I went to the TT because I wanted to keep riding. At the time I was thinking, ‘what am I going to do?’ Road racing was an option. I was mature enough. I was 27 and I’d been riding big bikes for ten years. I had experience in the Superstock and Superbike classes and I felt that I had enough experience. I felt that I was mature enough in myself to not ride like a dickhead and keep myself alive.”
2019 TT: PETER HICKMAN
The following season he would tackle the international road races for the first time. Making his debut at the Northwest 200 would give him an idea of what to expect, but the TT would be the centre point of his season. It would also prove to be the turning point of his career.
FEATURE w“I don’t know what I would have been like if I went racing at the TT when I was 21 or 22 years old. I don’t think that I would have gone at that point and, to be honest, I’m not sure whether people should race over there that early. I had learned all my craft on short circuits.” “Obviously the worst can still happen at a short circuit, but in general it is pretty safe. So all my mistakes I made, all the crashes I had and all that, 99% of the time I was absolutely fine. The young lads that come here do the Irish road racing and TT and all that when they’re young, they’re making mistakes on roads with massive consequences. That’s tough. Then they don’t have the‘safety barrier’, if you like, to be able to push beyond the limit, get it wrong and understand why and how and learn from it because the consequences are so high.” Those consequences are all too easy to remember at the TT. Every stretch of road has a story. Those stories are typically not easy reading. Riding on the roads takes a commitment that few can fathom. Do racers ride with those thoughts on their mind? Do they go easier through the races? Are they riding within themselves? “The way you ride on the roads is different but you’re
“You find the limit in a different way. A lot of the corners at the TT lead onto really long straights. Any kind of corner that leads onto a long straight - and you might have a two mile straight - you need to lose a little bit going into the corner so that you can gain lots coming out. If you do that in BSB you’d get hammered because the straights aren’t that long. Because you’re making sure to setup the exit you’re braking earlier. For me I’m way more relaxed on the roads because I’m braking way earlier than where I know I could. A lot of my success on the roads comes from racing in the British championship.”
“It’s interesting for Dean Harrison and more and more of the roads riders that are doing the full BSB season now. They get the benefit of racing but they also have a problem because the focus for them is obviously on the road races but by racing in BSB the risk of crashing is higher. You push to the limit and beyond on short circuits and it can take time to figure out where that limit is. If you crash and end up hurting yourself then you could miss out on the road racing season.” “I’m the opposite; I’m a short circuit racer that comes road racing. I don’t have to worry about not hurting myself because both are just as important for me. I’ll be doing BSB and that’s my focus. Once that’s done and I’m doing a road race, it becomes my focus. If there’s another BSB I’ll do that, and then go back to a road race. It’s a bit different. The TT is the big race, for road racing at least, and it’s obviously a main focus of mine but once the TT is done it’ll be BSB on my mind again.” Will the pressure of being the favourite change things for Hickman? He’s got a target on his back as a Senior TT winner, lap record holder and the rider that came-from-behind on the last lap 12 months ago to win the biggest prize. Hickman does his best to play down that pressure.
“The TT is such a diverse place. It’s so unique. It’s so long and it goes through so many different types of tarmac and areas of the island. It changes all the time. It goes from narrow and bumpy to being wide open and smooth. It’s got uphill and downhill sections while other bits are quite flat. Some of it is blind. Some of it you can see easily. It’s very, very different.” “Before I won my first TT, I always said that the pressure was on the people that have already won races. Once you’ve won a TT you can’t really go back. You know you can win and want to do it again. Now that I’ve won one I’ve kind of changed my mind! I’m now saying, ‘I’ve won one, so now the pressure’s on the people who haven’t won one!’”
2019 TT: PETER HICKMAN
still pushing at 100%. I think that it’s a mistake to think that a short circuit rider is going at 95% when they race on the roads. You still push as hard as you can the roads, but it is different. It’s hard to explain. You don’t ride in the same way. You don’t push the front anywhere near what you do at BSB. You don’t ride the front into the corners really hard. You don’t lean over as much, because there’s not as much grip. So it’s not because you don’t want to or you aren’t able to do what short circuit riders can do. The reason it’s different is because there isn’t as much grip on the track. Without the grip you can’t ride the same.”
FEATURE
FINDING FREEDOM
LEE JOHNSTON HAS BEEN THE ‘COMING MAN’ OF ROAD RACING, ONCE A FACTORY HONDA RIDER WITH LOTS OF EXPECTATION ON HIS SHOULDERS. NOW HE’S BACK IN A ROLE THAT’S MUCH MORE SUITABLE FOR A ROAD RACING MAVERICK Ten years ago Lee Johnston was the up and coming man of Road Racing. He was a 20 year old British national champion who had started to race on the roads and was showing a lot of promise. Fast forward a few years and he had become a winner. He was on a path that would lead straight into a factory Honda pit box. He was on a path to everything any rider would ever want. Any rider that is, except for Johnston.
He’s always had a maverick streak. Fermanagh sits close to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Johnston was born into a town that had been hit by The Troubles; a time of conflict when life and death was an every day fact for his country. Now, 30 years later, he still has to factor life and death into his decisions.
“After starting on the roads I really wasn’t interested in racing short circuits again. If there was no buzz I saw no point in racing at British national level again. I had won the Superstock 600 championship and been at the front in Supersport, but I was happy to just focus on the roads. I lost all interest in short circuit racing.”
“You have to have the right of frame of mind to go racing,” reflected Johnston at the recent Northwest 200. “I did my first Northwest by accident, but I absolutely loved it. I remember going back to the British Championship after and after doing about ten laps I just thought: ‘this is shit.’ I was going absolutely flat out but thinking ‘f**k me, I’ve no interest in this at all.’ Road Racing was totally different for me. Over the next four or five years I absolutely loved it. There’s no feeling like it. We’re lucky to be doing it. You can’t book a track day at the Northwest. You can’t do a track day at the TT. There’re not many people who get to do this. It’s so special.”
“I instantly fell in love with the roads and I instantly fell out of love with short circuits. So in 2011 I stopped racing in the British Championship. I’m back racing it again this year and it’s been a lot of fun again. At the time I was probably a bit lazier; if I didn’t enjoy something I’d not do it. Now though I know that you have to do it. You can’t compete against the best guys on the roads now if you’re not riding every week. You also can’t just race at the short circuits with the goal of getting ready for the roads. These are some of the best riders in the world so if you race you need to give it everything. I want to be there and I want to do well racing in Britain. I’m back doing it and I’m back enjoying it again.”
2019 TT: LEE JOHNSTON
FEATURE Johnston is back racing in the British Supersport class and has started the season strongly. The Northwest 200 was his first road race of the season, and the experience of racing short circuits clearly helped; he claimed victory in the first Supersport of the NW200 race week. That was his fourth victory on the coast road and has set The General up nicely for the Isle of Man TT. “You can’t do well when you’re not really bothered about being there in Britain. You need to want it. I’ve proven myself so far, so it’s been good. The days of turning up for three weeks of road racing and not riding the rest of the year are long gone. You can’t just turn up and compete…well you can but the risk goes up massively. You’re not fully bike fit for really pushing the limits. Your body isn’t used to it either. Is there any other sport in the world where they don’t compete all year but expect to contend for a few events? Road Racing was a bit behind the times but it’s changed now.” Being able to race in Britain has obviously helped Johnston but there has been another factor which has impacted him much more: freedom. Riders spend their careers looking for factory contracts but sometimes the dream can become a nightmare. For Johnston the experience of being a works Honda rider was obviously one he had sought. Now though, he’s glad to have the opportunity to set his own schedule. Forming his own team – with the backing of people like XL Moto - has given him that freedom.
from the ground up, picked all these guys, all the sponsors and everything. We sorted all of this, and now I don’t look into any other tent and think about what they have. I’m completely happy. I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m not striving to have something that I can’t have or whatever. I’m wanting to make what I have the best possible.
bikes and everything else you need to go racing. Everything we have was bought over the last six months. We’ve got BMW’s for the Superbike and Superstock classes. We’ve a Yamaha for Supersport and all of our bikes were bought by us for this season. There’s nothing on them that says BMW or Yamaha. They just say Ashcourt Racing.”
“I probably used to look at the factory bikes and think that they’ve got ‘this, that and the other’. Now I don’t envy anything. I’ve built this team
“In December last year we sat down and started to get everything in motion. Between then and end of February we had bought the trucks and the
They might say Ashcourt Racing but they mean a lot more than that to Johnston. They mean liberty. The freedom to choose whom to race with,
2019 TT: LEE JOHNSTON
It’s also changed his outlook on racing. Gone are the envious looks towards other riders and teams. Now he knows that everyone around him is committed to his programme and nothing else. Having been able to handpick every member of his race team, buy the bikes and even book the ferry tickets, he feels totally different heading to TT 2019.
FEATURE where to race and when to do it. The roads are still the centre of attention but a full-time British Supersport season means that suddenly Johnston is busier than ever. Suddenly he’s feeling ready for a TT more then he can remember for a long time. Suddenly he’s a real contender once again. “I’m not going to lie, it was hard going back to short circuits for this year. There’s a different way of riding. You’re on maximum attack
all the time. You ride differently to the roads. At the TT we’re giving it everything we have but you do it in a different way. In short circuit racing you’re rubbing and bumping but on the roads you can’t ride like that. I’m enjoying the short circuit races though because it makes you sharper and fitter for the roads. I’ve been able to do a lot of laps at the Northwest 200 and not feel tired. I feel great.”
“The TT is a tough event. If the weather is good you can have so many laps in practice before the racing has even started. Then you’re hung out mentally and physically. There’s pressure all the time. You need to go in there with a good mentality. You have to be strong and fit.”
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2019 TT: LEE JOHNSTON
Around a 37.75 mile lap being strong physically is important but feeling razor sharp mentally even more so. For Johnston, a three time podium finisher at the TT, the benefit of having had so much time in the saddle this year will be twofold; he’ll be fitter than ever but he’ll also be able to deal better with the mental fatigue of the TT.
PRODUCTS
www.alpinestars.com
alpinestars/mm93 Considering Marc Marquez’ career-long association with Alpinestars it is a surprise that an official range of gear has taken this long to come to market. The world champion has a line of casual clothing with personal sponsor high street chain Pull and Bear but Alpinestars have taken the step of identifying some of the key items in their street catalogue of protection and riding garments and have applied the Marquez logo, number, design and colours (red, black and white). Some of the products are more prominent with their branding, others more subtle but it will suit fans or admirers of the best Grand Prix racer in the world.
MOTOGP BLOG
‘A RESULT THAT GIVES US WINGS’ A decent glimpse into the relentless drive within KTM could be witnessed at Jerez. Results at the start of the season may not have caught the eye but there were signs of a breakthrough. Some of the customary success in off-road disciplines (with Cooper Webb on the cusp of winning the Supercross crown, the company’s 300th title across all disciplines) must have been rubbing off. Yet there were no signs of celebration in Red Bull’s glitzy hospitality unit on Saturday evening. Motorsport Director Pit Beirer was locked away in a tense board meeting, where, along with CEO Stefan Pierer and CSO Hubert Trunkenpolz, an inquisition was allegedly underway as to the company’s grand prix failings. To borrow new signing Jorge Martin’s words, KTM’s Moto2 operation was “hoping for a miracle” after its chassis design was some way off its competitors. None of its MotoGP machines qualified in the top 15 that day, and marquee signing Johann Zarco was caught on camera saying “[either] we are f***ing s**t in chassis, or we are f***ing s**t in controlling power” the morning before.
Understandable, then, that Beirer’s first words to me were “I’m under pressure,” ahead of an interview that had been scheduled earlier that week. It was a phrase he repeated twice over the next ten minutes. But fast-forward a little over two weeks later and Pol Espargaro’s staggering sixth place at Le Mans was no finer example of how a fortnight can be an age in motorsport. Even before that tremendous showing in France – jumping to sixth on lap one from a starting place of twelfth and coming home just 5.9s back of race winner Marc Marquez – there were clear indications that KTM’s project had made significant steps forward from a disappointing 2018.
Espargaro’s top tens in Argentina (tenth) and Austin (eighth) didn’t really tell the whole story. The Catalan was 16 seconds quicker over race distance at Qatar when compared to the best-placed RC16 in 2018. At the Circuit of the Americas he shaved 14 seconds off last year’s race time. And while the winter resurfacing of Jerez played a major part in this number, Espargaro was a full 30 seconds faster over 27 race laps than KTM’s best the year before. If that’s not enough, take into account how far back he has been from the class’ leading names, often Marquez and Honda. Five races into 2018 and the average distance to the race winner was 30.3 seconds; this year it’s 18.8. Now that’s real progress.
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Even Espargaro’s championship position (ninth, a place ahead of fancied preseason pace setter Maverick Viñales) indicates as much. Le Mans displayed that, even three years into this project, KTM is still capable of making enormous steps forward with upgrades. An updated engine configuration and carbon swingarm that Espargaro used in the race helped him maintain a strong rhythm until the chequered flag. “It’s quite a big part of this result, I think,” said team boss Mike Leitner. “It looks like in general we get more stable lap times, from what we saw in Jerez.” All of which is a marked improvement for the Catalan, who appeared to be falling out of favour in 2018, when some careless crashes led to costly injuries. “I am really sure he didn’t honestly tell us how bad his injuries were last year so I think he was just not – heath wise – that strong to do proper training and prepare,” Beirer told me at Jerez. “On the other side he still had a difficult bike to handle; I know that.
By Neil Morrison
But then, of course, sometimes I was getting a little bit tired of getting the feeling: ‘we can improve only if the bike is improving.’” “Maybe I was asking a little bit too much from Pol because we could give him some small improvements, and he is adding a lot from himself now if you look at his data, his riding style and his performance, we could not ask for a better rider in the project that Pol. He never stopped believing in the project. So he’s a really strong ‘leg’ in the project at this time.” But what Espargaro is achieving must be countered by the ongoing struggles on the other side of the garage. There appears to be an unwillingness from Zarco to adapt his smooth, flowing style that worked so well with Yamaha’s M1 to the late-braking RC16 which Espargaro once nicknamed ‘The Bull’ for its rough-shod tendencies. Seven places and 26 seconds back of his team-mate at his home race was as bad a result as Zarco could have envisioned, especially when Jean-Michel Bayle was present at Le Mans in his new
role as his countryman’s supervisor. Should no serious improvements be evident by the summer break, serious questions regarding his future will be raised. To put it simply, Espargaro is making him look bad. For KTM to be finishing within six seconds of one of the fastest riders there ever was in its third season when Japanese rivals Yamaha have been around for 47 years, and Honda and Suzuki 42, speaks highly of the expertise and drive behind this project. With new test rider Dani Pedrosa’s on-track input yet to fully have an effect, one imagines for KTM the only way is up. Don’t be surprised to see another podium by the season’s end.
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www.foxhead.com
fox Fox have hacked and tweaked their range of helmets in recent years and embraced MIPS technology for their last version of the premier V3 model. The same helmet – used by their elite athletes like Tim Gajser and Ken Roczen – has undergone a radical shift for the 2020 and was just recently unveiled. The big moves? The MVRS (magnetic visor release system) has been praised and criticised but this latest generation is apparently the most resistant and effective yet. Interestingly Fox have embraced their own ideas and theories to address rotational acceleration (and we’ll have an interview with Fox honcho Mark Finley in the next issue on the subject) with Fluid Inside. It is a system they describe as: ‘based on extensive scientific research, Fluid Inside is engineered to enhance your helmet’s ability to protect your brain by mimicking Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) – your body’s natural protection. The V3 incorporates a matrix of Fluid pods oriented around the head and attached to the helmet interior. By precisely decoupling or “floating” the helmet on the head, each Fluid pod matrix acts like CSF (Cerebral Spinal Fluid) to independently and simultaneously manage the linear and rotational forces acting on soft brain tissue.’ Sounds pretty cool, and having seen and handled the fluid capsules it looks and feels like innovative stuff. There is also a Varizorb liner and a Cage structure around the chinbar and eye area of what is a multi-composition shell available in four sizes.
Ventilation is another hotspot of the development to maximise cooling even at low speed. The company call the new V3 their most technically advanced lid offering yet, and based on a mere glance at the tech specs they are not exaggerating. The choice for a new off-road helmet just became even wider. Click on any link to check out more detailed explanation of the V3’s attributes.
THE OLD KIND OF NAKED TEST
Words by Roland Brown Photos by Jason Critchell
TEST
SUZUKI KATANA
B
ack in 1981 Suzuki’s original Katana stunned the superbike world not just with its unique look but also in the way that it had been created. Shaped not by Suzuki but by a German freelance designer named Hans Muth, the fourcylinder café racer gave the GSX1100 on which it was based a new lease of life and highlighted the potential for collaboration between Japanese factory and European styling house. Fast-forward almost four decades, and a new Katana is following its famous forebear in both respects. Angular silver shapes echo the original model’s appearance if not its boldness, justifying the name’s derivation from an ancient ceremonial sword while giving a naked donor bike – in this case the GSX-S1000 – a sharp new set of clothes. And once again the momentum comes not from Japan but Europe.
This time it’s from Italian freelance Rodolfo Frascoli, who created a Katana-themed concept machine for Milan’s EICMA show in 2017 and was then commissioned by Suzuki to help bring it to production, complete with trademark features including pointed nose, tinted flyscreen and rectangular headlight. There’s no change to the GSX-S’s 999cc, dohc liquid-cooled engine, which produces a healthy maximum of 148bhp. A less impressive figure is the fuel capacity of just 12 litres; the Katana’s sleeker tank cover necessitated a reduction from the GSX-S’s 17 litres. In place of the old bike’s steel frame and twin-shock rear end is a modern combination of aluminium frame, monoshock suspension and a number-plate holder mounted on the swing-arm.
TEST
Suzuki resisted the temptation to replicate the old Katana’s clip-on handlebars and racy riding position. Instead the new bike has a raised, one-piece handlebar giving a roomy, near-upright position more likely to appeal to riders old enough to recall the early Eighties. Former owners of the old model should appreciate the period-style spiral tachometer bar, possibly while struggling to read the busy instrument console around it. The GSX-S1000’s key components – basically its punchy, powerful four-pot motor and sweet-handling chassis – are retained with very few changes. The GSX-S has never quite had the pure power or refinement to join the ranks of genuine super-nakeds, but it is fast and addictively entertaining, and passes all its attributes to the Katana. The 16-valve unit fires up with an appealingly raspy sound though its airbox and stubby silencer. There’s plenty of torque from low revs, the only real drawback a slightly snatchy throttle for which the GSX-S has been much criticised. Improved by an updated twist-grip, it’s still noticeable but I didn’t find it a problem even on wet roads during a blast round the Midlands. Once the engine is into its stride there’s no time to worry about that, because the big Kat is leaping forward like a hungry lioness chasing supper. Provided the Suzuki is kept spinning with the typically sweet-changing six-speed gearbox (shame there’s no quickshifter), it will strain its rider’s neck muscles all the way to a top speed of about 150mph. That performance is sufficiently super-naked for most riders, though the Katana also inherits the GSX-S’s slightly basic electronics set-up, which lacks the Inertial Measurement Unit that allows high-level traction control and cornering ABS. At least the Suzuki does the basics well, stopping hard thanks to powerful Brembo front brake calipers, and providing generous cornering grip with its Dunlop Roadsport tyres.
SUZUKI KATANA
TEST
“THIS KATANA WON’T COME CLOSE TO MATCHING THE IMPACT OF ITS ILLUSTRIOUS NAMESAKE BUT IT’S A WORTHY RETRO-RIVAL FOR THE LIKES OF KAWASAKI’S Z900RS, YAMAHA’S XSR900 AND HONDA’S CB1000R...”
WORLDSBK POR
SUZUKI KATANA
TEST For a big four-cylinder bike it’s easy to flick through a series of beds, its wide bars and sporty geometry allowing quick direction changes while keeping things stable. Suspension is well-controlled, if slightly firm at the rear – which at least earns points for authenticity, given that the original Katana provided a rock-hard ride. This Kat wasn’t built for comfort any more than the old one was, but by naked-bike standards it’s respectably practical. Its limited fuel capacity will frustrate at times but most riders should manage at least 100 miles between fill-ups. The seat is slightly higher than the GSX-S’s, but at 215kg with fuel the Suzuki is fairly light and still manageable. That weight figure does however mean the Katana is 6kg heavier than the GSX-S1000. Its only real advantage is the subjective issue of style – for which you pay roughly ten per cent more (£11,399 to the GSX-S’s £10,399 in the UK). Then again, much the same was true of the original Katana, and didn’t stop it becoming a huge hit. This Katana won’t come close to matching the impact of its illustrious namesake but it’s a worthy retro-rival for the likes of Kawasaki’s Z900RS, Yamaha’s XSR900 and Honda’s CB1000R. And even if you can live without the nostalgia, it’s sufficiently fast, sweethandling and fun to ride to provide plenty of the old warrior’s raw excitement as well as its sharp-edged style.
SUZUKI KATANA
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ON TRACK OFF ROAD
‘On-track Off-road’ is a free, bi-weekly publication for the screen focussed on bringing the latest perspectives on events, blogs and some of the very finest photography from the three worlds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the AMA Motocross and Supercross series’ and MotoGP. ‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com every other Tuesday. To receive an email notification that a new issue available with a brief description of each edition’s contents simply enter an address in the box provided on the homepage. All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential and only used for purposes connected with OTOR. Adam Wheeler Editor and MXGP/MotoGP correspondent Ray Archer Photographer Steve Matthes AMA MX and SX correspondent Cormac Ryan-Meenan MotoGP Photographer www.cormacgp.com David Emmett MotoGP Blogger Neil Morrison MotoGP Blogger & Feature writer Sienna Wedes MotoGP Blogger Matthew Roberts Blogger Graeme Brown WSB Blogger and Photographer Roland Brown Tester Núria Garcia Cover Design Gabi Álvarez Web developer Hosting FireThumb7 - www.firethumb7.co.uk Thanks to www.mototribu.com PHOTO CREDITS Ray Archer, CormacGP, Monster Energy, Jason Critchell, GeeBee Images Steve English Cover shot: Visor man by MCH Photo
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