On Track Off Road No.183

AMA-SX

webb 

spinner 

Two in the last two for Cooper Webb who has opened 

a few eyes with a startling opening to his Red Bull 

KTM career. Miles still to go in AMA Supercross (and 

with reigning champ Jason Anderson already on the 

injury list) and the ‘big shots’ still have to show their 

hand...but the series has a new challenger already 

Photo by KTM/Cudby

RALLY 

1, 

2, 

3... 

Toby Price’s second 

Dakar victory came 

against the odds and 

in defiance of injury 

but there was no 

surprise whatsoever 

that KTM ruled the 

toughest race in the 

world for the 18th 

time in a row and 

with their three 

factory riders in all 

the podium spots 

Photo by KTM/Marcin Kin

WorldSBK 

same speed 

different day

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki. As 

WorldSBK finished the last of 

the 2019 pre-season tests on 

European soil the series still appears 

to be in the grip 

of the champions, even if Ducati 

are working hard and those 

Yamahas are getting quick and 

quicker. Now to Phillip Island... 

Photo by GeeBee Images

MXGP

Giving them 

a break 

Jeffrey Herlings’ broken right foot and (so far) 

lack of a tentative date of a return has flattened 

the blank pages a bit harder for 2019 MXGP. The 

Dutchman has given his rivals a headstart and a 

reprieve and whatever the outcome of his recovery 

the season now has a different narrative 

Photo by Ray Archer

Sx 

Oakland 

oakland-alameda county coliseum · Rnd 4 of 17 · jan 

450SX winner: Cooper Webb, KTM 

250SX winner: Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki

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uary 26 

new 

orange 

blur 

By Steve Matthes. Photos by James Lissimore

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sx oakland

sx oakland

AMA 

BLOG 

another one cooking for baker 

Four rounds down in the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series and 

it’s shaping up to be one of the more unpredictable seasons in recent 

memory. 

We have our first two-time 

winner in the 450SX class and 

it’s…Cooper Webb?! Yeah, the 

Red Bull KTM rider led all the 

laps this past weekend in Oakland 

on his way to his second 

career win in as many weeks. 

We had Webb on the most recent 

Pulpmx Show and he gave 

us some great stuff. How he 

had to sort of apologize and explain 

himself to the other group 

of riders he trains with under 

Aldon Baker. Going to Baker’s 

program is a pre-requisite for 

most of the factory KTM/Husqvarna 

riders (if the other riders 

also approve) and Webb had 

butted heads with some of the 

others like Marvin Musquin and 

Jason Anderson. So that had to 

be interesting for sure. 

The other things he said was 

he wasn’t in the shape that he 

needed to be in when he joined 

and also he only practiced at 

75% during the week. 

Both things needed to be corrected 

with Baker early and 

Baker admitted to me that 

things started off a bit rough 

with Webb. But breaking it all 

down to the foundation was 

what Coop obviously needed to 

do and it’s paying off. 

And seriously, at this point: 

what more proof do we need 

that Baker’s program works? 

We have a rider that was a 

multi-time champion in the 

250 class, moved up to the 450 

class and although he got some 

podiums, there were more ‘off’ 

nights than ‘on’. He’s got the 

ability, we all see his record 

but now he goes to a new team 

where he’s in a structured program 

with some other very fast 

riders and he blossoms. I’ve 

talked to many athletes that 

have gone and worked with 

Baker, it’s nothing special as 

far as workload or magic rocks, 

it’s just very structured, your 

blood levels and heart rates 

are monitored closely so that 

your body tells Baker (and you) 

how it feels. Cycling is a huge 

part of it both on and off road, 

and as Webb explained on the 

show, practice sessions are 

done at full-speed and simulate 

race conditions. 

There’s no secret sauce, no 

PED’s, nothing except intensity 

and a big workload. And some 

smart monitoring by Baker to 

make everything a challenge 

amongst the group. The easiest 

day of the program should 

be race day is something I’ve 

heard Baker preach over and 

over. Whatever KTM/Husqvarna 

is paying Baker - and I’m sure 

it’s a lot - it’s a hell of a deal. 

There are other part of the 

package for #2. 

“You can pinpoint one necessary 

thing that changed it 

(results), but I definitely think

By Steve Matthes 

this bike fits me a lot better. I 

can ride it more like my 250,” 

Webb told us. “To me, it’s 

definitely a lot easier to race, 

especially over main events 

when they get rough. Like I 

said all off-season it’s a lot of 

different changes, so it’s hard 

to pinpoint the one thing. But 

obviously the bike is a huge 

benefit for sure.” 

Webb is a smaller guy and the 

Yamaha 450 (even though the 

frame is the same as the 250 

machine) does seem to work 

for taller/bigger riders. You 

watch Webb’s KTM out there 

and it does look really tiny. 

The crew have lowered the 

bike to make it fit Cooper and 

he doesn’t look like he’s just 

hanging on anymore, it looks 

like he can put it anywhere he 

needs to right now. 

Baker’s critics (and there are 

some out there) point to the 

work he’s done with riders like 

Jake Weimer and Broc Tickle 

(before he was suspended for 

testing positive for a stimulant) 

and their results as saying that 

“Baker takes champions and 

turns them into champions” 

meaning he can’t make a Weimer 

or Tickle become a race 

winner, and that’s somewhat 

true. But in motocross talent 

to ride a dirt bike can’t be 

replicated or created. You can 

either steer a bike fast enough 

to win or you can’t. If you can 

do it then Baker’s training 

program will help you pull it 

all together, prioritize what’s 

important and what’s not and 

help you win a lot of races. 

Ryan Dungey was already a 

great rider when he joined 

Baker and he remarked a few 

times how Baker’s program 

was actually less than what 

he did before and how hiring 

Aldon helped him put all the 

questions he had about training 

to rest: Did I do enough? 

Should I do more? What’s the 

competition doing? He could 

be confident that he was doing 

the right things. All I know 

is you add the bike and the 

training program to an already 

talented rider and Baker can 

make the difference. We saw it 

with Ryan Villopoto and Dungey, 

we’re seeing it now. 

I don’t know where this Webb 

“thing” is going to go. He’s got 

two in a row, he’s got the red 

plate in what Webb admitted 

was a “building year”. Maybe 

this is it for him and he just 

has a nice year. Or maybe the 

kid goes on a run for the ages 

like, gasp, a young Jeremy 

McGrath in 1993. No matter 

what it is, it’s a great story and 

the hottest free agent in the 

sport when his contract is up 

might be Aldon Baker.

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sx oakland

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Photo: Cudby

Products 

troy lee designs 

The start of the AMA Supercross season can also 

feel like the opening night of a fashion show. All 

the brands take the gaze of the majority of the 

bike racing world as an opportune moment to 

showcase their new designs, styles and vision for 

how dirtbike riding gear and apparel will look over 

the coming months. The eagle-eyed will also spot 

some fresh ideas and prototypes on the leading 

athletes. 

Troy Lee Designs are at the forefront of this movement 

and are often one of the prominent players 

when it comes to the aesthetics of the garments 

that will eventually filter into the dealers and 

shops. They do like their Limited Edition collections 

and we decided to showcase the SE Pro Mirage 

wares on these pages. The SE Pro is the high 

level offering: the lightest, most flexible, resistant 

and breathable kit available. The pants have a racer 

fit chassis, reliable ratchet system buckle and 

cowhide leather panels. Thanks to the SE4 helmet 

it’s possible to almost go head-to-toe. There is 

also a KTM-livered version of the SE Pro Mirage 

for a few extra dollars or if you order through the 

Troy Lee website then you can customise the jersey 

with a name and number. A really cool option.

www.troyleedesigns.com

Feature 

a 

Words by Andrea Wilson, Photos by James Lissimore/www.yamaha-racing.com 

different 

path 

COLT NICHOLS 

“...it took me a while to 

learn the ropes...”

Feature 

Supercross competition is fierce. 

Expectations are high and the road 

to get there is fraught. Colt Nichols 

knows all about that. The 24-year old 

from Oklahoma had to fight his way back 

from multiple injuries and found his way 

through an alternative route to one of the 

sport’s top 250 teams: Star Racing. He 

didn’t turn his back on his Supercross 

dream and now sits in the points lead 

four rounds into the 2019 250SX West 

season. Here’s his story. 

Nichols really isn’t your modern-day 

a-typical moto kid. He wasn’t home 

schooled, he wasn’t fast tracked into a 

factory ride from the factory-supported 

amateur feeder teams in the U.S. He 

did however, have a great support group 

around him in Oklahoma and an unwavering 

faith that he was going to be a 

professional Supercross racer. 

His dad competed at local level. “I started 

messing around when I was three 

years old,” he said. “That’s when my dad 

got me a bike. It was all through him. He 

used to race; I saw him doing it when I 

was just a little guy and I thought it was 

the coolest thing ever, and I wanted to 

be just like my dad. So he got me a bike, 

and the rest is history after that.” 

Anyone who has paid the slightest attention 

to the amateur motocross scene 

in the U.S. knows that like a lot of youth 

sports, the intensity level of competition 

continues to grow. 

“If I could say anything to young kids to try to help then 

it would probably be about that sacrifice it takes to be 

at the top level, and try to show up every single time as 

focused as possible to do the job at hand...” 

“Ever since I’ve been little this is everything 

I ever wanted to do,” he says. “I 

was regular kid. I played sports in high 

school, like most. I went all the way 

through to my senior year, then I did 

the online school thing. I loved playing 

sports and being involved with school 

activities and doing all that stuff, but I 

always knew I was meant to race dirt 

bikes.” 

That love for it started young. Like most 

racers, it was a family thing. 

“Amateur level is pretty competitive, especially 

when you start to get up closer 

to big bikes,” Nichols said. “Everybody is 

going really fast. All the kids are already 

training at that point. I was in the period 

where it was starting to become a reality 

for kids to get signed at a young age 

and to actually start making money. That 

was, I think, the initial push for me to try 

to get a little better quicker.” 

He landed a Team Green ride during his 

Mini days and his dad decided to seek 

out an expert, fellow Oklahoma racer 

– Robbie Reynard. That training was 

definitely important during his formative 

years but Nichols had some roadblocks 

ahead of him. Injuries slowed his forward 

progress and leading up to the transition 

from amateur to pro is not a good

colt nichols & reaching sx 

time to splutter. In spite of those injuries, 

Nichols wasn’t about to use that as an 

excuse as to why he was left out of a factory 

ride as soon as he became of age to 

turn Pro. 

“I didn’t have an awesome amateur career, 

by any means,” he said. “I won quite 

a few championships and things like that, 

but I was never the guy that was winning 

everything. So, it took me a while to get 

going and learn the ropes and figure it 

out on my own.” 

Nichols didn’t have a place in Supercross 

as he approached the age and timing to 

consider being professional but found a 

place to race. He contested the Arenacross 

series in 2014 through the Team 

Green program and when that season 

was done, he spent the summer racing 

in the Costa Rican MX1 series. He got his 

first Supercross opportunity the following 

year, representing a 250 team based 

in his home state – Crossland Racing 

Honda. He then got a ride with the Cycle 

Trader Yamaha team in 2016 and 

turned heads. He grabbed his first podium, 

made it through the campaign with 

a top-five finish in the championship, 

which ultimately helped land him a factory 

ride and his current Monster Energy 

Star Yamaha Racing team. 

The top drawer ticket didn’t mean it was 

all smooth sailing however. He had another 

rough patch – a broken femur in 

2017, a broken humorous in 2018, actually, 

twice the same year. Nichols kept a 

positive mindset. 

“That was a tough few years, really,” he 

said. “It was my first year being on the 

team [Star Racing] and I had an unfortunate 

injury, broke my femur before the

Feature


West coast series and then got pushed to 

East coast and only made three rounds 

and ended up getting hurt again. I came 

in very underprepared. Almost an identical 

story of 2017 to 2018. Same thing - got 

hurt in the off-season. Was supposed to 

race West. Got pushed to East coast. Only 

made three rounds and got hurt again. 

It was a tough little period there coming 

back from injury and kind of struggling 

whenever I felt like I should be obviously 

doing a lot better and at least competing. 

That was very tough.” 

That line between being a hero and hitting 

the dirt gets pretty razor thin, especially 

at the top level of the sport. It’s not easy 

to judge. “Hitting the ground is part of our 

sport, and that’s the part that sucks,” he 

said. “That’s why I have so much respect 

for a guy like Ryan Dungey or Chad Reed, 

guys that have been in the sport for a 

really long time and seem to always be 

healthy and show up every single weekend.” 

With experience comes wisdom. And it 

seems to have been the extra boost that 

Nichols needed. “You just have to be so 

focused and sacrifice so much to really do 

what you need to do,” he said. “There are 

times you want to go out and do this or 

that… even just being on your feet walking 

around the mall, and you know you’re 

going to ride the next day so you’re like, 

‘well, it’s probably not a good idea. Maybe 

I shouldn’t.’ Kind of save your legs for the 

next day. Just some little stuff like that. 

You just have to be so focused and understand 

that what you want is going to take 

all this sacrifice. I think that’s the hardest 

part for young kids to realize, and even for 

me. I hadn’t figured it out until recently. I 

wish I could have figured it out earlier.

Feature 

If I could say anything to young kids to 

try to help then it would probably be 

about that sacrifice it takes to be at the 

top level, and try to show up every single 

time as focused as possible to do the job 

at hand. And try to stay healthy!” 

Factory rides are few and far between, 

and talent is abundant. So abundant that 

the competition for the top saddles in the 

entry level Supercross 250SX class these 

days starts well before budding athletes 

turn Pro. The trend that started when 

Nichols was younger has now intensified. 

“To see how it’s evolved is kind of crazy,” 

Nichols opined. “Now there are some 

kids that are getting signed to professional 

deals, and they’re 14 years old. 

They’re still on minibikes. They haven’t 

even quite made it to big bikes yet. It’s 

rapidly, rapidly changing. Everybody always 

wants the ‘next great thing’. That’s 

in every sport, not just ours. It’s definitely 

changing pretty quick.” 

Like I said, if people wouldn’t have 

signed me when I was 13, I wouldn’t 

have known what to do with it. Even 

when I was 16, I didn’t know what to do 

with it. So it kind of took me a few years 

to find my stride and realize what was 

going on. The landscape is tough right 

now. But all you can do, if you love dirt 

bikes and you really enjoy this stuff, you 

go out and you try your hardest, even if 

you’re going to school or doing whatever. 

I’m a testament to that: you can actually 

still go get it done and sign with a 

factory team and live out your dream.” 

Looking ahead, will there be another 

opportunity for ‘another Colt Nichols’? 

Nichols definitely hasn’t seen the signs 

of a shift on the horizon and is quite 

honest about the fact that what worked 

for him might not necessarily work for 

everyone else. 

From Nichols’ experience he sees a few 

red flags. “In order to compete with 

those kids getting opportunities parents 

think they have to pull their kid out of 

school and homeschool them and travel 

the world and go to all these training 

facilities. That’s what they want. I just 

feel that’s asking for disaster. Then the 

parents are relying on the kid and it’s 

already giving him so much pressure at a 

young age. They’re already looked at like 

a make-it-or-break-it. They’re so young. 

I just think that’s tough. I think that’s 

unfair for the kids.” 

“I really wish there was a different way to 

go about the amateur racing scene and 

get it revised in some way.


“My path is definitely not the one that 

is meant for everybody,” he said. “It was 

meant for me. I just got really lucky. A lot 

of kids wouldn’t have made it this far going 

down the path that I had to go.” 

picture for me. I did not want to stop. I 

felt like I was meant for this and I was 

going to do anything I could to achieve 

that.” 

In spite of the direction that sport has 

gone in the amateur motocross/supercross 

scene (and whether or not there’s 

a way to change it, or which path is the 

right one to get where you want to be) 

there’s still something that young racers 

can take away from Nichols’ case. “I 

always really believed in my ability and 

always believed I could get to the point 

I am now, which is being a points leader 

and winning races,” he says. “It was never 

an issue of belief. It was hard because 

you get up, then get knocked back down, 

then get up, and get knocked back down. 

I just tried to stay as positive as I possibly 

could. I knew that there was a bigger

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racing) two-wheels needs to seriously consider 

their next helmet purchase. The ATR-2Y 

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it’s senior brother; a form of engineering that 

6D claim is ‘the next level in brain protection’. 

The ATR-2 was a step forward from the gamechanging 

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in the family.

MXGP 

BLOG 

best (airbooted) foot forward. 

So, a re-write of this Blog was needed. 

Questions and thoughts about 

the potential of Jeffrey Herlings 

to get anywhere near his magnificent 

2018 campaign have 

now been scrubbed. MXGP was, 

of course, an open book as the 

Italian championship formally 

reignited the competitive year 

and the first ebbs of bench racing 

last weekend, but the World 

Champion’s broken foot means 

the tale of 2019 is now very 

much a blank page. 

What does Herlings’ latest ailment 

mean? First of all there is 

the severity of the injury. The 

Dutchman avoided damage 

to his ankle when he careered 

towards the side bank of mud at 

the Albaida circuit in southern 

Spain and trapped his right limb 

between the bike and terrain in 

the crash but it is a complicated 

area for fractures. In the case 

of MX2 Kemea Yamaha star 

Ben Watson the Brit broke the 

navicular bone in his left foot in 

Argentina for the second round 

of 2016 Grand Prix and missed 

the rest of the season. 

Noises from KTM are not of major 

distress, but this is of course 

a setback and the full extent of 

what Herlings will need to do in 

order to be able to walk and then 

consider a return to his 450 SX-F 

have yet to come to light. 

Secondly Herlings has been here 

before. A broken right hand two 

weeks before his MXGP debut in 

2017 (combined with a self-admitted 

questionable attitude to 

the premier class after another 

resolute MX2 title in ’16) meant 

the opening rounds of that 

championship were some of the 

hardest and most unerring of his 

career. Jeffrey righted his mind, 

kept patient with his hand and 

recovered to decimate the end 

of the ’17 calendar, and that fed 

right into his milestone 2018. 

So now it is a waiting game. But 

the news is a formal invitation 

for his rivals, in particular Tony 

Cairoli, to hit the beginning of 

2019 with relish and to stockpile 

points from the very first gatedrop. 

Herlings will return strong and 

should eventually reach the 

same ’18 pomp but this temporarily 

hobbling will have diminished 

his unbeatable status. If he 

can find fitness and banish the 

kind of insecurity that marked 

his 2015 MX2 year where a succession 

of injuries dented his 

prowess and arguably disturbed 

his focus then it will be the biggest 

fight of his career. 

There were times in 2018 where 

Herlings only had himself to 

beat. The fact that the mistakes 

and the crashes did not come 

only added to the image of the 

perfect season. The circulating 

and conquering #84 really was 

the sight of an athlete/team/ 

motorcycle package at the top of 

the pile. 

Now, for the second time in a 

row the 24 year old is negotiating 

the pain, worry and anxiety 

of injury sustained on the practice 

track. Worryingly it means 

another term where Herlings is 

paying a visit to the hospital.

.. 

By Adam Wheeler 

Off the top of my head I can list a 

dislocated shoulder, four broken 

collarbones, a broken femur, dislocated 

hip, mangled little finger 

and hand and now right foot: 

that’s some payment for all those 

record-breaking feat and a style 

and attacking-approach that leave 

many fans speechless. Never let it 

be said that Herlings had it easy. 

I just hope this latest episode of 

having to beat disappointment, 

realign goals and dig-out motivation 

does not take too much of a 

toll. He’s too damn good to fade 

into mid-pack obscurity. 

If this current period of recovery 

and rehab stretches on and the 

prospect of missing one Grand 

Prix becomes three or his race 

speed needs four rounds to return 

instead of two, then I believe Herlings 

still has targets to shoot for. 

The guy know how to construct 

a championship but he is also a 

competitive animal with a lust for 

victory that few else in the MXGP 

pack can match. At the very least 

2019 should represent the chance 

to set-up a potential piece of history 

if he can breach the magical 

record 101 win total in 2020 (and 

possibly beat Tony Cairoli to another 

landmark). 

For fans of other riders and the 

neutral observers of MXGP Herlings’ 

misfortune is interesting 

news. Another orange rout would 

have undoubtedly affected the potential 

of the ‘show’ (as is the case 

with any dominant athlete) and it 

certainly brings other riders – who 

had their own struggles during 

Herlings’ annus mirabilis – immediately 

back into the frame for 

short term GP wins and long term 

for the state of the standings. 

*** 

As OTOR gets going again for 

another year – our ninth and 

second as a ‘monthly’ – there will 

be a few changes coming up in 

2019. We should have a new ‘look’ 

by the time of issue two at the 

end of February and the website 

will again be fully stocked with 

Blogs and some articles that you 

won’t always find in the magazine 

(especially post-races when there 

are some serious talking points 

debated by our expert contributors). 

We’ll be experimenting with Podcasting 

again in MXGP to have a 

second and hopefully more professional 

attempt at the booming 

medium that is grabbing more 

and more attention. The emphasis 

there will be on discussion and 

opinion and when we get insiders 

onto the show we’ll endeavour to 

ask the questions that the fans 

might want to hear. It will be another 

busy campaign of travelling, 

coverage and content right up 

until the final Supercross dates of 

2019. Whether you’re viewing this 

on your work computer, tablet or 

mobile phone thanks for dipping 

into OTOR again. Keep registered 

to get your email update for new 

issues and feel free to offer any 

feedback at info@ontrackoffroad. 

com

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scent 

10 

of the

Feature

tony cairoli & mxgp 2019 

In a recent entry on KTM’s official Blog 

page (www.ktm.blog.com) VP of offroad, 

Robert Jonas, said “never, ever 

underestimate Tony: that’s my opinion”. 

KTM know the nine times world champion 

sufficiently well by now. 2019 will 

represent the tenth season that Tony 

Cairoli and KTM have occupied the top 

of the premier class standings in Grand 

Prix and while names like Dungey, Roczen 

and Herlings have caused hearts to 

flutter in Mattighofen it is the #222 that 

has delivered results, prestige and been 

a major part of the company’s lift as the 

premium and leading manufacturer of 

dirtbikes. 

At Assen for the penultimate round of 

2018 and at the triumphant homecoming 

coronation for Herlings, Cairoli was 

full of plaudits for his younger teammate 

and admitted that he lacked the same 

speed all the way through the moto 

to effectively compete with his rival. 

The pair clashed on two occasions but 

largely existed in a tolerable and powerful 

vacuum of performance, results and 

pressure under the KTM awning. Cairoli 

routinely made the best starts and was 

in race-winning positions a number of 

times only to be foiled in the style that 

he himself had enacted on peers since 

he moved into the premier class in 2009. 

“The message is that I don’t start each year going 

for second or third place. I go to win, and that is 

always my goal. I do what is possible to push my 

limits. I always try to ride safe but if I am able to 

ride happy and comfortable then for sure the fans 

will see a really nice season...” 

The Sicilian will turn 34 in September, 

less than two weeks after Red Bull KTM 

teammate Jeffrey Herlings will toasts his 

25th birthday. He still has another two 

terms on his factory contract and has 

been a protégé, friend and collaborator 

with Claudio De Carli since his second 

grand prix year in 2004. His duel with 

Herlings in 2018 prevented the championship 

story from being horribly onesided 

even if it was the best (in terms of 

riding) and the worst (the first time he 

had really faced insurmountable opposition 

and dealt with at least two small 

niggly injuries) time of his career. 

In short 2018 was chastening and educational, 

and forced Cairoli to look a bit 

longer into the mirror if he wanted to 

better his 85 career GP wins (one more 

than Herlings) and nine titles. 

Last year was very much about the 

Cairoli-Herlings axis. Without the other 

then the 2018 contest could have been 

very bland indeed (for all his dominance 

Herlings had to keep plugging away until 

round 19 of 20 before he sealed the 

deal). It means that one of the biggest 

questions about the forthcoming 2019 

campaign revolves around TC222.

Feature 

Even before Herlings’ untimely broken 

foot there was debate about how (and if) 

Cairoli could raise his game to deal with 

his Dutch teammate’s intensity. Herlings 

beat him both from the front and coming 

through the pack in 2018, and there were 

few scenarios in which Cairoli was able 

to resist or put up much of a defence and 

even fewer once he wrenched his thumb 

at round eleven in Indonesia. 

MX2 world champion and Cairoli’s training 

partner Jorge Prado commented 

recently that: “he is getting stronger all 

the time in places where he struggled 

last year. We train together every day and 

we push each other.” 

At more or less the same time that Herlings 

was being ferried to the airport 

with a throbbing foot we had Tony on the 

phone from Sardinia. Cairoli has never 

been very revelatory about his methodology 

and the backbone of his spoils. I 

remember his wife, Jill Cox, telling me 

once that nobody really sees or understands 

how hard he works for his racing. 

There was some doubt as to whether 

Cairoli was keeping up this rate or was 

just getting smarter with age by largely 

abandoning his Belgian training regime 

in favour of the proximity of his Roman 

Malagrotta circuit but the level of his 

2018 Grand Prix outing would prove that 

he’s still very much at the top of the pile. 

That he is not kicking back as the final 

Firmaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

years of world championship years loom 

into view. 

In our chat there were a few hints that 

he has looked around him, as well as 

internally, for how the Herlings threat 

can be nullified. Obviously he was unaware 

of the ‘head start’ that Herlings has 

provided to the MXGP field but there 

were crumbs of what Cairoli has altered 

for 2019 and how he is very much up to 

the task of pushing again in the face of 

adversity and sitting in the unusual situation 

of not being a clear-cut favourite. 

“One improvement was just to feel a little 

bit more comfortable with riding and 

be able to use the power in a better way 

on all parts of the track,” he said of the 

analysis of the KTM 450 SX-F racebike. 

“We changed some small details of the 

character of the bike but nothing really 

big.” 

What about your personal programme? 

Was there a need to find an extra gear? 

Not too much. We kept the same sort 

of thing we did last year because it was 

working quite well through the season 

and until I got my thumb injury in Indonesia. 

I was happy with the programme 

so we decided to stick with it…except to 

try and be a bit more consistent with the 

race results. 

You said you needed to be stronger with 

your entire race speed. So was this an 

area for work? 

Yeah, of course. That’s really important 

and to have the bike set 100% how I 

like it. So we have been working on the 

setting and looking at every single thing 

with suspension and the handling and it 

has come out really well. 

So that wasn’t a physical or mental adjustment? 

It was just a physical thing and nothing 

really mental. I was happy at the 

half way point of last season. Only a few 

small mistakes cost me points, as well as 

training days because of the injury.

tony cairoli & mxgp 2019 

Did you think about a new strategy to 

handle a strong opponent like Herlings? 

Like applying pressure or scrapping ontrack? 

No, not really. I will see how the season 

starts and how the first few races go and 

then it will be the time to think about a 

strategy. At the moment I will start to 

win and then we will see. 

Are you ‘up’ for another title duel and 

all it entails? What’s the message for 

Tony Cairoli and MXGP fans waiting for 

the season to begin? 

The message is that I don’t start each 

year going for second or third place. I 

go to win, and that is always my goal. I 

do what is possible to push my limits. I 

always try to ride safe but if I am able to 

ride happy and comfortable then for sure 

the fans will see a really nice season.

Watson working on weaknesses 

to make “difficult” next GP step 

Kemea Yamaha’s Ben Watson is one of a new 

wave of riders hoping for fresh Grand Prix 

milestones in 2019. The Brit is Yamaha’s main 

representative in MX2 after moving up from 

15th to 4th in the 2018 campaign; his first 

with the factory YZ250F. Having achieved his 

maiden rostrum finish in Russia and been one 

of the few athletes on Japanese machinery to 

trouble the hoards of KTM and Husqvarnamounted 

youngsters, Watson is being eyed for 

yet more silverware this year after his breakthrough 

term. 

Not only does the 21 year old (2019 and 2020 

still to go in the MX2 class before he ages-out) 

have to bear the expectation that comes with 

front-running pace and potential but now has 

to work on the task of converting his podium 

potential to race-winning pedigree. 

“From 2017 to ‘18 I made a really big step and 

I think it will be incredibly difficult to make the 

same kind of leap again,” he admitted. “So I 

haven’t changed too much with my training 

programme when it comes to the physical 

side and preparation but I have been working 

on my weaknesses; things that I saw were 

popping up as the races went on and were 

stopping me from being more at the front and 

being able to fight for something more than 

third place.” 

Watson is collaborating with renowned trainer 

Jacky Vimond for a second season and knows 

he needs to address his hesitancy to attack 

harder and faster in the opening laps of the 

motos. “Absolutely,” he concurred. “This was 

one of the main areas. And I have to get myself 

to the point where I can go balls-out on a 

watered track or a track I haven’t seen or ridden 

for a few hours. I don’t know exactly what 

was stopping me last year but it is something 

I’m working on: that feeling of being able to go 

flat-out right away coming more naturally.” 

The Englishman may have a sizeable job transitioning 

from the status of ‘most improved’ 

to ‘most capable’ but his early acclimatisation 

to the 2019 YZ250F in the final rounds of the 

2018 GP year should mean his testing and 

technical work is locked-in. “I rode the bike for 

the last five-six rounds of the championship 

so I got to know it really well already,” he says. 

“We have the bike in a good place so the work 

has been more about my technique and how 

I feel with the Yamaha and how I can best use 

it.” 

The principal obstacle for Watson and peers 

like Thomas Kjer Olsen, Calvin Vlaanderen, 

Jed Beaton, Darian Sanayei, Henry Jacobi 

and teammate Jago Geerts is reigning world 

champion Jorge Prado. The Spaniard’s starting 

prowess and lightning speed in the formative 

stages of races will be tough to match. 

Watson knows eighteen year old Prado is the 

target but is adopting a more personal approach. 

“We haven’t really talked about tactics to beat 

just one rider,” he confesses. “At the moment 

it is still about what I can do and how I can 

give my best. I feel as I improve then this is 

something that will come.” 

“Prado is strong where I was weak in 2018: 

normally in the first few laps he has made the 

start and was disappearing away from me,” he 

says. “I need to get out of the gate and go with 

him and then it becomes about physical fitness 

and who is stronger in the mind.” 

Watson is in the second and final year of his 

Yamaha contract but is already rumoured to 

be in the manufacturer’s plans for 2020.

mxgp 2019 

Photo by Ray Archer

mxgp 2019 

Photos by KTM/S. Taglioni

Prado talks #1, being better in 2019, 

the KTM 250 SX-F and turning 18 

MX2 World Champion Jorge Prado 

reached the ripe age of eighteen two 

weeks ago but is already talking like a 

seasoned Grand Prix pro as he vies to 

become KTM’s third double title winner 

since the inception of the MX2 class in 

2004. Prado is working under the tutelage 

and guidance of Tony Cairoli, Claudio 

De Carli and his staff in the Red Bull 

KTM team for the second year in a row 

and for his third as an official KTM athlete. 

Even though his championship campaign 

involved impressive consistency 

(17 podiums and 12 wins), rapier starts 

and uncatchable speed in the opening 

laps of motos, Prado insists he is still ‘in 

progress’. 

“I’m working hard to improve and make 

the right steps. I’m training hard again 

and the big difference is this time I don’t 

have to handle an injury so I can be better 

prepared,” he says in reference to the 

elbow fracture that forced a two month 

hiatus from the KTM last winter. ‘2018 

was tough at the start and hopefully I 

can be more careful up until the start of 

the world championship.” 

“To be better in every way; that’s the 

job,” he added. “I can get faster and I 

can be stronger, especially physically. 

Then it is about working on the small 

things. I made mistakes last year…” 

Prado has only just become old enough 

to vote and hold a driver’s licence (“basically 

the day after I had the licence I 

started on the road from Rome to Sardinia!”) 

but is now charged with leading 

KTM’s effort in a category they have 

dominated and with the class-leading 

250 SX-F technology. 

“KTM are always looking for a better 

bike,” he commented on the development 

programme for 2019 and a task 

that Technical Co-Ordinator Dirk Gruebel 

admitted would be “difficult to make big 

steps”. “Last year it was already on a 

high level so to improve is tricky but the 

factory and the team are working hard,” 

Prado concurred. “I basically used the 

same suspension all through last season, 

and the power of the bike was good 

but there are small details to be able to 

improve more.” 

Prado lifted his FIM gold medal at the 

final round of 2018 in Imola. He admitted 

that the week after the Italian race and 

around the ’18 Motocross of Nations was 

“crazy” but the thoughts of 2019 swiftly 

enabled the fuss and distraction of realising 

a lifetime dream to subside. 

The rider from Galicia will not run 

the coveted #1 in 2019. Amazingly he 

doesn’t feel worthy of the plate. “I’m going 

to stick with the #61 because I think 

I don’t quite deserve the #1,” he candidly 

admitted. “I think the Big ‘1’ is for the 

very best in motocross and that’s not 

me; it’s for the guy in the next category, 

the highest category. One day when, if, I 

can manage it in MXGP then I’ll change! 

I don’t have any official merchandise yet 

so it is not a big problem for me to have 

another number…but even so many people 

now know me with the 61.”

Photo by www.yamaha-racing.com 

Seewer adjusting to life 

as a Yamaha factory rider 

Jeremy Seewer was the MXGP Rookie of the 

Year in 2018 thanks to an 8th place finish 

in his maiden attempt at the premier class, 

and the former MX2 world championship 

runner-up is now contemplating the hardest 

season of his career on the works Monster 

Energy Yamaha next to Romain Febvre. 

While the 24 year old will be able to shift his 

knowledge of the YZ450F across from his 

Wilvo Yamaha set-up from 2018, the transfer 

to Michele Rinaldi’s factory set-up represents 

a third different team in three years 

for the Swiss who has previously spent his 

youth and entire career in Suzuki yellow. 

Seewer takes the saddle of the outgoing 

Jeremy Van Horebeek; the Belgian notched 

five years with the Italian crew. Van Horebeek 

was part of a small and special elite 

that achieved remarkable success with the 

team at the very first attempt: Josh Coppins, 

David Philippaerts, Van Horebeek and 

Febvre all finished their initial season as 

world champion, runner-up or as a solid title 

contender. Seewer will be aware of the trend. 

Although remaining part of Yamaha Motor 

Europe’s racing structure means relatively 

little upheaval (certainly compared to his 

protracted departure from the dissolved 

Suzuki team at the end of 2017 and the late 

confirmation with Wilvo) Seewer was able 

to exclusively explain that the change does 

require vast readjustment.

mxgp 2019 

It began with an official test and trip to Japan 

at the tail end of 2018. 

“It’s the same…but not the same,” he said. 

“What I really noticed coming back to a factory 

team is the level of experience. Wilvo 

was a great team and I cannot say a bad word 

about them but you could feel that it was very 

young and just starting. Now I’m back in a 

team where the mechanics have 20-30 years 

of experience and they know a lot about the 

bike as well. They try to help me in any direction 

to make it better; it’s like I was used to 

with Suzuki and Sylvain Geboers in the past.” 

“It is very positive but at the same time it is 

another team change so it means another mechanic 

and set of people,” he added. 

“For example, I have the same suspension but 

a different suspension guy so it is a bit like 

starting from zero. It will take a bit of time as 

usual but I got a really warm welcome, especially 

with the testing in Japan last year and 

Yamaha are really pushing at the moment.” 

Rumours surround the future of Yamaha’s factory 

team with Wilvo potentially bringing the 

operation closer to Yamaha Motor Europe’s 

Dutch base despite the squad boasting only 

two years of existence in the MXGP class (but 

they delivered Yamaha’s sole GP win since the 

second half of 2016 thanks to Shaun Simpson’s 

success in Indonesia in 2017). Wilvo will 

have the talents of Gautier Paulin and Arnaud 

Tonus this season but the direction of Yamaha’s 

MXGP effort beyond 2019 is still being 

organised around the table.

Jonass 

exercising 

patience for 

MXGP Husky 

debut 

2017 MX2 World Champion Pauls Jonass 

will have to wait in anticipation of his 

MXGP debut this year as he negotiates 

the rehabilitation process of ACL surgery 

to his right knee, performed last 

September. 

The 22 year old Latvian forms part of an 

all-new and young line-up for the factory 

Rockstar Energy IceOne Husqvarna team 

alongside Arminas Jasikonis but has 

only just started to ride his new FC450. 

“Things have actually been quite complicated 

since the surgery and I didn’t 

expect that it would take so long and 

would be so difficult…but we are on the 

right way and I feel much better,” Jonass 

said recently. 

“ACL surgery means you need time to 

get strength and stability back in the 

knee and it’s a hard process,” he added. 

“At the last check-up with the doctor and 

physio they were really satisfied with 

how it’s going. In terms of strength I’m 

Photo by Ray Archer

doing well; I just need to work on co-ordination 

and stability and a have a little 

bit more time for the ligament.” 

Jonass is hoping to accelerate his biketime 

in February, which leaves little 

room for serious preparation ahead of 

the opening Grand Prix of nineteen in 

2019 at Neuquen in Argentina on March 

3rd. It is unknown whether Latvia’s sole 

motocross world champion will make 

the South American date or might have 

to consider round two in Great Britain or 

the next event in the Netherlands. 

crown ahead of the final date at Imola 

last September. “I don’t want to rush it. 

Since the start of the year I have been 

going flat-out with my physical training. 

I can cycle and I have been focussing on 

my physical condition. Hopefully I can be 

at the races as soon as possible. I don’t 

want to have any expectations at the 

moment because if it [a slated return] 

doesn’t happen for some reason then I’ll 

be really disappointed. I’m going weekby-week 

and hopefully in a month I’ll be 

back on the bike.” 

“It was a serious injury so if I start riding 

too soon and twist it then I’ll damage it 

again,” he explained of the ailment that 

caused him to relinquish his MX2

Simpson back at home with KTM and 

part of potent orange MXGP hoard 

Grand Prix winner Shaun Simpson will 

form part of an impressive line-up for 

the Austrian manufacturer in 2019 MXGP 

with riders like Max Anstie, Glenn Coldenhoff, 

Jordi Tixier, Ivo Monticelli and 

Max Nagl also running the 450 SX-F in 

the premier class. For the Scot (31 in 

March and soon to be a father for the 

first time) the chance to ride with new 

British team RFX KTM means a return to 

the machinery and circumstances (British 

Championship competition) with 

which the Scot claimed two national 

titles and two MXGP wins in 2014 and 

2015. 

The veteran is hoping his re-alliance with 

KTM and WP Suspension will also help 

banish some of the memories of two 

injury-hit seasons with Wilvo Yamaha. “I 

don’t know what it is with the KTM but it 

just seems to fit me, fit my style and the 

way I ride,” he said in between testing 

and riding sessions at the RedSand circuit 

last week. “I don’t know if the steel 

frame is a factor but I feel at home. I’ve 

been able to skip a few steps with set-up 

purely because I knew what I was running 

a couple of years ago so we started 

there. I know how the bike will react and 

it means I can get bike time done without 

stressing too much.” 

“The KTM hasn’t changed all that much 

from when I last rode it,” he adds. “It 

looks a bit different, aesthetically, and 

the engine has had a lot of work. As a 

standard package I would say it is pretty 

bloody good.” 

Simpson has thrived being back in orange 

and although he leads a freshman 

Grand Prix effort with RFX 

(the team will field two younger riders in 

EMX European competition) he is back 

in a familiar environment that once allowed 

his renowned consistency to draw 

the #24 up to fourth place in the world 

in 2015. “The team has a lot of ‘moving 

parts’. We are bringing funds in from a 

lot of different areas and there are a lot 

of people to keep happy but I know it’s 

all centred around me so it is not a big 

stress. I have the parts I want on the bike 

and now we just need to find that extra 

step with the engine.” 

Simpson won the 2015 Grands Prix of 

Belgium and Netherlands and the 2017 

round in Indonesia. He finished 7th and 

4th in MXGP in 2014 and 2015 and is 

looking to re-establish his credentials as 

a top five rider capable of surprising the 

GP elite. Being back on the SX-F is key to 

this potential. 

“I’m looking to turn a few heads and 

come out of the gate solid and strong 

but not get too excited,” he assessed. 

“I’m definitely in for the long haul this 

year and to make the races count. We’re 

going for consistency and good strong 

rides. In terms of comfort on the bike I 

feel that consistency will be my friend 

this year. Sometimes on the Yamaha I 

was riding a bit ‘on edge’ and it showed 

in the injuries I had; I had freak crashes 

and it was biting me badly.” 

Simpson is one of four British riders in 

MXGP for 2019.

Photo by Ray Archer 

mxgp 2019

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Words by Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP/Repsol Honda/HRC

Feature 

There was a hustle and 

bustle about the gathering 

at the Repsol HQ 

‘complex’ located a mere 

wheel spark from the train 

lines running into Madrid’s 

Atocha station last week. 

For the first time since 2013 

the might of HRC presented 

a modified rider line-up to 

the largely native and swollen 

gaggle of media and guests. 

Not only was the sight of MotoGP 

World Champion Marc 

Marquez and the only rider 

aside from Casey Stoner to 

win the coveted title this decade, 

Jorge Lorenzo, appearing 

together for the first time in 

HRC colours enough of a draw 

but the Spanish petroleum 

giant was also celebrating a 

quarter of a century with their 

logo and distinctive look gracing 

the side of Honda’s premium 

race motorcycle. Add star 

names like Mick Doohan (the 

first #1 to be toasted as part 

of the HRC/Repsol alliance) 

and Alex Crivillé (Spain’s first 

premier class champion in 

1999) and this was the sizzling 

ticket of the MotoGP 

pre-season. 

Injury and novelty meant 

there was slightly more for 

media to get their teeth into 

aside from the tasty mini 

burgers that flew around on 

hospitality trays once the 

main ceremony (centralised 

on a bizarre video in which 

Marquez, Lorenzo, Doohan 

and Criville were spliced ontrack 

together) had finished. 

The 2019 RCV colours barely 

registered interest compared 

to the state of Marquez’s 

shoulder, Lorenzo’s surprising 

dirt track injury and how 

the wrecked duo would tackle 

the beginning of an imminent 

campaign where Honda would 

be precariously positioned 

for only two pre-season tests. 

Later, MotoGP splashed a 

spread of the Repsol Honda 

designs from over the years 

on their official Instagram account 

and it was surprising, if 

a little un-revelatory, just how 

little the look and style has 

varied. The orange, and dark 

blue Honda speed graphics 

along the seat were firmly in 

place. From the bikes’ position 

under the lights and on 

the stage it was even tough to 

tell the ’93’ and ‘99’ numbers 

apart. 

Not quite a new face then… 

but certainly welcoming

vIeWS FRoM The ‘19 RePSoL hondA LAunCh 

one; Madrid opened a different 

chapter for the team thanks to 

Lorenzo. Here are three themes 

we picked up from a brief visit 

to the Spanish capital 

1) don’t say ‘dream’ 

“I don’t like it. We’ll see [if it 

is] by the end of the season…” 

with that throwaway comment 

Marc Marquez dispensed with 

the grating ‘dream team’ tag 

that had been immediately attached 

to the 2019 incarnation 

of the squad since Jorge Lorenzo’s 

shock announcement at 

Mugello last summer. 

The truth is that Marquez/ 

Lorenzo/HRC is quite possibly 

the strongest unit assembled 

in the modern era of MotoGP; 

perhaps only the duo of Eddie 

Lawson and Wayne Rainey 

come close in the stats and 

A RADICAL SUGGESTION MIGHT BE THAT MARQUEZ HAS 

TO ALTER HIS PHILOSOPHY TO MOTOGP, THIS WILL REALLY 

SHIFT THE TILLER... 

pedigree stakes. And the bike? 

The third HRC rider – LCR 

Honda’s Cal Crutchlow – may 

routinely describe why the RCV 

is so hard to race but there is 

little doubt that the motorcycle 

improved in 2018 and was not 

quite the stubborn front-ended 

brute that made Marquez one 

of the ‘crashiest’ athletes in the 

pack in 2017. 

Marquez admitted that he’d 

endured one of the “most 

boring winters of my life” 

with 24-7 physio after his left 

shoulder operation. The Catalan 

had less to comment on 

2019 bike set-up with Lorenzo’s 

adjustment to his third 

crew and technology in three 

years a slightly hotter topic. 

“It’s still soon,” JL moderated. 

“At Jerez [the second 

and last winter test of 2018] it 

was 80% and I could go fast. 

I liked the bike from the first 

day; an agile bike that enters 

the turn well.” The 31 year old 

was quick to credit the environment 

he’d found also, “and 

I love the team because they 

have welcomed me with a lot 

of affection.” 

There are ultimately several 

reasons (and it might be a 

moot point) but ‘JL’ is no 

longer a Ducati rider due to a 

lack of belief from the Italian 

management in his capacity 

to deliver results. Lorenzo 

seemed to hint that the ‘love’ 

was already in place with 

Honda. 

He was also aware of the opportunity 

he has been presented. 

The move to Ducati 

delivered a new challenge and 

a fat contract. 

Now he has another challenge 

and arguably one where the 

spotlight is a touch brighter. 

“Here is…‘another level’,” he 

remarked. “I’ve been in other 

teams with a lot of wins but 

this carries more expectation. 

On a technical level in 

Valencia there were a lot of 

people in the box, talking 

about the parts on the bike. 

All that experience will allow 

me to extract the potential of 

the bike. There is pressure but 

it is not the same as coming 

into GP and needing results 

as a 15-16 year old otherwise 

you go home. I just want to 

pay back the confidence they 

have shown me.” 

For once Marc Marquez had 

to - figuratively - stand a little 

off stage-centre. Tetsuhiro Kuwata, 

HRC’s General Manager 

of Race Operations, underlined 

that the factory team “is 

always looking for excellence” 

and credited Lorenzo’s choice 

and arrival. “The fact that 

he accepted this challenge 

proves he is a champion with 

high hopes.” 

#93 was wearing his race 

leathers for just the second 

time (the previous day he’d 

done the official HRC photos 

in the same city) and seemed 

to favour his shoulder now 

and again during the forty 

minute affair. Marquez may 

be six-year veteran of the 

Repsol Honda formalities but 

this was the first time he was

Feature 

effectively sharing top billing 

since 2013. As ever, he knew 

the right words and genuinely 

seemed to appreciate his role 

in the 25 year story of the two 

powerhouse companies surrounding 

him. 

“It’s a privilege to be part of 

this family; to have seen those 

colours as a kid from the sofa. 

25 years go I was a baby and 

only just born!” he said. “I’m 

proud to be part of this story 

and next to these champions 

and add a few titles.” 

“I had an offer to be in MotoGP 

for 2012 but wanted 

to wait for Repsol Honda,” 

he then revealed of his 2013 

move and the start of an 

almost unbeatable union. 

“People ask me if I’ll leave and 

I say ‘why? I’m with the best 

team’.” 

Doohan claimed one of the 

key ingredients in HRC’s prowess 

was the synergy between 

the chess-piece movers. “The 

partnership between the two 

[Repsol & Honda] has been 

better than anyone else and 

that’s because they let everyone 

get on with what they 

need to do,” he explained. 

“They let the riders be the riders. 

I think the momentum is 

building.” 

It was exciting to see Lorenzo 

perched in his Honda Alpinestars 

leathers. 

There is something more edgy 

and potent about his inclusion 

in the team compared to 

the endless presence of Dani 

Pedrosa since 2006. Speaking 

briefly of his compatriot, 

Lorenzo said it felt “strange” 

to be taking Pedrosa’s place 

but “I think we understand his 

situation after years of sacrifice”. 

The Honda-Lorenzo 

combination could meander 

into the underwhelming stint 

that the rider’s hero – Max 

Biaggi – weathered for a single 

year in 2005...but it really 

doesn’t feel like that will happen. 

#99 could really give the 

squad and the championship 

a hard and fantastically unpredictable 

shake-up. 

2) (not) Just a 

flesh wound 

Lorenzo sported a sizeable 

cast less than twenty-four 

hours after scaphoid surgery, 

Marquez looked fit but stiff 

and even Doohan joked that 

he was struggling to breathe 

in his old race suit. “It’s not 

the best situation,” Team Manager 

Alberto Puig reflected on 

the general lack of bike fitness 

of his riders “but it’s much 

better if it happens now than 

in the middle of the season. 

We will take it as it is, and 

our priority is that the riders 

are fit on March 10 when the 

championship begins.” 

Puig confirmed that German 

Stefan Bradl will take on HRC 

testing orders (and no doubt 

waiting around for the Sepang 

showers to clear) in Lorenzo’s 

absence for the outing in 

Malaysia next week. “We will 

follow the body and the riders’ 

condition,” Puig said. “[For] 

the bike, of course we have 

a process and it’s being developed. 

We will keep trying 

and Honda will keep doing the 

things they know they have to 

do.” 

Lorenzo talked of making 

the second test in Losail and 

being “90-95% at the Qatar 

race”. He also commented 

that the dirt track spill (“a very 

stupid crash”) was also partly 

caused by his weakened left 

wrist as a consequence of the 

injury from the massive ‘off’ 

in Thailand last October. “You 

find situations that you cannot 

change,” he lamented of the 

damage to the scaphoid. “It’s 

a complicated bone and one 

of the worst you can break. 

Luckily in 2019 there are advanced 

procedures.” Exactly 

how much strength and feeling 

the Majorcan will recover 

will only be known once he’s 

back on the RCV. Doohan was 

keeping optimistic: “depending 

on how his wrist heals I 

imagine he should be challenging 

pretty much straight 

away for a podium, I should 

think…”

views from the ‘19 repsol honda launch 

Fitness and treatment were 

clearly themes buzzing around 

the riders’ heads. Marquez cited 

his goal for the season was “to 

avoid injury”; the comment 

providing some small insight as 

to the interruptive and serious 

nature of his shoulder problem. 

Short term he was in the same 

boat at Lorenzo. “My target is 

try to be 100% or as close as 

possible in Qatar GP,” he said. 

“The surgery has been more 

aggressive and more difficult 

than we expected. It was for 

four hours because it was more 

complicated than even the doctors 

expected. They said a minimum 

will be 3-4 months, but 

I’m working quite hard. We are 

already one month and a half 

[along] and the shoulder is going 

in a good way so this is the 

most important. How it will be 

in Sepang I don’t know. Every 

day I feel some improvement.” 

Underneath the optimistic 

comments there appeared to 

be concern (or maybe careful 

estimation) that Marc will have 

to feel his way into 2019. His 

typical approach of using Friday 

and Saturdays at Grand Prix to 

explore limits with the Michelins 

may have to be tempered so as 

to not risk wrenching the shoulder 

even more. A radical suggestion 

might be that Marquez 

has to alter his philosophy to 

MotoGP racing, and this will really 

shift the tiller. 

3) Setting the 

kindling 

Perhaps more than any other 

team, Repsol Honda will have 

the fans watching the body 

language and gestures in the pit 

box. It’s a consequence of two 

highly successful, demanding 

and elite athletes existing and 

striving in a small space and 

how the air will mix and occasionally 

bump off into thunderous 

storms in a teacup. Lorenzo 

has previous experience of 

the scenario having taken the 

plunge to enter Valentino Rossi’s 

Yamaha set-up in 2008 and 

fared very well.

Feature 

“This situation is quite similar to the 

one when I started in MotoGP in 2008 

because at that time Valentino was in 

the peak of his career,” he explained. 

“He didn’t win in 2006 and 2007 but 

he was fighting for the world title and 

he knew the bike a lot so it is more 

or less the same situation that I have 

now.” 

Marquez was always very complimentary 

about Dani Pedrosa but there 

was the feeling that he was aware his 

dynamism, youth and abundant and 

consistent speed gave him the advantage 

over #26. Lorenzo is a new 

kind of threat, one that is very close 

to home. “When Dani was in the box it 

was a completely different riding style 

and Honda had enough potential to 

have two different ways to improve the 

bike,” he reasoned on the subject of 

how Lorenzo’s renowned corner speed 

could change the equilibrium of the 

technical work. “But in the end when 

you are riding fast all riders are asking 

[for] the same and the most important 

thing is that me, Jorge, Cal, we have 

more-or-less the same problems on 

the same areas. So this is the way to 

work with all the team and try to improve 

for 2019.” 

Lorenzo has been critical of Marquez’s 

aggression (most pointedly at Aragon 

last summer) but he knows what he’s 

up against. “I’d say he is phenomenal, 

and I have a lot of things to learn from 

him. So I come into the team with a lot 

of happiness and proudness [sic] but 

also a lot of humility to little-by-little 

try and understand everything and try 

to get results. Let’s see how it goes.”

views from the ‘19 repsol honda launch 

There is a clear parallel to MXGP 

and the placement of Tony Cairoli 

and Jeffrey Herlings in Red 

Bull KTM. Although there is more 

of an age gap the Austrians and 

management still had to handle 

the two biggest champions 

in the sport. How the chemistry 

could work between Marquez and 

Lorenzo was a subject directed 

at Tetsuhiro Kuwata. “I have no 

doubt that we can manage both 

riders and the team,” the Japanese 

assured with a poker face. 

“Both riders are very professional 

riders and they know the expectations. 

We will try to improve the 

machine, the team, everything. 

This is a challenge and Honda 

likes a challenge so it is maybe 

tough but this makes us stronger 

than in the past.” 

Mick Doohan rarely faced an 

‘equal’ once his Honda carried 

Repsol branding but Crivillé was 

arguably his trickiest opponent. 

“I think it is healthy to have a 

strong teammate,” he opined. 

“Somebody of the calibre of Marc 

Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo are 

not really too worried about their 

teammate. Sure, they want to be 

in front but they have to beat everybody. 

I think if you start focussing 

on any competitor then you 

lose what the objective is, and 

that’s to win… You need to work 

on yourself [and] your team to get 

a step ahead of competition.” 

sure you stay on the front foot,” 

he added. “It will be interesting.” 

Marquez’s attempts to heal some 

of the rift with Valentino Rossi 

could indicate that he is a individual 

that does not like confrontation 

or ill-feeling. His long-established 

tight posse inside Repsol 

Honda has a ‘bigger brother’ 

vibe and it would be hard work 

for Puig and HRC to have to deal 

with the kind of atmosphere that 

once saw Yamaha having to erect 

a wall between Rossi and Lorenzo 

(initially for tyre differences but 

the divide then remained). Lorenzo 

is famed for his perfectionism 

and preference for a small inner 

circle but is also no aggressor. He 

is more distant than antagonistic. 

This might just work. Unless 

those Repsol fairings start to bear 

a few scrapes. “[Marc’s] had five 

world titles in six seasons so he’s 

an amazing rider and I feel for 

his competitors,” teases Doohan. 

“Who is going to stop him? Lorenzo 

is of the calibre to do that but 

until we see them side-by-side – 

and that’s one of the great things 

about this year’s team – then 

there will be no more excuses.” 

Side-by-side indeed. The next 

nineteen rounds in nine months 

will divulge more. 

“When the guy beside you has 

access to the same machine and 

equipment it means you have to 

work a little bit harder to make

motogp 

BLOG 

Five head-to-heads to keep an eye 

The end of January, a new season looms large on the horizon - and with it, 

a variety of possible sub-plots that have already been in the making this 

winter. We cast an eye over potential battles and rivalries that promise to 

light up the 19-round calendar that lies ahead. 

A Marquez-Dovizioso repeat 

Noted, the vast majority of team 

presentations are littered with 

optimism. But Ducati’s opulent 

‘do’ at Philip Morris International 

HQ in Switzerland wasn’t 

just an opportunity to witness 

the tobacco giant’s bewildering 

new approach to marketing. 

There was a chance to listen in 

on Andrea Dovizioso’s thoughts 

on the year ahead. “I feel better 

than last year,” said the 32-year 

old. “[With] More confidence.” 

Looking ahead, it’s hard to 

disagree. In the season’s second 

half, he outscored a rampant 

Marc Marquez by 157 points to 

156. The Desmosedici’s base 

now works well everywhere. Gigi 

Dall’Igna’s unique innovations 

were in evidence at Jerez, with 

altered seat units and radical 

linkage system. New team-mate 

Danilo Petrucci is prepared to 

work according to the needs of 

Ducati’s lead rider. 

And for the first time since 

2014, Marquez enters the season 

facing physical uncertainty. 

A healing left shoulder could 

yet disrupt an approach so 

dependent on total aggression. 

Dovizioso has enjoyed two years 

challenging. Now 2019 offers 

a best chance at claiming the 

overall crown. 

Battle for superiority in HRC’s 

‘Dream Team’ 

A ‘dream team’ operating within 

Repsol colours is no new thing. 

Marquez has labelled his own 

band of dedicated disciples just 

that as he powered a way to five 

of the past six championships. 

But Jorge Lorenzo’s arrival has 

strengthened the belief that 

internal friction could complicate 

the reigning champion’s 

approach. Beyond the fact that 

the grid’s two most talented riders, 

with a combined 138 race 

wins and 267 podiums between 

them, operate from the same 

garage, there comes a matter of 

personality. Marquez and Lorenzo 

have had their moments 

in the past. Two of Lorenzo’s 

most recent public outbursts 

came after innocuous incidents 

(Misano, 2016 and Aragon ’17). 

And the Majorcan’s demanding 

presence can rub some up the 

wrong way. When did we last 

see the considered figure of 

Dovizioso throwing the pettiest 

of barbs across the garage, 

for example? This hasn’t been 

billed as a potential Senna- 

Prost rivalry without reason. 

Yamaha to get it right? 

History has a habit of repeating 

itself. To which anyone overseeing 

Yamaha’s recent fortunes 

could attest. There was a whiff 

of déjà vu last November. At a 

post-season outing at Jerez the 

tune called by factory runners 

Maverick Viñales and Valentino

on 



By Neil Morrison 

Rossi wasn’t entirely harmonious. 

On Yamaha’s updated 

engine, aimed at ironing out the 

failures of its predecessor, the 

Catalan delivered a resounding 

verdict: “this bike can win the 

title.” Rossi, on the other hand, 

aired caution. “At the moment 

it’s a fourth place bike … if 

someone ahead retires!” Fundamentally, 

they are in agreement 

as to where is most in need of 

improvement. Both, for example, 

agreed on the engine direction 

needed for next year. Yet it’s 

whether Viñales can maintain 

this recent momentum, making 

his voice heard over his more 

experienced companion, and ignore 

Rossi’s attempts at disrupting 

his flow that represents the 

biggest challenge of his career 

to date. If Yamaha finally gets it 

right, sparks will fly. 

The fight for ducati’s second 

seat 

The only factory rider on the 

grid not in possession of a twoyear 

deal, Petrucci knows he 

must make good on previous 

promise if he wishes to maintain 

his current status. 

Knowing Pramac’s Jack Miller 

and Francesco Bagnaia have 

eyes on the seat for 2020, 

speculation regarding his position 

will be rife should he begin 

the year quietly. He acknowledged 

as much recently: “Jack 

and Pecco want my bike, it’s not 

a secret!” Miller’s aim will be 

much the same: prove himself 

a consistent podium contender. 

Equipped with Ducati’s GP19, 

he’ll likely have the machinery 

to do it. “I believe if we can 

do a really good job next year 

we should be in line for a factory 

seat somewhere,” said the 

Australian last November. “Here 

at Ducati. If not, we’ll see where 

the cards fall.” Then add Bagnaia 

into the equation, just 0.1s 

off Miller’s best time in only his 

second MotoGP test. This has 

the potential to escalate. 

Bagnaia, Mir to lead the battle 

of the rookies 

Were it not for the wealth, the 

fame and the fact their days consist 

of riding the world’s fastest 

motorcycles, you’d almost feel 

sympathy for a rookie entering 

the MotoGP fold. 

Marquez raised the expectations 

bar considerably in 2013 by winning 

the title first time out. Four 

years on and Johann Zarco went 

as far as leading the first lap of 

the first race. So to Bagnaia, Mir, 

Oliveira and Quartararo: no pressure. 

Granted, the premier class 

is closer than it’s ever been. But 

for Bagnaia to be so competitive 

at his two tests to date (0.6s off 

Viñales at Valencia, 0.4s back at 

Jerez) indicates he will be challenging 

for top sixes before too 

long. 

Yet with contemporaries as 

strong as these, winning the 

coveted ‘Rookie of the Year’ title 

will be no easy thing. Not least 

as Joan Mir has appeared so at 

home on Suzuki’s ever-improving 

MotoGP machine from the 

start (he passed through Jerez’s 

fearsome double right T11-12 

with elbow down on the first 

morning of November’s test). 

Team manager Davide Brivio 

expects Mir’s progress to be on 

a par with Alex Rins’ debut year 

in 2017. If, so he’ll be alongside 

Bagnaia on the fringes of the top 

six.

MOTOGP 

BLOG 

the year of the rookie... 



There are always reasons to look forward to a new MotoGP season but 

2019 looks like being more interesting than ever. 

There is plenty to pique our 

interest but the thing that probably 

excites me most is seeing 

just how good the crop of rookies 

coming into the class this 

year can be. Recent years have 

been pretty remarkable: 2017 

had Johann Zarco, Alex Rins, 

and Jonas Folger; 2015 had Maverick 

Viñales and Jack Miller; 

2013 had Marc Márquez, Andrea 

Iannone, and Bradley Smith. But 

the 2019 rookies promise to be 

phenomenal. 

Between them, Francesco (or 

‘Pecco’) Bagnaia, Joan Mir, 

Miguel Oliveira, and Fabio Quartararo 

have a grand total of 34 

Grand Prix victories, 81 podiums, 

and two Grand Prix titles. 

Of the three, only Quartararo 

doesn’t have double-digit wins 

in the junior classes, and all 

four are extremely highly rated 

among team managers and 

engineers. So who are they, and 

what can we expect of them? 

A product of Valentino Rossi’s 

VR46 Riders Academy, Pecco 

Bagnaia was the most hotly pursued 

of the newcomers. There 

were MotoGP team managers 

trying to sign him in 2017, and 

when Jonas Folger withdrew for 

the 2018 season, Hervé Poncharal 

had brief talks with the 

Italian about replacing him. But 

it was Ducati who locked Bagnaia 

up first, when they signed 

him to a MotoGP contract for 

2019 just before their 2018 

launch. 

Why the rush? It was clear that 

the Italian was special in his 

final year in Moto3. Racing a Mahindra, 

he won two races and got 

four more podiums, vastly outperforming 

the bike’s potential. 

Though he failed to get a win in 

his first year in Moto2, he more 

than made up for it by claiming 

eight races and the title in 2018. 

The 22-year-old adapted quickly 

to the Pramac Ducati GP18 at 

the Valencia and Jerez tests, 

ending a third of a second off 

the lead at Jerez, and a tenth off 

his teammate Jack Miller on the 

GP19. Bagnaia is the favourite 

to win Rookie of the Year, and is 

already in the frame for the second 

factory Ducati ride if Danilo 

Petrucci can’t hang on to it. 

Joan Mir is Spain’s counterpoint 

to Pecco Bagnaia. Mir’s 

rise through the ranks has been 

even more meteoric than the 

Italian, coming within a whisker 

of equalling Valentino Rossi’s 

record for a single season in the 

lowest class on his way to the 

2017 Moto3 title. His lone year 

in Moto2 netted him four podiums, 

though more had been expected. 

The disarray in the Marc 

VDS team, the aftermath of the 

rift between team manager and 

team owner, was a constant 

distraction. But speak to people 

who have worked with him, and 

they will remark on his intelligence, 

his focus, the speed and 

willingness with which he learns. 

Both Honda and Suzuki vied 

for his signature, but the seat 

alongside Alex Rins is probably 

the better option for him.

By David Emmett 

At 24, Miguel Oliveira is the old 

man of the bunch. After being 

shuffled from team to team, he 

immediately made an impact 

once he signed up with Aki Ajo. 

He came close to snatching 

the 2015 Moto3 title from the 

grasp of Danny Kent, and after 

he moved up to Moto2, was the 

only rider to consistently take 

the fight to Bagnaia. The intelligence 

he is universally praised 

for is exemplified by the fact 

that he has managed to study 

to be a dentist at the same time 

as competing professionally in 

Grand Prix. His perseverance 

with the KTM Moto2 machine 

earned him a seat with the 

KTM’s new satellite team partner 

Tech3. Unfortunately for 

Oliveira, the KTM RC16 MotoGP 

bike is still a long way from 

being competitive. Luckily for 

KTM, Oliveira’s intelligence and 

thorough approach is exactly 

what is needed to help make 

the bike better. 

Fabio Quartararo is the youngest 

of the bunch, still just 19 

years of age. The young Frenchman 

– though he might as well 

be Spanish, having spent most 

of his childhood there – is either 

an enigma, or a salutary lesson 

in getting too much, too young. 

He was so good in the FIM 

CEV Moto3 championship that 

Dorna made a new rule allowing 

the winner of the Junior World 

Championship to race in Grand 

Prix, even if they are below the 

minimum age of 16. But after 

a few strong results early on, 

injury cut his first season short, 

and lingered into his second 

campaign in the class with 

an ill-fated move to the Leopard 

team. A difficult first year 

in Moto2 with Pons saw him 

switch to Speed Up for 2018, his 

second year, and show flashes 

of the brilliance that originally 

earned early passage into the 

GP paddock in 2015. 

With careful mentoring and in 

the right environment, Quartararo 

could be the surprise 

package of 2019. In the Sepang 

Racing Team, under the tutelage 

of Wilco Zeelenberg and rider 

coach Torleif Hartelman, he 

should find just that.

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There is a tangible sense of excitement and 

anticipation building around the resurrection of 

this brand and the output coming from the small 

British factory floors but Norton’s clothing range is 

already established and stores can be found in the 

UK, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Netherlands 

and Belgium. 

The garments are appealing, well-designed and 

well-made. And there’s loads of choice. We own 

a jacket and a couple of t-shirts and can vouch 

for the quality. It’s a good time to make the most 

of early 2019 sales so have a look at the website 

(the stores themselves are usually decked-out with 

some tricky motorcycles and cool interiors, well 

worth a visit).

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MOTOGP 

BLOG 

that Generational thanG... 

More than Euro 

largest MC stor 

Leading up to the 2019 season a bright light is illuminating the subject of 

age in MotoGP following the addition of new faces. 

The Moto2 and Moto3 classes 

have become a breeding ground 

for the future and this year we 

are witnessing several rookies 

diving into the deep end much 

like Marc Marquez, Valentino 

Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Casey 

Stoner once did. This chapter 

has long since marked the 

true beginning of a motorcycle 

racers career and the pinnacle 

of a young man’s dream (I use 

‘young man’ as we are yet to 

be blessed with a female in the 

MotoGP category). Yes, times 

a-changing in the premier class 

and the force of a fresh generation 

is pushing on. 

Nurturing budding talent has 

become one of the most crucial 

elements within motor racing. 

Why? Better to build rather 

than buy. There is a much better 

chance of snaring the next 

potential champion at a younger 

age and a longer contract (that 

will still be cheaper for teams 

and brands) and this is the philosophy 

in many sports, perhaps 

at it’s most cutthroat in football. 

The time and investment in talent 

has a limit though and can 

be precarious. For every current 

MotoGP rider there are several 

lower class riders who are 

preparing themselves for that 

very same job and role. Their 

duty every time they get on 

their motorbike is to find a way 

to stand out and be the best. It 

is a constant rotation between 

being great or someone will 

be greater. Unfortunately that 

doesn’t end if you finally reach 

the next step as there is still that 

sizeable pool open for teams to 

examine at any time. In the past 

we have witnessed fresh boyish 

faces standing amongst the 

men. Anywhere between five to 

ten years older than themselves, 

each year having gained experience 

and knowledge to add to 

their sporting ‘package’. They 

have gained a position to play 

with the big boys but now they 

have to defend it against victors, 

champions and overall natural 

flair. And again maybe start to 

look over their shoulders. Some 

rookies strike gold and fit in 

naturally like Marc Marquez and 

Casey Stoner. Others have a 

more challenging journey ahead. 

Scott Redding was twenty-one 

at the time when he took the 

leap and joined forces with GO 

& FUN Gresini Racing. A five 

year career in MotoGP saw him 

jumping between four different 

crews but was unable to extend 

his stay in Grand Prix at the 

end of 2018. The Valencia GP 

marked his last hoorah in the 

elite category but a new chapter 

for Andrea Iannone who would 

fill his old boots. 

After a positive partnership with 

Ducati, Iannone was left to find 

his feet in 2017. Team Suzuki 

Ecstar would prove to be his 

saviour but he only showed his 

mettle in 2018. Iannone was 

unable to achieve consistent 

results despite his immeasurable 

talent and was replaced 

by a young man eight years 

his junior. Joan Mir was picked 

to substitute someone with 

six years experience in the top 

category and prior partnerships

pe’s 

e 

By Sienna Wedes 

with top teams. For Redding, lack 

of results was his achilles heel and 

Iannone, purely age and attitude. 

Team Suzuki Ecstar started making 

gambles in 2015, joining forces 

with twenty year old Maverick 

Vinales. This theme persevered 

through to 2016 with twenty two 

year old Alex Rins and still to this 

day with Mir. They have openly 

focused not only on their evolution 

in the modern era but on utilising 

the youthful cohort to gamble on 

the next generation. Their positive 

energy around younger talent is 

proving to be a successful methodology 

over time. 

Closely following at the ripe age 

of twenty, Australian Jack Miller 

bravely leapfrogged Moto2 straight 

into MotoGP. Three different teams 

in three years and race performances 

that have not matched his 

qualifying results naturally ring 

alarm bells. Each little hiccup is 

slowly feeding the shark infested 

waters and those ready to take 

a bite at his saddle. A complex 

never-ending cycle in the MotoGP 

world. 2019 is a pivotal year in 

proving Miller’s worth after inheriting 

ex-teammate Danilo Petrucci’s 

works Desmosedici. 

Nineteen year old Fabio Quartararo 

will be partnering twenty four year 

old Franco Morbidelli in the new 

Petronas Sepang Racing Team. 

Although there are other factors 

riders like Dani Pedrosa (33 years 

old), Alvaro Bautista (34 years 

old) and Bradley Smith (28 years 

old) did not fit the ‘age’ bill for 

the new project. It simply became 

one of the priorities for the Malaysians. 

As of 2019, four riders aged 

twenty-four and under have replaced 

four riders aged twenty-six 

and above. The new generation is 

slowly making its way through the 

crowd, similar to that of the 2006 

season where various renowned 

athletes were moved aside: Max 

Biaggi (34 years old), Troy Bayliss 

(36 years old), Alex Barros (35 

years old) and Franco Battaini (33 

years old). Incoming were Pedrosa 

(20 years old), Chris Vermeulen 

(23 years old), Casey Stoner (20 

years old) and Randy de Puniet 

(25 years old). Decisions made by 

teams can be made abruptly and 

without emotion. 

Over the years the average age 

has decreased. Between 2018 and 

2019 the median has dissolved 

from twenty eight to twenty six 

years of age with the influx of 

fresh blood. Valentino Rossi was 

only twenty-three when he entered 

the MotoGP class as the newbie. 

The nine times World Champion 

himself has clearly shown faith in 

youth by creating the VR46 Academy. 

This year’s academy graduate 

Francesco Bagnaia (22 years 

old) is one of the recent additions 

to the top class and follows Morbidelli 

as a Moto2 World Champion 

to scale the final rung. 

The singular most important thing 

for the veterans is their experience. 

Not a trait to be taken lightly 

whether in a race scenario or a 

multi-million euro piece of equipment/development 

programme. 

For the fresh faces the pressure is 

immense and careers end purely 

because that is the way the life 

cycle goes. There are so many 

eager souls trying to prove themselves 

that essentially no one is 

really safe but there’s a little bit of 

intoxicating madness in knowing 

that there is a door that is always 

open.

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a high-class and unforgettable ‘sortie’. 

The trip (for riders of all abilities and with 

640, 690, 790, 950, 990, 1050, 1090, 1190 & 

1290 Adventures) takes place from June 17- 

20 and sets off from the Bosnian ski village 

of Bjelasnica. It is the third edition that KTM 

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special guests will join the troupe. The excursion 

costs 745 euros and the price includes 

three days of guided riding, GPS aided, fuel, 

a set of off-road tyres, lunch, dinner, evening 

entertainment and other goodies like KTM 

products and workshops to improve riding. 

There will also be technical support and a 

media service. 

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plains, ice cold mountain lakes and crystalclear 

rivers.’ 

Travel to and from the meeting point for the 

Rally is down to the rider but KTM will be 

opening an exclusive and closed Facebook 

group for riders to share their plans and 

routes. It’s a convenient and appealing option 

for a gaggle of buddies looking for a simple 

but effective adventure rally experience. 

Put a reminder in your calendar/agenda for 

the end of February when the online registration 

period opens. Click on any of the images 

to see and then bookmark the website.

Feature 

Words by Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer 

The Draw 

Talking with Ryan Quickfall 

about creativity, bikes, 

inspiration and surviving 

as an artist in 2019

Feature 

Fans of flat track or cool biker 

brands or publications like Sideburn 

will instantly recognise the 

distinctive art and illustrations of Ryan 

Quickfall AKA ‘Ryan Roadkill’. The 35 

year old from Newcastle upon Tyne in 

the UK has carved a niche for appealing 

and quirky Pop Art that has attracted 

growing interest inside the motorcycle 

industry. His work can be found on the 

side of flat track fuel tanks, wall prints, 

event posters, helmets, garments for 

people like Roland Sands and Deus Ex 

Machina and even brick walls in London’s 

trendy Shoreditch district. 

Operating out of his studio in England’s 

northeast Quickfall services clients and 

interest on a worldwide scale. His website 

www.ryanroadkill.com contains a 

decent spread of his output (as well as 

What’s a typical day’s workload? And is 

it always about bikes? 

It’s split between commercial and personal 

artwork. With the commercial side 

the client will come to me with the project 

and their wishes drive the look and 

aesthetic of the piece. The personal side 

is still driven by motorcycles, the culture 

and everything built around that but I’m 

much freer with what I do. For example 

it might be less about the motorcycle 

and more about the characters. I think 

I will continue to work with brands on a 

commercial level but then also split it 

down the middle with my artwork. They 

both inform each other. But you can get 

bogged down with client work every day 

so it’s good to have a bit of freedom because 

it can inspire and motivate you for 

the other stuff. 

“You need to be a businessman and also be businessminded 

as well as be creative, and normally I don’t think 

those two necessarily go hand-in-hand. You also have to 

find time to have new ideas, keep moving forward...” 

almost 17k followers on Instagram) and 

how and why he has become so popular: 

the art veers between gothicky cartoon 

extreme to desirable race-based sketches 

and illustrations. 

Wanting to know more about how bikes 

steer and energise his work and mind, 

we decided to deprive Ryan of his pencils 

and tablet for a good thirty minutes… 

Why a motorcycle? 

I don’t necessarily know how I landed in 

the motorcycle scene but motorcycles 

have been part of my life since I was a 

kid. I got my bike licence as soon as I 

could and I’ve been riding a long time 

now. I think anyone who is a motorcyclist 

will understand that it tends to inform 

so much else of what you do and your 

life around you. For me it informed my 

creativity. I think my first ‘in’ to the scene 

was working with Gary Inman from Sideburn 

magazine. He reached out to me 

around six years ago when he was asked 

to put together a book about artists in

yan roadkill & bike art 

the motorcycle industry. He asked me 

to send some work over for that and it 

snowballed from there I guess. 

As the workload increased did you find 

it conversely ate into the riding time? 

I love to ride but, you’re right, work commitments 

and deadlines eat into that. I 

like riding flat track, as well as the community 

and the whole scene in the UK 

that has built up around it. There is a really 

strong scene here but I don’t get on 

track as often as I’d like. There is also the 

risk of injury…it’s a double-edged sword 

I guess. With bikes you are conscious of 

drawing similar things every day but, like 

I said, the personal illustration work can 

mean a bit of an escape and it doesn’t 

have to depict a motorcycle. 

How would you characterise your style? 

When I look back at old portfolios from 

when I was at college then I guess the 

roots and the base of where I am now 

started back then. The work is so random, 

but you start out trying new things 

and by looking at other people’s work. 

The best way to develop your own style 

is to look at other people’s work and 

through the process of replicating pieces 

then you discover parts that you like 

and you’d change. If you do that for long 

enough then you build up your own style. 

That strong black line work I have now is 

very heavily influenced from things like 

Pop Art and from reading comics when 

I was a kid. I mean, the easiest way to 

make a mark on paper is to get a black 

pen or pen and ink! And then be bold. I 

think it subconsciously makes me put a 

frame on my work…but consciously I try 

to build it into everything. After a while 

your style becomes recognisable.

Feature 

It is essential you have your 

own ‘mark’? The way to do 

things? 

The content can change but 

the way you progress…I think 

it is better to have a solid 

and recognisable style. Always 

have that stamp that 

you want to put on your work. 

You want people to know 

that a piece comes from you, 

even if it is something completely 

random. I get a lot of 

emails people from people 

and young illustrators asking 

me ‘what should I do?’ and 

‘how did you start?’ and the 

answer is that you have to 

produce the work. You have 

to keep at it and keep working. 

Before you know it then 

you’ll have your own style. 

You might not consciously 

pick up something but if you 

constantly plug away then it 

will come. 

Where does the creativity 

come from? What makes you 

pick up that pencil? 

Just being involved with 

motorcycles generally helps 

and having friends with 

bikes. I share a studio with 

a lad called Tom who is in 

the same industry and we 

talk about bikes, races we 

might be going to or friends 

who are building bikes. Being 

around the right people, 

creative people like fabricators 

and photographers, is 

a big help. Of course I read 

magazines and I just think


motorcycle culture is widespread 

and it’s contagious. Once you are 

hooked then it informs everything 

around you. Being around bikes is 

enough for me, I find. 

Is it sometimes tricky to depict 

bike racing on paper? It always 

has to be moving and be dynamic… 

Yeah, if I have a race event poster 

to do then I know I’ll have to portray 

a sense of excitement through 

the illustration. I have to show 

speed and bar-to-bar. If you look 

at old comics then similar scenes 

have these drawings that are really 

over-emphasised and you have 

to show that bike dropping into a 

corner or sideways if it is for something 

like flat track. A lot of the 

time it has to look over-exaggerated 

and chaotic. 

Are Briefs from clients usually very 

tight or do you get a free rein? 

It is probably 50-50. People do 

come with specific Briefs but it 

does depend. If you are doing a 

broad spread of designs for an 

apparel range for a company then 

they might come with a very loose 

mood-or-idea board and will say 

what they like while asking me to 

put my twist on it. The other end 

of the spectrum are clients that 

are very particular about what they 

want and those generally are a lot 

harder to work on because the client 

has an idea in their head and 

it’s your job to flesh that idea out 

and visualise what they want to express. 

You have to try your best to 

pull that idea out. The jobs where 

the client says ‘just do your thing’ 

become more frequent the more 

well known you and your work 

become. They know what you are 

going to produce. It’s ideal.

Feature 

“My painting and personal work 

tend not to have much in the way of 

deadlines, so that’s all by-hand and 

I’ll sketch an idea, apply it to a canvas 

and then paint it. Timescales and tools 

determine how you’ll do a job...” 

What about the assistance of 

the digital age and has something 

like Instagram been 

invaluable for ‘spreading the 

word’? 

It feels like you never really 

know what will happen…but 

I feel like I have been able 

to make a career from Instagram, 

and I don’t know where 

I would be if I didn’t have that! 

It was a huge launchpad for 

me and as frustrating as it 

is these days - and as much 

as I’d like to give it up - I 

don’t think you can. It’s different 

now than what it was 

five years ago. How? It’s more 

saturated and you have to try 

harder to standout. I have to 

give Instagram its credit because 

for artists it is an amazing 

platform. It has probably 

never been easier for an artist 

to sell his or her work because 

it is in front of people 

straightaway. If you can build 

up a good following then you 

can sell product. Having said 

that you shouldn’t rely solely 

on Instagram because there 

are other ways of promoting 

yourself. As part of a bigger 

spectrum of promotion it’s a 

great tool. 

Is there one job or artwork 

that sticks out in your mind? 

A big challenge that turned 

out to be immensely rewarding 

was a piece of wall art I 

did outside of a shop in London, 

Shoreditch, called Rebels 

Alliance. They basically gave 

me the whole wall space to 

work on in an area that is popular 

for street art. I was a little 

bit apprehensive but I knew 

this kind of opportunity would 

not come along every day. It 

coincided with a show of my 

work inside the shop. The wall 

was massive. We projected 

the image on and stopped 

cars parking in the way and 

I knocked the line-work in 

quickly one night and then 

the next morning I started on 

it. It was in quite a prominent 

place and I was spraying and 

concentrating on the wall 

but I’d turn around and see 

a hundred people behind me 

all with their phones out! That 

was a real career highlight. 

It was there for a year and a 

half and I know the guys in the 

shop down there were touching 

up the painting if someone 

had tagged on it. It was up for 

a good while and I’m planning 

on doing another one soon 

actually, which is quite cool. It 

was a project that was completely 

different for me at the 

time. 

A milestone moment…? 

I never, ever think ‘I’ve made 

it…’ if you do then I believe 

you’ll fail quite quickly. I know 

I cannot sit still and I want 

to move my career in different 

directions. I know I can 

always do better and push the 

illustration harder. I’m always 

critical of my work and think I 

could have done better. I think 

that’s common for most creative 

people. I was impressed 

when Roland Sands first got 

in touch and wanted me to put 

ten designs together for their 

clothing range. I can’t remember 

the year…but I do remember 

‘that’s pretty cool’.


What’s your production process? 

Is it ink and paper or 

tablet based? 

I definitely use computers 

and a Wacom tablet to speed 

up the process. Magazine 

work can have a very short 

turnaround time. It’s not my 

preferred method but if I need 

to get something done in a 

couple of days then I’ll whack 

out a design on the tablet and 

digitally produce it from start 

to finish. The way I do like to 

work - and I do this 70% of 

the time - is to pencil-out a 

sketch for a client, get the goahead, 

refine the sketch and 

tweak some bits. I’ll then take 

it to a Light Box and brush the 

blackwork in ink. I’ll ink it by 

hand and then scan it. I’ll then 

digitally colour it from that 

point on. Digital comes into 

the process all the time purely 

because a lot of the stuff I do 

gets screen printed, so to set 

the layers up is much easier. 

If the opportunity arose where 

I can do an illustration by

Feature 

hand from start to finish then 

that’s my preferred course. My 

painting and personal work 

tend not to have much in the 

way of deadlines, so that’s 

all by-hand and I’ll sketch an 

idea, apply it to a canvas and 

then paint it. Timescales and 

tools for the jobs determine 

how you’ll do a job. 

What’s the best canvas…? 

Bikes themselves? Helmets? 

With bikes there are obviously 

more shades and contours 

to think about and I have 

two-three bikes to paint this 

year so we’ll see how it goes. 

They are flat trackers so it 

essentially means the tank 

and a section of the seat unit 

whereas a road bike or something 

with a fairing is a much 

bigger canvas to work with. 

Each job has it’s own bonuses 

and sticking points. I’d love to 

paint a road bike actually because 

a flat track bike means 

you have to think carefully 

about what will be displayed 

and how people and cameras 

will see it when its going into 

a corner. Riders will cover a 

lot of the tank anyway. The 

process of painting them is 

not radically different for me. 

I’ve done helmets in the past 

and there’s quite a lot of surface 

area. If you took a shell 

and spread it on the table 

then it would be pretty big. 

Again, only so much of it gets 

seen from different angles. 

Another thing I’ve started to 

do is buy big oil cans, squash 

them flat and then paint 

them. Again it’s still the same 

process as painting a bike 

and I’d use the same enamel 

and spray paint. 

How is life as an artist and 

one predominantly based in 

the motorcycle industry in 

2019? 

You cannot be just an artist: 

unless you have a really good 

agent that takes care of the 

whole commercial side. You 

need to be a businessman 

and also be business-minded 

as well as be creative, and 

normally I don’t think those 

two necessarily go hand-inhand. 

You have to try and 

market yourself, handle sales, 

email requests and clients. 

And also find time to have 

new ideas that keep you 

moving forward. There is 

always someone else biting 

at your heels. I’m sure that is 

the same for many different 

career paths. I’m really lucky 

that I have an agent in London 

– for just over a year now 

- that brings commercial illustration 

jobs. They help pull in 

work that is not just motorcycle 

related and it is nice to 

have it as a top-up. 

It’s nice to know someone is 

out there finding commissions 

and believing in you. 

It is also very satisfying to 

put your work out there and 

have people contacting you 

directly to buy it: you’ve created 

it, produced it, marketed 

it, packed it and sold it. That 

hands-on process from start 

to finish is really rewarding.

RyAn RoAdKILL & BIKe ART 

rYan roaDkill 

at a sketCh 

What bikes in the garage? 

At the moment I have a 

Survivor Customs Rotax 

flat track Thunderbike. 

Which I race in the DTRA 

championship; I say ‘race’ 

but it’s more pottering 

around! 

A couple of your favourite 

racers and why… 

I used to really like Loris 

Capirossi. He was great to 

watch and a bit of a character. 

For me most riders 

who are competitive on 

track are absolutely worthy 

of support. To stand out 

and get behind them they 

don’t have to be winning 

championships, but to 

be characters on and off 

track. To name a few more 

I would say Mick Doohan, 

Colin Edwards, obviously 

Valentino Rossi and Kenny 

Roberts. Also a real good 

guy from here and now 

racing in the USA is Oliver 

Brindley!! 

A Bucket List racing event? 

Peoria TT or any of the big 

fast AFT Mile tracks.

Products

leatt 

www.leatt.com 

Leatt do not know how to slow down with 

their ideas and evolution for motorcycle 

safety products and the addition of the ‘Z 

Frame Knee Brace’ to their line of protection 

for the notoriously tricky and vulnerable 

joint raises an eyebrow or two. The Z-Frame 

emphasises a closer feel to the bike and has 

hyper-extension limitations of 5, 10, 15 and 

20 degree help to limit ACL damage. There 

is a slim rugged gear hinge (and the whole 

composite chassis is CE certified so will 

cope with the knocks and abuse a track will 

throw at it) and a specific aim to blend function 

and performance. 

The Z Frame sits confidently next to the ‘X’ 

and ‘C’ models in the brace range as Leatt 

stretch their minds and R&D data when it 

comes to the best structures to assist knee 

injury and suit the needs of the rider, whether 

budding Pro motocrosser or occasional 

Enduro dabbler. The choice of model will 

really come down to fit and design preference. 

With their pedigree in life-saving neck 

protection then it is a brand you can trust. 

Expect to pay 300 euros or 270 pounds for 

the Z Frame pair.

BLOG 

when it comes to the crunch... 

“What’s the difference between short circuit racers and road racers?” 

It’s a question I’ve often been 

asked and long wondered myself. 

A couple of weekends ago 

I got a rare opportunity to make 

a direct comparison, albeit on 

artificial turf, rather than asphalt, 

in a charity soccer match between 

the two sets of riders at 

the Crusaders’ football ground 

in Belfast. Football skills aside, if 

the difference between the two 

sets of riders was purely mental, 

maybe this alternative sporting 

challenge would provide a good 

gauge. 

The traditional ‘Road Racers’ 

versus ‘Circuit Racers’ match 

is played annually in aid of the 

Children’s Cancer Unit at the 

Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, 

but this year it held extra significance 

following the death of one 

of the fixture’s regular players 

William Dunlop, whose family 

would share the proceeds. 

When leading British Superbike 

rider Glenn Irwin (star man for 

the Circuit Racers) sent a tweet 

out appealing for extra players, 

I thought, “well, I have done a 

couple of track days!” and dug 

out my football boots. I figured 

it would be a nice, friendly 

kickabout – a sociable off-season 

gathering and a good chance for 

a catch-up with some of the riders 

I will be working with in the 

BSB paddock and Isle of Man TT 

in 2019. 

What I didn’t expect was a brutal 

grudge match, a clash of racing 

cultures and an agricultural 

approach to the beautiful game 

that had me limping all the way 

back to George Best City Airport. 

I should have known better, of 

course. Every motorcycle racer I 

have ever met boasts an almost 

psychopathic determination to 

win at absolutely everything they 

do. When they come together, 

the big question is: who wants to 

win the most? 

The warning signs were there 

from as early as the pre-match 

pleasantries. The two teams 

formed a long line to great the 

crowd and then crossed in single 

file, each player shaking hands 

with each one of his opponents. 

I smiled and nodded with each 

handshake, offering a “How’s it 

going?” or a “Good luck” – and 

was met unilaterally by the cold 

stare of antipathetic abandon 

that only a man prepared to 

tackle the Tandragee 100 in iffy 

conditions on a 250cc two-stroke 

could muster. 

The other thing that struck me 

was the physical stature of the 

Road Racers compared to my 

teammates: much thicker set 

than the Circuit Racers – still 

athletic, but heavier, broader. 

No need to lose those two extra 

kilos of muscle when you need to 

hold a Superbike steady for six 

laps around the bumpy roads of 

Enniskillen. No need for the diet 

protein shakes that were present 

in the Circuit Racers’ changing 

room – worth a good 0.2 seconds 

around the Silverstone National 

Circuit - nor the moisturisers 

or the hair gel (okay, I admit, 

the moisturiser was mine) for the 

cameras. Road racers aren’t in 

the sport to look cool.

By Matthew Roberts 

They’re not in it for the fame or 

the fortune. They are literally in it 

to win it. 

As a result, their look is a little 

unkempt, a little wild. But that 

was nothing compared to their 

tackling. 

The first yellow card was flashed 

within two minutes of the first 

whistle, following a late lunge by 

young, up-and-coming Irish roads 

man Darryl Anderson on factory 

Honda BSB star Andrew Irwin, 

brother to Glenn. It is difficult to 

get a yellow card so quickly in a 

professional football match, let 

alone a ‘friendly’, but Andrew 

- one of the most notoriously 

aggressive riders on the British 

Superbike grid – had found 

himself on the end of the kind of 

move that saw him wipe three 

riders out in turn one at Snetterton 

last season. 

Moments later came my first 

touch of the ball, a little loose for 

my liking on the hard, unforgiving 

artificial surface, and James Kelly 

– a former Tandragee lap record 

holder and keen Gaelic football 

player - was onto me. 

Within seconds Paul Robinson – a 

gnarly little 125cc legend of the 

Ulster Grand Prix and North West 

200 - came piling in too. An elbow 

in the ribs, a boot around the 

top of the shin and the ball was 

gone – I still don’t know where, it 

didn’t seem to matter. I hunched 

over in front of the grandstand to 

catch my breath, and could sense 

the partisan Road Racer majority 

in a crowd of hundreds baying for 

the blood of this particular penpushing 

imposter of an Englishman. 

Moments later Keith Gillespie, the 

former Manchester United winger 

and Northern Irish national team 

legend, appearing as honorary 

captain for the Circuit Racers, 

was brutally sawed down in full 

flight by Dean Campbell, a race 

winner at the Cookstown 100 and 

- fittingly - a carpenter by trade. 

Gillespie was livid. He’d opened 

up a deep gash on his knee 

sustained the previous weekend 

in another ostensibly ‘friendly’ 

international competition shown 

live on Sky Sports (the one that 

saw Ireland’s Jason McAteer sent 

off for kicking England’s Michael 

Owen up the arse). 

Campbell doesn’t give a shit 

about football, or Keith Gillespie’s 

reputation, or indeed Keith 

Gillespie’s knee. But he clearly 

gives a massive shit about winning. 

But thanks to the guile of 

Gillespie, combined with the 

calculated runs of Chrissy Rouse 

- a nimble British Superstock 

race winner with a maths degree 

- and the dextrous Nikki Coates 

up front, the Circuit Racers edged 

into a 2-0 lead. Aided by the 

willing runs of Glenn Irwin, an 

elaborate tactician from the wide 

left position, and the technically 

adept Superstock rider Jordan 

Gilbert in midfield, it seemed the 

incisive approach of the Circuit 

Racers was going to be too much 

for the Road Racers to cope with. 

However, as we emerged from the 

dressing rooms for the second 

half, a stiff westerly wind turned 

the rain sideways off the Irish 

sea, and into the faces of the Circuit 

Racers. The track technicians 

seemed to drop a cylinder whilst 

the Road Racers found some 

extra revs and ripped the throttle 

that little bit harder.

BLOG 

With the wind at their backs and 

an indomitable spirit within, they 

pumped relentless long balls 

over the top of a disjointed, dispirited 

and defeated Circuit Racers’ 

defence, gaining endless joy 

from the willing forward runs of 

Davey Todd, the ‘Star of Tomorrow’ 

at last year’s TT. 

So, is that all that makes them 

different? 

Probably not. But in the words of 

William Dunlop’s brother Michael, 

they are certainly prepared 

to go “that wee bit extra.” 

Barrel-chested BSB stalwart 

Shaun Winfield’s industrious attempts 

to punt the ball back into 

the wind from centre-half grew 

more and more futile as the gaps 

appeared around him and the 

pacey Todd took full advantage, 

setting up a flurry of late goals 

for Robinson and, ultimately, a 

winner from Kelly. The deflated 

Circuit Racers, it seemed, simply 

didn’t have the body fat percentage 

to weather the storm. 

With such a narrow winning 

margin in a match when footballing 

ability had precious little to 

do with the outcome, it is fair to 

say that the Road Racers had the 

mental edge on the day. 

Photo by Steve english

Photo: R. Schedl 

Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations! 

The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost. 

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2019 Worldsbk test

SBK 

BLOG 

joininG the fast lane... 



I am writing this from the departures lounge of Seville Airport in the middle 

of a whirlwind of work and travel. 

After a very relaxed period over 

Christmas time, including a 

sneaky wee holiday with Clan 

GeeBee, 2019 has burst into 

life and I am currently bouncing 

around southern Europe in 

between photoshoots. 

It’s pre-season time when everyone 

in the WorldSBK paddock 

has a mad panic to get the final 

winter tests completed, bikes and 

engines prepared, fairings painted 

in new liveries; riders have 

new leathers and helmet designs 

to sort, all before the first week 

in February when everything gets 

put in crates and gets sent, lock 

stock and barrel, to Australia for 

the first round. We are just less 

than a month away from the first 

race of the season and no one 

seems fully prepared, least of all 

me. 

I think I have written about this 

before but each year it never 

changes. I get finished up in 

November with the last jobs and 

purposefully take time away from 

work to recharge the batteries, 

mooch about the house and 

generally relax with my family. 

The new season seems so far 

away in the future: it must be like 

coming onto that back straight at 

Buriram. It stretches so far in the 

distance you can’t even imagine 

there is a corner at the end of it. 

Then, BOOM, a hairpin arrives, 

or in this case a bunch of photoshoots 

all stacked up on top of 

each other. 

I started last Monday in Jerez 

and have been shooting everyday, 

via Seville and onto Portimao. 

I am now on my way to 

Sardinia for what is a new venture 

for me, a three day shoot 

with a manufacturer and their 

world championship motocross 

teams. Whist it’s been mega busy 

over the last days it has been 

really productive and, along with 

Jamie Morris, we have achieved 

a hell of a lot. 

Back to the WorldSBK tests, it 

was pretty much the whole SBK 

field on track, with the exception 

of the new HRC Honda team. 

Unfortunately the team hasn’t 

been able to get all the paperwork 

in place to register a European 

base. WorldSBK rules don’t 

allow teams to test out of their 

home continent, in this case 

Asia, so the Honda squad wasn’t 

able to test at Jerez or Portimao. 

It was a real shame not to have 

them there and I can only feel 

they will start the campaign on 

the back foot. The first we will 

see them will be in a few weeks 

at a two outing at Phillip Island, 

days before the first race weekend. 

It was good to see the new BMW 

team on track under the management 

of Shaun Muir Racing. 

Tom Sykes arrived really relaxed 

and looking forward to the test. 

I had hoped to catch them at 

their first shakedown at Almeria 

in December but the team were 

trying to stay under the radar as 

it was very much that, a shakedown. 

Added to that, Mrs Gee- 

Bee wanted to keep me ON the 

radar at home.

By Graeme Brown 

Not everything had been ready 

for a full spec race machine in 

Almeria so it was a case of setting 

up riding positions, mechanics 

getting used to spannering the 

bikes and so on. 

Now with everything prepared 

the bike looked pretty trick when 

it rolled out of pitlane on Tuesday 

morning at Jerez. One thing 

I noticed however, was that they 

were running Nissin brakes. Nissin 

were only present in the paddock 

in recent years with the Ten Kate 

Hondas. Everyone else ran Brembo. 

Sykes apparently was really 

reluctant to use the Nissin product 

and was insisting on having 

Brembos. However, the deal was 

done long before Sykes put pen to 

paper and Nissin have gone all-in 

with BMW and SMR having their 

Racing Service on hand at both 

the Jerez and Portimao tests. 

There were other little noticeable 

changes up and down the paddock. 

The Barni Racing team, 

which is widely seen as an offshoot 

of the Ducati factory team 

and have taken Michael Ruben 

Rinaldi under their wing, are running 

Showa suspension. Showa 

have been a very big part of the 

success at Kawasaki over recent 

years and I was really interested to 

see their product on the Ducati. I 

couldn’t nail anyone down to find 

out the exact reason. Could it be 

that Ducati want to run it on their 

satellite team to get a handle on 

the performance of the Kawasaki? 

The current rules make it possible 

for anyone to buy the same equipment 

as the factory teams so it 

would make sense to see what the 

competition is using. 

In personnel terms it was interesting 

to spot Phil Marron in the Puccetti 

garage working as crew chief 

to Toprak Razgatlioglu. Phil has 

been a long term crew chief and 

friend of Eugene Laverty. I wonder 

how the relationship will develop 

but the Turk was pretty quick at 

both tests. 

Jonathan Rea continues to be 

top of the pile, setting the fastest 

times in both Jerez and Portimao, 

and he is resolutely determined 

to stay there. I had to visit him at 

home in Northern Ireland a couple 

of weeks ago. 

As I was coming off the ferry from 

Scotland he messaged me to say 

he was at the gym but to come 

up and by the time I get there he 

should be finished. When I arrived 

he was just starting the final exercise, 

pushing a sled with metal 

runners, laden with weights, up 

and down the car park in 10, 20 

and 30 metre shuttles, for the following 

20 minutes. By the end he 

looked drained. He has been doing 

that most days since December in 

order to stay fit and strong. 

One man who has been hot on his 

heels at the tests is Alex Lowes. 

Alex and his brother Sam have 

pitched up at Valencia circuit and 

been training there since the start 

of the year. They have their own 

pit box and each day have been 

doing gym sessions, finished off 

by repeated efforts running up 

and down the hill along the back 

straight. Anyone who has been 

there knows how steep that is. 

We all follow our heros on social 

media and we see pictures of 

them riding motocross or supermoto, 

trials riding in the mountains 

or pedaling a push bike in 

some sunny location. What we 

don’t see is the hard graft of turning 

themselves inside out on a

SBK 

BLOG 

daily basis to reach peak fitness 

and hopefully gain an advantage 

over their rivals. We spoke about 

it amongst the soft media types 

in Portimao and agreed that top 

level professional athletes have 

something special that the rest 

of us don’t have. It’s not just the 

given talent they have for their 

chosen sport but it’s an ability to 

hurt themselves, endure physical 

pain, to make themselves stronger 

and fitter. 

Then there is the downside of 

motorcycle racing that we don’t 

see. I did a photoshoot with 

Supersport rider Jules Cluzel in 

Portimao. He is currently walking 

with the aid of a crutch after 

surgery on his ankle to break it 

and reset it. It turns out he broke 

it in a crash three years ago and 

it never set properly. He has been 

in constant pain ever since, all 

day, every day, and yet he still 

manages to race a motorbike and 

win at the highest level. It got too 

much for him last year and after 

his crash in Qatar he decided 

it was time to get it properly 

repaired, as much for his long 

term quality of life as well as his 

performance. 

Like most I guess, I never knew 

any of that and I was stunned. 

What a herculean effort to keep 

racing at that level and it is just 

another example of that little 

extra piece of the jigsaw that 

these guys have that makes them 

amongst the best. 

I am not going to complain about 

being cold or wet ever again, 

doing one of the best jobs in the 

world. I even feel a little bit embarrassed 

at this point to moan 

that I am a bit tired!

2019 Worldsbk test

Drinking 

at Last 

Chance 

saloon? 

He’s experienced and has excelled 

at so many levels of racing but this 

winter Eugene Laverty was staring at a 

career ‘wall’. The popular 32 year old 

now dislodged a brick to grasp a plum 

opportunity in WorldSBK with a Ducati 

V4 R. Can the Irishman finally match the 

talent with the results once more? 

Words & Photos by Steve English

Feature 

The butterfly effect is defined by how small 

events have widespread implications. It 

could be debated that a particular conclusion 

will be reached no matter the circumstances, 

but in motorcycle racing those small details can 

have massive repercussions on a rider’s fortunes. 

Eugene Laverty almost found how destructive the 

choices, moves and minor issues can actually be. 

At the end of the 2018 season the Irishman was 

facing the prospect of a year on the sidelines, but 

instead one call answered all his prayers, in the 

form of a Ducati V4 R. 

With the GoEleven squad switching to the 

Italian machine, Laverty finds himself in 

a seat with race winning potential once 

again. 

“Riders always know that they can be left 

without a ride,” assessed Laverty. “I don’t 

have a big enough ego not to feel vulnerable 

to that, and I realised pretty quickly 

that there was a chance that there 

wouldn’t be many seats available. Since 

I started winning races in World Supersport 

in 2009 I’ve always had options

drinking in the last chance saloon? 

any risk of being on the sofa for a year. This 

year things were different because options 

just kept dwindling. When I got injured in 

Thailand it was probably the worst time 

that it could have happened. We started the 

year really strong and then after the injury 

I had to rebuild, but that was when it was 

contract time for riders and that hurt my 

options. I can’t complain though. I’m back 

in WorldSBK for 2019, riding again. We’ve 

seen that in the end some riders went to 

BSB, and some were left without a seat.” 

With employment prospects shrinking in 

the WorldSBK paddock, the rider market 

was flooded. For Laverty it seemed that 

staying at Shaun Muir Racing was his primary 

route; but with the team switching to 

BMW and the German manufacturer bringing 

with them a hefty sponsorship budget 

having a German on the bike was always 

likely. With Markus Reiterberger in place, 

Laverty was suddenly in a shootout for 

other bike. 

on the table. This winter was very different 

for me. Looking back to 2013 - when 

I was pushed out of Aprilia - there was 

some uncertainty about where I’d ride, 

but I had options on the table.” 

“At that stage of my career I was winning 

races and did the double at the final 

round of the year in Jerez. I had choices. 

Should I go to MotoGP and be a midfield 

runner, or should I try and win races 

on the Suzuki in WorldSBK? That was 

a choice for me and there wasn’t really 

Going up against Tom Sykes left him on the 

outside looking in. The former WorldSBK 

champion may have been outclassed by 

Jonathan Rea in their four years as teammates, 

but six Superpole’s in 2018 certainly 

showed that he still has the speed. 

“This year rides were disappearing,” commented 

Laverty. “Kawasaki signed Leon 

from BSB and Kiyonari came in at Honda, 

so that was two seats filled and with Ten 

Kate pulling out, suddenly that was another 

two rides gone. It was a tough period. At 

one time, things were looking good for me 

to stay with my current team, SMR.” 

“Then when that fell through it was a case 

of thinking, ‘what’s going on here?’

Feature 

Everything was looking on course to stay 

with SMR during the summer but once 

things start getting delayed it becomes 

less secure for you. I still thought everything 

looked like it was going to go 

ahead but at the last minute things 

changed.” 

“That’s why as riders you have to understand; 

you’re just a number. You can’t 

take any offence from it. I understand 

that Tom is a world champion. He’s been 

winning races in recent years. So they 

chose him. That’s all there was to it. But 

I’m thankful I ended up getting something 

because the only problem for me 

with what happened was how late in the 

day it was. That’s all it was, and it left 

me in a difficult position.” 

Out of that adversity Laverty has been 

able to find himself on a bike that should 

be a contender. The brand new Ducati V4 

R is a MotoGP-derived machine. His experience 

of their Grand Prix motorcycle 

also gives Laverty plenty of confidence 

that the WorldSBK version shares more 

than a factory workshop and genesis; it 

shares the same gene pool. 

it tough for the rest of us to fight with 

them. Braking is really strong with this 

bike and we know that Chaz was always 

able to brake better than the Kawasaki, 

so those are the two key areas this bike 

could be very strong in.” 

Now it will be up to the 13 times WorldS- 

BK race winner to prove that he still has 

the ability, desire and confidence to fight 

at the front. His return to the productionbased 

championship has been below 

expectations with two podiums as scant 

reward. He knows that now is the time to 

deliver. With Jonathan Rea having dominated 

for four years, Laverty is realistic 

about how difficult it will be to beat him. 

Confidence is a fickle thing. It takes a 

long time to come and only an instant 

to drop away. It’s often said that a rider 

needs to believe they’re the best to be 

the best. For Laverty however, he knows 

that to beat the best - and Rea is statistically 

the greatest rider in WorldSBK 

history - he knows that first Rea has to 

realise he’s in for a fight. 

“This bike has some major strengths. The two biggest 

factors are how linear the engine is. It feels more like 

the MotoGP engine I used a few years ago...” 

“This bike has some major strengths. 

The two biggest factors are how linear 

the engine is. It feels more like the MotoGP 

engine I used a few years ago, and 

that really helps whenever you’re using 

fixed gearbox ratios and you’re running 

at minimum RPM in a corner. I’ve got 

an engine that pulls right through the 

reins. I think Kawasaki have had that 

over the last few years, and that’s made 

“I think that for everyone in this championship 

to beat Johnny at the minute, 

you’ve got to have a better bike than 

he has. He’s had four years with the 

same bike and the same team, he’s on 

the crest of a wave. He’s not starting a 

new season; he’s continuing what he’s 

done for four seasons. I think that with 

this Ducati we may well have a bike to 

do that though. We need to get the bike


working well and then get on top of the 

Kawasaki. If we can do that right from 

the start then the championship is wide 

open.” 

“Confidence is a strange thing, and when 

I went to MotoGP I lost some of mine. I 

listened to too much of the bullshit about 

what people around me were telling me. I 

almost started believing that maybe there 

is something special with those riders. 

That was a mistake and I should have 

focused on myself because that would get 

into my head a little bit, and that’s not 

good for anybody.” 

“Since coming back to WorldSBK and getting 

on a good bike I’ve had my confidence 

come back. At my first WorldSBK test I 

could compare my data on the Aprilia to 

2013, I could see from the first test how 

badly I was braking compared to the past. 

I needed to get my finger out again and 

work at regaining strength in my riding 

style. I want to get back to winning races. 

I’m a better rider now than I was in 2013 

when I was winning. It’s about the bike, 

the team and everything around you. 

There were some things that I was doing 

well but there was nothing I was doing 

better than what I do now. I’ve improved 

in every area. So it was a matter of getting 

the rest of the pieces of the puzzle. 

“When I was with Aprilia it was their full 

factory team. Everything was in place, and 

they gave me a chance to bloom. I need to 

get that going again. I know that this could 

be the last chance saloon. I’ve signed a 

one-year contract here at GoEleven. I think 

a lot of riders are in a similar position, so 

it’s important for me to hit the ground running, 

get those results and put myself in 

the shop window to get back to a factory 

team.”

Feature


Deadlines spur activity in every walk of 

life and Laverty is sure to find that in 

2019 his deadline will have moved up. 

He doesn’t want to be caught on the 

backfoot again in the next turn of the 

rider swaparound. Going to GoEleven is a 

move that certainly has risks attached. 

The team - who ran Roman Ramos in 

recent years - have to prove themselves 

as capable of being front-runners and 

Laverty needs to prove to the paddock 

that he’s still the rider he was five years 

ago. Whilst his data tells him that he’s 

moved forward as a rider, it’s possible 

that WorldSBK has also moved on since 

then. The first race of the 2019 season 

will be the fifth anniversary of Laverty’s 

last win in the class. A lot has changed 

for the Irishman since then but now he 

finally has the bike underneath him again 

to prove that he’s still contender. It’s put 

up or shut up time, and being the sole 

focus of his team for this pivotal season 

is something that he’s embracing. 

the data I want to see. We’re working on 

our own thing though, and if I request 

their data I can get it.” 

“I’ve ridden with so many top riders as 

teammates: Melandri, Biaggi, Guintoli, so 

I know what to look for in data. There’s 

no point in looking at a screen full of colourful 

lines and not knowing what you’re 

seeing. It can be deceiving because 

sometimes you can look at it and see a 

rider doing the corner better, but now 

with my experience I know to almost tell 

the engineers, ‘no, ignore that. He’s doing 

that, but he won’t be able to do that 

after six laps...’ So now I know what to 

look for and that makes a big difference.” 

“It’s been good to be a single rider in a 

team. I’ve never had that before, but with 

a brand new bike it’s good for everyone 

in the team to be focusing their attention 

in the middle of the garage. Some might 

feel more pressure as a single rider but 

I don’t because I only focus on myself. 

I’ve never really looked outside of that. 

It puts all the emphasis on me. Sometimes 

- especially in testing - a teammate 

can pull a lap out of his ass; the old data 

comes out in the overlay and is trying to 

tell you to do different things. So I quite 

like it that I’m able to do my own thing.” 

“The data that I have is from the factory 

guys, a MotoGP podium guy like Bautista 

and Chaz who’s won a lot of races, that’s

Products 

ducati 

Ducati and Italian watchmakers Locman have 

teamed up for a second run of timepieces. 

The combination has produced a collection for 

2019 that ‘consists of four models, each with 

a different mechanism, with prices ranging 

from 299 euros to 598: the quartz Solo Tempo 

(Time Only), the quartz twin-gauge Chronograph 

(with 24-hour time and chrono minutes), 

the three-gauge Chronograph (with continuous 

watch seconds, chrono hours and chrono 

minutes) and the Meccanico Automatico Solo 

Tempo (Mechanical Self-Winding Time Only).’ 

The cases are made of stainless steel with the 

distinctive Ducati shield as part of the design. 

The look of the face is taken from ‘Ducati instrumentation 

and racing’ while the straps vary 

from soft silicone or natural padded leather. 

Locman might not be a well-known brand outside 

of Italy (and thus the units might be tougher 

to track down internationally) but the style of 

these products is actually pretty good: elegant 

and simple without any of the over-the-top and 

often gaudy appearances of similar bike related 

watches (such as the Tissot MotoGP lines or 

even other models in Ducati’s own portfolio).

www.locman.it

TEST 

pack 

the 

half 

BMW’s jugular 

shot for the 

Middleweight 

Adventure 

crown: f850gs 

Words by Roland Brown, Photos by Mark Manning

It looks as though 2019 will be the year 

of the middleweight adventure bike. 

KTM’s 790 Adventure and Yamaha’s 

equally eagerly awaited Ténéré 700 were 

stars of last autumn’s shows. Largecapacity 

adventure bikes are great, the 

thinking goes, but who needs all that 

horsepower, size and expense when a 

middleweight can provide exciting performance 

and comparable sophistication for 

much less money? 

Those two newcomers might be highlighting 

the trend, but in some ways 

they’ll already be playing catch-up. 

BMW’s F850GS, very much from the 

same market sector, has been in showrooms 

for several months already. The 

F850GS was launched midway through 

last year, comprehensively updating the 

F800GS that had been an adventure 

class mainstay for over a decade. 

At the heart of the update is a new parallel 

twin engine, with capacity increased 

from 798 to 853cc, increasing maximum 

output by ten per cent to 94bhp. The bottom-end 

is redesigned with a new firing 

order, and there are twin balancer shafts to 

kill vibration. (Continuing BMW’s confusing 

tradition, there’s also a new F750GS model, 

replacing the F700, with identical 853cc 

capacity and lower, 76bhp output.) 

In styling terms the F850GS has a beaky 

look that brings it visually closer to the 

R1200GS boxer. Its steel frame and other 

chassis parts are new; the fuel tank is 

conventionally located rather than at the 

rear. The drive chain is now on the left and 

the exhaust on the right, partly to facilitate 

manoeuvring the bike off-road. (Most riders 

push from the left, where the hot exhaust 

was.) 

The extra capacity gives the GS some welcome 

extra acceleration, and it’s impressively 

flexible as well as quick. It’s strong at 

higher revs too, and feels smooth, especially 

as the top three gears are slightly taller.

mw f850gs

But inevitably it can’t match the R1200GS 

for low-rev grunt, and doesn’t have the big 

boxer’s distinctive character either. 

It is however impressively economical, averaging 

close to 60mpg to give a range of 170- 

plus miles from the 15-litre tank. (There’s 

also an F850GS ‘Adventure’, with 23-litre 

tank plus hand-guards and taller, adjustable 

screen.) Whether the fairly thin and not outstandingly 

comfortable seat encourages such 

mileage without a break is another matter. 

Disappointingly, the F850GS doesn’t approach 

the Adventure model’s level of wind 

protection, largely due to its low, narrow 

screen, which does little apart from generating 

some noisy turbulence. A taller option 

is available, and there are also higher and 

lower options for the seat, which also can’t 

be adjusted, and at 860mm is typically 

adventure-bike tall as standard. 

With that standard seat the F850GS is respectably 

roomy and it handles well on road, 

feeling reasonably light and agile despite 

weighing 229kg with fuel, and having a 21- 

inch front wheel. 

The wide handlebar gives plenty of leverage 

to get the bike flicking through bends, steering 

is accurate and there’s plenty of stopping 

power from the Brembo front brake calipers. 

Suspension is well controlled despite giving 

very generous travel; there’s also a semiactive 

option that links with riding mode. 

As standard the modes are simply Road 

and softer Rain. Paying extra for the Pro 

upgrade adds Dynamic, with sharper throttle 

response, plus off-road-friendly Enduro 

and Enduro Pro (which disables rear ABS to 

allow skids). The options are good to have, 

though the engine’s rider-friendly character 

means that even the sharper throttle response 

is very manageable. 

You couldn’t describe the F-bike as compact 

or particularly light, but it’s respectably 

manoeuvrable, and usefully less heavy and 

more agile than the R1200GS.

mw f850gs

“Whether off-road or on, the F850GS is 

a sensibly updated parallel twin that is 

quick, versatile and capable of tackling 

everything that a larger-capacity 

adventure bike can do. It also has the 

benefit of relatively low price ....”

mw f850gs

That helps make it plenty of fun off-road, 

where the fairly high handlebar, slim seat 

and serrated footpegs all come in useful 

when you’re standing up. 

Whether off-road or on, the F850GS is a 

sensibly updated parallel twin that is quick, 

versatile and capable of tackling everything 

that a larger-capacity adventure bike can do. 

It also has the benefit of relatively low price 

(£9875 in the UK), at least in its basic specification. 

Not that most buyers will choose the base 

model. Many will pay extra for the F850GS 

Sport (£10,755), which includes heated grips, 

quick-shifter and cornering ABS. And plenty 

of bikes will be kitted out with options including 

Dynamic ESA semi-active suspension, 

cruise control, keyless ignition and 

centre-stand. 

One reason for the current rise of mid-capacity 

adventure bikes is that this latest breed 

can incorporate those electronic and other 

features, which large-capacity models have 

had for years. Perhaps the main drawback, 

in the case of the F850GS, is that doing so 

brings its price close to the basic cost of 

the mighty R1200GS, with its extra dollop of 

power and character (and, yes, weight). 

Most riders looking for a GS will doubtless 

fall for the familiar charm of the huge-selling 

boxer, but BMW’s comprehensively uprated 

parallel twin is well worthy of consideration. 

As one of the advance guard of adventure 

super-middleweights, it has set the bar 

temptingly high. Those new arrivals from 

KTM and Yamaha are going to have to be 

mighty good to beat it.

mw f850gs

ack page 

Oakland SX 

By James Lissimore

on 

track 

off 

road 

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