On Track Off Road No. 187

WorldSBK

SMEARING
THE RED
The remarkable lens skill of Marian Chytka was
apparent at the last round of WorldSBK in Imola
and where the weather allowed some interesting
interpretation of the 2019 cast list.
Jonathan Rea at last managed to splash
through Ducati’s widening ‘red puddle’
Photo by MCH Photo

MX

TIM’S
TURN
From a face full of Mantova sand and a 40 point
deficit in the championship standings, Tim Gajser
reoriented his attack over the course of two
weekends. A brace of MXGP wins sliced the gap to just
10 and the HRC star now has Tony Cairoli squarely in
his goggles
Photo by Ray Archer

MotoGP

IN THE MOOD
FOR MUGELLO
Thick black lines could be the order of
the day from Jack Miller and the rest of
the factory Ducatis this weekend around
the sensational curves of Mugello. If Marc
Marquez conquers again then the rest of
2019 could be in real trouble
Photo by CormacGP

MXGP
WO
IMIN
GRAND PRIX OF FRA
SAINT JEAN D’ANGELY · MAY 25-26 · Rnd 7 of 1
MXGP WINNER: TIM GAJSER, HONDA
MX2 WINNER: JORGE PRADO, KTM
Blogs by Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

MXGP FRANCE
G
NCE
8

MXGP

MXGP FRANCE

MXGP

WORLDSBK POR
MXGP FRANCE

MXGP

MXGP FRANCE

FEATURE MXGP

MXGP FRANCE

THE ULTIMATE
RACE-WINNING
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KTM
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“Winning is a complex puzzle where every element has
to fit perfectly to get the job done. For me though, there is
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The ultimate weapon to take into battle”.
Cooper Webb – 2019 AMA Supercross 450SX Champion
Photo: S. Cudby, KISKA GmbH
www.kiska.com
Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing, and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!
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MXGP
BLOG
MAKING THE 180...
That was some reversal.
It is almost impossible to dislike
Tim Gajser. Off the bike he has
hardly changed from the adolescent,
innocent and giggly person
that rattled MX2 as a teenager. On
the bike he still fits former Team
Manager Giacomo Gariboldi’s description
of being “like a bull”. He
can often be the picture of formidable
pace, power and aggression
on the HRC CRF.
His 2015-2016 MX2 and MXGP
back-to-back title winning campaigns
at the age of 19-20 is still
one of the most impressive dawns
I have seen in nearly two decades
of covering Grands Prix. Since
that time Tim has learned the
‘other side’ of the premier class;
too many crashes, some bad luck
and some hard injuries have interrupted
the better part of the last
two years. Harshly, a portion of
the brilliance has ebbed away.
So far in 2019 Gajser has not
backed-off from that all-out approach.
There have been scary
crashes in Argentina and Great
Britain and moments of
inspiration such as Arco di Trento
and Portugal (where his pursuit
and pressure on Tony Cairoli
revealed shades of a new, more
measured #243). My overriding
sentiment concerning the Honda
man at present is a longing hope
that he doesn’t pick up an injury
as he seems to be the only candle-holder
to Tony Cairoli’s competitiveness.
MXGP has just finished a first
‘three-in-a-row’ and among that
spell of races in Italy, Portugal and
France the two sides of Gajser
were aptly displayed. Significantly
the Slovenian also showed one of
his strongest traits – mental fortitude
– in that small episode.
Firstly there was the disaster in
the Italian sand of Mantova with
multiple mistakes and tip-offs in
each moto leading to sixth overall
and a twenty-four point loss
to Tony Cairoli in the standings.
Remarkably Gajser managed to
deal with a humbling and humiliating
weekend (Mantova itself has
not been kind to the rider after
his crash and broken jaw in the
pre-season of 2018) in a matter
of days and hours with that
resurrection in Portugal. His 1-1 at
Agueda was gained with two ‘assists’
by an unusually error-prone
Cairoli but you could argue that
Tim’s presence and pressure was
a direct cause of the engine stall
and crash by his principal rival.
Suddenly the gift in Italy didn’t
look so dramatic with a six point
retaliation in the sunshine. In
France the ‘swingback’ went even
higher and the gap shrank to ten.
Mantova (where Cairoli went
1-1) would have been depressing
for Gajser and HRC with the full
knowledge that their KTM rival is
an absolute master of the podium
consistency needed to acquire
gold number plates. Gajser might
have the edge or is at least the
equivalent when it comes to raw
speed but has yet to convert a
poor meeting into a respectable
haul of championship points. That
he was able to transform a day
that would have bruised his ego
as much as parts of his body into

By Adam Wheeler
a set of performances that delivered
a second overall GP win of
2019 was emboldening.
“Monday was tough,” Gajser told
Lewis Phillips of MX Vice Podcasting
fame of the immediate
post-Mantova malaise “because
you start to realise what you did
and the stupid mistakes. I was
trying to forget about that as soon
as possible.”
“It is definitely always tough when
you come from a bad weekend
and also the confidence goes a
little bit. You start to question ‘am
I good enough?’ stuff like that. I
am so happy to have an amazing
team behind me and also my girlfriend.
She is always right there,
mentally trying to say everything
so that I feel better.”
Riders frequently make platitudes
(and rightly so) to their teams
for the work and effort made to
give them a platform – technical,
physical, mental and maybe
spiritual – from which to perform.
Gasjer is frank and honest about
how he leans on his support
group after disappointments like
Mantova, but despite all the headhelp
he still has to embark on one
of the hardest and loneliest sporting
pursuits alone. Nobody else
in the world knows what it is like
to push that factory Honda to live
with a nine times world champion
and to push KTM away from the
top of an MXGP podium. Tim may
seem meek, almost vulnerable,
in person but there is no escaping
the depth of the salvage act
he performed from Monday 13th
May to Sunday 19th and again in
France another week later.
The MXGP world championship
has been decided by 51, 50, 84
and 43 points in the last five
years and without going to the
final round on each occasion.
This means the graft and the
foundation building of a title win
has gone-on long before the final
stretches of the calendar comes
into play. Portugal will have been
a relief for the HRC camp. A small
stumble for Cairoli with his sights
set on the record books but a
hearty revival from his closest
pursuer. It showed the kind of
resolve that we as fans rarely get
to see or understand about elite
sportsmen: that process of how
they strive behind the scenes
to drag fortune back into their
arsenal.
Gajser did his job, realised his
potential once more and satisfied
his personal motivation at Agueda
and then revelled in it in France…
but he also unearthed some of
the essence that separates people
like him from people like us.

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JASONANDERSON
@ P R O T A P E R
P R O T A P E R . C O M

FEATURE

Poised
to
eat
it
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer
THOMAS KJER OLSEN
IS GETTING HUNGRY
all

FEATURE
There are a lot of people looking
at Thomas Kjer Olsen. We don’t
mean the curious staff of the sushi
restaurant near the racetrack at Mantova
for the Grand Prix of Lombardia where
we are taking photos. We don’t really
mean all those MXGP fans and followers
that recognise the Rockstar Husqvarna
rider is the best hope of taking it to MX2
conqueror Jorge Prado. Instead we were
thinking of the Dane’s prospects. In just
his third Grand Prix season ‘TKO’ has already
held the red plate as series leader,
has claimed another overall win and arguably
stands as one brightest talents in
Grand Prix: certainly one that could and
should blend ideally with a 450 in the
MXGP class considering his height and
strength.
“I ALMOST FORGET SOMETIMES THAT
I’M A PRETTY GOOD MOTOCROSS
RIDER. AFTER THE BRITISH GRAND
PRIX IT SET IN A BIT MORE THAT
I WAS LEADING THE WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP.”
After establishing himself with aplomb
in 2017 and 2018 there is now a bit more
urgency in the 22 year old’s bow wave.
The last time Thomas featured in OTOR
we were essentially discovering a rising
star. Now Olsen has stepped up to the
mantle of principal Red Bull KTM ‘challenger’,
and is well placed in a young
flock of riders that Husqvarna are currently
cultivating to eventually have an
impact on MXGP and dilute some of
the strong orange shade with a dash
of white. He still has one more year in
the MX2 division before he ages out but
#19’s time is very much now.
If Thomas’ sporting situation has
changed slightly then his character and
quiet demeanour has not. He smiles
easily and exudes calmness. You can
feel he is perhaps a person that doesn’t
get rattled…even when asked to perform
the slightly tricky task of holding two
pieces of sushi above his head. His talent
spreads far obviously.

OK, so you’ve had the red plate. You’ve
obviously dominated the EMX250 series
but this position at the top of the world
championship must have carried some
sort of effect. Many rider publicly claim
that it doesn’t mean much…
You’re right. The first time I had it in
Valkenswaard this year it was really
something different to see your bike with
that plate on. I quickly got used to it, and
even had it on the practice bike sometimes!
To be honest I haven’t thought too
much about it. I’ve been working on my
own racing and riding and trying to be
consistently ‘up there’ because I don’t
think it helps to have that ‘oh, I’m in the
lead I must keep it’ feeling. I’m stoked
about it but it is something that is towards
the back of my mind.
THOMAS KJER OLSEN

FEATURE
It’s a cliché that riders don’t
think about points or standings
or red plates, but some
will never reach that position
in their careers…
That’s right and I did think
about it after the British Grand
Prix but I have always been the
type of guy that when I am on
the bike those sorts of things
don’t come to me too much.
For sure I want to win a world
championship but to lead one
is also a milestone. Even in
Danish motocross nobody has
ever done it. It’s a huge accomplishment.
It’s good to hear you say that
because some riders can really
buckle or struggle with
pressure. On the other hand
you have to be pretty cold or
super-disciplined not to look
around you and recognise
that you are at the top of the
world…
Yeah. I had a good first year
when I came into Grands Prix
and I feel that I have kept being
the same since then: pretty
humble and not really looking
back to see how far I’ve made
it. During the big break we had
in the calendar recently I went
back to Denmark and saw a
round of the national champi-

THOMAS KJER OLSEN
onship. I was standing at the
side and I was thinking ‘wow,
these guys are going so fast…’
I still think the Danish series
“[ON PRADO] IF I HAVE THE
SPEED TO BEAT HIM OR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO ROUGH
HIM UP A BIT THEN I’LL TAKE
IT. I CANNOT BE TOO SWEET
TO THE GUY! HE IS ON A
RAIL.”
is quite good but the GPs is
another level. I almost forget
sometimes that I’m a pretty
good motocross rider.
After the British Grand Prix
it set in a bit more that I was
leading the world championship.
In your first year you impressed
everybody, in your
second year there were a lot
of podiums but also that discovery
of new limits with your
training and possibilities. Do
you feel a bit wiser now and
does that translate into a bit
more speed?
Yeah, exactly. It is a long and
draining season and I’m still
learning about my body. At
one point [last year] I wanted
to keep training during the
season like I was in the offseason
but I just couldn’t do
it. I needed a bit more time
off when we had back-to-back
races instead of practicing my
brains off. I had to recover well
and I learned a lot about myself
and even still this year. I
think I am more open-minded
this year, especially about bike
set-up, compared to previous
seasons.
An example of that?
In the past I’d have my base
setting from the winter and I
didn’t have the confidence to
change it during the season,
for example. As I got better

FEATURE
and better at testing it meant I
could trust myself more and know
when a change will also feel good
in a race situation. I know I was in
the Europeans for some time but
I got thrown into GPs quickly and
proved to be good pretty quickly
and coming into a factory team
there are so many options: I was
not used to testing that much! So
it was difficult but I think everybody
goes through it. There is
still a lot to learn about the bike
and my riding style but I am beginning
to feel more about how it
should be.
When you were at that Danish
race were you a bit of a celebrity?
Haha. It is not bad at all but I
did have a lot of people coming
up to me and they are really
happy to have a Danish guy
fighting for a championship. I
had a lot telling me how they
are watching every Sunday and
even some non-motocross fans,
like my mum and Dad’s friends,
saying how they watch each GP
as well now. It’s kinda cool to
bring even a small bit of attention
to the sport in Denmark.
Are you aware of the influence
you have? Especially
for kids or new fans?
Yes but it is so difficult to get
that into your brain; to think
about how you had idols
when you were a kid and that
you might be the same now
for a kid in Denmark. It is
difficult to imagine. I’m just
me! I still look at some guys.
I mean I still have idols inside
and outside of the sport.

Who was it for you? Where
would you be standing and
waiting in the paddock now as
an eight year old?
I didn’t really go to the GPs
much when I was younger but
I would always be watching
Stefan Everts and my grandparents
made me tapes of him
riding. So I was watching a lot
of videos. A bit later it was also
James [Stewart], [Ryan] Villopoto
and Ryan [Dungey] and
those guys. Outside of motocross
I was watching basketball
and it was cool to see their
personalities and their work
methods because, although it
is a completely different thing,
our mindsets and stuff are
still so much alike. When your
hobby becomes your profession
it can become quite
different and I think there is
a lot to be learned from other
sports. I like watching [sports]
documentaries. I can see so
many similarities to what I am
doing…even basic training.
You sometimes forget that you
don’t always have to suffer.
When I look at a guy like Tony
[Cairoli] it really looks like he
is enjoying riding motocross. I
don’t know him personally but
from the outside it seems that
he has a really good balance
of liking his racing but also
working really hard. It one
thing I look up to a lot.
“I DON’T THINK YOU NEED
TO BE AN ASSHOLE TO WIN
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.
I DON’T WANT TO CHANGE
WHO I AM.”
You’re in your third year. Can
you imagine doing fifteen like
him? And still be winning!
Ha! He’s still winning but
it takes a lot of sacrifice. It
would be really tough but if
you could find a way to make
it fun then time would move
faster.
Do you ever think that people
are seeing your results and
wondering what a good 450
rider you could be? Are you
aware that you’ll be sought
after by most brands and
teams for the next step?
Er, yeah. I mean, I’ll still be in
the MX2 next year – that’s a
90-10 certainty because I feel
that I should get all the years
that I can from the 250. It is
a bike I really enjoy riding. I
know I am a heavy guy but
there are still a lot of things
I want to find out about, and
people I want to work with before
I go into that MXGP class.
I think it is important to get
all the experience that I can
before I move up. But, yeah,
it has been a bit in the back
of my mind that in the next
couple of years the change
will have to happen.
Is it also nice that people will
be chasing you? For a section
of the gate – former world
champions and GP winner
even – it is the other way
around. It must be good for
the confidence…
Yeah, I know people are looking
at me for the 450. I feel
it will suit me well and I am
looking forward to moving up
and having that power. But it
feels far in the future. I hope
I can continue getting better
and hopefully those offers will
come. I haven’t been talking
to anybody! It feels like it is
too far away. I’m at a great
place right now. I feel like it
THOMAS KJER OLSEN

FEATURE
is my family and I’m at home.
On my off-days I’ll still go to
the workshop to chat to the
guys. We are working together
but they are also like my
friends.
People have seen the news
that the team will change for
2020 and the stewardship of
the team will change. What’s
your opinion on that and will
it alter much for you?
I don’t have any worries about
it. I know we have some great
people behind the new structure,
with a lot of the same
guys involved, and Nestaan
[lead sponsor] is moving over
also. I know they will take
good care of it. I’m not doubting
anything that is going on.
How do you go about beating
a rival like Prado? He takes
holeshots at will, weighs little,
has great technique and
has a burst of intensity in
the first laps like no other.
How do you find those weaknesses?
[Smiles] It’s difficult.

THOMAS KJER OLSEN
It is also still early in the season,
so it is not like I have a
game plan where I will go out
and do this-this-and-this to
beat him. If I have the speed
to beat him or the opportunity
to rough him up a bit
then I’ll take it. I cannot be
too sweet to the guy! He is on
a rail. He is so good at those
starts and when he gets them
then he just pushes forwards.
So if I can try to get in there
and mess with his flow a little
bit then this would be the
best move.
Is it possible to make a strategy?
Even each weekend?
No…and I don’t know if you
guys looking-in think I should
do that but [in] this sport it is
so difficult to plan-out a race
because so many different
things can happen. I’m focussing
on my own speed and if I
have it then we’ll have a race.
Lastly, are you too much of a
nice guy to win this thing?
Haha, I don’t know, I’ve never
really thought about it. When
you say that I think of Aaron
Plessinger. A lot of people
were saying the same about
him. I don’t think you need
to be an asshole to win the
world championship. I don’t
want to change who I am. For
sure I can get rougher on the
track if I wanted to but when
it’s not necessary…

FACE FOAM

MXGP
BLOG
THE NEW GAME FOR ICEONE...
I’m glad there are three spots on an MXGP podium.
For what feels like an age – and
quite amazingly so considering
the longevity and all the different
tracks and conditions – there
have been two-three athletes
monopolising the premier class
of the FIM World Championship.
Cairoli, Herlings, Gajser. Only
Clement Desalle has broken that
little triumvirate and you have to
go back to April 2017 when another
rider – Gautier Paulin – last
joined the party.
In the last few years being able to
reach the hallowed ground of the
top three has become more and
more of a precious result (and at
a time when Grand Prix saddles
are diminishing) so it is encouraging
that the fight for a trophy, any
trophy, still delivers some of the
best stories in the championship.
Yes, Tony Cairoli’s return to brilliance
in 2017 was inspiring, his
battle against Herlings in 2018
was gripping and in 2019 he
seems set for the record books.
And then Herlings delivered the
most comprehensive
championship win of the modern
era. And Gajser exists in a window
of speed/performance/peril
that makes you want to watch
through your fingers. But it is
also achievements like Paulin’s
rostrum finishes this term with
a fourth different motorcycle in
MXGP (his wildcard victory in
2011 with Yamaha was notched
in the old MX1 class, so we’ll use
that technicality), Arnaud Tonus’
resurrection from the kind of injury
problems that have effectively
ended other careers and Pauls
Jonass’ maiden MXGP silverware
that also help enrich what Grand
Prix has to offer.
The case of Jonass has wider context.
The 2017 MX2 world champion
had had enough of the 250 by
the start of 2018 but how do you
fit in a KTM structure that already
boasts Cairoli and Herlings? The
latter was only 23 at the time so
hedging Pauls for the future was
also slightly unjustifiable for the
factory. The decision to slide the
Latvian across to the Rockstar
Energy IceOne Husqvarna team
(all part of the KTM Group of
course) seemed like a sensible
move although it was confusing
to deduce how Kimi Raikkonen’s
outfit were morphing from a crew
that housed the proven talents
of Max Nagl, Tyla Rattray, Paulin
and Max Anstie since 2015 into a
more speculative effort.
Team Manager Antti Pyrhonen’s
immaculately presented squad is
almost the definition of ‘factory’
in MXGP: fantastic resources,
an F1-spec workshop, and an
enviable two-truck set-up that is
spotless and ordered and exudes
the air of exclusivity. By resources
I mean the provision for a training
and riding programme that
a great many riders would snapup
in an instant. The framework
served admirably for Nagl in that
’15 season where the team and
Husqvarna led the premier class
standings until the German’s
fateful and unfortunate broken leg
while contesting the Qualification
Heat for his home round.

By Adam Wheeler
Signing Paulin from HRC was a
statement in itself and the IceOne
environment served Max Anstie so
well in 2017 that the then-rookie
would decimate the Motocross of
Nations in the UK with one of the
standout results in the 70+ years
of the competition.
2018 was an odd season of missteps
that served to give IceOne,
Pyrhonen and the KTM Group
some beneficial perspective for
2019. Jonass was a rookie late to
the game after knee surgery while
Arminas Jasikonis represented another
optimistic punt. The 21 year
old Lithuanian has youth, strength
and willingness on his side and is
perhaps one of the clearest examples
of a ‘rough diamond’ in the
MXGP pack. In fact, from all the
factory riders across the manufacturers
(and with the exception of
Brian Bogers) he is the only racer
not to have won a Grand Prix. The
potential is there and his lofty
position in the MXGP championship
standings is testament to how
Jasikonis has matured and curbed
some of his wilder decision-making.
It must have required some soulsearching
for IceOne to put aside
fierce ambition and designs on
Grand Prix wins and the championship
to replace podiums for progress.
But, as Pyrhonen admitted
to me at Mantova, something like a
fourth position overall for the likes
of ‘Jasi’ or Pauls represents a barometer
of gain (or even success),
while the same classification with
an athlete of Paulin’s ilk can be
construed as ‘what’s the problem?’
Antti was unafraid to talk about the
difficulty of matching the standout
elite of Cairoli-Herlings-Gajser, and
the kind of inevitability that team
managers used to whisper about
when Cairoli was in the midst of
his five-title run at the beginning
of the decade. It is very, very tough
for any team or rider to supersede
the kind of formidability that has
been seen in the last three seasons
of MXGP.
Thus a podium appearance is not
to be sniffed-at in 2019 and the
fact that Jonass packaged two
starts and his sand acumen at
Mantova to finish runner-up means
the achievement must rank as one
of the best in the team’s history.
Jonass is already the most successful
motocrosser from his
country in the history of the sport.
A world champion, a European
champion and a Grand Prix winner.
He undoubtedly has the
capacity and the resolve to deliver
the goods (and follows the bizarre
trend of rookies excelling in their
maiden MXGP seasons as seen by
the likes of Romain Febvre, Gasjer,
Herlings, Tonus,) but credit has to
go to IceOne for a degree of reinvention.
Their system of work and
ethos would seem to be unaltered
but the realignment of how they
want to make a mark in MXGP in
the coming months (maybe the
next two years) is ultimately leading
to a more promising scenario.
Their allure is increasing again.
They are drifting from a team that
invited questions to one that is
delivering answers.
Dislodging Cairoli, Gajser, Herlings
with any hint of regularity is now
a means for anybody to define
championship contention and
credentials. But there are other
spaces for prizes, and the kinds of
narratives that also transmit some
of the magic of racing.

PRODUCTS

www.actiphwater.com
actiph
There is a cool story about the UK’s first
alkaline, ionised water drink (widely available
in supermarkets like Morrisons and
newsagents WH Smiths) created by Jamie
Douglas-Hamilton. The Scotsman was part
of a crew of six that rowed 5000 miles
across the Indian Ocean from Australia to
India burning up to 10,000 calories a day.
In that time they started to mix fresh water
with a little salt water to replace key minerals.
The experience prompted Douglas-
Hamilton to investigate hydration further
and after research in Japan with ionised
water he founded his own brand.
Actiph is bottled from a spring water source
in Shropshire. They add their unique formula
of electrolytes and minerals and the
ionisation is done by ‘electrically charging
the water using platinum and titanium
plates, we can strip out the sour tasting
acidic ions’.
The result is a strangely smooth taste and,
odd as it sounds, water that’s very easy
to drink – and we know, having consumed
several bottles at the British MXGP at Matterley
Basin this year where the Actiph
team had plenty of samples. Thanks to the
likes of British Championship leader Shaun
Simpson and the Bike it Dixon Racing Team
Actiph is making inroads into MXGP. We can
also vouch for the bottle itself with a quality
plastic locking cap meaning it’s an ideal
choice for taking to the gym or a sports
field.
For more information click on any link.

FEATURE
A
SPECIAL
RELATIONSHIP
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by TLD
ADIDAS & TROY LEE
DESIGNS IN MOTOCROSS

FEATURE
The Adidas logo has been
a noticeable part of
Troy Lee Designs racewear
for a number of years in
acknowledgement of an amiable
friendship between the
revered helmet designer and a
segment of the sportswear giant.
In the second part of our
talk with Director of Merchandising
Jeff David, the American
explains how the bond
with Adidas grew significantly
into some very special limited
edition riding gear.
There were the Nike motocross
boots worn by James
Stewart and Ryan Dungey
towards the end of the decade
(apparently the cost/profit
margin of manufacture for
such a niche market meant
that the project and development
was short-lived) but no
other memorable forays by
sports giants into the sport.
Adidas however have had a
small link with Troy Lee Designs
easily spotted through
their retro three-stripe logo on
the TLD KTM race gear.
The combination of the brands
has moved from mutual respect
and fleeting to something
far more impressive so
we fired six questions at Jeff
David in our recent visit to
the facility in Irvine to find out
more and why the increased
speculation by Adidas could
be meaningful for motocross…
The collaboration seems to
have grown as evidenced by
the release of the ‘Ultra’ kit
and things like the Cole Seely
show. So what is the current
position?
It has been several years now
since Troy first partnered with
Adidas and from the get-go it
has been very exciting. They
have been offering ideas for
new materials, and for the
collaboration on the pant and
jersey we went to their HQ in
Oregon and they did a lot of
work on the specific fabrics to
use as well as the ergonomic
factors. They have a large lab
up there where they can hook
sensors to a rider’s body and
get a full reading of the articulation
of the pant and jersey.
Which they in turn evolve
into different pattern designs,
so they really helped in that
aspect and gave us some
guidance. It was unique from
anything we’d done in the past
and they have more new ideas
going forward that we are
currently working on; mainly
to do with materials again
and outfitting the rider/racer
in ways that they do in other
sports and how that is trickling
down into the moto and
mountain bike side. Moto has
been pretty traditional with
materials in the last twenty
years but now we’ve seen that
change with more stretch fabrics
and tighter fitting, more
performance-driven. What we
are trying to do is have our
racers layer-up from insideout.
They might have a compression
type form of protection
with padding but then the
jersey on top will be part of
that performance package and
the more with the pants.
The work in Oregon: was that
a result of talks, meetings and
ideas over a period time?
Years in the making. At first
we just made some gear with
their logos on it and it evolved
from there with ideas going
back and forth between Troy
and our design team with their
teams over there. The department
we are working with really
want to push the envelope
and give some unique ideas
that we can bring into our
industry: things that
people have not
seen before.
It’s what entices
them
and we’re
really excited to
do the same thing. Working
with a brand like Adidas
we can learn so much
from them; they have so
many resources and
knowledge of materials,
patterns and
fits that might
be new to our
industry.

How long did you need for
the Ultra gear to come to
fruition?
About two years to make.
A lot of testing. We’d get
prototypes and test them
with our riders and work
out what worked and what
didn’t, tweak it, use different
materials all the way
up until the point where we
came up with Ultra.
TLD & ADIDAS
“WORKING WITH A BRAND LIKE ADIDAS WE
CAN LEARN SO MUCH FROM THEM; THEY HAVE
SO MANY RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE OF
MATERIALS, PATTERNS AND FITS THAT MIGHT BE
NEW TO OUR INDUSTRY.”

FEATURE
Adidas is obviously a huge
global brand spending million
and millions on other sports
and athletes. How did you
find the attitude to motocross
and a niche scene compared
to something like football or
athletics?
I think they wanted to look at
something that was a little bit
different, an opportunity. A
couple of guys on their team
over there are huge moto fans
and ride. They started working
with Troy and really liked what
we were doing and the fact
that our brand is pretty unique
with the art and the design.
They thought they could help
us evolve the gear, and that
gear for us is limited edition
and sells out very quickly. The
global response is amazing,
especially in Europe with all
the interest and traction. It
has been really good marketing
for us as well as our partners.
The formation of the Adidas
and TLD names is quite a
big thing for the industry so
it must be tempting to want
to go much bigger, especially
with the resources they
have…
For sure…but we really wanted
to keep it limited. We feel
that it makes it special-
It’s an interesting philosophy
though because it’s like holding
the key to a big door and
only slightly opening it…
Yeah, besides the gear we just
came out with some shoes
so there are little things that
we’ll keep doing but overall
we wanted to keep it special:
that’s the goal.
Just generally, how is TLD
pushing towards the end of
the decade and into the next?
We are really putting an emphasis
on our art, which has
been one of our key trademarks
for the decades that
Troy has been in business. It
is about combining the technology
and work with safety
of the products with the art
and style in bike, moto and
sportswear. We are really
focussing on that. We have a
wide demographic; from kids
that are 5-6 to 60-70 year old
guys that still ride. Our motto
has always been ‘Mild and
Wild’: we we’ll always have

that gear that is a little more
tuned down but then we also
want the wild stuff. If you look
at Mountain bike or Supercross
Troy always wants what
he calls the ‘TV package’ the
gear that will standout and
you think ‘wow’. Whether they
buy it or not, it gets their attention.
That’s what TLD has
been known for. We’ll always
try to push the envelope.
Another priority is the youth
side and we are always trying
to capture some of that youth
market and that means always
looking at new and young
blood on the artistic side with
that fresh vibe to it. We’re
evolving in one aspect and
bringing in some new tastes in
others. We won’t rest on our
laurels and we will look for the
young graphics and colours
that will capture attention;
once we have that part of the
market and have them liking
and ‘into’ our gear then it is
easier to create some brand
loyalty as the rider and customer
gets older.
TLD & ADIDAS
XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX

AMA
BLOG
TWO DOWN...
Round two of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships
just wrapped up at the Pala Raceway in Southern California
and we didn’t get a lot of questions answered in the wake of
round one. Some great rides however, and it’s funny though
because only four motos in and there are some riders and
teams that definitely need to be looking for the panic button.
Let’s dive into it yeah?
-One rider that seems to be immune
from issues so far is Monster
Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac.
The defending champion rode
amazingly to win both motos and
has three out of four to start the
year. At Pala he rode steady for
the first half of the first moto in
fifth, then fourth and then third
place. From there he hit the
afterburners and zipped around
Honda’s Ken Roczen (the early
leader) and Red Bull KTM’s Marvin
Musquin. It was quite a performance
and some big names
that he zapped along the way.
Second moto he stalked Musquin
for a while before deciding that
was it, he wanted another chequered
flag. Tomac looked to be
on his game all day long and if he
keeps that up, it’s going to be a
long summer for everyone else.
-Adam Cianciarulo claimed his
third career 250MX national and
coming off his win last week, he
has proven that he’s figured this
outdoor game. Always a better indoor
rider than out, Adam’s circulated
with the poise of a veteran
out there and his fitness seems
to be on point as well. We believe
that AC will be on a 450 at the
Kawasaki truck next year so what
if he goes out of 250’s with the
title that no one thought he could
get? What a story that would be?
Long way to go but Cianciarulo,
like Osborne in his title year,
seems to have the maturity and
fitness to salvage any bad situation
that happens to him.
-Justin Cooper of the Star Yamaha
squad was fast all day at Pala
in both practices and he streaked
off with the first moto win. Second
moto wasn’t as good, he
scored a fourth but it was a
second overall on the day for the
kid. Incredibly, Cooper has yet
to win a 250SX or MX race but
has a ton of podiums. The win is
coming, no doubt about it but for
now, the kid has to wait.
-We wondered about Ken Roczen
and this virus he’s dealing with in
terms of the nationals. If you’re
not physically on your game
outdoors, well it could be a long
summer. Well, he won last week
and looked great. He told us that
he’s figured out the issues which
he thinks came from taking antibiotics
after the burns from the
lime back in San Diego. And it
looked like he was right.

By Steve Matthes
This weekend he was checked
out in moto one before being
caught by Tomac and Musquin
and in the second moto he
finished third. Third overall for
Roczen is good on paper but had
he been 100% physically, there’s
no way he gets caught like that
in moto one. So we’ll wait and
see how #94 rebounds from this
in Colorado this weekend.
-Zach Osborne and Jason Anderson,
teammates on the Rockstar
Husqvarna team, have battled
hard in three out of the four
motos this season. Osborne says
that they both joke about it and
there are no hard feelings. Which
is great because it’s been intense
for both of them. Osborne’s close
to winning a moto, or at least
getting second behind Tomac
if he can start out front while
Anderson has been impressive
with limited time to get ready
for mx after injuring himself in
supercross.
-The relationship between MX
Sports and Glen Helen (the
track) in Southern California can
best be described as complicated.
For years Glen Helen was
the track in Southern California
for the national but issues arose
between the promoter MX Sports
and Glen Helen and they split
for a few years. The subsequent
venues that MX Sports went to
weren’t great (Lake Elsinore) or
had issues (Pala and the traffic
flow) while the USGP’s that
Glen Helen hosted were a friends
and family only deal. Both sides
realized they needed each other
and an agreement was reached
for the past few years to have the
national there.
Well, more tensions between
the sides caused another split
and we were back at Pala (but
with improved traffic flow). Glen
Helen people know they have the
heritage and the hills so they’re
not easy to deal with according
to many people that have. Pala
is less of a track but having said
that, it’s still got some elevation
and I enjoyed the departure from
the usual track prep. The surface
was left harder and more towards
it’s natural state. Crowd looked
good also. Will this be the permanent
home of the series in So-
Cal? I’m not sure but I wouldn’t
be surprised if both Glen Helen
and MX Sports finally divorce
each other, it just doesn’t seem
like either side wants much to do
with the other.

PRODUCTS
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ktm
It’s been two years since KTM launched a new Enduro
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on their previous efforts and are striding ahead, as much
with their dirt bike R&D as they are on the Street and
road racing side. The 2020 Enduro line-up has ample
two-stroke choice with the new 150 TPI to go with the
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The four-strokes span 250 EXC-F, 350, 450 and 500
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fairly comprehensive with re-designed chassis’, new and
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systems, airboxes, handlebars, Brembo brakes and much
more.

FEATURE
THE TRUE

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP/Alpinestars
CALLING

FEATURE
“[MAVERICK] VIÑALES
IS REALLY FAST, SO
IS [JACK] MILLER. I
HAVE NOT SEEN MARC
[MARQUEZ] RIDING
IN PERSON BUT CAN
TELL HE IS FAST.
QUARTATARO ALSO...”

There is a wide and shiny
view from the top of the
Mission Winnow Ducati
hospitality in the heart of
the Jerez paddock. We have
scaled the structure and traversed
a narrow walkway to
reach a terrace area complete
with sofas and tables. The sun
is shining brightly and reflections
bounce off the sumptuous
collection of brightly
coloured units that have been
assembled together for the
first time this year in MotoGP.
Andrea Dovizioso, 33 years
young in March and now
seven years on the fierce Desmosedici,
is once again Marc
Marquez’ principal threat in
Grand Prix. ‘Dovi’ has to cope
with one of the most talented
motorcyclists to have graced
the FIM world championship
grid and the Italian – as the
second oldest racer in the
class – is vastly decorated
himself with 22 wins (and
almost 100 podiums) in all
categories.
Andrea smiles when we explain
our interview slot is
about motocross. We’ve
spoken before about current
themes in MXGP and Supercross
usually before or after
the daily media debriefs that
routinely take place in the
room below us. This is the
first time we’d like to learn
more about #4’s story and
why he’s become almost obsessive
about dirt bike racing
again among a pool of peers
in MotoGP that cannot get
enough of the mud.
His face darkens a little when
he explains that he can only
ride “twice a month” but I
still recall the relaxed expression
of wonderment when I
bumped into him in the Nashville
Supercross paddock in
April just before the Grand
Prix of the Americas at Austin.
Rather than discussing Ducati’s
potential or forward-thinking
approach to aerodynamics
or how Marquez can possible
be beaten…the chance to talk
MX doesn’t seem like such a
bugbear for a part of the job
that riders traditionally find to
be a chore.
What are your earliest memories
of motocross?
I remember very, very well
because that was my first time
on the bike. I was ‘born’ on a
track because my father raced,
so from the first months, as a
family, we were around race
tracks. I was playing with the
bicycle as a kid at home and
it was some of the best moments
because the family’s
job was in the same place as
the house so we had a small
garden and I could ride this
bicycle easily and my father
could prepare a really small
track. I was still four years old
and had learner wheels! Of
course I saw my Dad with a
motorbike and I wanted one
as well, so I pushed for it. I
was told if I could ride the
bicycle without the learner
wheels then I could have one.
It happened immediately and I
remember this well because –
I don’t recall many days afterwards
it was – but he gave
me a bike as a surprise. He
called me to come out of the
house and it was dark, already
the evening, and I opened the
door and the bike was there! It
was a Malaguti: red and blue.
I can remember that emotion:
it must be like scoring a goal
in a cup final it was so strong
and so nice. I started to ride
that small track in the garden
and at tracks where my father
was racing. Fortunately I
still have the bike at home! I
have a friend who is a couple
of years older who still races
motocross at a low level and
he also started with the same,
used bike so he helped me
and now I have one again.
Was there a time when you
lost some of the love of it?
Maybe a scary crash or an
injury?
Never, never.
How did you get better? Did
you have someone showing
you or a friend you rode with?
I raced motocross but we were
also riding the pocketbikes
a lot. I finished second in a
regional MX championship
and I did some Italian Championship
races but I never
made a full season. I was
DOVI ON MOTOCROSS

FEATURE
good but nothing special. Not
like [Tony] Cairoli…who was
also racing at that time. My
speed was good but not great
and I stopped for some years
because of MotoGP. I started
again in 2005 and after that
my passion grew again yearby-year
but in the last fourfive
years it increased a lot.
I follow everything with a lot
of detail, all the races and
the practices. I bought the TV
package to see all the Supercross
and I can also see the
Free and Qualifying Practices.
I watch all the races – sometimes
a day later – just to
understand the riders; not
only to see the result. I really
enjoy that. I love seeing and
working out how the riders
approach every situation. The
same for motocross [MXGP]
I’m really involved. I think this
has improved my speed in
the last four years and I try
to ride as much as I can now.
Recently I have found a really
fast rider – Danilo [Petrucci,
teammate] – and most of the
time he is faster than me! We
are training together now…so
I am really complaining about
that! But that’s the reason
why I wanted to work with him
because he is really good and
motivated. [Maverick] Viñales
is really fast also, so is [Jack]
Miller. I have not seen Marc
[Marquez] riding in person but
can tell he is also fast.

Bradley Smith?
Four-five years ago I know
Bradley was fast [then]. [Fabio]
Quartataro also. There are
quite a few and in the end I
think these guys really wanted
to race [motocross].
In MotoGP you are one of the
best in the world but when
you are on a dirtbike with
people like Cairoli or Alessandro
Lupino or those who are
Pros, where and how do see
they are better than you?
The biggest difference right
from the beginning is the
on the bike and I am angry
about that. I would love to do
more but I cannot because
of the MotoGP and I have to
get everything right for that.
That’s normal. Talking more
about the intensity: you see
how the good guys can play
with the bike, how they land
through the bumps. It is all
so amazing. How they scrub
those jumps…also their line
choice and the way they ride
on a race weekend: we simply
cannot do it. The level is
something else. We never test
or train in those conditions
DOVI ON MOTOCROSS
“YOU SEE HOW THE GOOD GUYS CAN PLAY
WITH THE BIKE, HOW THEY LAND THROUGH
THE BUMPS. IT IS ALL SO AMAZING. HOW
THEY SCRUB THOSE JUMPS…ALSO THEIR
LINE CHOICE: WE SIMPLY CANNOT DO IT.”
intensity. It is the first big
thing. I mean, there is a way
to ride very smooth - and it
is the way everybody tries
to achieve - but they have a
lot of hours on the bike, and
they are used to moving the
bike and the body in that way
and find the intensity quickly
and not drop it – like us – in
five minutes. The more intense
you can be the more
you can improve your riding,
your position and a lot
of things. If you can push for
[only] seven minutes then it is
too short a time to learn and
improve. What I miss is hours
and we’d be twenty seconds
slower. On an easier track –
like the ones we actually use
for riding – then maybe it is
eight seconds.
One of the nice parts of the
Cairoli story is how a skinny
Sicilian kid moved to Belgium
and became one of the best
sand riders in the world because
he immersed himself in
that environment-
Exactly.
Is sand a nightmare for you?
At the moment a little bit!
If you can only ride twice a
month…[then you won’t get

FEATURE
the practice] if you are born in
or around a sandy track then it
is a different story. For me it is
not quite the moment.
When was the last time you
raced?
Every year we create a small
charity race in December; the
first weekend we have free then
we are racing!
How is the dynamic or even the
mentality compared to how you
approach a MotoGP race?
Oh, everything is different! The
mentality, and the way you approach
the training and the race,
the bike. There is not a single
similar thing.
What about the level of fun?
No! For me motocross is
way-more fun.
450 or 250?
250 because I don’t really
have enough power or intensity
for the 450 and the
tracks we use are not right.
The 450 is OK in America
and when I travel there I usually
take the 350. The tracks
and jumps are too small in
Europe. It’s not fun.
I remember you picking up a
Rinaldi-race spec Yamaha in
your Tech3 days. Your name
and position in MotoGP
must have helped towards
some decent dirtbike kit and
opportunities…
For sure! I am lucky. Just recently,
when I went to America,
I received all the best stuff
from Alpinestars to go riding,
a bike and good access to
Supercross to speak with all
the riders. It [MX/SX racing]
is another world compared to
ours and is easy [for access].
I think they also like to see a
MotoGP rider that is passionate
for their sport. It’s easy to

speak with them. Sometimes
the mechanics from the Rinaldi
team text and tell me where
they are going to test or train
and if I have time I will go. It’s
really nice.
Marc has a good story about
going to one of the Grands
Prix at Bellpuig in the early
‘00s and seeing Mickael
Pichon and Stefan Everts
racing. He has those strong
memories as a kid. Were you
also affected by seeing and
watching others?
I followed the races but as a
kid my Dad never really took
me to see many, in motocross
or MotoGP. I think you will
see many of the current guys
here have a photo with Valentino
when they were younger!
Their parents brought them
to the world championship
and those photos of him in
the paddock exist: that never
happened to me because we
were racing pocketbikes and
we never really had the contact
with this world. It seemed
like a place far away from our
world. A different story. When
I see the photos of Quartararo,
Viñales and Marquez with
Rossi is seems very strange
to me. Valentino finished the
pocketbike races when we
started but there was never
really the possibility.
Time’s up. The next set of
journalists have already
scaled the Ducati terrace and
are waiting patiently. Andrea
has already completed an
unusual pre-event media opportunity
at the Fundación
Real Escuela Andaluza del
Arte Ecuestre (an equestrian
school) and the Thursday
schedule of non-racing matters
is in full flow. Dovi is
appreciated among journalists
for the way he can articulate
what MotoGP feels like, and
the almost-scientific approach
riders need to live in the acute
margins of performance necessary
for success. It does
seem as if we just nicked
the surface when it comes
to similar thoughts on motocross,
his impressions of the
technicality behind it and contrasted
to his day job between
Friday-Sunday. Mission Winnow
Ducati might be asked for
a ‘part two’.
DOVI ON MOTOCROSS

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different ‘cleats’ to maximum traction; Scott
say the ‘outsole is optimised for fast efficient
running on man made trails’. We have a pair
and the shoe is light and flexible and the
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M
FEATURE
THE
CHAMPION’S
FIT
HOW ANSWER USE THE UNIQUE SKILLS
OF RYAN VILLOPOTO AND HOW MX2
WORLD CHAMP JORGE PRADO LIKES TO
GET DRESSED FOR WORK
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/Answer

FEATURE
One of the most proactive
and appealing gear
brands to come out of
the United States is Answer
with a forty-two year existence
and some genuinely great
liveries and athletes in that
stable. Today Answer cannot
be ignored in MXGP thanks
to the Red Bull KTM duo of
Tony Cairoli and Jorge Prado
ruling both classes of the current
championship and having
used a spread of Answer kit
for the last two years. In the
United States the firm count
on the JGR Yoshimura team
and have no less than Ryan
Villopoto as one of their figureheads
and developers.
We caught up with Brand
Manager Randy Valade to
talk about Villopoto’s growing
influence and role at the Los
Angeles-based company and
also MX2 World Champion
Jorge Prado about the gear
itself and the using the midlevel
Elite product.
Randy, it’s two years now
with Ryan so have you been
able to fine tune how you use
him and also what he might
want out of the association?
So initially we brought him
on as a brand ambassador.
We all know his background
and that he was one of the
best to have ridden a motorcycle
at that point. He
was looking for a brand he
could do fun stuff for and
that’s how it came about with
Answer. We are using him
for a lot of content creation

and development of the new
products: he is obviously very
knowledgeable about products
from his experience and years
in the sport. We show him new
designs and concepts and he
always has a lot of good feedback.
He’s very upfront and
doesn’t beat around the bush!
If he doesn’t like something
then he tells us, some of our
guys will give some input and
might suggest ways to change
an item whereas he’ll just tell
us it sucks and we have to alter
it.
I guess it is good in some
ways, although it can be harsh
for our designers! At the end
of the day it is fun and since
he has been with Answer
he’s done some races but
also some off-road stuff and
Yamaha have given him a WR.
We did a 2021 photoshoot at
Beaumont with Nick Wey.
Is there a difference between
his role and Nick’s?
Yeah, Nick is more of a tester.
He speaks very well with our
dealers and reps as well so
we use him at some of our
trade shows. It is a little bit
of a different role but we still
use Nick for content creation.
He is our go-to test guy with
anything new that comes in.
He’s also been overseeing the
rig for the Answer Grassroots
tour at events.
“I THINK RYAN WOULD
AGREE THAT IT IS CRAZY TO
SEE THE DEVELOPMENT OF
FABRICS NOW COMPARED
TO EVEN A COUPLE OF
YEARS AGO.
Is it tempting to get Ryan in
at an earlier point and call on
that elite level experience?
Maybe use him at the ideas
stage?
Yeah. He was just here looking
at some helmet designs and
comps for a product that we
are looking to bring out in two
years time. We bring him in
and he checks them out.
He saw a few things on the
helmet today that even we
didn’t notice so it’s good to
have his expertise and he is
still very knowledgeable about
what is going on in the market
with motorcycle products.
A small example?
So for this helmet it was the
angle of the bottom of the
shell and a comment about
the visor that might help with
ventilation.
He initially liked the midrange
Elite riding gear didn’t
he?
Yeah, he tried a bit of everything
but is now stuck with
Trinity: our high-end stuff.
That’s his go-to, but when
he first came on-board he
loved the mid-range. We stuck
some Syncron on him for the
photoshoot – our entry-level
gear – and he liked that too.
That’s our big focus: to make
sure we have a good fit across
the range and that it is very
similar. Obviously there are
different materials and fabrics
involved but we want that uniform
fit across the platform.
Maybe it is more of a question
for Ryan but riding gear
must have evolved since he
last pulled on a pair of race
pants in anger…
Right! Definitely. I think when
he first pulled on the Trinity
pant he wasn’t prepared for
how stretchy and comfortable
it would be. I think he would
ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO

FEATURE

PRADO: “LAST YEAR I WOULD USE A PAIR
OF GLOVES ONCE BEFORE I GO RACING:
THEY’D GO INTO THE WASHING MACHINE
AND THEN THEY’D BE READY! I’M NOT
SURE WHY BUT THIS YEAR I LIKE THEM
BRAND NEW AND OUT OF THE PACKET.”
ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO

FEATURE
agree that it is crazy to see the development
of fabrics now compared to even a
couple of years ago.
Can the market sustain the range of
options for the customer now? From
cheaper gear to this expensive highperformance
stuff: is there perhaps too
much choice?
I think it is tough because there are a
lot of brands going down the ‘athletic fit’
route and we do with our Trinity stuff. Is
there a huge market for it? I don’t think
so. There are a handful of racers that
prefer that product but let’s be honest
we are selling most of our product to
guys who just want to ride for fun and
who might not be in the shape to really
make the most of the high-end stuff.
Some brands are heading in that direction
and maybe they see the market in
a different way to what I do. We create
these elite products that the athletes
want to wear but we know we’ll sell the
entry level and mid-level stuff and maybe
the customer has seen Trinity on the
track or TV and wants to see more.
That must be hard for development as
well because you want to pour time and
resources into something like Trinity or
prototypes but then most of the business
is coming from other products…
That’s right. It is a bit of a double-edged
sword at the end of the day! We want to
keep moving forward with new technology
and we’re working on something
now for 2021 on the higher-end platform
with one eye on the fact that we won’t
sell a ton of it…but we will sell what we
order. Hopefully someone will see what
we are doing and it will make them want
to check out something from Answer in
the stores

ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO

FEATURE
Jorge, this is the second
Grand Prix year with Answer.
Honestly: impressions?
It’s two years now and overall
I’m really happy for a couple
of reasons: it’s really light and
keeps me fresh. This is important,
especially when the
temperatures go up during the
summer. Sometimes you really
feel that you need some fresh
air when you are riding. I also
love the colours. When you are
training and riding every other
day it can be boring to always
have the same stuff. It actually
gives you some motivation
to go onto the track when you
look good and can wear different
colours and combinations.
The designs are cool and in
my case I like to wear different
things. It can be tricky at
KTM to have many alternative
colours but we still have special
liveries coming during the
season.
Are you fussy about what you
ask from Answer?
No real special demands. We
ride with the product that
Answer sell. We check the
sizes, and then it is good to
go riding. In the beginning the

jersey was kinda tight around
my arms and I was worried
about arm-pump but it’s not a
problem and I was even a little
surprised about that. The fit of
the pants is just right – again
we use off-the-hanger stuff –
and even with the full knee
brace it fits good.
Do you get through a lot of
product? How many sets in a
Grand Prix weekend for example?
I’m lucky that we get enough
material! For sure we try to
use it until they almost break
but we have enough and we
use good material all the time
in training and a fresh set at
the GPs. The quality is good
because the material is strong
and I have never broken any
pants or a shirt.
point between loose/easy and
the new generation of tighter
fitting. It’s really comfortable.
Is the distance from Answer
in the USA ever a factor?
The link with the U.S. is good
and that was a surprise for
me; they like to involve the
riders in their projects and
their new product. We test
it all as well as some prototypes
and can advise on fit
and dimensions. It’s the first
brand where I’ve been able to
do that kind of testing. I also
use the chest protector and
Answer socks.
Is there anything you are especially
picky about?
I’m very particular with the
gloves. I like them really tight.
When the 15 second board
as the colours for next year.
It’s another thing we can test.
Last year I would use a pair of
gloves once before I go racing:
they’d go into the washing
machine and then they’d be
ready! I’m not sure why but
this year I like them brand
new and out of the packet.
Completely fresh!
ANSWER, RV & JORGE PRADO
Are you a fan or are you indifferent
to the tighter athletic
fit of race gear these days?
The Answer gear has a good
thing going because it looks
tight but at the same time
it isn’t. They found a decent
goes up I’m making sure they
are as tight as they can be on
my hands. I really want a good
feeling on the gas, clutch and
brake. Answer has many different
models and they have
changed the design as well

PRODUCTS
www.ride100percent.com
100%
Any visitors to the OTOR website would have
seen our recent small article on 100%’s Armega.
To summarise, the American firm have
created and launched a new flagship goggle
that they claim is ‘unparalleled performance
for the modern racer’ and ‘the most sophisticated
moto goggle ever made’. That sophistication
comes through the resistant UltraHD
lens clarity – the clearest view yet in a range
of light and conditions – six moulded lenslocking
tabs that are integrated in a very slim
but strong frame that boasts a climate control
system through the vents.
It will be 100%’s priciest moto goggle yet but
the Armega goes directly into competition
for performance and recognition with Scott’s
Prospect and Oakley’s Airbrake. The website
explains more and outlines all the specs and
advantages and looks the business. Have a
click.
Elements such as fetching design, removable
noseguards, 3D foam and a wide field of vision
are a given.

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FEATURE
GOING PLACES
IN A HURRY
BRANDS, COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS MOVING AT PACE
IS SOMEHOW THE ESSENCE OF MOTOGP AND WITH A
MUCH LARGER AND RENEWED PRESENCE REV’IT HAVE
STEPPED UP TO JOIN THE PARTY IN 2019.
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP

FEATURE
The Dutch company formed in 1995 and
have ten years in Grand Prix thanks to
their leathers and protection and are
now pushing strong. “This Racing Technology
Centre represents us stepping up our
game,” says MD and Founder Ivan Vos from
inside the confines of the dark, plush and
brand new double-tiered facility in the Jerez
paddock for what is the unveiling of REV’IT’s
emblematic statement. “We want to lead and
not follow.”
“We will do that by being authentic and innovative
and we are investing in MotoGP not only for
marketing but for development.”
Vos created REV’IT after succeeding with an importation
company in Holland and identified that
the choice for motorcycling gear was either pretty
poor or very expensive. “We try to capture the
excitement of riding motorcycles but also bring
an eye for detail to our products at an affordable
price point,” he states.

REV’IT grew. They established an in-house
lab to rattle through a portfolio of products,
distribution in seventy countries, an office
in New York and a staff roster of more than
a hundred people. Over time they sought
deals with companies and manufacturers
like Gore-Tex, Tryonic, Ducati, Yamaha and
Husqvarna and won prizes on the way for
their design. REV’IT soon became an accessible
firm and one renowned for quality and
diligence.
An example of how REV’IT accelerated
quickly can be see by the structure of their
5000m2 facility in Oss where they have
amassed a modern storage and shipping
facility, office space, R&D basins and then
amenities like a gym, diner and studio where
employees can take a 21st century approach
to vocation and play. “We have created our
own world for work and relaxation,” Vos
says.
REV’IT & MotoGP

FEATURE
The R&D dept – formulated in 2016 - boast
machines (the Darmstadt) and means to
carry out simulation tests on products and
materials for abrasion and other demands
that motorcyclists might have. Alpinestars
have famously opened up their lab for media
eyes and where a full range of trials on
things like steps, resistance, decolourisation,
temperature, buckle closing and impact
testing (to pass CE rules), and REV’IT have
realised that the same spec and technology
frame of reference is essential for top-drawer
product evolution that have to tick boxes of
safety, protection, style and value for money.
For REV’IT this also includes 3D printing.
The company expanded in line with their
catalogue and road racing was a part of that
projection. Their first official rider deal was
with Randy De Puniet in 2008; “this first
year was really good because I crashed a
lot!” the Frenchman joked. Kenan Sofuoglu
gave them world championship credence
and they now have six prominent racers

most notably Danilo Petrucci and Alvaro
Bautista. “We select riders based on their
profile and whether they will fit into our family,
it sounds cheesy but we want people to
be a part of our vision and process,” says
Global Marketing Director Egbert Egbers.
REV’IT & MotoGP
“It’s been six years together now and it
was around the time when riders were really
starting to scrape the elbow for the first
time,” says Petrucci. “It’s really nice to be
part of the development because they are a
brand that follow the riders closely and put
them in the best conditions.”
“We have confidence, and we know that we
are regarded as a world leader for Adventure
riders but in the eyes of people for sport we
know this might be Alpinestars or Dainese,”
says Egbers. “So we want to change the
mindset of the consumer by doing something
different.”
“We are like three or four brands in one,” he
continues. “We want to appeal to the commuter,
the sports guy, the enthusiast and the
Adventurer. There is no platform in the world
better for reach to the sports market than
MotoGP.”
REV’IT use words like innovation and ambition
but seem to be backing them up with
a flurry of action and intent. The spotless
black RTC unit in the paddock is just one
facet how they view MotoGP as a passport
to more prominence.

MOTOGP
BLOG
THE NEXT STEP FOR GREATNESS?
Five races in, and Marc Márquez looks well on his way to
the 2019 MotoGP crown.
On a bike which is fast, but
harder to ride – see the results of
Cal Crutchlow for a comparison
– Márquez is finding new ways to
win, new ways to beat his rivals.
He makes winning look easy – he
has led for about 70% of laps
raced – and his margin of victory
is convincing. Even after slowing
down to celebrate, he won by 9.8
seconds in Argentina, 1.6 seconds
in Jerez, and nearly 2 seconds at
Le Mans. He also crashed out of
the lead in Austin, when he was
nearly 4 seconds ahead.
He is tearing up the record books
too. His current tally of premier
class victories stands at 47, level
with Jorge Lorenzo, who is in
his thirteenth season compared
to Márquez’ seventh. He has 73
wins in all Grand Prix classes,
just three behind Mike Hailwood.
In premier class victories, he has
only Giacomo Agostini, Valentino
Rossi, and Mick Doohan ahead of
him. In total GP wins, only Rossi,
Ago, and Angel Nieto have more.
At 26 years of age, it seems like
only a matter of time before he
catches them.
Or will he? Extrapolating future
success from previous seasons
can be a dangerous affair. In the
six seasons between 2000 and
2005, Valentino Rossi racked up
53 wins. But he had grown bored
of doing it so easily, even after
switching from Honda to Yamaha
and winning first time out on the
M1 as well. He toyed with the idea
of a switch to F1, lost sight of development
of the Yamaha M1, and
ending up claiming just 5 races
in 2006, compared to 11 in 2005.
He lost the 2006 title to Nicky
Hayden in an unforgettable season
ending. Rossi was 27 years
old at the time.
Could this happen to Marc
Márquez? So far, there is no sign
of his motivation starting to lag.
He is as dedicated and concentrated
now as he has ever been.
Outside distractions are eschewed,
even romantic ones, despite
reports of various amorous
liaisons. Yes, Márquez has driven
an F1 car, but he has shown no
desire to actually pursue a career
on four wheels. He rides flat
track and MX bikes to train, and
because still loves it. His heart is
clearly still in MotoGP.
Will Márquez ever need to find
extra motivation? At the moment,
winning itself is motivation
enough. He has shown no interest
in statistics or records, just
in winning, and in finding new
strategies, new approaches, new
ways. Outfoxing his rivals is as
rewarding as beating them outright.
“Sometimes you need to
find different strategies for your
opponents,” he said at Le Mans.
“If not, everybody expects you
to do the same. If somebody is
doing something new, in some
races pushing from the beginning,
in another race saving the tire,
you don’t know if he’s saving or
pushing.”

More than Europe’s
largest MC store
By David Emmett
But once Márquez proves to
himself that he can beat his rivals
in any way he chooses, will he
seek out fresh challenges? He
has reason to stay loyal to Honda.
After the 2015 season, he started
to exert his influence over HRC,
asking for changes to be made to
development and testing programs,
to ways of working, even
to senior personnel. HRC obliged;
they know that right now, they
need Márquez to win titles, and
do not want to lose him. Márquez
has bent HRC to his will, and that
is a valuable prize.
Perhaps money will tempt
Márquez away. Ducati tried to
poach the Spaniard ahead of the
2019 season, but he opted to
remain with the Repsol Honda
team. KTM can ask Red Bull for
almost any number Márquez
should care to think of, and probably
double it. But Márquez has
never shown a mercenary streak.
He gets paid plenty – since Jorge
Lorenzo left Ducati, he’s probably
the best-paid rider on the grid
– but money can’t buy you race
wins and MotoGP titles, and those
are the only things that count for
Marquez.
Would he switch to Ducati to dismiss
the comparisons with Valentino
Rossi, and criticisms that
he has only won on with Honda?
Maybe if Rossi himself were to
start the goading. Márquez seems
immune to fan criticism, but if
Rossi started playing up the point
that he won on two different bikes,
that might just work. But even
then, Márquez’ priority is simple:
winning more races, winning more
titles.
In that, Márquez is more like Mick
Doohan than Valentino Rossi or
Jorge Lorenzo. More like Belgian
cyclist Eddy Merckx, whose love
of winning was so immense that
they nicknamed him The Cannibal.
His hunger for race wins is
greater than for fresh challenges.
I suspect that the only way we will
see Marc Márquez with a different
manufacturer is if Honda can
no longer satisfy his appetite for
victory.

FEATURE
ature
By Steve English, Photos by GeeBee Images
r
nurt

ure

FEATURE
For four years in WorldS-
BK Jonathan Rea has
been King. That might
not be the case any longer
(despite the recent rally at
Imola). Alvaro Bautista is the
man poised to perform regicide
and ascend to the throne.
The Ducati rider has been
almost unbeatable this year.
In hot or cold conditions, at
‘stop and go’, or even flowing
race tracks he has asserted
his dominance. It has been
as impressive as it has been
unprecedented. You can’t help
but be impressed by Bautista.
If he were a chess piece he’d
be the Queen. He’s the most
valuable piece because he can
move in any direction and put
itself anywhere on the board.
In Assen Race 1 we saw this
illustrated perfectly, as he
ducked and weaved behind
Rea probing for an opening.
He was able to hold tighter
lines or long sweeping lines.
He was able to try and roll
through corners with high corner
speed, or try and out-drag
his rivals. A jack of all trades...
and a master of them too.
Is he that much more talented
than his new rivals? Of
course not, but he has been
developed and nurtured in a
very different environment.
What is it that makes Marc
Marquez special? His otherworldly
ability to save a crash
is amazing, his ability to think
on the fly and adapt to conditions
is hugely impressive
but it’s his commitment that
really impresses. Every corner
of every lap of every session
of every round of every
season, he’s on the absolute
edge. For the seven times
world champion that’s eleven
years of Grand Prix competition,
in addition to his time in
the Spanish CEV championship
where he cut his teeth.
For thirteen years he’s known
nothing other than having his
back to the wall and coming
out swinging. Anything less,
and he’s be nowhere. That’s
what the Spanish championship
and 125cc, Moto2 and
MotoGP has taught him.
“It’s instilled in us,” explained
former peer Bradley Smith.
“Am I surprised that Alvaro is
doing what he’s doing? No I’m
not because he was riding so
well when he left MotoGP. He
was at the height of his career
at that point. I don’t want
to be disrespectful to any
of the Superbike guys, but
their system is different. In
the Grand Prix paddock from
when you’re 15 or 16 years
old you’re wide open from the
first lap you hit the track. You
have to stay at that level and
it gets ingrained in you.”
“Year on year you get better.
Playing with that 98-99%
level because if you don’t
ride at it, you don’t get a job
next year. It’s so finely tuned.

I can’t explain how much of a
difference that is but you’ve
got to believe that if something
has been that way for 15
years, 20 years however long,
it becomes normal. That’s why
we see it in the SBK races.
He can’t ‘not’ do it! He goes
and goes and has to keep riding
like that. He might open
1.5s and you see him eight or
nine laps into the race and he
has a 10-second lead and he
keeps pulling away.”
“He might take it down 5%
but that’s the maximum he’ll
ever do because he needs to
ride at that level. If he’s below
that he’ll make mistakes. He’ll
get the jitters because it’s not
natural. He’d start making
mistakes because he’s not at
his usual intensity. It speaks
for itself and the proof is in
how the race unfolds, how his
lap times are, and how the
gap is to the guys behind.”
Bautista might have taken
longer than a lot of rivals to
reach the Grand Prix paddock
- he was 18 years of age - but
he was forged in the red hot
nature of the Spanish 125GP
championship. At the time,
young riders looking to establish
themselves raced full
seasons in both the world and
national series’. In 2002 he
was runner-up to Hector Barbera
in Spain, while his rival
was finishing the season as
a regular front runner on the
world stage.
The following year Bautista
dominated in Spain by winning
the final five races. He
finished on the podium in every
one and was only beaten by
Jorge Lorenzo and Tom Luthi.
In full terms of both Grand
Prix and the CEV championship,
Bautista had established
himself as one to watch.
He looked to be the coming
man in 125GP after podiums
in 2004, but he stumbled
thereafter. Entering the 2006
season was make or break. He
needed to win the championship
or else he risked falling
through the cracks. It’s hard
not to see similarities to this
season. Claiming the 125GP
title rejuvenated his career. He
was always a front-runner in
250GP and showed plenty of
flashes in the premier class.
The ‘down’ years taught him
how to dig deeper in every
session, and what needs to
be done if you’re to make it in
the Grand Prix paddock.
“There are so many external
things that affect riders,”
continued Smith. “Just from
talking about myself and how
I’ve approach racing. It’s been
the same since I was 14 or
15 in the Spanish championships.
Now for riders it’s even
earlier! They’ve been racing
in the same way since they
were eight years old. When
they turn up in the juniors,
these kids are flat out from
six, seven or eight years old.
ALVARO BAUTISTA

FEATURE
That’s why the kids are going
to be even better than we are:
I believe that.”
That crucible of development
is different to what the
majority of Superbike riders
have come through. Bautista
- and others that have come
through the Grand Prix paddock
in general - don’t have
more natural talent than their
new rivals but they are conditioned
differently. If Rea or
Michael van der Mark, Tom
Sykes or Alex Lowes traversed
the Grand Prix paddocks
as kids, there’s little doubt
that their talent level would
have been enough to make
an impact. The difference is
that in 125GP, if you weren’t
on that absolute limit you’d
struggle to score points. The
same would not have been the
case in British national championships,
or even the World
Supersport series.
That’s not a ‘knock’ on either
of those championships at all
either. The top talent in any
competition are, and have
always been, world class. The
difference is depth. When you
combine the mentality that
riders develop in Grand Prix
racing and the clear advantages
that the brand new Ducati
V4R has, it’s clear that it creates
a perfect storm for Bautista
to show his ability. He’s
not the best rider to come
across from MotoGP in recent
years, but he is the one that
comes across in the best circumstances.
Would he achieve
what he’s achieved with a
Honda like Nicky Hayden? Of
course he wouldn’t. The same
could be said for every bike
on the grid.
WorldSBK might be looking
to create some parity with
regulations but it is production
based. The Ducati V4R is
the newest bike on the market,
has the most power and
is the most expensive base
bike on the road. It should be
the best bike. And it is. Bautista
is showing himself to be
a rider that is best suited to
getting the most from it too.
His adaptation to the Pirelli
tyres has been incredible but
it’s also been helped by the
development direction of the

product. The larger profile
tyres are much more similar
to what he left behind MotoGP
with Michelin’s tyres, except
the front tyre is actually a lot
stronger. He can ride a Superbike
like a MotoGP bike and
now he’ll be forcing the other
riders, and teams, to develop
their packages towards that
style.
It’s the polar opposite of what
we’ve seen as successful in
recent years. Have a look
at Rea or Chaz Davies: they
brake deep and hard and try
and spend as little time on the
edge of the tyre as possible.
Now look at Bautista’s style.
He’s flat out every corner of
every lap but he’s also looking
after his tyres.
He’s doing that with his style
and his electronics. The Ducati
is great package and he’s
riding it like a 250cc Grand
Prix machine. He left MotoGP
feeling that it was a missed
opportunity. He was riding
better than ever and went to
WorldSBK with a chip on his
shoulder. He wants to prove
the doubters wrong. Bautista’s
issue in MotoGP wasn’t that
he wasn’t talented enough or
fast enough it was that when
the music stopped in last
year’s game of musical chairs
he was left standing.
Hell hath no fury like a
scorned rider. “Bautista is riding
a race like he’s in MotoGP,
wide open from the first lap,
and not looking behind until
you cross the chequered flag,”
Smith observes. “That’s what
he is doing and why we see
such good results. I don’t
think we’ve seen the best from
Rea yet - other than a handful
of races - but that’s because
he’s kind of not sure what to
do moment. Does he just take
loads of second places as
the bike can’t compete with
Bautista at the moment? He
is in a no man’s land and the
mentality is so different as a
result. In the last three laps of
every race we’ve seen the real
Johnny come out, because he
goes into second and pulls the
gap and ends up in second.”
“He’s gone toe to toe with
Bautista a few times for eight
or nine laps. The sprint race
in Australia or race one in
Thailand are the best examples.
We have seen him do it,
but when Bautista is a second
clear at the end of Lap 1 everyone
is in a fight for second
straight away. It changes your
approach to not being about
getting the best out of what’s
underneath you, it’s about getting
those 20 points.”
ALVARO BAUTISTA

SBK
BLOG
CRUCIAL TIMES...
WorldSBK is in the middle of another long gap between
races that makes it a little frustrating when you see all other
motorcycle series in full swing. There is a test this week in
Misano which will offer a couple of pointers as to where we
will see things go in the coming races.
There will be one new arrival at the
test in the shape of the Ten Kate
Yamaha R1 with Frenchman Loris
Baz on board. It will be great to see
the Dutch squad back at the race
track but I can’t honestly see them
making an immediate impact on
the field given that this is the first
time their racing machine will have
run outside the workshop and also
the first time in a fair few months
that Baz will be lapping at racing
speed.
There is always the temptation in
these instances to try and hit the
track running, to be at the same
pace as your peers from the outset.
I hope, however, that Loris and the
team ease into things gently and
‘walk’ for a few laps before trying to
light the afterburners.
The other intriguing thing for this
test is how Kawasaki will approach
it. Jonathan Rea won last time out
at Imola, in both race one and the
Superpole Race, but I reckon he left
Italy smarting a little at the misfortune
of not being able to score
a maximum in race two due to the
weather and missing the opportunity
to claw back more points in the
title race.
I go back to the start of the year
when discussing the impact Bautista
had made and the suggestion offered
by someone close to the team
that he would struggle in Imola.
Ducati had taken the opportunity to
test there in the weeks before the
race but the Spaniard was still off
the pace. Was it down to his riding
style or was Alvaro just taking a
measured approach to his feeling
about the race track? He was vocal
in his views on the Sunday that he
felt the track was unsafe in the dry
and therefore much worse in the
wet.
Despite that win, Rea has spoken
in the press about the need to
improve the set up of the Ninja
ZX-10RR to keep him on par, or
ahead, of the Ducati. Last year, the
early season test took place after
Assen, in Brno, and Rea and the
team found something extra that
raised his level again for the rest of
the season. That set him off on an
incredible winning streak, with only
the Yamaha’s of Van Der Mark and
Lowes occupying the top step mid
season.
At the end of the year Rea’s crew
chief Pere Riba said that in the
Brno test they were able to try
some changes to the bike’s set up
that he had been thinking about
since Buriram, and that was the
first opportunity he had had to
put them to the sword. We are in
a similar situation again. In Motorland
Aragon I spoke to Riba
on Saturday night and he echoed

More than Europe’s
largest MC store
By Graeme Brown
that view, that there were things
he would like to try but with 100
minutes of track time on a Friday, to
get ready for Superpole and a race,
there is no gap in a race weekend
to test a change in chassis set up or
engine strategy.
This therefore makes the coming
two days in Misano a make or break
outing for the KRT squad. I expect
to see Rea turning a lot of laps,
working on outright speed but also
race pace, making 15-20 lap runs
to see how the chassis behaves on
a worn tyre and lighter fuel load.
If Riba’s little light bulb moments
prove productive I predict a closer
battle from Jerez onwards.
That said Ducati are testing as
well. I am sure there are areas that
Bautista can improve on but I think
the biggest benefit for Ducati will be
a positive test for Chaz Davies. He
seemed to have made friends with
the V4R in Imola and the Misano
test may be the opportunity for him
to cement that relationship and get
back to winning ways.
It had been reported that Honda
would not be present in Misano
because HRC had not allocated a
budget for testing, but the Moriwaki
Althea Honda squad are going all
in with a three rider line up. Leon
Camier is still not fit after his Imola
Superpole accident but they have
drafted in former WorldSBK, and
current BSB runner, Xavi Fores
alongside All Japan JSB1000 series
rider Yuki Takahashi. They will work
alongside Ryiuchi Kiyonari to test
the current Fireblade. It’s an interesting
situation to have three riders
steering a machine that is widely
rumoured to be being replaced at
the end of the year. However, we are
now in the run up to the Suzuka 8Hr
and Honda may see this as a valuable
opportunity to get some extra
track time under their belt for what
is arguably a more important race
for them.
There is still speculation and rumour
about how the manufacturers
will approach the WorldSBK series
in 2020. Will Honda give HRC free
reign to develop a title winning Fireblade?
Will Yamaha have a new R1
based on the M1 MotoGP machine?
And will Kawasaki throw the kitchen
sink at a new homologation special?
Time will tell but other changes may
be afoot in WorldSBK beyond the
bikes themselves.
New FIM President Jorge Viegas
set the cat amongst the pigeons
in an interview with Polish journalist
Grzegorz Jedrzejewski when he
said, in relation to the historic reasons
why Dorna took over the rights
to promote WorldSBK in 2012, that
“this is not the solution……..we in
the FIM, and me in particular, are
working to change that and you will
have news soon……” He went on
to say that ‘WorldSBK cannot be a
second division of MotoGP’. Dorna
supremo, Carmelo Ezpeleta, offered
a very quick, and apparently, angry
rebuttal of those comments saying
that he knows they need to make
WorldSBK more attractive but they
will continue with the series.
It’s an interesting and I think a valid
point. For sure Dorna will be happy
to continue with WorldSBK. As far
as I am aware the series makes
money for them in TV rights and
advertising, despite it appearing
to many on the outside as being
a poor relation to MotoGP. It has
been said in the past that WorldSBK
needs revolution, not evolution. If
radical solutions are needed then
Dorna haven’t so far come up with
the right one in the seven years of
their tenure.

SBK
BLOG
There has been a lot of changes in
the technical regulations and the
race formats over that time but
nothing has raised the championship
to a level that Viegas might
consider it to be in the first division.
I’ve said it before if there is a
new media or promotion strategy
that will change the world, I honestly
can’t see Dorna applying it
to WorldSBK ahead of MotoGP.
Maybe Viegas has a point then. The
big question is: is their anyone out
there willing to take the Superbike
championship on? However, flawed
he and his FIM colleagues feel the
current position is, maybe Dorna
are currently the best people to
keep Superbike racing at a world
championship level alive and kicking.
I will be watching this space
very closely.
One thing that makes any series
successful is close, entertaining racing.
We have had that in WorldSBK
this year, but generally for second
place. Maybe this week will see
those currently vying to be the best
of the rest finally make a step forward
to challenge Ducati.

MCH Photo

PRODUCTS

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husqvarna
The SVARTPILEN 701 is hardly a motorcycle
that begs for a bit of custom treatment but
this slight re-sculpturing with the ‘STYLE’ is
an example of how a different interpretation
can still have an impact. The bike is inspired
by flat track, has a new bronze, black silver
colour scheme and other little details such
as CNC-machined footpegs, spoked wheels,
aluminium badges and handlebar-mounted
mirrors and other customisable components.
The guts of the SVARTPILEN 701 is built
around ‘a powerful single-cylinder engine
that offers an outstanding performance of 75
hp [power] and 72.0 Nm [torque]. Fitted with
adjustable WP suspension for surefooted
handling, exceptional stopping power is guaranteed
thanks to the combination of Brembo
brakes and the latest Bosch ABS technology.’
There is also a cool selection of Powerwear
produced by Revit to complete the look.

FEATURE

ONE FOR
THE AGES
Words and Photos by Steve English AKA ‘sTTevie’
COULD THIS BE THE BEST ISLE OF MAN TT
EVER? DON’T RULE IT OUT
Last year’s Isle of TT was the fastest in history. Not only did Peter Hickman
smash the lap record and become the first man ever to lap at an
average speed in excess of 135mph around the fabled Mountain Course
we saw lap records in every class. It was a stunning festival of speed. It
was beautiful and frightening. This year should see more of the same.
Can Hickman move the goalposts further? Can Dean Harrison overcome
the disappointment of 12 months ago when he held the lead of
the Senior until the final miles? Is Michael Dunlop still the favourite?
What can John McGuiness do on his comeback? What about Hutchy?
Or Conor Cummins? James Hillier has finally won a Northwest 200,
can he use that momentum at the TT?
So many questions. When you look into the crystal ball you can see so
many different answers.
Over two gruelling weeks those answers reveal themselves. Practice
Week and Race Week. For those two weeks a rock in the middle of the
Irish Sea becomes the centre of the world.
This year promises to be very special.

FEATURE
THE
135MPH
MAN
WHEN PETER HICKMAN
WENT TO THE ISLE OF MAN
TT FOR THE FIRST TIME IT
WAS BECAUSE HE HAD NO
CHOICE. RACE ON THE ROADS
OR STOP RACING. NOW
HE’S THE MAN TO BEAT AS
THE REIGNING SENIOR TT
WINNER AND THE OUTRIGHT
LAP RECORD HOLDER
Last year Peter Hickman completed the
set. He finally added an Isle of Man TT
victory to his Northwest 200, Ulster Grand
Prix and Macau Grand Prix success. The
32 year old is the only rider in history to
have posted a 135mph lap. He is the man
to beat again this year, but how did it all
come about?
Hickman, from Lincolnshire, was an established
British Superbike rider but his
career was reaching a crucial turning
point. At 27 years of age he needed to
make a choice: keep finding money to
go racing or face a different future. The
winter of 2013 was spent ensuring he was
ready for the year that would ultimately
define his career.
“IS IT SCARY? FOR ME NOT REALLY. I PREPARED
AND LEARNED THE TRACK. I WAS CONFIDENT IN
MYSELF TO BE ABLE TO DO IT. SO I JUST KIND OF
GOT ON, REALLY. AFTER MY FIRST NIGHT AT THE
TT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO FIND THE WORDS TO DE-
SCRIBE IT. DOING 190MPH DOWN A PUBLIC ROAD
IS JUST AN UNREAL EXPERIENCE, BUT MOST OF
ALL IT WAS A REALLY ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE.”

The following season he would
tackle the international road
races for the first time. Making
his debut at the Northwest
200 would give him an idea
of what to expect, but the TT
would be the centre point of
his season. It would also prove
to be the turning point of his
career.
Hickman had run out of options
in BSB, and with only
three top five finishes in over
150 BSB starts, the phone
wasn’t ringing off the hook
with offers. Within a year he
had turned being the fastest
ever newcomer at the TT into
rides that allowed him to become
a BSB race winner.
“At the time the goal was to
find a way to stay in the British
Championship. Unfortunately
I couldn’t do it without a big
chequebook. I’d never had one,
so I had to find another way to
keep racing bikes. One of the
ways I could do that, and the
cheapest way, was to try some
road racing. I didn’t fancy
doing all the kind of national
Irish stuff, but I fancied the
Northwest, the TT, the Ulster
and Macau. That was why I decided
to have a go at it. Then
it turned out that I’m alright at
it!”
“Is it scary? For me not really.
A lot of riders say they’re nervous
and not sure about things.
My first ever road race was the
Northwest 200 in 2014, and
on the run down to University
I was absolutely flat out and
doing nearly 200 mph on first
lap through the speed trap! I’d
never been there before, but
I prepared and learned the
track. I knew where I was going
and I knew it was a straight
line. It didn’t scare me. I was
confident in myself to be able
to do it. So I just kind of got
on, really.”
“After my first night at the
TT it was difficult to find the
words to describe it. Doing
190mph down a public road is
just an unreal experience, but
most of all it was a really enjoyable
experience. I felt really
comfortable out there straight
away, didn’t push hard and
just concentrated on learning
as much as possible. It was
a different experience on the
closed roads compared to the
laps I did on open roads to
prepare for the TT. Obviously
you can use both sides of the
road, and there’s nothing coming
the other way! There were
bumps in places I never realised
there’d be bumps.”
“I was the fastest ever newcomer
and I ended up getting
a good BSB ride off the back
of it - I’ve never looked back
since. With a decent BSB ride
I actually won a race. People
started to think ‘Oh, he can
actually win races in BSB.’ I
never looked back from that
point.”
Indeed he hasn’t. Hickman
is now a regular contender
in BSB. He’s been into the
showdown, the championship
decider for the top six riders,
for the last two years. Hickman
is now a bonafide star of the
British championship. He’s a
man in demand. It’s all so very
different compared to when
he was forced to race on the
roads initially.
Making that switch at 27 also
offers Hickman some perspective.
Would he have raced on
the roads at five or six years
earlier? Probably not. Having
the benefit of that added
experience and extra maturity
to understand his own limits
allowed him to jump into the
road racing crucible as a contender.
“I go to the TT because I enjoy
it. I go because I want to be
there. I’m not going for a big
cheque. I go there because I
want to. Initially I went to the
TT because I wanted to keep
riding. At the time I was thinking,
‘what am I going to do?’
Road racing was an option. I
was mature enough. I was 27
and I’d been riding big bikes
for ten years. I had experience
in the Superstock and Superbike
classes and I felt that I
had enough experience. I felt
that I was mature enough in
myself to not ride like a dickhead
and keep myself alive.”
2019 TT: PETER HICKMAN

FEATURE
w“I don’t know what I would
have been like if I went racing
at the TT when I was 21 or 22
years old. I don’t think that I
would have gone at that point
and, to be honest, I’m not sure
whether people should race
over there that early. I had
learned all my craft on short
circuits.”
“Obviously the worst can still
happen at a short circuit, but
in general it is pretty safe. So
all my mistakes I made, all
the crashes I had and all that,
99% of the time I was absolutely
fine. The young lads that
come here do the Irish road
racing and TT and all that
when they’re young, they’re
making mistakes on roads with
massive consequences. That’s
tough. Then they don’t have
the‘safety barrier’, if you like,
to be able to push beyond the
limit, get it wrong and understand
why and how and learn
from it because the consequences
are so high.”
Those consequences are all
too easy to remember at the
TT. Every stretch of road has a
story. Those stories are typically
not easy reading. Riding on
the roads takes a commitment
that few can fathom. Do racers
ride with those thoughts on
their mind? Do they go easier
through the races? Are they
riding within themselves?
“The way you ride on the
roads is different but you’re

still pushing at 100%. I think
that it’s a mistake to think that
a short circuit rider is going
at 95% when they race on the
roads. You still push as hard as
you can the roads, but it is different.
It’s hard to explain. You
don’t ride in the same way. You
don’t push the front anywhere
near what you do at BSB. You
don’t ride the front into the
corners really hard. You don’t
lean over as much, because
there’s not as much grip. So
it’s not because you don’t want
to or you aren’t able to do
what short circuit riders can
do. The reason it’s different is
because there isn’t as much
grip on the track. Without the
grip you can’t ride the same.”
“You find the limit in a different
way. A lot of the corners
at the TT lead onto really long
straights. Any kind of corner
that leads onto a long straight
- and you might have a two
mile straight - you need to lose
a little bit going into the corner
so that you can gain lots coming
out. If you do that in BSB
you’d get hammered because
the straights aren’t that long.
Because you’re making sure to
setup the exit you’re braking
earlier. For me I’m way more
relaxed on the roads because
I’m braking way earlier than
where I know I could. A lot
of my success on the roads
comes from racing in the British
championship.”
“It’s interesting for Dean Harrison
and more and more of the
roads riders that are doing the
full BSB season now. They get
the benefit of racing but they
also have a problem because
the focus for them is obviously
on the road races but by racing
in BSB the risk of crashing
is higher. You push to the limit
and beyond on short circuits
and it can take time to figure
out where that limit is. If you
crash and end up hurting yourself
then you could miss out
on the road racing season.”
“I’m the opposite; I’m a short
circuit racer that comes road
racing. I don’t have to worry
about not hurting myself
because both are just as important
for me. I’ll be doing
BSB and that’s my focus. Once
that’s done and I’m doing
a road race, it becomes my
focus. If there’s another BSB
I’ll do that, and then go back
to a road race. It’s a bit different.
The TT is the big race, for
road racing at least, and it’s
obviously a main focus of mine
but once the TT is done it’ll be
BSB on my mind again.”
Will the pressure of being the
favourite change things for
Hickman? He’s got a target on
his back as a Senior TT winner,
lap record holder and the rider
that came-from-behind on the
last lap 12 months ago to win
the biggest prize. Hickman
does his best to play down
that pressure.
“The TT is such a diverse
place. It’s so unique. It’s so
long and it goes through so
many different types of tarmac
and areas of the island.
It changes all the time. It goes
from narrow and bumpy to
being wide open and smooth.
It’s got uphill and downhill sections
while other bits are quite
flat. Some of it is blind. Some
of it you can see easily. It’s
very, very different.”
“Before I won my first TT, I
always said that the pressure
was on the people that
have already won races. Once
you’ve won a TT you can’t really
go back. You know you can
win and want to do it again.
Now that I’ve won one I’ve kind
of changed my mind! I’m now
saying, ‘I’ve won one, so now
the pressure’s on the people
who haven’t won one!’”
2019 TT: PETER HICKMAN

FEATURE
FINDING
FREEDOM
LEE JOHNSTON HAS
BEEN THE ‘COMING
MAN’ OF ROAD
RACING, ONCE A
FACTORY HONDA
RIDER WITH LOTS OF
EXPECTATION ON HIS
SHOULDERS. NOW
HE’S BACK IN A ROLE
THAT’S MUCH MORE
SUITABLE FOR A ROAD
RACING MAVERICK
Ten years ago Lee Johnston
was the up and coming man of
Road Racing. He was a 20 year
old British national champion
who had started to race on the
roads and was showing a lot
of promise. Fast forward a few
years and he had become a
winner. He was on a path that
would lead straight into a factory
Honda pit box. He was on
a path to everything any rider
would ever want. Any rider that
is, except for Johnston.
He’s always had a maverick
streak. Fermanagh sits close
to the border between Northern
Ireland and the Republic
of Ireland. Johnston was born
into a town that had been hit
by The Troubles; a time of
conflict when life and death
was an every day fact for his
country. Now, 30 years later,
he still has to factor life and
death into his decisions.
“You have to have the right
of frame of mind to go racing,”
reflected Johnston at the
recent Northwest 200. “I did
my first Northwest by accident,
but I absolutely loved it.
I remember going back to the
British Championship after
and after doing about ten laps
I just thought: ‘this is shit.’ I
was going absolutely flat out
but thinking ‘f**k me, I’ve no
interest in this at all.’ Road
Racing was totally different
for me. Over the next four or
five years I absolutely loved it.
There’s no feeling like it. We’re
lucky to be doing it. You can’t
book a track day at the Northwest.
You can’t do a track day
at the TT. There’re not many
people who get to do this. It’s
so special.”
“After starting on the roads
I really wasn’t interested in
racing short circuits again. If
there was no buzz I saw no
point in racing at British national
level again. I had won
the Superstock 600 championship
and been at the front
in Supersport, but I was happy
to just focus on the roads. I
lost all interest in short circuit
racing.”
“I instantly fell in love with
the roads and I instantly fell
out of love with short circuits.
So in 2011 I stopped racing
in the British Championship.
I’m back racing it again this
year and it’s been a lot of fun
again. At the time I was probably
a bit lazier; if I didn’t enjoy
something I’d not do it. Now
though I know that you have
to do it. You can’t compete
against the best guys on the
roads now if you’re not riding
every week. You also can’t just
race at the short circuits with
the goal of getting ready for
the roads. These are some of
the best riders in the world so
if you race you need to give it
everything. I want to be there
and I want to do well racing in
Britain. I’m back doing it and
I’m back enjoying it again.”

2019 TT: LEE JOHNSTON

FEATURE
Johnston is back racing in the British
Supersport class and has started the
season strongly. The Northwest 200
was his first road race of the season,
and the experience of racing short
circuits clearly helped; he claimed
victory in the first Supersport of
the NW200 race week. That was his
fourth victory on the coast road and
has set The General up nicely for the
Isle of Man TT.
“You can’t do well when you’re not
really bothered about being there
in Britain. You need to want it. I’ve
proven myself so far, so it’s been
good. The days of turning up for
three weeks of road racing and not
riding the rest of the year are long
gone. You can’t just turn up and
compete…well you can but the risk
goes up massively. You’re not fully
bike fit for really pushing the limits.
Your body isn’t used to it either. Is
there any other sport in the world
where they don’t compete all year
but expect to contend for a few
events? Road Racing was a bit behind
the times but it’s changed now.”
Being able to race in Britain has
obviously helped Johnston but there
has been another factor which has
impacted him much more: freedom.
Riders spend their careers looking
for factory contracts but sometimes
the dream can become a nightmare.
For Johnston the experience of being
a works Honda rider was obviously
one he had sought. Now though, he’s
glad to have the opportunity to set
his own schedule. Forming his own
team – with the backing of people
like XL Moto - has given him that
freedom.

It’s also changed his outlook
on racing. Gone are the envious
looks towards other riders
and teams. Now he knows
that everyone around him is
committed to his programme
and nothing else. Having been
able to handpick every member
of his race team, buy the
bikes and even book the ferry
tickets, he feels totally different
heading to TT 2019.
from the ground up, picked all
these guys, all the sponsors
and everything. We sorted
all of this, and now I don’t
look into any other tent and
think about what they have.
I’m completely happy. I think
that’s the biggest thing. I’m
not striving to have something
that I can’t have or whatever.
I’m wanting to make what I
have the best possible.
bikes and everything else you
need to go racing. Everything
we have was bought over the
last six months. We’ve got
BMW’s for the Superbike and
Superstock classes. We’ve a
Yamaha for Supersport and
all of our bikes were bought
by us for this season. There’s
nothing on them that says
BMW or Yamaha. They just
say Ashcourt Racing.”
2019 TT: LEE JOHNSTON
“I probably used to look at
the factory bikes and think
that they’ve got ‘this, that and
the other’. Now I don’t envy
anything. I’ve built this team
“In December last year we
sat down and started to get
everything in motion. Between
then and end of February we
had bought the trucks and the
They might say Ashcourt Racing
but they mean a lot more
than that to Johnston. They
mean liberty. The freedom to
choose whom to race with,

FEATURE
where to race and when to do it. The roads are
still the centre of attention but a full-time British
Supersport season means that suddenly
Johnston is busier than ever. Suddenly he’s
feeling ready for a TT more then he can remember
for a long time. Suddenly he’s a real
contender once again.
“I’m not going to lie, it was hard going back
to short circuits for this year. There’s a different
way of riding. You’re on maximum attack
all the time. You ride differently to the roads.
At the TT we’re giving it everything we have
but you do it in a different way. In short circuit
racing you’re rubbing and bumping but on the
roads you can’t ride like that. I’m enjoying the
short circuit races though because it makes
you sharper and fitter for the roads. I’ve been
able to do a lot of laps at the Northwest 200
and not feel tired. I feel great.”

Around a 37.75 mile lap being strong physically
is important but feeling razor sharp
mentally even more so. For Johnston, a three
time podium finisher at the TT, the benefit of
having had so much time in the saddle this
year will be twofold; he’ll be fitter than ever
but he’ll also be able to deal better with the
mental fatigue of the TT.
“The TT is a tough event. If the weather is
good you can have so many laps in practice
before the racing has even started. Then
you’re hung out mentally and physically.
There’s pressure all the time. You need to go
in there with a good mentality. You have to be
strong and fit.”
More than Europe’s
largest MC store
2019 TT: LEE JOHNSTON

PRODUCTS
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alpinestars/mm93
Considering Marc Marquez’ career-long association
with Alpinestars it is a surprise that an official
range of gear has taken this long to come to
market. The world champion has a line of casual
clothing with personal sponsor high street chain
Pull and Bear but Alpinestars have taken the step
of identifying some of the key items in their street
catalogue of protection and riding garments and
have applied the Marquez logo, number, design
and colours (red, black and white). Some of the
products are more prominent with their branding,
others more subtle but it will suit fans or admirers
of the best Grand Prix racer in the world.

MOTOGP
BLOG
‘A RESULT THAT GIVES US WINGS’
A decent glimpse into the relentless drive within KTM
could be witnessed at Jerez. Results at the start of the season
may not have caught the eye but there were signs of a
breakthrough. Some of the customary success in off-road
disciplines (with Cooper Webb on the cusp of winning the
Supercross crown, the company’s 300th title across all disciplines)
must have been rubbing off.
Yet there were no signs of celebration
in Red Bull’s glitzy hospitality
unit on Saturday evening.
Motorsport Director Pit Beirer
was locked away in a tense board
meeting, where, along with CEO
Stefan Pierer and CSO Hubert
Trunkenpolz, an inquisition was
allegedly underway as to the company’s
grand prix failings.
To borrow new signing Jorge Martin’s
words, KTM’s Moto2 operation
was “hoping for a miracle”
after its chassis design was some
way off its competitors. None of
its MotoGP machines qualified in
the top 15 that day, and marquee
signing Johann Zarco was caught
on camera saying “[either] we are
f***ing s**t in chassis, or we are
f***ing s**t in controlling power”
the morning before.
Understandable, then, that Beirer’s
first words to me were “I’m
under pressure,” ahead of an
interview that had been scheduled
earlier that week. It was a phrase
he repeated twice over the next
ten minutes.
But fast-forward a little over two
weeks later and Pol Espargaro’s
staggering sixth place at Le Mans
was no finer example of how a
fortnight can be an age in motorsport.
Even before that tremendous
showing in France – jumping
to sixth on lap one from a starting
place of twelfth and coming home
just 5.9s back of race winner Marc
Marquez – there were clear indications
that KTM’s project had
made significant steps forward
from a disappointing 2018.
Espargaro’s top tens in Argentina
(tenth) and Austin (eighth) didn’t
really tell the whole story. The
Catalan was 16 seconds quicker
over race distance at Qatar when
compared to the best-placed
RC16 in 2018. At the Circuit of
the Americas he shaved 14 seconds
off last year’s race time. And
while the winter resurfacing of
Jerez played a major part in this
number, Espargaro was a full 30
seconds faster over 27 race laps
than KTM’s best the year before.
If that’s not enough, take into account
how far back he has been
from the class’ leading names,
often Marquez and Honda. Five
races into 2018 and the average
distance to the race winner was
30.3 seconds; this year it’s 18.8.
Now that’s real progress.

More than Europe’s
largest MC store
By Neil Morrison
Even Espargaro’s championship
position (ninth, a place ahead of
fancied preseason pace setter
Maverick Viñales) indicates as
much.
Le Mans displayed that, even
three years into this project, KTM
is still capable of making enormous
steps forward with upgrades.
An updated engine configuration
and carbon swingarm that
Espargaro used in the race helped
him maintain a strong rhythm until
the chequered flag. “It’s quite
a big part of this result, I think,”
said team boss Mike Leitner. “It
looks like in general we get more
stable lap times, from what we
saw in Jerez.”
All of which is a marked improvement
for the Catalan, who appeared
to be falling out of favour
in 2018, when some careless
crashes led to costly injuries. “I
am really sure he didn’t honestly
tell us how bad his injuries were
last year so I think he was just
not – heath wise – that strong to
do proper training and prepare,”
Beirer told me at Jerez. “On the
other side he still had a difficult
bike to handle; I know that.
But then, of course, sometimes I
was getting a little bit tired of getting
the feeling: ‘we can improve
only if the bike is improving.’”
“Maybe I was asking a little bit
too much from Pol because we
could give him some small improvements,
and he is adding a
lot from himself now if you look at
his data, his riding style and his
performance, we could not ask for
a better rider in the project that
Pol. He never stopped believing in
the project. So he’s a really strong
‘leg’ in the project at this time.”
But what Espargaro is achieving
must be countered by the ongoing
struggles on the other side of
the garage. There appears to be
an unwillingness from Zarco to
adapt his smooth, flowing style
that worked so well with Yamaha’s
M1 to the late-braking RC16 which
Espargaro once nicknamed ‘The
Bull’ for its rough-shod tendencies.
Seven places and 26 seconds
back of his team-mate at his
home race was as bad a result as
Zarco could have envisioned, especially
when Jean-Michel Bayle
was present at Le Mans in his new
role as his countryman’s supervisor.
Should no serious improvements
be evident by the summer
break, serious questions regarding
his future will be raised.
To put it simply, Espargaro is
making him look bad. For KTM to
be finishing within six seconds of
one of the fastest riders there ever
was in its third season when Japanese
rivals Yamaha have been
around for 47 years, and Honda
and Suzuki 42, speaks highly of
the expertise and drive behind
this project. With new test rider
Dani Pedrosa’s on-track input yet
to fully have an effect, one imagines
for KTM the only way is up.
Don’t be surprised to see another
podium by the season’s end.

PRODUCTS
www.foxhead.com
fox
Fox have hacked and tweaked their range
of helmets in recent years and embraced
MIPS technology for their last version of the
premier V3 model. The same helmet – used
by their elite athletes like Tim Gajser and
Ken Roczen – has undergone a radical shift
for the 2020 and was just recently unveiled.
The big moves? The MVRS (magnetic visor
release system) has been praised and criticised
but this latest generation is apparently
the most resistant and effective yet.
Interestingly Fox have embraced their own
ideas and theories to address rotational acceleration
(and we’ll have an interview with
Fox honcho Mark Finley in the next issue on
the subject) with Fluid Inside. It is a system
they describe as: ‘based on extensive scientific
research, Fluid Inside is engineered
to enhance your helmet’s ability to protect
your brain by mimicking Cerebral Spinal
Fluid (CSF) – your body’s natural protection.
The V3 incorporates a matrix of Fluid pods
oriented around the head and attached to
the helmet interior. By precisely decoupling
or “floating” the helmet on the head, each
Fluid pod matrix acts like CSF (Cerebral
Spinal Fluid) to independently and simultaneously
manage the linear and rotational
forces acting on soft brain tissue.’ Sounds
pretty cool, and having seen and handled
the fluid capsules it looks and feels like innovative
stuff. There is also a Varizorb liner
and a Cage structure around the chinbar
and eye area of what is a multi-composition
shell available in four sizes.
Ventilation is another hotspot of the development
to maximise cooling even at low
speed. The company call the new V3 their
most technically advanced lid offering yet,
and based on a mere glance at the tech
specs they are not exaggerating. The choice
for a new off-road helmet just became even
wider.
Click on any link to check out more detailed
explanation of the V3’s attributes.

THE
TEST
OLD
KIND OF
NAKED
Words by Roland Brown
Photos by Jason Critchell

TEST

SUZUKI KATANA
Back in 1981 Suzuki’s original Katana
stunned the superbike world not
just with its unique look but also in
the way that it had been created. Shaped
not by Suzuki but by a German freelance
designer named Hans Muth, the fourcylinder
café racer gave the GSX1100 on
which it was based a new lease of life and
highlighted the potential for collaboration
between Japanese factory and European
styling house.
Fast-forward almost four decades, and
a new Katana is following its famous
forebear in both respects. Angular silver
shapes echo the original model’s appearance
if not its boldness, justifying the
name’s derivation from an ancient ceremonial
sword while giving a naked donor
bike – in this case the GSX-S1000 – a
sharp new set of clothes.
And once again the momentum comes not
from Japan but Europe.
This time it’s from Italian freelance Rodolfo
Frascoli, who created a Katana-themed
concept machine for Milan’s EICMA show
in 2017 and was then commissioned by
Suzuki to help bring it to production, complete
with trademark features including
pointed nose, tinted flyscreen and rectangular
headlight.
There’s no change to the GSX-S’s 999cc,
dohc liquid-cooled engine, which produces
a healthy maximum of 148bhp. A less impressive
figure is the fuel capacity of just
12 litres; the Katana’s sleeker tank cover
necessitated a reduction from the GSX-S’s
17 litres.
In place of the old bike’s steel frame and
twin-shock rear end is a modern combination
of aluminium frame, monoshock
suspension and a number-plate holder
mounted on the swing-arm.

TEST
Suzuki resisted the temptation to replicate
the old Katana’s clip-on handlebars and racy
riding position. Instead the new bike has a
raised, one-piece handlebar giving a roomy,
near-upright position more likely to appeal
to riders old enough to recall the early Eighties.
Former owners of the old model should
appreciate the period-style spiral tachometer
bar, possibly while struggling to read the
busy instrument console around it.
The GSX-S1000’s key components – basically
its punchy, powerful four-pot motor and
sweet-handling chassis – are retained with
very few changes. The GSX-S has never quite
had the pure power or refinement to join the
ranks of genuine super-nakeds, but it is fast
and addictively entertaining, and passes all
its attributes to the Katana.
The 16-valve unit fires up with an appealingly
raspy sound though its airbox and
stubby silencer. There’s plenty of torque from
low revs, the only real drawback a slightly
snatchy throttle for which the GSX-S has
been much criticised. Improved by an updated
twist-grip, it’s still noticeable but I didn’t
find it a problem even on wet roads during a
blast round the Midlands.
Once the engine is into its stride there’s no
time to worry about that, because the big
Kat is leaping forward like a hungry lioness
chasing supper. Provided the Suzuki is kept
spinning with the typically sweet-changing
six-speed gearbox (shame there’s no quickshifter),
it will strain its rider’s neck muscles
all the way to a top speed of about 150mph.
That performance is sufficiently super-naked
for most riders, though the Katana also inherits
the GSX-S’s slightly basic electronics
set-up, which lacks the Inertial Measurement
Unit that allows high-level traction control
and cornering ABS. At least the Suzuki does
the basics well, stopping hard thanks to
powerful Brembo front brake calipers, and
providing generous cornering grip with its
Dunlop Roadsport tyres.

SUZUKI KATANA

TEST
“THIS KATANA WON’T COME CLOSE TO
MATCHING THE IMPACT OF ITS ILLUSTRIOUS
NAMESAKE BUT IT’S A WORTHY RETRO-RIVAL
FOR THE LIKES OF KAWASAKI’S Z900RS,
YAMAHA’S XSR900 AND HONDA’S CB1000R...”

WORLDSBK POR
SUZUKI KATANA

TEST
For a big four-cylinder bike it’s easy to flick
through a series of beds, its wide bars and
sporty geometry allowing quick direction
changes while keeping things stable. Suspension
is well-controlled, if slightly firm at the
rear – which at least earns points for authenticity,
given that the original Katana provided
a rock-hard ride.
This Kat wasn’t built for comfort any more
than the old one was, but by naked-bike
standards it’s respectably practical. Its limited
fuel capacity will frustrate at times but
most riders should manage at least 100 miles
between fill-ups. The seat is slightly higher
than the GSX-S’s, but at 215kg with fuel the
Suzuki is fairly light and still manageable.
That weight figure does however mean the
Katana is 6kg heavier than the GSX-S1000.
Its only real advantage is the subjective issue
of style – for which you pay roughly ten per
cent more (£11,399 to the GSX-S’s £10,399
in the UK). Then again, much the same was
true of the original Katana, and didn’t stop it
becoming a huge hit.
This Katana won’t come close to matching
the impact of its illustrious namesake but it’s
a worthy retro-rival for the likes of Kawasaki’s
Z900RS, Yamaha’s XSR900 and Honda’s
CB1000R. And even if you can live without
the nostalgia, it’s sufficiently fast, sweethandling
and fun to ride to provide plenty of
the old warrior’s raw excitement as well as its
sharp-edged style.

SUZUKI KATANA

BACK PAGE
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ON
TRACK
OFF
ROAD
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