On-Track Off-Road issue 191

MotoGP

ONLY A MATTER OF TIME...

A 98 point lead by round fourteen of nineteen is a phenomenal amount and Marc Marquez’s final dispatch of 2019 MotoGP cannot come soon enough for his rivals (especially fellow Honda riders).

Even foe Valentino Rossi had to admit that the Spaniard has rarely been stronger. Aragon was the eighth fixture to fall to his powers and he’s only finished off the podium once in 2019.

Photo by CormacGP

MXGP

TAKING THE AIR

You can’t beat many riders for style over jumps than Monster Energy Yamaha’s Jeremy Seewer. Not only did the Swiss deservedly earn the status of MXGP runner-up in just his second season in the premier class but will also lead his country at Assen this weekend for the 73rd Motocross of Nations. One of the most underrated GP racers Photo by Ray Archer

WorldSBK

ONLY A MATTER OF TIME (2) After three rounds of 2019 WorldSBK there were few that gave Jonathan Rea much of a chance towards an unprecedented fifth consecutive crown.

Now just three fixtures before the end of the season and Rea stands on the brink of history Photo by GeeBee Images

BENKELLEY

FACTORY KTM OFF-ROAD 2019 GNCC XC2 CHAMPION

SAFETY YO U R

I S O U R P R I O R I TY

FACTORY MATTE SILVER

S O L D AT F I N E R D E A L E R S WO R L D W I D E | T R OY L E E D E S I G N S . CO M

MotoGP

MotoGP ARA

GRAN PREMIO MICHELIN DE ARAGON MOTORLAND ARAGON · SEPTEMBER 21-22 · Rnd 14 of 19 MotoGP WINNER: MARC MARQUEZ, HONDA Moto2 WINNER: BRAD BINDER, KTM Moto3 WINNER: ARON CANET, KTM

ALMOST IN THE BOOKS Blogs by David Emmett, Neil Morrison & Sienna Wedes, Photos by CormacGP

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MOTOGP BLOG

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? MotoGP is about to find out in a couple of years.

From 2022, the season will expand to encompass 22 races, with circuits in Vietnam and Indonesia being added to the calendar.

There is a chance that these won’t be the only ones: FIM president Jorge Viegas has made no secret of his plans to bring MotoGP back to Portugal, and there are projects underway in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, all of which could also eventually hit the calendar, displacing some of the Spanish rounds.

Testing will be reduced to compensate for the extra races. The Valencia test is to be dropped in 2020, and if team representatives IRTA get their way, the Qatar test should be gone in 2021.

The idea behind all this is simple: Dorna makes money by holding races, being paid by circuits for the right to host them, and TV companies for the right to broadcast them. They pass some of this money on to the teams, as compensation for their part in putting on a show. Testing, on the other hand, costs money, so Dorna and the teams would rather race.

The factories are fighting back against this reduction in testing.

They are racing to win, and that means constantly searching for a competitive advantage, which in turn requires developments to be tested. “The teams don’t want to test, but how are we supposed to build a competitive bike if we can’t test new parts?” one factory engineer complained to me recently.

Are 22 races too many? I suppose that depends on your perspective. Each individual race brings in more money, from the circuit paying Dorna for the right to host the race, from title sponsors for the naming rights to the race, from TV companies and streaming services for the rights to broadcast the race.

At some point, however, the returns from each additional race start to decrease. Every new spectacle dilutes the value of existing races. Being one out of eighteen inherently has more value than being one of twenty two. You run up against the limits of sponsor-

ship, running out of companies willing to be title sponsor to an event, companies sponsoring multiple races demanding bigger bulk discounts. The value of broadcast rights doesn’t increase in line with the investment required to produce the additional races.

At some point, it starts to cost more to put on a new race than it Dorna receives in revenue.

Costs are pretty much fixed: the thousands of people involved – team staff, Dorna admin staff, TV production staff, security staff, etc – still have to travel from country to country, venue to venue, along with all the equipment needed to stage the show. Those costs have to be covered somehow.

More than the financial outlay is the human cost, however. Each race means a week away from home for most team members, flying out on Tuesday, and home again on Monday. Then there are tests, training, media events, meetings, season preparation.

Factory team staff are expected to spend time at the factory.

More than Europe’s largest MC store

By David Emmett

Back-to-back races mean even more time away, and that is without reckoning with travel delays, missed or cancelled flights, and more.

to recover properly before setting off again. The stress increases with each additional commitment and less freedom to work off that stress.

With a 19-race season, team staff can be away from home for up to 260 days a year. Add three more races – especially in Asia or the Americas – and staff based in Europe could be away from home ten months a year.

Even for the fans, 22 may be too many. Races become commonplace, people picking and choosing which to watch, rather than following the season religiously.

Maybe everyone will tune in for Mugello, but how many will watch Motegi or Vietnam? If viewing figures per race drop, that decreases the value to broadcasters, and the amount they are willing to pay.

Sustaining a relationship or raising a family can be hard when you are barely at home, making paddock divorce rates unusually high. Hooking up with someone else in the paddock is not without risk: instead of never seeing your partner, you never spend any time apart.

Above all, perhaps, is the toll on the riders. It gets harder to fit in longer breaks when the season is 22 races long. There is less time to train, to prepare physically during the off season, and with so much travel, less time to train between races. Less training increases the likelihood of injury, and more races means less time

How many Grand Prix outings are too many? There is only one way to find out. And as much as I love MotoGP, 22 races seems like too much of a good thing to me.

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BLOG

FALLING DOWN

More than Europe’s largest MC store

With the benefit of hindsight, KTM’s decision to rid itself of Johann Zarco apparently backfired at Aragon.

Pol Espargaro’s crunching FP4 fall ruled him out of the race and Mika Kallio – the Frenchman’s replacement for 2019’s final six rounds – was always going to need time to get up to speed after 15 months of racing absence. They departed without points and without a lead rider to test at the dusty Spanish venue this week.

But to listen to anyone associated with the factory last weekend and there was the distinct feeling Zarco’s time at KTM had been and gone. The atmosphere in his side of the garage had grown quiet and tense with few signs of joy. Kallio’s inclusion represented a fresh start, bringing a bit of levity back to proceedings. One KTM employee said even those in the factory that were still on Zarco’s side had noted the improved atmosphere.

Last Tuesday’s news that confirmed the Austrian factory was dispensing with his services ahead of the remaining six rounds was a shock.

But in retrospect there were so many events that acted as a warning of such an event: the continual negative comments about the bike; his explosive criticism of its failings at Jerez, caught on live TV; his retirement at Assen due to armpump concerns, which Motorsport Director Pit Beirer called “the most terrible thing you can do to us in the team.”

It was all a far cry from Zarco’s maiden season in MotoGP, a kind of David and Goliath tale of a plucky rookie on aged equipment fronting up to the established names, shrugging at their exalted reputations. He rarely paid attention to what his package lacked compared to the factory names, a trait that got KTM’s attention. “He didn’t care what material he had,” Beirer said.

“He was never complaining or looking over to the factory team; he just took the bike and went faster. We saw that and thought, ‘wow, that’s the guy we need.’”

So 21 months on and with Zarco’s future far from certain, how did it all go so wrong? His inability to adapt a riding style dependent on flowing lines and corner speed was the first point. He could never find sufficient feeling with the front end to enter turns with confidence. Furthermore the bike which Espargaro nicknamed ‘The Bull’ was more physically demanding than anything Zarco had ridden in his previous ten years in grand prix.

“From the first moment at Valencia last year he couldn’t build up a good feeling,” admitted Mike Leitner, the factory squad’s team boss.

It rarely showed signs of improvement from there.

His feedback wasn’t what KTM needed at a time when the RC16 is still some way from being a regular podium contender. One senior technician told me Zarco’s comments on new parts centred solely on whether it helped his feeling with the front.

By Neil Morrison

A new swingarm, engine or exhaust may, of course, bring other benefits. But the 29-year old rarely handed out praise, such was his focus on fixing that front end feel.

Another team member noted how his evaluation of parts amounted to four-letter profanity. When quizzed on the part further, the said fourletter profanity was simply repeated but with added vigour. “There were not many ‘candies’ coming from his side to our side, that’s for sure,” Beirer admitted.

And Tech 3 boss Hervé Poncharal believes Zarco was all-too-aware of this fault. “Every time I met Johann in the hospitality we were talking a lot with [coach] Jean-Michel Bayle.

He was always saying, ‘I need to be a bit calmer, I need to understand this is a new project, so it’s step by step.’ Everything was fine. He’s a reasonable guy. But then he puts his leathers on, goes in the garage, does five laps, comes in, screaming, shouting and forgets about the attitude he said he should have.

But more than the riding style, it was his demeanour and attitude that was Zarco’s ultimate downfall.

He rarely – if ever – attempted to forge relationships within his team.

By all accounts what the watching world saw on TV at Jerez (he was filmed saying, “[either] we are f***ing s**t in chassis, or we are f***king s**t in controlling power”) was a regular occurrence. “He could not control his emotions,” Beirer said. “He put so much stress on himself when things were not going easy. To succeed at this level, of course you need to be emotional, but you also need to calm down and analyse the situation.”

“Even after the summer break I saw him in the Czech Republic on the Thursday before we started. He said, ‘I’ve been thinking a lot and I have a good position. My bike is not bad. I do what I like. So clearly I need to change my way of behaving for the second part of the season and next year.’ [Yet on the Friday] It was exactly the same.”

This hasn’t been an easy time for Zarco away from the track.

A fraught relationship with longtime manager Laurent Fellon was brought to a definitive close over the winter. T

o hear him speak of his manager during those success-filled years in Moto2 was to listen to a man in raptures to a kind of cult leader. Having moved from his parents home in Nice to Fellon’s training quarters in Avignon, Zarco was engulfed in a strict, rigorous programme which honed the focus that took him to 16 grand prix wins, 47 podiums and two world titles.

But it came at the cost of the regular interaction that moulds most adolescents into socially-aware beings who value strong relationships with those around them. And breaking with a figure that had shaped his upbringing was always going to require a period of acclimatisation.

“We were a little bit unlucky to get him in the wrong moment,” Beirer said. “For me, something huge happened when he split up with Laurent Fellon, who was a guy who could steer him mentally better.”

While Fellon’s limitations as a manager were best distilled by his decision to prematurely sign with KTM in the winter of 2017, the eccentric Frenchman could keep his rider in line in the box.

BLOG

“From the outside, it was a weird couple,” said Poncharal. “Everybody thought, how can it last? Because they were arguing a lot, they were fighting. But in the end, all you can say is as long as Johann was with Laurent, it worked. [With Fellon] Maybe would have been a bit easier.

Maybe Laurent would have told him, don’t talk like this. Laurent was the guy in the garage looking at him, and Johann was waiting to scream and he was telling him like this [motions zipping his mouth]. But who knows?”

From November to September there were regular signs of an uneasy marriage. One moment stands out.

At the post-race test at Jerez Zarco showed up to his debrief in a plain white t-shirt. He was soon reminded of the stipulation to wear team clothing when addressing the media. He tutted, feigned surprise and left to retrieve the relevant clothing. “He’s always doing these small rebellious things when he feels we are not giving him what he needs,” a team member confided.

Just compare that to Espargaro’s approach, a rider once described as “like a can of popcorn” by crew chief Paul Travathon.

“This attitude is fantastic,” the Kiwi told me back at the start of their working relationship. “There are going to be dark days. There are going to be times when you need a character like that. I saw the engineers walking around with a bit of a lighter foot after some of his comments.”

That’s not so say Zarco’s a bad person. Quite the opposite. Through all of this he remained respectful and polite when dealing with us. More, this is an instance of the pressures and demands of factory status being too much to bear. It takes a special kind of character with the adequate skills – both on and off the bike – to carry a project forward.

And despite everything that passed, KTM still hold a degree of fondness for him. A technician spoke of his genuine sadness the move had not worked out. And there was no bitterness at their end. Zarco was present at Aragon to shake hands with the management that moved to dispense with his services just two days before. He also said goodbye to those in the team, a sign that, with a clear head and no pressure, Zarco is a different person.

Beirer also confirmed he would not only pay Zarco in full until the end of the year, but grant him permission ride for another manufacturer in Thailand should the opportunity arise. “To underline how much I like this boy,” as he framed it.

The greatest shame in all of this is Zarco’s current plight. Sure, there may be offers to return in a testing capacity. But so many flaws were exposed over the past ten months, it’s difficult to imagine another factory team placing its trust in his capabilities. For a rider who once shrugged in the face of pressure and produced performances like we saw at Losail, Le Mans and Phillip Island in 2017, it’s a damned shame it came to this.

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MotoGP ARA

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PRODUCTS www.6dhelmets.com

6d helmets 6D Helmets have been working for two years on the next generation of the ATS-1R; the only street lid on the market with the ground breaking omni-directional suspension system. The first edition of the model caught attention but was a victim of scepticism over weight, shell size and rudimentary elements such as the performance of the visor. These areas have all been addressed for the new 2019 incarnation: and we should know. We used an ATS-1R on a three-hour ride from Barcelona to Aragon for the MotoGP last weekend and were impressed by the fit and the ventilation. There will be more of a verdict in a coming issue but to answer a few essential questions about the ATS-1R and it’s relation to the off-road ATR-2 we contacted 6D founder and boss Bob Weber.

What are the biggest strides that 6D have made with the new street helmet compared to the first model?

We have evolved the internal ODS technology to very similarly match the ATR-2’s “Advanced ODS”. Both layers are EPS, but the design is freer to do its work in sheering type impacts. We have also increased the amount of EPS by strategically filling the air gap. With the new design, we were also able to shed 200grams of weight compared to the original as well.

In order to provide a new-and-improved ATS how did you proceed with R&D and finding solutions? How did you gather data and info?

We had significant data from the development side of the ATR-2 that we were able to apply directly to this project. We knew we could improve on the performance of the system by updating to the newer design. Lab testing confirmed the improvements and we moved toward production. We worked closely with Kyle Wyman and Sammy Halbert here in the US, and the boys from Reactive Parts in the UK (our UK distributor) who are deeply engrossed in the BSB Championships to improve the fit, aerodynamics, sealing of the shield and solving fogging issues in the rain.

The UK guys really pushed us hard and we finally solved the problems we were experiencing in the wet conditions. It’s been awesome having those guys on our side! We also had some fit issues on people with certain head shapes as we had a very narrow opening on the shell. We adjusted this significantly in the new helmet and I believe we have resolved the fit issues.

Are there any complications or difficulty with the application of ODS for the street compared to other helmets in the range?

No, not really. There are many challenges with manufacturing however and we solved them some time ago. Our factory is proficient in production and I believe producing a helmet at the highest quality level; certainly comparable and competitive with any other available premium brand. We are really proud of this helmet and excited to be able to satisfy more riders with better fit, new graphic designs and further improved safety.

MOTOGP BLOG

COME IN JL99...?

More than Europe’s largest MC store

It hasn’t been a tremendous season for five-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo but unfortunately neither has the last thirty-six months. He has jumped ship twice and sailed into seasons strewn with adversity and injury.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda box, reigning #1 and current championship leader Marc Marquez is in the prime of his life. One rider at the top, one at the bottom and a whole lot of team members in between trying to pick up the pieces. The 2018 Aragon GP exactly one year ago marks the last weekend we saw a fully fit Jorge Lorenzo. Since then, we have spent time trying to wonder where it can all go next.

After crashing in practice in Qatar and sustaining the second of three injuries thus far in 2019, Lorenzo’s Honda debut has been anything but positive. Having completed a total of nine of fourteen rounds onboard his new bike, Lorenzo is on the back foot and facing the biggest crisis on his career. For the first time we have seen him genuinely

struggle to crack the top fifteen and his physical/mental state seems weary. During each debrief or television appearance he has appeared detached and lacking emotion. Eye contact is limited, words are followed with heavy breaths and a blase shrug to top it all off. Progress has been slow and in this industry patience runs short. Talks of broken contracts and rider changes are controversial when paired with a brand like Repsol Honda because their nature is to work things out with limited drama splashed across the tabloids. It is a journey that has proven to be harder than they expected. Fellow teammate Marc Marquez has continued his domination of the MotoGP class with eight victories (including this years Aragon GP), thirteen podiums and a shiny seat at the top of the pyramid. It is the most podium-consistent he

has been prior to flyaways since his debut in the MotoGP category in 2013 where he claimed sixteen of the eighteen rounds.

He is calm and strong, fully fit, has a well-blended and long established team.

At the beginning of the season the Repsol Honda/Jorge Lorenzo collaboration was thrilling. We were eager to see what the team could do and how Lorenzo approached taming his new beast.

He had just come out of a season where he finally worked his way under Ducati’s skin and secured three victories over a two year period. But, similar to this term, the team dynamic did not mesh well. The Honda appeared to be an even larger obstacle but not impossible after his adaptation to the Ducati. However, we all know that within this sport it’s not just the rider or the bike or the team

By Sienna Wedes

that makes it work. They must all mesh into one. Lorenzo’s team consists of many new employees who speak several different languages, and through observation haven’t blended as well as Marquez’s team (a loss before he even started). Their workflow which naturally builds with time has been disrupted frequently and has affected the teams ability to work as a cohesive unit.

Not only that, Lorenzo has not kept coy about his struggles with the RCV. “My feeling on the bike was not good”, “I cannot ride confidently”, “in this season I do not think we will reach the top 5” and “in this world, there is no magic” has spread like wildfire.

When negativity cements itself within the team an unfavourable working environment cultivates.

Even when he was racing in twelfth place at the beginning of the Aragon GP, something still lacked and he disappeared. He hinted at a defective rear Michelin in MotorLand and, on his side, the Honda has been notoriously hard to turn in 2019 – Cal Crutchlow also not shy in voicing his

concerns and difficulties with the equipment.

The physical and mental side of Lorenzo’s job go hand in hand, one does not favour the other.

In Saturday’s qualifying press conference Marquez indirectly provided words of wisdom when attacking the Honda.“If you are not fit, it is impossible to be fast on this bike. You need to be fit.

It is difficult, you need to set up well and believe in your project. It is not the easiest bike of the grid but if you find that point you can be competitive”.

Lorenzo has suffered not only physical injuries but also mental scratches that are much slower to heal. Broken bones, internal damage and Chinese whispers have raised doubts about his commitment to Honda and his future in the sport. We have witnessed ex-racers like Kevin Schwantz and Mick Doohan suffer painful traumas and end their careers rather than risk further damage. Could this be a similar narrative unfolding? Could the second most successful rider of the decade

be holding himself back from making any kind of damage but also substantial breakthrough?

Maybe it’s becoming clearer that the main block here is Lorenzo himself and we are all just trying to guess what the next step is. I know I am.

PRODUCTS www.dirtbikeshow.com

The International Dirt Bike Show Europe’s largest dirt bike show – with over 100 exhibitors – moves to the confines of the Staffordshire Showground this year (just north of Birmingham in England’s midlands) and starts this weekend with tons of activities taking place between 10am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Lee Musselwhite will have his ‘Inspireshows’ running throughout the programme, Yamaha and Kawasaki have their ‘MX Experience set-ups’ and there is loads more happening including live big-screen streaming of the Motocross of Nations at the same time from Assen.

As always the annual event is a fantastic chance to pick up some bargain ‘bits’ and also meet and chat with the wide off-road riding community. Tickets are 8 pounds in advance (10 on the door). Children between 11-15 cost 5 on the door and kids under 10 are free. A family entry will set you back just 25 pounds.

T E A M

U S A

ZACH OSBORNE

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O P E N

T E A M

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JASON ANDERSON M X G P

Photo: Octopi Media

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FEATURE

“I’M NOT REAL

LLY THE NORM”

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by S.Cudby/Husqvarna

ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETAENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM

FEATURE

R

ockstar Energy Husqvarna Team Manager Bobby Hewitt recently featured in OTOR and the Texan chatted at length about his enduring career-long relationship with the mercurial Jason Anderson – 2018 450 Supercross Champion – and how the racer from New Mexico had to cope with the wave of obligation and expectation after winning one of the sport’s biggest prizes.

After years of domination by the likes of Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey (athletes almost conditioned to success and all the responsibility that brings) it was refreshing and ‘humanising’ to hear of Anderson’s struggles: it was a reminder that for all the unbelievable discipline and commitment and the energy that a 29-30 race calendar dictates that this elite athletes are not infallible or indestructible.

Part of Anderson’s European ‘immersion’ and acclimatisation to sand riding ahead of his role for Team USA at the 73rd Motocross of Nations at Assen was a visit to the recent San Marino MotoGP, and it presented the perfect chance to ask the 26 year old to open up about a 2019 where he experienced and endured life as a #1 target.

off and then you are ready to go again. I wanted to keep racing this summer. I wasn’t able to have a full Supercross season. The MXoN will be a difficult one due to the sand and it will be a tall task to be competitive but we’ll try our butts off.

Talk a bit about this year because Bobby mentioned that you were perhaps not prepared for the full set of obligations that went with being a defending Supercross Champion. How was it to achieve a lifetime goal and then have to readjust?

“I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS AS ‘NORMAL’ AS POSSIBLE. IF I KEEP THINGS FUN THEN PROGRESSION PROFESSIONALLY IS EASIER AND THE MOTIVATION IS EASIER TO FIND AND LONGEVITY COMES WITH THAT.” Obviously you reach your goal and your lifelong dream and you get excited but then all the stuff and the BS that goes with it is not always fun. I understand that it is our job and obligation to our sponsors to market the #1 plate as much as possible but at one point I did not feel there was such good communication so they understood all of what I had to do to be ready for another season. I think at some point that got overlooked with the whole ‘that’s your job’.

There was a bit of them pushing me and me pushing back!

The championship was awesome and I was happy to win it but as soon as it was over it was non-stop stuff to deal with. I like doing my own thing. The attention is cool but I like to hang out with my own friends, my team and go race. But there is a little more to it at the level we are at now.

In the past did you find that people asked you to do stuff but that converted into people almost demanding…

100%. There was a lot of demands and talk of marketing, selling more bikes and this-and-that. I understood, but I needed some more middle ground and I don’t think we reached that. Once we got into the season they saw how much it had taken a toll on me. You only learn by trial and error. Hopefully we can get into that position again soon and handle it better.

Fans and followers of supercross and motocross know you race a lot but they don’t always see the hours of travel, training and promo that can make for some very short weeks…

Yeah. I understand we have to give the fans and the people in the sport the attention that they want and I enjoy doing that. But at some point it does take a toll and puts out a lot of energy.

JASON ANDERSON

Firstly, you’ve travelled before and have kept open minded about racing overseas but when it came to the Nations this year was there a part of you that thought ‘this is a big risk…’

Yeah, I felt that I really had to come over and prepare for it because of the sand. As far as being a ‘risk’ then I feel any time you ride the bike it can be risky. At the same time I love racing and I want to do as much as I can. There are points in the season where you get burnt out but you take a week

FEATURE Sometimes on a Friday before the race you just want to relax but you can’t. You land, gotta eat, gotta get to the dealer signing, do media, get dinner and get to bed. It’s a full schedule. It’s not like you are just hanging out. I don’t think people see all the other side of it and sometimes we get crap for not being outgoing or something like that but sometimes we are just worn out. At the same time I have learned from this experience in the last year and as the seasons go on I’ll be able to manage it better and have more communication with my team to do that.

Do race-winning contenders in your position need more of a breather? And I don’t mean just physically…

Yeah, definitely mentally but when you get to November and December you cannot really have one because you need to keep training and looking ahead to Anaheim 1.

If you cannot do it there then you are going to feel it! I was stressed out dealing with that around the time in 2018 but you cannot let-up. If you do that it will affect your results.

One way or another something has to give. I think my riding took a bit of a hit. It was a tough year for me but valuable in another way and going into next season I feel happy and I feel motivated. I don’t feel the pressure is on

Do you feel like warning training-mate Cooper [Webb] of the mantle of being a champion?

Yeah, I think he will have to deal with it. I really like doing off-season races whereas he doesn’t. So I think I put a little too much on my plate last year. I like to do two offseason races and I did that and followed it with the FIM Awards. Then there was a load of other stuff. I think his schedule is lighter so it might be easier. For me, I know what I have to do now. I think he will be good next season and there are quite a few that will be good. It’s interesting to see how it will play out.

Supercross is unreal in terms of how close it is and how it

will be in ’20. It will take the whole package to go for the championship again.

What about you and Bobby?

That relationship is very long and has been through a lot.

Is it similar to a Dungey/De Coster thing?

I was going to sign for him as an amateur but it didn’t end-up working out and we waited until I went Pro and we’ve been through everything since then! First and foremost I think the difference between a ‘Ryan-Roger’ is that it’s more about a human connection rather than being about

JASON ANDERSON

me that much; not that it was the pressure that got to me… more all the stuff I had to deal with. I’m 26 years old and I feel I still have a few more chances at making a title run.

That’s my goal right now and to be best prepared to do that.

The Outdoor season was good for me and I wasn’t expecting very much. I just wanted to enjoy it and bring myself back-around and I think I accomplished that.

FEATURE

JASON ANDERSON ON TRYING MXGP: “THE LOGISTICS SIDE WOULD HAVE TO BE A LITTLE BIT LAID-OUT FOR ME IN TERMS OF HAVING A HOME AND DEALING WITH THE CULTURE DIFFERENCES. I DON’T MIND THE CHANGE BUT I’D JUST NEED A PROPER PLAN. AS FAR AS RACING THEN I DON’T MIND AT ALL AND ENJOY COMING OVERSEAS.”

FEATURE

results or business. If I have bad nights then it is not like he’ll just ask about my riding or my training or anything like that, sometimes he’ll just ask me where I am at with life in general. He’s been a great help to me because I’m not really ‘the norm’. The way I go about things is maybe not the way other people would like me to, in terms of the corporate world. But the good thing about Bobby is that he accepts each person for who they are and then to achieve the best they can. I think that’s why he’s been able to have riders that maybe haven’t succeeded

in other places enjoy success on our team. I think you can see that with Zach [Osborne].

He had a hard time with Geico, bided his time and look how he is performing now. Bobby helped with that and even if it takes time and our programme can sometimes seem like we are ‘winging it’ we’re always trying hard. As long as the heart is in it and the effort is made then we’re happy.

How do you manage life on two coasts after all these years?

I’ve had a home in Florida for five years now. I don’t like

“IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE IT IS SUDDENLY TWO YEARS LATER AND YOU ARE LOOKING BACK THINKING ‘MAN, I SHOULD HAVE ENJOYED THAT MOMENT WHEN I HAD IT’ .”

You mentioned Bobby might ask you where you are in life at the moment. So where are you? Did 2018 set you up?

Did it create even more freedom away from dirt bikes?

I think, compared to most racers, I have more of a life away

from motocross and sometimes it gets tough to juggle both of them. I have friends who don’t have anything to do with moto at all. Sometimes I would like to hang out with them…but I also really enjoy what I do. I try to embrace both sides. I feel I have a part of my life that is not just motocross based. Although I will say there are people on my team, and even teammates, that feel like family to me.

We’re together every weekend and also ‘in the trenches’ whether it is through those hot summer days or being sat there waiting for delayed flights. [thinks] It can be difficult to switch off but I have a group around me that helps turn off the motocross button and we enjoy ourselves being normal, sometimes dorky kids playing video games or whatever. I like to keep things as ‘normal’ as possible. If I keep things fun then progression professionally is easier and the motivation is easier to find and longevity comes with that.

I’d like to race a lot of years. I know it will be hard to go for that number one spot for a long time but I feel like I can do a top three pace for many years to come.

The reality is that the window for ‘title contention’ is so short for anyone lucky to make it to that level…

Definitely. And I don’t take it for granted. When you get

JASON ANDERSON

Florida that much but over time I have learned to embrace it and be more involved over there. For me California is my home and when I retire I’ll be back there. I’ve become pretty good at managing the balance between going back and forth lately. I think Bobby will also get a base in Florida because when we are altogether there he’s usually on the other side of the country.

It’s probably also the biggest difference to a European MXGP programme because we have two working bases.

In Europe you can just be in Lommel! We have to juggle and it’s a six-hour flight. It can be a bit wild. Most of my friends and family and on the west coast. I grew up in New Mexico. California is just an hour flight away.

stressed then you can [take it for granted] but you know deep-down that in the blink of an eye it is suddenly two years later and you are looking back thinking ‘man, I should have enjoyed that moment when I had it’. I’ve learned that but it still hard. You want to win, you want to be good but you also don’t want to be mad every day because things are not going your way. You try to find the balance between joy, being successful and having that hunger to win.

No danger of you joining that Carmichael/Villopoto/Dungey ‘27’ club of calling it a day?

Oh no. Sometimes you look at

FEATURE

the numbers and see there has never been a supercross champion past the age of 29. I feel I have a good couple of runs left in me. I’d like to break that record and consider being an older champion. If not then I’ll take it for what it’s worth and at the end of the day if you are on the podium or in the top five of your sport then that’s very awesome. I think people like RV and Dungey had a hard time because they had to win all the time. At some point

“IT IS TOUGH BECAUSE WITH OUR CONTRACTS THE HEAVIER SIDE LEANS TOWARDS SX. AT THE SAME TIME YOU JUST WANT TO RACE AND OUTDOORS IS THE ORIGINAL GROUND, IT IS OLD-SCHOOL & WHERE WE CAME FROM...”

people add to the pressure because if they were not winning then something must be wrong with them. But they’re human, you know? I think if they could have coped or been ready for those kinds of questions then they might have had a longer career. It’s [the pressure of] being in that group of ‘needing to win’. It’s not like I de-classify myself from that… but I am well aware that eventually I’ll be a bit further back and still hoping that some race

wins can come. As long as I can stay in the top three or be competitive then that’s the goal. If I can keep that into my 30s then that would be really cool.

There is a lot of pressure on supercross…but I think if you can be good at motocross then you are bad-ass and that’s a cool thing.

[Rockstar Energy Husqvarna] IceOne have a good thing around them. I have good group of sponsors around me that would help make that transition easier. I’d be openminded about it.

Firstly I have two more years left in the U.S. then we’ll see!

Thoughts on MotoGP? I’ve been to a couple of Formula 1’s and this feels similar.

I’ve always wanted to go to the Austin MotoGP but it’s at a weird time for us in Supercross. It is amazing and a different level to dirtbikes.

It’s funny because I’m a fan of many of these guys and I go to say hello and find out they’re a fan of me! It goes back and forth. This is another level of racing. It’s cool and fun to check out.

JASON ANDERSON

Are people getting more Not wanting to push you in dismissive of motocross again a corner or ask for a blithe now compared to supercross? quote but would you consider What’s your view? the idea of MXGP? An It is tough because with our attempt at the world contracts the heavier side championship? leans towards supercross. At I always tell them [Husqvarna] the same time you just want that I’d be completely open to race and you want to be to it. The logistics side would competitive and Outdoors is have to be a little bit laid-out the original ground, it is oldfor me in terms of having a school and where we came home and dealing with the from. It has a culture. I want culture differences. I don’t to be good at both but somemind the change but I’d just times it’s hard because of need a proper plan. As far as the amount of races. You’ll racing then I don’t mind at all get done with the supercross and enjoy coming overseas. season and you’ll feel mentally I’ve been in Europe for more drained and you’ve got two than two weeks now and have weeks to get ready and feel a couple more weeks ahead. fully refreshed for an Outdoor I’ve enjoyed it! There are litseason. To do two solid seatle bits of home that I miss sons in a row is one of the – mainly foodwise! – but the hardest parts of the job. people are really helpful and

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AMA BLOG

HEADING TO THE BEACH...

With the 2019 Motocross des Nations looming this coming weekend in Holland, I have no idea if Team USA is going to end their record ‘winless’ streak (since their first win in 1981) of seven years.

Let’s be real here, it’s going to be really tough to beat the Dutch on their home soil with their preferred ‘soil’ underneath them.

I mean, last year they came so close to winning at Redbud with just four scores out of the five needed!

There will be lots of pressure on the Dutch for sure and you never know how that can affect people but they’re the heavy favorites and for all the right reasons.

Seeing them win their first ever MXDN at Assen and the first Dutch Nations since Lierop in 2004 would be a pretty cool story for sure.

But as far as the USA is concerned, the team this year has been all-in, all the time and that’s a pretty cool thing to see for American motocross fans. Last year, IN THE USA, couldn’t have gone any worse and was rock bottom for the fans over here.

For 2019 there wasn’t the massive change to the structure and management of Team USA like I thought their might be but there was a change of the process, a re-thinking of the team and maybe, just maybe, they can pull off a huge upset. Like, say, the 1981 team in Lommel perhaps?

The dysfunction from the team has been removed in the fact that Kawasaki, whose management are not fans of current Team USA manager Roger DeCoster, removed themselves from the running by keeping the two national champions at home. Last year the green guys used their own radios and communicated amongst themselves rather than the rest of the team. The Honda guys have also not always played nice with DeCoster who has rankled some feathers with the OEM’s going back to the last Ryan Dungey 450SX title for KTM. So by default, in 2019 Team USA has a

lot more “team” in it than in past years with Rockstar Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne being on the same squad. They work closely with DeCoster and the KTM guys so that’s a good thing. Star Yamaha that work with Nations debutant, Justin Cooper, will be team players as they don’t compete with Roger, KTM and Husqvarna week in and week out.

So team unity will be better, the red, white and blue team will also pit all together or at least real close for the first time in a long time. No matter what the color, Team USA used to all pit together but has gotten away from that in recent editions - another thing that rankled some Team USA members over the years.

The second thing that’s positive is the fact that Anderson and Osborne headed over to Europe early to train and ride in the sand

By Steve Matthes

as well as, most importantly, test. Talk to any member of Team USA in 2011 in Lommel and they’ll tell you that jetting in midweek and trying to get the bike to work on the sand wasn’t ideal.

Lots of confusion with the American riders that just don’t ever really ride the sand that much.

The Rockstar Energy IceOne Husqvarna team has opened its doors to Osborne and Anderson and provided tracks, support and help with settings for the last three weeks. Anderson has seemed to embrace it with a series of Vlogs from his personal film guys that’s pretty entertaining and Osborne, well he’s all in and has been since before he was named to the team. This going early stuff and sacrificing his off-season time was something he was accepting eagerly.

Cooper got there a bit later but still earlier than any member of Team USA the last decade and he’s hooked up with the two Husqvarna guys for some sand training.

“It’s been a great experience for all involved but I have to say it wouldn’t have been possible without the huge effort from Husqvarna and Ice One. Having those guys and the bikes completely sorted with the most high level workshop in the sport has been a big asset for us,” Osborne told me over text. “We both adjusted quickly to the time change and the lifestyle and got straight to work. The riding has been better than I actually expected and I think as a team we are in a really good place. No matter the result, we have put in every bit of work that we could and left no stone unturned to have the best result possible.”

Yep, Team USA is indeed turning it up to eleven to try and get back to the top in the Olympics of Motocross. You really gotta love this effort by the guys if you’re a Team USA supporter and win or lose, you have to respect what all three, and the crew members, have done here.

Will it be enough? Who knows but this has been really cool to see. If they do pull off the miracle win like the boys in 1981

then the blueprint for future USA teams has been set right?

PRODUCTS

www.ktm.com

ktm KTM launched their SX-E 5 with some fanfare this week and deservedly so. The bike will not hit KTM dealers until next month (the last quarter of 2019) but there has been a high degree of anticipation about this model considering the path of development and the ramifications for introducing new kids and riders to off-roading. The SX-E 5 is aimed at three-ten year olds with ‘comparable power output to the KTM 50 SX’ and ‘six power modes allowing a complete beginner to step on with ease, whilst the full power mode is exciting and challenging for the fastest junior’. The chassis can be adjusted to cope with the child’s changing height. The SX-E 5 has been given the same R&D importance as any other SX model and the WP Suspension means this is a key part of the wide KTM MX range.

“It offers a premium chassis, like those on all of our SX models, but also a lot in terms of rideability thanks to the electric motor, as it’s easy to ride, but at the same time it can be super-fast without making noise,” says KTM’s Senior Product Manager for Offroad Joachim Sauer. “We tested the bike with such a wide range of riders; the complete beginner can ride on a track almost straight away, yet a national level rider can have comparable lap times to that of the combustion bike, which is something special.” Click on www.ktm.com for information on pricing and where to find a nearest dealer.

FEATURE

THE EXPERIENCE THE JOURNEY TIM GAJSER TALKS ABOUT THE KEY CHANGES FOR HIS SUPERLATIVE MXGP CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

E

ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETAENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM

FEATURE

T

im Gajser had a ‘Jeffrey Herlings-free’ championship year in 2019 but he still had to take on the might of Red Bull KTM and one half of an axis that had obliterated MXGP the previous term. The Slovenian faced-off against Tony Cairoli in two gripping and close Grands Prix in Italy and Portugal and profited from some very rare slips by the nine times world champion and one of the very best motocrossers of the modern era.

Gajser is now a three-time title winner and managed the feat before his 23rd birthday.

He is very much the flagship for HRC in MXGP and the poor luck with injuries for Brian Bogers means that #243 has largely carried the red banner by himself for two years.

When he claimed the 2016 crown against an ailing Cairoli (dealing with neck and shoulder nerve damage), a partially absent Romain Febvre and a Kawasaki ‘rookie’ in the shape of Clement Desalle, Gajser brought a new energy and youthful verve to the premier class. It was a level of performance and speed that Jeffrey Herlings hoisted onto his shoulder and threw into the air towards the end of 2017 and even more emphatically last year. Gasjer was fantastic in 2016 but there were some that felt he existed on the

edge of his Honda saddle: just one kicker away from disaster.

His luck ran out in 2017 with several big crashes carrying consequences and 2018 was ruined from the outset with a horrific prang at the Mantova Starcross International (a concussion and broken jaw was the physical cost, the mental repercussions lasted longer).

2019 saw the likeable and strangely vulnerable racer mix two powerful attributes: the preparation and zeal to match Herlings’ might and a milder – more mature - approach necessary for a nineteen round campaign that was later clipped to eighteen dates.

Sitting down for a conversation at the Grand Prix of Imola where he’d confirm his ‘gold medal’ status thanks to a massive points lead (Cairoli had long departed the competition with a dislocated shoulder) Tim is cheerful and thoughtful company. He opens up hesitantly, especially about his Dad and the evolution of their oppressing and close relationship, but the honesty is refreshing, almost innocent.

Impressively for an athlete who is still so young – he could have contested MX2 this season – Gajser has made huge strides in 2019. Importantly and crucially this bodes well for 2020 when Red Bull KTM will be armed with three

MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER riders of such potency and power that even the smallest or most viable of threats will be welcomed.

“YOU MIGHT THINK HE CAN BE DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH, BUT IT’S THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. HE’S A NICE GUY. HE’S A GENTLEMAN WITH ME, THE CREW, WITH EVERYBODY.”

Did you reach a new peak this year or was your level the same as the crushing season of 2016? It seemed that your

racecraft was a bit more consistent and considered…

Well, it’s three years on, so for sure I have more experience but I think in my head and with what I have been through in the last two seasons - with all the injuries and not riding well - I was able to learn and not repeat mistakes. I did a couple of changes during the winter with my preparation… and my Dad…I think the decision was the right one. I’m feeling happy.

The relationship with your Dad: has that changed from him being more like a trainer

and coach to something more paternal?

Yeah, let’s say it like that.

Since I started riding and even up to last year he was completely involved in everything I did with training on the bike, testing. Everything. Last winter we had a little meeting and I explained to him what I wanted. I knew that I had to change something because I wasn’t happy any more. We spoke nicely and we decided we’d have to make a bit of distance between us. He came to two GPs this season I think and it was just me, my girlfriend and my brother: who is

FEATURE also my practice mechanic.

When I was practicing then it was just me and my brother and he came along a couple of times. He’d opened a bar by the sea – quite far in Croatia - so was busy with that. He came to work on the practice track a little bit and would offer a couple of pieces of advice but that was it.

Was it strange not having that presence?

Yes, at first I didn’t really know what to expect from my race weekends. I was a bit scared to make that change.

I’d never been to a race without him – actually there was one: in 2017 in France at the final round he had hurt his ribs and could not travel. That was the first time ever. 2018 was normal so this year was a big difference. He’d helped a lot with advice about the track and other things…but then it was also too much. There has to be a balance between when he’d tell me something and telling me too much. Know what I mean? It was the biggest change in my career so far. It worked out, because I feel more comfortable and a little bit more relaxed at the races.

Romain Febvre had a torrid season in 2017 after making a miss-step with winter testing. If anything your championship this year shows how well it can work if you get it right…

Yes and we did small things like changing the dates so we did our testing a bit earlier.

In the past I’d take a break after the season and we’d test in mid-November and, looking back, I perhaps was not the best prepared. It means that some parts on the bike

are not acting or reacting the same as when you are on top form and race fit.

For two years you were also hurt around that timeExactly. So the past winter we did it earlier, straight after the last GP so I could easily do 30-35 minute motos. It helped me to develop the bike. When I came to Argentina fully fit and ready I had a familiar feeling with the bike already.

In the past I was unable to go fast in mid-November and to really make those GP-speed 35 minute motos.

Have you become a better test rider? HRC must have many questions…

The winter was also the first test without my Dad and I think my focus was even bigger. In the past I’d have a feeling or idea but he’d always see something from the outside and have his opinion, like the bike would be more nervous in one corner or kicking in another place. Without him I

focussed really hard on every kind of test and every kind of part and I paid more attention. We’d do more comparative stuff if I was unsure and the whole team was there so I could call on all the experience of people like Massimo, Marcus, Nico and Giacomo to help me. We found that set-up together.

Tell me about the effects of injury. In 2017 there were a couple of crashes and you even started the season sick.

Then 2018 was ruined by that massive pre-season accident at Mantova. Was there a sense of relief that 2019 gave a clear run?

Definitely. When you have a great winter and you are free from injury then you can also build your confidence.

You can bring everything you have done in that time to the races. When are entering the season unfit then the confidence and the mentality is not in the right place.

MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

It’s clearly worked but was there moments when you had doubts? Or did you find that support you needed in the team?

Definitely. I have such an amazing team. They are always behind me, even when I have a bad race or two bad seasons and I didn’t feel myself, there was always support and help. We had a good winter and set the bike really well. During the races now we don’t change so much. Some races – like Valkenswaard or Kegums where the ground is changing from year to year and the sand feels like it is becoming more hard-packed and the bumps evolve differently – I struggled a bit to set-up the bike but we’d done so much testing that if something didn’t work then we had another plan. We always found something where I felt quite comfortable.

FEATURE

MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

“WHEN YOU ARE ENTERING THE SEASON UNFIT THEN THE CONFIDENCE AND THE MENTALITY IS NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE. YOU DON’T THINK CORRECTLY. YOU ARE NOT AFRAID BUT YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF...”

FEATURE You don’t think correctly. You are not afraid but you don’t believe in yourself. In 2017 we had a great start and took the red plate after the third round but then the struggle started with the crashes and the injuries and I missed two rounds. Tough, tough year.

I prepared and hoped again for 2018 and kinda had what I wanted before Mantova.

We had identified two preseason races and now, looking back, that was a mistake.

You should make more races before the GPs start because competition helps with confidence and building a rhythm, making starts and being with others on the track because during the winter you just ride by yourself. That crash ended my season before it started. It was huge. I was still remembering it half way through 2018: I looked down when I was in the air and didn’t know how it would turn out. I woke up in the hospital. I couldn’t talk. It was a very emotional time. I was not angry but I was disappointed I could not race in Argentina because it was only two weeks before the first GP. What was harder to deal with: 2017 and the championship slowly slipping away or ’18 when your chances were wrecked from the outset?

They were both pretty tough!

Maybe 2018 was worse because I didn’t even start the

season. In ’17 missing a GP is very difficult because you know the points gap is just getting bigger and bigger and the championship is not finished but the prize has gone.

2018 was tougher mentally. I would say two months after the crash I was very close to being 100% on the physical side but mentally I didn’t believe in myself. I was thinking too much about crashes and what could go wrong. I think by the second half of the season I was trying hard to put that to one side and focus just on the riding and getting a good feeling. I was trying to enjoy myself again and got better to the point that I was back on the podium. I was second behind Jeffrey at the last GP at Imola but the gap was still too big.

I was confident though and I knew during the winter – with a little bit of a different preparation – that we could close that down.

Did you take confidence this year by going toe-to-toe with Tony Cairoli and beating him?

Capitalising when he made mistakes?

Yes, for sure. I already had a good feeling about the year when we riding pre-season in Sardinia because I was enjoying myself so much on the bike and the Italian races went well. I thought ‘we are on the way’. In the first races Tony and I were always

What happened at Mantova this spring? You crashed multiple times and it was the only race where you missed the podium right up until the end of the season…

Tough one. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself coming from Arco and winning both motos after some great racing. We’d had a big break in the calendar as well with five weeks off that kinda broke the rhythm of the season and I’d never had that before. I had a lot of expectation and people were telling me that I would win the GP again after I’d done it in ’16.

There were some bad things that had happened at home as well because our house had been broken into from Saturday to Sunday and I didn’t sleep so much. It was definitely a hard weekend, and - added to all of that – the track conditions changed completely from Saturday to Sunday. The start was the key and if you were in front then you were OK. The slow-mo video of your first corner crash was scary…

I know! I didn’t feel so bad when I actually crashed but when I saw that video later I realised how sketchy it had been [laughs]. It was scary.

MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

close together and we’d gap the next rider by something like thirty seconds. I knew he was well prepared and he’d be really fast all year. I tried to push and keep pressure on him all the time and that was the strategy but we rode a similar pace so it was hard to do. If I was in front then I could not gap him and he’d see where he was faster and use that. He’d watch my lines, and then I’d let him past to have a look at his and he wouldn’t be able to gap me. It was like that in Arco and also Portugal.

I imagine your preference is to win by 20 seconds but do those battles represent ‘good days’? Is that part of why you do this?

For sure. It was a case of ‘who will crack under pressure?’

I was going into those races with the mentality that if I was leading then I would let him pass. I would try to follow and – knowing my preparation was good – attack in the last five minutes and as late as possible so he could not get me back. If I look back now it seems strange because the normal mode is to pass and try to go, but we were both at a good level. We were both setting the fastest times on the last laps. It was really good.

FEATURE

At the low times when you look around then the people that are there can really help.

I always have Spela next to me and she always finds the words that I need at any moment. When I was completely on the ground and watching the races from the sofa in 2017 and 2018 I felt like crying.

You mentioned enjoying the bike: has the current CRF450R been the best race machine you’ve had with Honda?

Let’s say yes. The set-up is not too radical, even from what I had in 2016 where we again didn’t change much.

Not even a click at some GPs and it is very similar this year.

The starts seem to have improved and this is where KTM have been so strong…

Yes and that was one thing where we were struggling with in the past years. KTM were always top three or taking holeshots but we worked hard with the engineers and the Japanese to look at everything: the clutch, the discs and the small details. What was important is that we found a set-up where we could start well consistently. People always talk about good starts and that is simply because you can immediately go at the pace of the leaders. If you are down in tenth then you need to scrap and take more risks

to get to the front. It’s easier to crash in those circumstances. So it’s the most important part…and also the only moment where you can pass everybody in four seconds!

People said that Herlings raised the bar in MXGP. Did you think you’d have to change much to catch him and match that level?

Last year – every year – he was really fast and if I look at my 2018 then at the beginning I was two-three steps behind him and by the end I was closer. The weakness for me last year was the last fifteen minutes and that’s why I worked hard in the gym to be stronger. I was definitely focussed to meet his level – and maybe do even better – this year. During the winter you never really know where you are because you don’t have the chance to compare.

You only get all the information at the first Grand Prix. For sure it is dangerous if you get it wrong and that’s why every year the ‘line’ is getting higher and higher because everybody is pushing harder. It’s not always about how much you work but the effectiveness of it and it depends on the personality. We are all different and if you took ten riders and gave them all the same programme maybe only one will feel good at the races. It takes time and experience to find and know the right plan.

MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

Outwardly you always seem the same – friendly, open – it’s hard to tell if you are struggling and you also don’t go too crazy when you win.

It is frustrating when people cannot always understand how hard the job can be and how much pressure there is going for a championship and fronting a team like HRC? For fans or people involved in the sport that only see you on race day winning or losing or whatever, it can be difficult to understand just how much sacrifice and effort goes into the race day. Actually, Sunday is the easiest day of the week. Every day you are pushing hard or training hard and watching every little thing you do. When I get to a Thursday I cannot wait to get to a race.

On Friday I can breathe a little bit, Saturday I ride and Sunday I raceWhat about the pressure involved?

Sure there is pressure…but otherwise you wake up at 7 and do everything to ensure you are ready for the weekend. Everybody does this.

Every pro athlete as well no matter what sport. We’re only human, not robots and it can be hard to keep supermotivated. When things are not going in the right direction then the motivation can follow [down]…but the important thing is that you don’t lose it altogether. Even if there is just a little bit then that’s crucial.

Photo: R. Schedl

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fox racing Fox have updated their potent Legion line that was initially targeted towards the Enduro rider but the resistance and performance of the products from iconic brands such as Cordura, Polartec and D3O mean a robust and unavoidable option for off-road riders in general. When Senior Category Manager for Fox MX, Jeff Sagud, says “we created the new Legion line by identifying the rider’s needs in the most demanding environments. Whether you’re on a multi-day off road adventure, or riding your favorite single-track trail, the new Legion line is designed to keep you comfortable and protected off-road” this is not merely sales talk. We tested the original Legion wares three years ago and were impressed by the use of Cordura and the strength (and design) of the kit. From jackets with TruSeal and TruMotion to a new pant and jersey combo Legion is a comprehensive and technology-lined portfolio that requires more investigation. Fox have also amplified the collection for a women’s range in 2020.

M

FEATURE

THE ULTIMATE BRUSH HOLDER TALKING ART, DESIGN, CREATIVITY, PRESSURE AND POLKA DOTS WITH TROY LEE DESIGNS’ ARTISTIC GURU

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Troy Lee Designs

FEATURE

S

enior Designer Maki Ushiroyama has been holding the palette, mixing it himself or splashing colours and ideas for Troy Lee Designs for almost thirty years and three quarters of the famous art-and-product company’s lifetime.

He has been responsible for some of the company’s best, most memorable and most talked-about visuals in motocross/ supercross and continues to find inspiration on the same canvas to this very day.

In the depths of the TLD workshop/museum/workshop/function space ‘hub’ in Corona – the heart of motocross country in California – Ushiroyama has a well established base of operations; a working space just across from Troy Lee’s office from which he has constructed a ‘tower’ in the MX and motorcycling industry for thinking outside of the box and never fearing the outlandish.

Talking with Maki involves a breezy conversation about creativity and challenge.

We’re curious as to how he can continue to keep TLD at the top of the apparel and helmet business when it comes to aesthetics, and especially since the company’s wares never cease to advance: their MIPS-equipped helmets are excellent products while the latest limited edition apparel lines in collaboration with Adidas promised an unbeatable forward step for riding gear performance.

Taking a break from the pencil, mouse and headphones we asked Maki for some insight…

“TROY LEE DESIGNS IS A GRAPHICDRIVEN PRODUCT COMPANY, AND I WANT TO PUSH A LOT OF GRAPHIC INTO THE PRODUCT BUT AT THE SAME TIME I AM ALSO THE ONE THAT IS ELIMINATING GRAPHICS...”

a bit of weight. So we started researching to know how we can shave it. Of course in the price range we had to make sure we were offering the customer durability as well. If you are chasing the elite level racer though and some of the world fastest guys then they don’t care if the gear lasts past thirty minutes! Supercross can be fifteen minutes. We started doing a lot of investigation into fabrics and we

MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

In all your time at TLD is it far to say the practical and functional role of the products like the helmets, protection and race gear have caught up to the appeal of the design and the artistic view?

Yeah. Since we’ve had a racing team riders were always commenting on the weight of the gear generally with helmets, chest protectors, neck braces and the whole thing together generates quite

FEATURE had a guru that showed us a lot of material and construction technique that we didn’t know anything about. We’d relied on the vendor’s advice before when it comes to triple and double stitching, folding it this way or that way and using this fabric: that was as far as it went for strengths and durability. So it made a big difference using another designer, Silvio, with that knowledge and who pointed out there is a lot that the moto industry doesn’t know about fabrics yet. We started experimenting and that’s when the safety and also functionality part really increased. For helmets we’ve been doing our own studies. We use MIPS but we’ve looked into it ourselves. Then we thought ‘how can we do that with apparel as well?’

“THE INDUSTRY WASN’T READY FOR THE POLKA DOT AND – ALTHOUGH I DON’T WANT TO PAT MY OWN SHOULDER – I DID SOMETHING TO WAKE EVERYBODY UP. IT WAS TIME TO CHANGE...”

Did that mean any compromise for design and the artistic side? Maybe even down to a budget point of view…

That’s where the ‘good designer’ or ‘bad designer’ kicks in because a good one will know there is a limit to what a certain fabric can do aesthetically. Sometimes it can be as simple as a colour block or even just a colour to get the ‘wow’ factor and bring in the newness.

Troy Lee Designs is a graphic-driven product company, that’s what we are known for, and I want to push a lot of graphic into the product but at the same time I am also the one that is eliminating graphics. A lot of the time the mentality can be ‘more is more’ but I have a ‘less is more’ mentality too: stripping back graphics to get to the core design. I think Troy started getting it; an empty space to him is scary. He has to fill it in some way. To me it can also be beautiful and can compliment something else. It is all about the balance. To me, a single colour can still be a graphic! When it is supersimple it can blend in. It kinda becomes like a wall.

I remember the video when you launched the famous ‘polka dot’ livery.

It seems like the latest TLD stuff is a little more conservative?

It [the polka dot] definitely shocked a few people and turned some heads. And a lot of people hated it! The industry wasn’t ready and – although I don’t want to pat my own shoulder – I did something to wake everybody up. It was time to change. When I showed Troy for the first time he ‘got’ it; he knew that everybody would hate us. I said “are you ready? Because I believe in it” so we went with it: TLD style. It kinda sold OK. It’s not like we sold millions of sets but it was another to cover the costs.

What the relationship like with Troy?

Can you go to him with a crazy idea or will he just dismiss it?

It’s been about collaboration. Always.

He’ll show me his ideas and sometimes they click and sometimes they don’t. Actually a lot of times they don’t. He has a particular way of doing things and what he thinks is cool: and I have mine.

Is that another good reason to have stayed here so long? If you were at another company and had some more corporate responsibility then maybe your visions could get closed down or watered down…

Yeah, I’d have more ‘layers’ to convince but I’m the only guy here designing motocross apparel and it has been a long time. I have a couple of guys doing the helmet graphics. I still do a lot of helmets too. Troy is an artist. He can know what he wants but sometimes doesn’t know how to execute it, so he needed people like me to make sure that his visions become a reality. I like that messy art approach and I don’t want to lose it but we must also be careful about what we are offering. In certain years we have been very clean looking but if I have a ‘busy’ type of year with a lot of art in there then things get lost and ideas have to be pocketed for the following collection.

Are you principally an artist or more of a designer then?

I’m a product designer with a graphic designer mind. It’s like I design the form of an F1 car but I am also responsible for the livery as well and both are equally important. Functionality without style means that people will think something is ugly. A terrible graphic will ruin the first part of the product. So you have to marry both together. A lot of people say ‘oh, Maki is great with a graphic’. No, no…I’m an overall designer.

MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

Do you ever bump heads?

Oh, all the time! We disagree on pretty much everything to begin with! Although when we click then that’s unbeatable and we don’t care what people or sales guys think. I’m totally fine with that.

FEATURE So have you ever been in a situation when you have a good product but cannot get the right graphic to do it justice?

Or vice versa?

Yes! We have had those moments. But we also have quite a lot of variety in the line. I think I know the products enough to be able to say ‘this graphic goes here, that graphic goes there’.

Has a blank document ever scared you?

Coming up with designs is never an issue. I have almost way-too many ideas that I want to show to the world. I have ten+ years of sketchbooks full of stuff.

The last three-four years is always closeby [in a book]. It will be in my backpack.

I’m still sketching, like the good old days.

No iPad! I should use one though. I’m not denying new technology because it makes life so much easier. For instance an iPhone is a wonderful tool. I can get all the information I need right away and that’s what design is about, having those first touches close to hand. I still need to connect my head, heart and hand though! It cannot just be ‘head to hand’.

There has to be a bit of heart and soul in the stuff that comes out. That’s why sketching just works. I cannot go straight to a computer or a screen. It is small things, small doddles: many ideas where you just connect the dots. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t and sometimes you can get too far ahead: it might be an idea that is already ten years old but it’s still not ready for the market.

I can be late too. I might have a great idea but someone has already done it. I might have made something look a bit different but it was not exciting enough.

Is the sketchbook like your ‘vault’?

Where else do you draw inspiration from?

Many visual places like Instagram, Pinterest but also just going out and watching people and shopping malls, museums and art: daily stuff. I’ll even go somewhere like the opticians and think ‘oh, those graphics are quite cool’. It’s easy to get inspired.

It must also be tiring to always be so observational…

It can be! My wife will say “can you just shut it off?!” But I do forget, so I have to keep recording it, whether that’s with a snapshot or something else. Every couple of months I have to download the contents of my phone and organise it.

[About] half of the stuff I’d had similar ideas before but the other half is very new and I don’t know what to do with it! If I think something is cool then it is already brewing, and in my heart I am ready to use it. The new stuff is also exciting and I think ‘how can I link the ideas?’ or ‘how will one link or bounce to the other?’ I can present both ideas and explain my inspiration and nobody will ‘get’ what it is. They end-up confused.

Do you have a system or a process? Do you have slow days? Or hard deadlines?

We are all driven by the deadline right?!

Those ‘oh s**t’ moments can also bring up some ideas. I think the older I get it then it is not necessary to rely on that pressure sometimes. You just train your brain for ‘go time’. That period can also be relaxed too. It depends on what it is.

‘Alone times’ are productive whereas a bunch of meetings can see designers just doodling. I’m not quite ready for the multitask thing. I kinda need to be in the zone and when that happens everything seems to disappear, even the music stops in the headphones and the cup of coffee on the desk gets cold. I think I

need that. Without it then I don’t think I can come up with the ideas.

Are there any basic rules for motocross gear? Things like rider’s position on the bike? You might have a good graphic but then sit in the stands at Anaheim and not be able to see it…

Erm, rules? Mainly just to make our gear look like ‘ours’: the TLD signature.

If our gear and graphic is presented without the logo can people still identify our look? Sometimes it is graphics, sometimes colours, sometimes shape.

Of course we are living in a ‘make the logo bigger’ world! Somehow people still love the big logos. I’m the first person to want to remove logos and just let the

graphic speak – which I have started to do here and there – but every time I do that then I have to be aware that people are also buying as a branding/bonding loyalty thing. I understand that. So it’s a balance again. If I use giant TLD logos on the sleeves then maybe only small ones on the chest. A soccer jersey is a good sports tool – a patch can represent a team right? So how do we do that for the moto industry? Instead of having logos on the chest, arms, elbows, legs, knees, thighs, butt and zipper area: how many do you want?! Customers already know the brand they have bought. I want to break that rule. It’s a second priority though. The first is: did I come up with an idea that nobody has? If we have a

MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

“I ASK PEOPLE: WHAT IS TROY LEE DESIGNS TO YOU? SOME WILL SAY ‘IT IS ALL ABOUT WILD AND WACKY AND NEON COLOURS’: SO THAT’S COLOUR RIGHT? THE NEXT GUY WILL BE ‘YOU’RE ALL ABOUT THE FLAMES AND EYEBALLS’: SO THAT’S GRAPHIC. OTHERS WILL BE ‘IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FLAT BLACK, THE CHROME AND THE HOT ROD’ SO THAT’S THE CONCEPT. SOME MIGHT SAY ‘THE SPORTY, FIELD-BASED STUFF’ SO THAT’S A FOURTH ELEMENT. WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

FEATURE second year of gear and it has the same feel or vibe as the one before then I definitely reject it. Unfortunately I’m the only one here doing that! The sales guys want something comfortable so they can sell it all day long - so we have something that looks like TLD but also the other stuff - but I try not to go there. My job is to try and bring something original. Doing something timeless is always my design street.

Is there any pressure that comes with that though? Especially for a company with a name like TLD and the long archive of your work and the firm’s output?

Yeah, people have expectations of us but then I’d also ask them: what is Troy Lee Designs to you? Everyone will have a different idea. Some will say it is all about wild and wacky and neon colours:

so that’s colour right? The next guy will be “you’re all about the flames and eyeballs”: so that’s graphic. Others will be “it’s all about the flat black, the chrome and the hot rod” so that’s the concept.

Some might say “the sporty, field-based stuff” so that’s a fourth element. What do you want?! People want the next thing and that’s my job. I have to make a new flavour.

OK, so talk about something that was great but didn’t sellOh! All the time.

And something that you thought ‘that was a really cool piece of work’…

Well, a good rider makes everything look good. Even the ugly designs where you think ‘how or why did people buy that?!’

But that shows you cannot pick and choose what is ugly or not because it depends on personal taste. Mine changes all the time, almost every week! Sometimes a thing that seemed ugly to me ten years ago suddenly has new virtues. So it’s hard to really pick good and bad. A lot of people ask me “what’s your favourite design?” and the answer is always easy: the one I came up with today!

Sorry… that’s not much of an answer.

Talk about the collaboration with Adidas.

That must have introduced some new design constraints…or maybe possibilities…?

That was a fantastic project. It started with an introduction and eventually collaboration. A representative from Adidas came up to us and said “hi, I work in the Future Department” and we said “what does that mean?” and he was part of the advance team that is working on projects five-ten years ahead. They were keen to have some of Troy’s artistry on some of their products and we thought

and race condition so that’s when we used our race team – Shane McElrath at the time and Jessy Nelson – and they wore it and thought it was amazing but at the same time we knew right away where it needed improvement. So that was five years ago and we just weren’t ready to make and produce it: it was so ‘out there’ – Adidas and TLD! In the end, about three years ago, we saw that our competition was starting to come up with similar things so it was the moment to push hard. It was our fault that we weren’t able to make it first. We knew the Adidas pant would be good so three years ago we went for it and a year ago the first pant came onto the market. That was three years of development on and off.

What about the actual look of it?

They give us a little more freedom but the true story is that we couldn’t put much of a graphic because of the nature of the fabric. We tried, and we are

MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

‘that’s cool!’ First of they gave us a small range of shoes and asked us for the TLD ‘touch’ as we’d done with helmets. We did a bunch and they loved it and that triggered all the next steps. They are like us, working behind a screen and looking for inspiration and I wondered if I could get rid of the ‘three stripes’: that was my challenge. I did many, many things and we just rolled on together for more stuff.

One day I was asking about new fabrics and making new steps and it was another direction in which the Adidas/TLD collaboration could move. They did a study for us. I remember them saying “this is a new fabric, by the way its hundred dollars a yard!” It was a bit advanced for the market but they made a prototype mockup and a video to show all the stretch. If Adidas were going to make a motocross pant then that’s how it would be. We were shown a presentation and we were blown away. It looked great on the mannequin but we needed to get it into the real test

FEATURE working on the next generation where we will be able to. It was an Adidas project, idea and knowledge that went into the patterns, fit and fabrics and the way the construction is cut-in. There is a lot of multi-functional stretch. It is very calculated and if that is the main marketing story then maybe we don’t need a graphic but I see what you are saying because people might have expecting more of a ‘wow’ thing from TLD and Adidas but in the end it was quite simple. I heard that many times.

It’s still a big deal for motocross and the industry: a major sport-performance brand putting their eggs into TLD and dirt bikes. There’s expectation that comes with that but also it’s a massive opportunity…

That’s right and we have a wonderful relationship. There is mutual help in many ways. It’s not just TLD stuff with an Adidas logo slapped on. It’s not like that. The gear was born from Adidas and manufactured by TLD. The shoes were a different canvas and I loved it but I’m sure half of the designs I came up with they have done before in some degree with colours and flavours. But for them they had millions of variations of colours – more than you can think of – and that education process help us and our creativity, especially because TLD is known for having several layers on helmets to get that right colour. It is not as simple as saying “oh, there’s a red metallic” there is a lot more: the kind of silver being used, the candy colour that makes the red jump and then which kind of red!

There are so many possibilities, which I learned from helmets and could apply to the shoes and even the gear. We even surprised the manufacturers sometimes

by saying they have to use a particular colour first to achieve the end effect.

Lastly how do you view TLD, your work and the position on the landscape?

Interesting question. I don’t think I have made it to the top yet. But what is the top to you? Or to me? When I design and finish the concept then I am the ‘king of the world’! I’ll think ‘this is the best design I could come up with’ but then I’ll look at it again in the next days and think ‘oh man, that’s s**t!’ It’s like writing a love letter in the night and you read it the next morning and you’re like ‘what was I thinking?!’ Same thing! But I will go back and make sure it will be the best design I can do at that time and be confident in it enough to present it, whether it’s to a customer, the sales department or Troy.

At least I will have put 100% into it. If it doesn’t sell then tough s*t! I’ll do it again and keep trying, keep trying. So, I don’t feel like I have ‘won the championship yet’ but I keep going and I keep enjoying it.

MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

6

24mx is not liable for price changes, tyop’s or changed availablitly of products in the ad

PRODUCTS

www.scott-sports.com

scott sports Two products worthy of attention here from Scott.

The first is the latest Limited Edition Prospect to coincide with the 94th ISDE in Portugal next month. The design features a ‘map motif’ and comes with a matching storage bag. The Prospect is the flagship eyewear from the goggle specialist with the widest field of vision on the market, 3-layer No Sweat Face Foam, the innovative Scott Lens Lock System, articulating Outriggers an Enduro ACS (air control system) and an anti-fog doubleglazed lens.

For Scott bicycle fans and owners then the new Syncros iS Tailor Cage ‘offers a safe, sleek and integrated way to carry all of your ride essentials no matter how long the route.’ This means a sideentry cage for a re-designed bottle and compatibility for other items such as new multi-tool with 19 functions and an integrated chain tool and a MTB specific mini-pump and CO2 nozzle using a bracket and shim system.

FEATURE

THE PERSISTENT INNOVATOR

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

FEATURE

W

atching Dr Chris Leatt explain the reasoning and virtues of neck protection to an audience of riders, team members and curious paddock personnel during a presentation at the Grand Prix of Belgium was a dynamic reinvigoration of a key concept of safety and protection that first made such an impact on motocross and off-road more than ten years ago. Neck protection is now in the phase where it has to be refreshed or re-explained to a new generation and the South African creator of the device was the ideal person to do that.

Leatt talks passionately about the role the neck brace can play in the reduction of neck injury and even broken collarbones (yes, you read that right) and the exposition at Lommel would actually be a precursor to a similar talk with the FIM a few days later in Geneva and the first key steps towards establishing a belated standardisation protocol.

The specialist has since been at the forefront of a wider collective effort at his company.

Leatt, the firm, have invested and recouped on their innovations and turned their attentions to helmets, knee braces, body armour, apparel and other products where they have spotted a flaw or a shortcoming from their peers

on the market. They have now focussed this approach on motocross boots in another alternative vision soon to grab the attention of motorcyclists.

In between a series of interviews and duties at Lommel we pinned Chris down for a twenty-minute conversation on the role Leatt are playing with their work and some of the difficulties they’ve had to face.

What’s your personal involvement in the business these days because Leatt has grown and diversified so much…

I think it is important to play to your strengths and mine is not running a business!

It doesn’t ‘get me up’ in the morning. I’m an ideas person.

I like starting things and I’m not terribly good at running things. There are people better suited to that. We have a fantastic CEO in Sean Macdonald who is a CA [Chartered Accountant] by trade. We have a very flat management structure and a fantastic team. I can remember back in the day it was like a family; people would play games and leagues at lunchtime and go riding after work. We’ve maintained that. We’ve tried to find the best people for the job and that can fit into that culture.

I’m still chairman of the board and I take those responsibilities seriously and then I’m in charge of R&D. That’s what I really enjoy doing: looking at

the market and not necessarily the status quo, things that will challenge the norm and ways that can make the best product possible. I think that’s viewable in some of the new stuff we have been working on.

There are only so many hours in the day and so much energy or attention you can exert, so did you ever find that a project like the GPX helmet was swallowing 90% of your time and other ideas suffer?

Some of these projects take so long. By their very nature there is a hive of activity and then you make a prototype and it goes out for testing. You make more steps and listen to what the market says and the impact testing and then you adjust again. So there are lots of periods where you are very busy and some where you are not so busy.

When you are running a lot of projects simultaneously you find a gap and work where you can.

Some you have to prioritise as well.

Some get put on the

LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX

backburner. Having said that – and going back to the team – we have great biomechanical engineers and designers and as a whole they work well together. I myself cannot run simulations because I am not a biomechanical engineer; they’ll set up all the test protocols after we have discussed what we wanted to achieve and what injury

FEATURE limits and thresholds we are testing for and then that goes to a technician in the lab who does all of that. We might do repetitive testing 100,000 times on a component but in terms of prototyping we may have a pneumatic leg that can test a knee brace and it will run for 24-48 hours straight, while we are looking at the results we’re also keeping an eye on other projects.

Have the lab and facilities in Cape Town undergone any expansion in the last couple of years?

We’ve just got a new helmet drop rig and had developed a new rotational acceleration rig. What with the new upcoming FIM standard – of which

we are part of the working group – we decided to forkout for the same rig that will be used in the standardised testing. Now the discussion is about which anvil to use, which impact velocity and all these things but being part of the working team means we are close to what is going on.

We don’t do that much neck brace pendulum testing as before because our database is so large. We’re looking at all the different tests and methodologies that are happening around the world at this time.

As we develop a new product we develop the specific test for it, which means the test equipment changes from time to time.

What’s the scene like for neck braces at the moment? You invented the market for that…

So we’ve sold about 800,000 to-date and – I might stand corrected on this – but I believe we have 70-80% of the market. It’s our flagship product.

But can you also talk about the helmet because that is a majorInvestment?!

I was going to say task because the market for this product and things like apparel is massive with so many competitors…

Our apparel has done extremely well and we are very delighted and with our body armour and chest protectors:

The irony is that it can be a headache…

It can be a headache! Hopefully not with our helmet on!

It seems that the aesthetics of the helmet and the overall design is something in which you have made big gains in the last year or so…

We had to go from ‘tech’ to

‘cool’. You can have the best products but if they don’t look the part then people just won’t wear them. So we had to make a conscious decision and we are growing up. We are still a young company and we were wet behind the ears.

Growing up means you have to take market, industry and fashion trends seriously and get in that matrix. Hopefully we can still push boundaries but within the scope of what the industry expects. The other challenge for us is that we are used to innovating a product and releasing it when it was finished. You cannot do that with helmets and apparel.

You have orientate around the release dates of the others, or what the distributors require or you won’t hit the market at the right time. You’ll miss the peak sales periods. If you miss it by a day then you’ve missed it by a year.

Are you allowed to be frustrated by that as a Doctor and innovator? A product with a lower safety spec might be the most popular purely because of a look…

You have to have your feet firmly in reality. You have to play the game in certain boundaries but also keep trying to push the envelope. Even with our apparel we try to put 3D design and choose the right materials and to make it the best fitting gear possible while at the same time still

try to make it cool. It’s never a dull moment.

The helmet and the knee brace: it has been interesting to watch Leatt create an identity where they have tried to find holes or flaws with products on the market and do something better. It’s a good selling point.

It is. I think our starting point is not to necessarily look at what everyone else is doing.

If we decide to make a helmet then how do we make the best one possible: that’s the first mark. If we want to make a knee brace then what is one of the main customer preferences? In my mind if you are riding a motocross bike then you want to be able to be able to grip the bike as much as possible so let’s not put a hinge in the middle. That’s quite an engineering challenge so how do we do that? The DNA of Leatt is to work on the intrinsic problem and come up with the best solution possible. We recently launched our goggles and for us it was a milestone moment because it was supported by the first proper marketing campaign we ever did and it bore fruit. So we are moving and evolving.

Isn’t it tough to keep developing products that have a distinct angle or reason-forbeing?

Yes and no. This is a debate we often have. You go to your

LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS

we have taken serious market share away from the big players. We’re really proud of what we have done. There is a concertina study made in the U.S. which shows what riders are wearing and what they will buy next so we follow that and look at our market share. We’re really happy and of course we are in bicycle as well and that is growing quicker than the motorcycle market. In terms of helmets: that is an enormous project.

They say it takes at least five years to develop a helmet and we’d have never done it before. It’s been three and a half years and it’s a busy time. We have learned a lot and you can produce the best helmet technically and if the fit isn’t quite right then you get hammered.

You might think your styling is right and the market doesn’t think so. When you have a neck brace and nobody else makes one and you are known for being the gold standard then it’s easier! When you start making helmets then you are playing with the big boys.

FEATURE

patent attorney and say ‘I’d like to patent something’.

Then you have to look at the prior art and then - however innovative or clever you thought your idea was - you find out that someone has done it somewhere. It might not be for the application that you have in mind but it is still known on the market place.

People say advances in technology is like a snowball and it gets bigger and bigger but in our industry it is getting difficult to come up with constructive technology. I think our role is to come up with products and make them as efficient as they can possibly be. We started in motocross circles and now we are in cycling and I still think there are enough products out there that could use some improvement. I don’t foresee there will be a decrease in innovation in the next decade. Maybe not as many disruptive ideas but still some innovation.

What about shoulder protection? It’s an area of the body that always takes such a hit and the 2019 MXGP title was partially decided by one of the riders suffering that kind of injury…

Shoulder injuries are hugely common, especially collar-

bones, and we have talked about how neck braces actually helps prevent collarbone injuries. We have a number of athletes and one of my old consultants in orthopaedics when I was doing an orthopaedic rotation said to me “I’ve got a netball team in South Africa and there are so many dislocations…” The problem is that surgery often means the end of a season.

So he wondered if there was any way an operation could be pushed until after a season and the player could keep on competing. So we looked at the pathophysiology of shoulder injuries and why people have them and what’s the mechanism causation; like we did with the neck brace in fact. And we found that 85% - depending on whether you are looking at something like rugby or downhill mountain bike or motocross – are anterior inferior displacement: in other words the shoulder gets hit from behind but slightly above and it forces the top of the humerus bone downwards and forwards. If you look at all the shoulder braces on the market they all strap the shoulder down and forwards.

It’s the opposite of what you need to do: you need to go up and back. So we designed a

strapping system with lots of different iterations until we got something comfortable and usable and it reengages the shoulder joint in place. The interesting thing with people who have had a dislocated shoulder is that they usually tell you that their shoulder is unstable. With this protection we gathered comments that the feeling had decreased and they were playing basketball and riding bicycles even though they’d had a dislocation. They were able to push back the operation. It is not a huge product for us but it is fantastic because it works so well.

Is it amazing to you that somebody hasn’t already made that discovery for motorsport specifically?

Every time I look at a problem I am amazed by the solutions out there, and people are still missing the boat or the picture. They are not looking at research or studying the problem properly. Also if it has actually been done somewhere before then what were the subsequent issues? With biomechanics you have to be incredibly careful that you don’t induce another injury when you are trying to avoid the primary one.

LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS

FEATURE

“EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A PROBLEM I AM AMAZED BY THE SOLUTIONS OUT THERE, AND PEOPLE ARE STILL MISSING THE BOAT OR THE PICTURE. THEY ARE NOT LOOKING AT RESEARCH OR STUDYING THE PROBLEM PROPERLY...”

that the way the body impacts the ground changes: air does not absorb energy. It becomes a rigid structure and it protects the occupant but if stays that way for more than the primary impact then it needs to dissipate air over a period of time. If you look at a car airbag then as soon as you go into it then it starts dissipating energy immediately. Initially when they started testing them in cars – and Volvo did this – they were a lot of fatalities particularly from children from hitting airbags that did not dampen the force or because the size of the occupant and the airbag were mismatched. If you consider a MotoGP rider who crashes at high speed and slides down the track with the airbag deployed then his ‘shape’ has changed. If he starts tumbling instead of sliding then you have other injuries. In a motocross environment it would go off and can you imagine getting back up and trying to get on the bike with a deployed airbag? Will it actually protect you when you hit the ground?

Will it cause more injury and how will you quickly deal with the inflated airbag? I think for these types of sporting applications then it is not practical.

For someone riding on the street then I think the products test really well but I don’t think you can take that technology and apply it to all sorts of situations.

Lastly, you spent time and effort developing a road racing brace that never came to fruition. Is the road neck brace something that’s dead in the water?

I think street is a very different market and naïve enthusiasm in the beginning meant that we tried to solve all problems with the same solution. I also think that you have to pick your battles. If a problem is very difficult to solve then your solution might not be the best one. In off-road racing there is no doubt that Leatt provides the right solution.

But if you look at the instances of head and neck injuries at high speed sports then normally it is reduced because you slide. Probably the worst thing you can do is fall off a horse – at a height at relatively low speed because your whole force and weight follows the head into the ground and your torso weight-loads the neck. You don’t slide out of the way, you just load the neck. The same in motocross: you hit sand and you just stop.

On the street you can slide more and that’s why the neck injury rate is much lower. I’d really like to see what impact the airbags have had in MotoGP. I’m not sure we’ll ever see that data but it would be fascinating.

LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS

What’s your view on airbags?

Is it something that can enter off-road and bicycles or is it something that is too impractical?

So there is a device called a Hovding which is sold in Holland for street cyclists and at a point it will deploy and cover the head and neck and it has really good head-andneck force results. It’s a great product. If you look at MotoGP and airbags then they are getting better, better and better in terms of the algorithms.

There are a couple of key problems: how do you deploy at the right time? And there have been huge advances in the algorithms to help with that. We are not privy to the data and the actual end result and the clinical worth of an airbag and what it does so there are a few reservations.

We have discussed airbags ad nauseam. We have also tested them and airbag jackets and we are still convinced that it is not the right solution for Leatt.

We believe that a hard shell in the right place, at the right time - all the time - is the best solution. Why? If you have a piece of safety equipment it absolutely has to be there or deploy at the right time or you risk causing an accident.

If you look at body size and shape between deployed and non-deployed then it is considerably different. Our major concern after doing some research and impact testing is

WEAR YOUR

STRENGTH

THE SCIENCE OF THRILL

L E AT T. C O M

PRODUCTS

www.ride100percent.com

100% The first of two hits to come out of 100% for 2020, and before dipping into the cool-looking casualwear we’re looking at the American company’s glove offerings. We use 100% gloves for mountain-biking as well as general use on the motorcycle in and around the city. The combination of the stretchy, comfy fit, and appealing design is the attraction.

For 2020 100% say they bring ‘a variety of new graphics and designs across the staple 100% glove chassis. The Airmatic, Ridefit and iTrack all bring a fresh look, while maintaining the fit, feel and function that 100% customers are accustom to.

Returning to the glove range will be the newly-released Ridecamp, the fan-favorite Brisker, the D3O enhanced Cognito and the Hydromatic line of waterproof gloves with options for cold and warm temperature demands.’ Check out some of the images here and click on photos to head straight to the website.

FAC E F OA M

www.alpinestars.com

PRODUCTS

alpinestars Alpinestars unveiled the fruits of a special project at the MotoGP GP Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

Founder Gabriele Mazzarolo was joined by President of the OTB Group, Renzo Russo, to talk about the association with renowned fashion brand Diesel. The collaboration led to creation of a special motorcycling-influenced range that includes three men’s jackets and one for women, leather pants and a smattering of t-shirts and sweatshirts, shoes and a cap. The exclusive collection will be on display at flagship Diesel high street shops and is notable for the heavy ‘biker theme’ with sponsor-type livery and colouring. “I love Alpinestars and I’m a very big fan of motorcycle gear,” said Russo exclusively. “Diesel, if you see our archive and our history, we have a lot of this kind of mentality and design. One day I thought it would be super-nice if I could do something ‘real’, so I called Gabriele with my idea and he immediately said ‘yes’”.

“We have known each other for a long time and Renzo rides motorcycles as well,” said Mazzarolo. “Alpinestars has always focussed on something very technical and we have over hundred people working on safety equipment and electronics but style is also a very important part of our activity. Working with Renzo and his team at Diesel was a perfect combination to bring the feeling of motorcycling to a bigger audience.”

“We have put this collection only in the best Diesel stores in the world because we want to give a good image and not just have it everywhere,” Russo adds. “It is a limited edition and the young generation love this selective gear: they are buying it and selling it on and making money!

Limited edition is great. It’s so exclusive that it helps build the brand, build the status.”

SBK BLOG

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES...

More than Europe’s largest MC store

It would seem that part of the ‘sport’ of WorldSBK in the final weeks of the current season is actually putting together the puzzle for the forthcoming season.

There have been some announcements on rider signings but whilst most other series have declared their calendars for 2020, the WorldSBK schedule is still a mystery. We know that the first race will take place in Phillip Island as usual, at the end of February, but after that it is anyone’s guess.

The Buriram race will be consigned to the history books given that MotoGP has moved to an earlier slot but options for a replacement seem limited. There had been a suggestion that a return to Sepang was on the cards, it may still be, but my understanding is that the previous WorldSBK events were so poorly attended that the circuit have no interest in hosting another one. All indications point to another European race being added to maintain a 13 date schedule but I can’t imagine anywhere other than Jerez being an attractive option climate wise for racing in March.

There have been press reports that the series will return to Oscherleben in Germany but ‘when’ is the big question. Slotting it in in the middle of March I don’t think would be ideal from a weather perspective. It would inevitably have a detrimental effect on the crowd figure and when you are trying to re-establish the event, a slot between June and September would be preferred. That, however, is the most congested part of the calendar at the moment so something else would need to be shuffled.

When the Superbike championship last visited the German circuit it was at the end of May/beginning of June, but that itself was a shift from an early September slot. The World Endurance championship currently has the 8 hours of Oschersleben in June so a March or September opening might be the only choice.

I would still like to see a race in August to fill in the summer gap.

The MotoAmerica championship has released their calendar for 2020 with the usual early July date for Laguna Seca. However, there is a big TBC next to the entry on their website and I have heard from some of the photographers and journalists I work with in the US that the circuit and County of Monterey are playing hardball again. The last I heard was that it would not happen but then that MA calendar was announced, so I would put it back in the ‘maybe’ folder. I have already had a look for accommodation and with a two star motel charging $200 per night I guess someone is hanging their hat on that date.

Personally I would really like to see a race in Japan to fill that early part of the season. I really enjoy travelling to Japan and with the current level of manufacturer support in the championship form Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda I really think a Japanese race could be viable.

By Graeme Brown

The only question would be which circuit to use. There will have reservations about using Suzuka given Dorna previously deigned it unsafe for MotoGP, although it is homologated by the FIM for the 8Hrs endurance race. Sugo was never well attended when I was there and you have to ask; are HRC committed enough to the series at the moment to offer up a date at Motegi for WorldSBK. I fear my wishes will ever be fulfilled but there is now harm in having a dream. It worked for Soichiro.

One piece of the HRC puzzle has finally been confirmed with Alvaro Bautista taking a seat on the 2020 Fireblade. It was one of a few poorly guarded secrets and maybe now the others will start to come into the public domain. Whilst it has been all the talk for a few weeks I am still surprised that he has chosen to move. I can only imagine that HRC have opened their cheque book far enough to tempt him away from Ducati, who are beyond desparate to win the championship again, with some reports suggesting he has been offered close to €1m as a base salary, more than double what was allegedly on offer at Ducati.

Ducati came into the 2019 season with an unknown package in Bautista and the Panigale V4R but promptly blew everyone away in the first half of the season. The wheels have however, well and truly fallen off the wagon and I now can’t see beyond Jonathan Rea re-writing the history books again with five championship wins in a row.

Who will join Bautista at Honda is still to be announced but the smart money is on Takumi Takahashi. With Johann Zarco ending his relationship with KTM in MotoGP though there may still be some heat in the embers of the rumour that was stoked way back at the beginning of summer.

I would expect this coming weekend in Magny Cours to be a busy one, either lots of rumour and intrigue or announcements to fill in some of the blanks. Another worst kept secret is still to be made official; Toprak Ragatlioglu joining Michael VD Mark at Yamaha, but that may not be released until all the seats in the Yamaha teams are confirmed. In the twitter chat that followed the HRC announcement both Razgatlioglu and Loris Baz replied to comments with a ‘what about me?’

I expect Baz to stay at Ten Kate but he should have a teammate for next year and then there are the two seats at GRT. On the outside there is still much work to be done at Yamaha, as there would appear to be at Kawasaki.

Having announced that they will retain Jordi Torres for 2020 Pedercini this week confirmed that he will be joined by Lorenzo Savadori. The Orelac team of Leandro Mercado on the other hand have more or less said farewell as team owner Jose Calero is stated as being unwilling to bankroll their participation in WorldSBK any further and with Puccetti Racing having lost their star man there is still the potential for some shuffling in the green corner.

Chat still persists that Alex Lowes will be taking over from Leon Haslam with JR’s current team-mate moving to Puccetti, or indeed back to BSB. The Kawasaki UK teams in BSB have just gone through a transformation with Haslam’s former title winning JG Speedfit team losing their support for the Superbike class to FS3 Racing. His best bet would therefore seem to be to either stay where he is or take the seat at Puccetti.

SBK BLOG

One interesting little insight came to light (to me anyway) at the last race when Dorna issued the details of the engines used per rider this season. Each rider has an allocation of seven engines and Alvaro Bautista currently has six engines ‘in use’. That means he only has one fresh engine left to use for the season. I remember from days gone by that the service intervals on the likes of a 996 or 1099 were really short and there were stories that the Ducati engines were so stressed to get the maximum performance that they had to be changed at the end of each day.

With my conspiracy theory hat on I wondered if Ducati had started the season with the wick turned up on their engines to get the maximum performance out of them, whilst at the same time a few crossed fingers to hope they will last. That, however, may not be possible any more given that all engines have their maximum revs restricted but it is an issue nonetheless why Bautista has used so many engines whilst Rea, by way of contrast, has three unsealed and one completely unallocated engine still

in his locker. We now come to the final three races of the year with circuits that have long straights, Magny Cours, Villacum and Losail so it will be interesting to see how the Ducati fares.

We are in the home stretch of 2019 now and the coming weekend will see JR have his first chance of clinching the title. Magny Cours is a favourite destination for him to do so but the opportunity won’t arise until Sunday. I expect it to run until Argentina but then again I didn’t expect Bautista to crash out of the lead in Jerez or Misano. I am now ready for anything.

PRODUCTS

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com

husqvarna Husqvarna have really upped their game with the line of casual wear and functional clothing for 2020. The company have maintained the tone of smart and simplistic thanks to subtle branding and attractive colours such as blue and grey. As ever, quality materials and construction are the hallmarks of the collection and the latest goods do not disappoint for the price/offering ratio. Check out the Remote Parka: a forceful protection against the elements made of polyester but with 2-way stretch material, an inner bag, concealed pockets and tapered seams. The Remote Pants are an ideal compliment and are made of Duratec, 4-way stretch and a pre-formed knee.

The construction mixes polyamide, polyester and elastane. The Remote Hybrid Jacket is a breathable but water repellent, wind resistant hooded top with raglan sleeves, side pockets and a PRIMALOFT Silver insulation. The ORIGIN sweater is made of cotton with a natural touch and a 3D embossed logo. The ORIGIN polo is a moisture management product with cotton and polyester, odour management and is fast-drying but with a natural touch. There is much more choice on the Husqvarna website and from garments with a similar neutral appearance or more sport-related stuff for Husky fans or riders. We’ll feature some more in a coming issue.

TEST

SPEEDING TO A NEW TWIN Words by Roland Brown Photos by Phil Masters

TEST

TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN

T

riumph’s new Speed Twin has a tough act to follow. The original bike of that name revolutionised the motorcycle industry on its launch back in 1937, inspiring a new era of British dominance with its 500cc parallel-twin engine, which suddenly made rival singles seem lumpy and dull.

More than eight decades later this latest Speed Twin can’t hope to make a comparable impact, in a market containing multi-cylinder machines of almost every imaginable layout. But there’s a reason why Triumph is now bringing back the famous name: this bike introduces a new level of performance to the firm’s retro-roadster family.

There’s nothing revolutionary about this Speed Twin. Its format of 1200cc liquidcooled, eight-valve parallel-twin engine and steel-framed, twin-shock chassis is shared with several of Triumph’s other modern classics, and dates back to the Hinckley firm’s reborn, 790cc Bonneville of almost 20 years ago.

But this latest lump is livelier even than the current Thruxton café-racer’s similar-sized unit, thanks to a magnesium cam cover and new, lightened components including the crankshaft and clutch. The maximum output of 96bhp is modest for a 1200cc unit but the hefty peak torque figure is delivered below 5000rpm, and the reduced internal mass makes for quick pick-up.

This is a compact and stylish bike, not overly retro despite its twin rear shocks. Its shapely fuel tank holds just 14.5 litres; its seat is a mere 807mm off the ground. It has plenty of neat details including Monza fuel cap and brushed aluminium mudguards. Its fairly sophisticated electronics set-up incorporates three engine modes and switchable traction control.

Triumph also trimmed weight from the Thruxton chassis, giving the tubular steel frame a new aluminium lower section, and specifying new aluminium wheels and a lightweight sealed battery. The Speed gets slightly more relaxed geometry and a longer wheelbase for added stability, plus higher handlebars and more forward-set footrests for a less racy riding position.

The Speed Twin ‘look’ hits the spot – especially with the test bike’s fashionable brown quilted accessory bench seat fitted – but it’s the riding that really impresses. Its engine’s performance is a huge part of that. After riding other Bonneville family models you’d expect sweet fuelling, a broad spread of grunt, and a pleasingly smooth yet characterful parallel-twin feel and exhaust note.

TEST

“IT’S THE RIDING THAT REALLY IMPRESSES. ITS ENGINE’S PERFORMANCE IS A HUGE PART OF THAT. AFTER RIDING OTHER BONNEVILLE FAMILY MODELS YOU’D EXPECT SWEET FUELLING, A BROAD SPREAD OF GRUNT, AND A PLEASINGLY SMOOTH YET CHARACTERFUL PARALLEL-TWIN FEEL AND EXHAUST NOTE: THE SPEED TICKS THOSE BOXES...”

TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN WORLDSBK POR

TEST The Speed ticks those boxes, and adds a mightier low-rev punch that makes the bike thrillingly lively and involving. Pull away, click the six-speed box into second and open the throttle, and the Triumph leaps forward with exhilarating eagerness, then just keeps on charging as you lean forward into the growing breeze and keep changing up.

By 90mph it’s still accelerating with plenty to come before a top speed of about 130mph. And the short-geared Triumph is in its element at a slower yet still brisk backroads pace, thundering out of turns with enough force to excite but without the sometimes brain-frazzling ferocity of a supernaked.

A more relaxed ride is enjoyable too. The Speed cruises long-leggedly, and its milewide torque band ensures it’s always happy to snap forward into an overtake with a lazy roll of throttle. The exhaust crackle on the overrun adds to the entertainment, especially with the test bike’s accessory silencers fitted.

Chassis performance is excellent, despite the Speed’s relatively basic suspension specification of KYB front forks and the same Japanese firm’s shocks, whose preload is the only option for adjustment. There may be little scope for fine-tuning, but Triumph’s development engineers are among the best in the business and the bike steers with confidence-inspiring ease and neutrality.

At 196kg it’s light, and those trim 17-inch wheels and relatively slim, 160-section rear tyre help make it flickable whether you’re banking into a back-road bend or negotiating traffic in town. A pair of four-piston Brembo front calipers ensures plenty of stopping power, and Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso III tyres make the most of the generous ground clearance.

Practicality is never going to be a highlight of a naked retro-bike, but the Speed is very useable, helped by a riding position that mostly feels like a good compromise between Thruxton urban wrist pain and a more upright position’s open-roads windblast. The bar-end mirrors work well until you’re threading through traffic; the twin clocks are attractive if busy. The alternative riding modes are easily activated, if hardly essential on such a rider-friendly machine.

There’s an argument that the return of this famous old name demanded a more aggressive bike with top-class suspension, radial brake calipers and cutting-edge electronics.

But arguably the original Speed Twin’s greatest achievement was that it sold in huge numbers. Keeping its namesake’s spec simple has enabled a competitive price (starting at £10,700 in the UK) that can only add to its popularity.

More Speed Twin performance will doubtless come in the near future, with an uprated S or R model. In the meantime Triumph’s stylish, quick, sweet-handling and most of all fun-to-ride parallel twin is pretty damn brilliant just as it is.

TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN

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MXGP of China: photo by Ray Archer

ON TRACK OFF ROAD

‘On-track Off-road’ is a free, monthly 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 MXGP, the AMA Motocross and Supercross series’, MotoGP, WorldSBK as well as the latest bike tests.

‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com on the last Tuesday of the month. 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 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, Troy Lee Designs, Simon Cudby Cover shot: Marc Marquez by CormacGP

This publication took a lot of time and effort to put together so please respect it! Nothing in this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the editorial team. For more information please visit www.ontrackoffroad.com and click ‘Contact us’.