On Track Off Road No. 191

MotoGP
ONLY A
MATTER
OF TIME...
A 98 point lead by round fourteen of nineteen is a
phenomenal amount and Marc Marquez’s final
dispatch of 2019 MotoGP cannot come soon enough for
his rivals (especially fellow Honda riders).
Even foe Valentino Rossi had to admit that the Spaniard
has rarely been stronger. Aragon was the eighth fixture to
fall to his powers and he’s only finished off the podium once
in 2019.
Photo by CormacGP

MXGP

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

WorldSBK
ONLY A
MATTER
OF TIME
(2)
After three rounds of
2019 WorldSBK there
were few that gave
Jonathan Rea much of
a chance towards an
unprecedented fifth
consecutive crown.
Now just three fixtures
before the end of the
season and Rea stands
on the brink of history
Photo by GeeBee Images

BENKELLEY
FACTORY KTM OFF-ROAD
2019 GNCC XC2 CHAMPION
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IS OUR PRIORITY

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MotoGP

MotoGP ARA
GRAN PREMIO MICHELIN DE ARAGON
MOTORLAND ARAGON · SEPTEMBER 21-22 · Rnd 14 of 19
MotoGP WINNER: MARC MARQUEZ, HONDA
Moto2 WINNER: BRAD BINDER, KTM
Moto3 WINNER: ARON CANET, KTM
ALMOST
IN THE
BOOKS
Blogs by David Emmett, Neil Morrison & Sienna Wedes, Photos by CormacGP

MotoGP

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MotoGP ARA

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MOTOGP
BLOG
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?
MotoGP is about to find out in a couple of years.
From 2022, the season will expand
to encompass 22 races, with
circuits in Vietnam and Indonesia
being added to the calendar.
There is a chance that these won’t
be the only ones: FIM president
Jorge Viegas has made no secret
of his plans to bring MotoGP back
to Portugal, and there are projects
underway in Brazil, Chile, Mexico,
all of which could also eventually
hit the calendar, displacing some
of the Spanish rounds.
Testing will be reduced to compensate
for the extra races. The
Valencia test is to be dropped in
2020, and if team representatives
IRTA get their way, the Qatar test
should be gone in 2021.
The idea behind all this is simple:
Dorna makes money by holding
races, being paid by circuits for
the right to host them, and TV
companies for the right to broadcast
them. They pass some of this
money on to the teams, as compensation
for their part in putting
on a show. Testing, on the other
hand, costs money, so Dorna and
the teams would rather race.
The factories are fighting back
against this reduction in testing.
They are racing to win, and that
means constantly searching for
a competitive advantage, which
in turn requires developments to
be tested. “The teams don’t want
to test, but how are we supposed
to build a competitive bike if we
can’t test new parts?” one factory
engineer complained to me
recently.
Are 22 races too many? I suppose
that depends on your perspective.
Each individual race brings in
more money, from the circuit paying
Dorna for the right to host the
race, from title sponsors for the
naming rights to the race, from TV
companies and streaming services
for the rights to broadcast
the race.
At some point, however, the returns
from each additional race
start to decrease. Every new spectacle
dilutes the value of existing
races. Being one out of eighteen
inherently has more value than
being one of twenty two. You run
up against the limits of sponsorship,
running out of companies
willing to be title sponsor to an
event, companies sponsoring multiple
races demanding bigger bulk
discounts. The value of broadcast
rights doesn’t increase in line with
the investment required to produce
the additional races.
At some point, it starts to cost
more to put on a new race than
it Dorna receives in revenue.
Costs are pretty much fixed: the
thousands of people involved –
team staff, Dorna admin staff, TV
production staff, security staff, etc
– still have to travel from country
to country, venue to venue, along
with all the equipment needed to
stage the show. Those costs have
to be covered somehow.
More than the financial outlay is
the human cost, however. Each
race means a week away from
home for most team members,
flying out on Tuesday, and home
again on Monday. Then there
are tests, training, media events,
meetings, season preparation.
Factory team staff are expected to
spend time at the factory.

More than Europe’s
largest MC store
By David Emmett
Back-to-back races mean even
more time away, and that is without
reckoning with travel delays,
missed or cancelled flights, and
more.
With a 19-race season, team staff
can be away from home for up to
260 days a year. Add three more
races – especially in Asia or the
Americas – and staff based in
Europe could be away from home
ten months a year.
Sustaining a relationship or raising
a family can be hard when
you are barely at home, making
paddock divorce rates unusually
high. Hooking up with someone
else in the paddock is not without
risk: instead of never seeing your
partner, you never spend any time
apart.
to recover properly before setting
off again. The stress increases
with each additional commitment
and less freedom to work off that
stress.
Even for the fans, 22 may be too
many. Races become commonplace,
people picking and choosing
which to watch, rather than
following the season religiously.
Maybe everyone will tune in for
Mugello, but how many will watch
Motegi or Vietnam? If viewing figures
per race drop, that decreases
the value to broadcasters, and the
amount they are willing to pay.
How many Grand Prix outings are
too many? There is only one way
to find out. And as much as I love
MotoGP, 22 races seems like too
much of a good thing to me.
Above all, perhaps, is the toll on
the riders. It gets harder to fit in
longer breaks when the season
is 22 races long. There is less
time to train, to prepare physically
during the off season, and
with so much travel, less time to
train between races. Less training
increases the likelihood of injury,
and more races means less time

MotoGP

MotoGP ARA

BLOG
FALLING DOWN
More than Europe’s
largest MC store
With the benefit of hindsight, KTM’s decision to rid itself of
Johann Zarco apparently backfired at Aragon.
Pol Espargaro’s crunching FP4 fall
ruled him out of the race and Mika
Kallio – the Frenchman’s replacement
for 2019’s final six rounds
– was always going to need time to
get up to speed after 15 months of
racing absence. They departed without
points and without a lead rider
to test at the dusty Spanish venue
this week.
But to listen to anyone associated
with the factory last weekend
and there was the distinct feeling
Zarco’s time at KTM had been and
gone. The atmosphere in his side
of the garage had grown quiet and
tense with few signs of joy. Kallio’s
inclusion represented a fresh start,
bringing a bit of levity back to proceedings.
One KTM employee said
even those in the factory that were
still on Zarco’s side had noted the
improved atmosphere.
Last Tuesday’s news that confirmed
the Austrian factory was dispensing
with his services ahead of the
remaining six rounds was a shock.
But in retrospect there were so
many events that acted as a warning
of such an event: the continual
negative comments about the bike;
his explosive criticism of its failings
at Jerez, caught on live TV; his
retirement at Assen due to armpump
concerns, which Motorsport
Director Pit Beirer called “the most
terrible thing you can do to us in
the team.”
It was all a far cry from Zarco’s
maiden season in MotoGP, a kind of
David and Goliath tale of a plucky
rookie on aged equipment fronting
up to the established names,
shrugging at their exalted reputations.
He rarely paid attention to
what his package lacked compared
to the factory names, a trait that
got KTM’s attention. “He didn’t care
what material he had,” Beirer said.
“He was never complaining or looking
over to the factory team; he just
took the bike and went faster. We
saw that and thought, ‘wow, that’s
the guy we need.’”
So 21 months on and with Zarco’s
future far from certain, how did it
all go so wrong? His inability to
adapt a riding style dependent on
flowing lines and corner speed was
the first point. He could never find
sufficient feeling with the front end
to enter turns with confidence. Furthermore
the bike which Espargaro
nicknamed ‘The Bull’ was more
physically demanding than anything
Zarco had ridden in his previous ten
years in grand prix.
“From the first moment at Valencia
last year he couldn’t build up a
good feeling,” admitted Mike Leitner,
the factory squad’s team boss.
It rarely showed signs of improvement
from there.
His feedback wasn’t what KTM
needed at a time when the RC16 is
still some way from being a regular
podium contender. One senior
technician told me Zarco’s comments
on new parts centred solely
on whether it helped his feeling with
the front.

By Neil Morrison
A new swingarm, engine or exhaust
may, of course, bring other
benefits. But the 29-year old rarely
handed out praise, such was his
focus on fixing that front end feel.
Another team member noted how
his evaluation of parts amounted to
four-letter profanity. When quizzed
on the part further, the said fourletter
profanity was simply repeated
but with added vigour. “There were
not many ‘candies’ coming from
his side to our side, that’s for sure,”
Beirer admitted.
But more than the riding style, it
was his demeanour and attitude
that was Zarco’s ultimate downfall.
He rarely – if ever – attempted to
forge relationships within his team.
By all accounts what the watching
world saw on TV at Jerez (he
was filmed saying, “[either] we are
f***ing s**t in chassis, or we are
f***king s**t in controlling power”)
was a regular occurrence. “He could
not control his emotions,” Beirer
said. “He put so much stress on
himself when things were not going
easy. To succeed at this level, of
course you need to be emotional,
but you also need to calm down
and analyse the situation.”
And Tech 3 boss Hervé Poncharal
believes Zarco was all-too-aware of
this fault. “Every time I met Johann
in the hospitality we were talking a
lot with [coach] Jean-Michel Bayle.
He was always saying, ‘I need to be
a bit calmer, I need to understand
this is a new project, so it’s step by
step.’ Everything was fine. He’s a
reasonable guy. But then he puts
his leathers on, goes in the garage,
does five laps, comes in, screaming,
shouting and forgets about the attitude
he said he should have.
“Even after the summer break I
saw him in the Czech Republic on
the Thursday before we started. He
said, ‘I’ve been thinking a lot and
I have a good position. My bike is
not bad. I do what I like. So clearly I
need to change my way of behaving
for the second part of the season
and next year.’ [Yet on the Friday] It
was exactly the same.”
This hasn’t been an easy time
for Zarco away from the track.
A fraught relationship with longtime
manager Laurent Fellon was
brought to a definitive close over
the winter. T
o hear him speak of his manager
during those success-filled years in
Moto2 was to listen to a man in raptures
to a kind of cult leader. Having
moved from his parents home in
Nice to Fellon’s training quarters in
Avignon, Zarco was engulfed in a
strict, rigorous programme which
honed the focus that took him to 16
grand prix wins, 47 podiums and
two world titles.
But it came at the cost of the regular
interaction that moulds most
adolescents into socially-aware beings
who value strong relationships
with those around them. And breaking
with a figure that had shaped
his upbringing was always going to
require a period of acclimatisation.
“We were a little bit unlucky to get
him in the wrong moment,” Beirer
said. “For me, something huge
happened when he split up with
Laurent Fellon, who was a guy who
could steer him mentally better.”
While Fellon’s limitations as a manager
were best distilled by his decision
to prematurely sign with KTM
in the winter of 2017, the eccentric
Frenchman could keep his rider in
line in the box.

BLOG
“From the outside, it was a weird
couple,” said Poncharal. “Everybody
thought, how can it last? Because
they were arguing a lot, they were
fighting. But in the end, all you can
say is as long as Johann was with
Laurent, it worked. [With Fellon]
Maybe would have been a bit easier.
Maybe Laurent would have told him,
don’t talk like this. Laurent was the
guy in the garage looking at him, and
Johann was waiting to scream and
he was telling him like this [motions
zipping his mouth]. But who knows?”
From November to September there
were regular signs of an uneasy
marriage. One moment stands out.
At the post-race test at Jerez Zarco
showed up to his debrief in a plain
white t-shirt. He was soon reminded
of the stipulation to wear team clothing
when addressing the media. He
tutted, feigned surprise and left to
retrieve the relevant clothing. “He’s
always doing these small rebellious
things when he feels we are not
giving him what he needs,” a team
member confided.
Just compare that to Espargaro’s
approach, a rider once described as
“like a can of popcorn” by crew chief
Paul Travathon.
“This attitude is fantastic,” the Kiwi
told me back at the start of their
working relationship. “There are going
to be dark days. There are going
to be times when you need a character
like that. I saw the engineers
walking around with a bit of a lighter
foot after some of his comments.”
That’s not so say Zarco’s a bad person.
Quite the opposite. Through all
of this he remained respectful and
polite when dealing with us. More,
this is an instance of the pressures
and demands of factory status being
too much to bear. It takes a special
kind of character with the adequate
skills – both on and off the bike – to
carry a project forward.
And despite everything that passed,
KTM still hold a degree of fondness
for him. A technician spoke of his
genuine sadness the move had not
worked out. And there was no bitterness
at their end. Zarco was present
at Aragon to shake hands with the
management that moved to dispense
with his services just two days before.
He also said goodbye to those
in the team, a sign that, with a clear
head and no pressure, Zarco is a different
person.
Beirer also confirmed he would not
only pay Zarco in full until the end
of the year, but grant him permission
ride for another manufacturer
in Thailand should the opportunity
arise. “To underline how much I like
this boy,” as he framed it.
The greatest shame in all of this is
Zarco’s current plight. Sure, there
may be offers to return in a testing
capacity. But so many flaws were exposed
over the past ten months, it’s
difficult to imagine another factory
team placing its trust in his capabilities.
For a rider who once shrugged
in the face of pressure and produced
performances like we saw at Losail,
Le Mans and Phillip Island in 2017,
it’s a damned shame it came to this.

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MotoGP ARA

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PRODUCTS
www.6dhelmets.com
6d helmets
6D Helmets have been working for two years
on the next generation of the ATS-1R; the
only street lid on the market with the ground
breaking omni-directional suspension system.
The first edition of the model caught
attention but was a victim of scepticism over
weight, shell size and rudimentary elements
such as the performance of the visor. These
areas have all been addressed for the new
2019 incarnation: and we should know. We
used an ATS-1R on a three-hour ride from
Barcelona to Aragon for the MotoGP last
weekend and were impressed by the fit and
the ventilation. There will be more of a
verdict in a coming issue but to answer a few
essential questions about the ATS-1R and it’s
relation to the off-road ATR-2 we contacted
6D founder and boss Bob Weber.
What are the biggest strides that 6D have
made with the new street helmet compared
to the first model?
We have evolved the internal ODS technology
to very similarly match the ATR-2’s
“Advanced ODS”. Both layers are EPS, but
the design is freer to do its work in sheering
type impacts. We have also increased the
amount of EPS by strategically filling the air
gap. With the new design, we were also able
to shed 200grams of weight compared to the
original as well.
In order to provide a new-and-improved ATS
how did you proceed with R&D and finding
solutions? How did you gather data and
info?
We had significant data from the development
side of the ATR-2 that we were able to
apply directly to this project. We knew we
could improve on the performance of the
system by updating to the newer design. Lab
testing confirmed the improvements and we
moved toward production. We worked closely
with Kyle Wyman and Sammy Halbert here
in the US, and the boys from Reactive Parts
in the UK (our UK distributor) who are deeply
engrossed in the BSB Championships to
improve the fit, aerodynamics, sealing of the
shield and solving fogging issues in the rain.
The UK guys really pushed us hard and we
finally solved the problems we were experiencing
in the wet conditions. It’s been awesome
having those guys on our side! We also
had some fit issues on people with certain
head shapes as we had a very narrow opening
on the shell. We adjusted this significantly
in the new helmet and I believe we have
resolved the fit issues.
Are there any complications or difficulty
with the application of ODS for the street
compared to other helmets in the range?
No, not really. There are many challenges
with manufacturing however and we solved
them some time ago. Our factory is proficient
in production and I believe producing
a helmet at the highest quality level; certainly
comparable and competitive with any
other available premium brand. We are really
proud of this helmet and excited to be able
to satisfy more riders with better fit, new
graphic designs and further improved safety.

MOTOGP
BLOG
COME IN JL99...?
More than Europe’s
largest MC store
It hasn’t been a tremendous season for five-time world
champion Jorge Lorenzo but unfortunately neither has
the last thirty-six months. He has jumped ship twice and
sailed into seasons strewn with adversity and injury.
On the other side of the Repsol
Honda box, reigning #1 and current
championship leader Marc
Marquez is in the prime of his
life. One rider at the top, one at
the bottom and a whole lot of
team members in between trying
to pick up the pieces. The 2018
Aragon GP exactly one year ago
marks the last weekend we saw
a fully fit Jorge Lorenzo. Since
then, we have spent time trying
to wonder where it can all go
next.
After crashing in practice in
Qatar and sustaining the second
of three injuries thus far in
2019, Lorenzo’s Honda debut has
been anything but positive. Having
completed a total of nine of
fourteen rounds onboard his new
bike, Lorenzo is on the back foot
and facing the biggest crisis on
his career. For the first time we
have seen him genuinely
struggle to crack the top fifteen
and his physical/mental state
seems weary. During each debrief
or television appearance
he has appeared detached and
lacking emotion. Eye contact is
limited, words are followed with
heavy breaths and a blase shrug
to top it all off. Progress has been
slow and in this industry patience
runs short. Talks of broken
contracts and rider changes
are controversial when paired
with a brand like Repsol Honda
because their nature is to work
things out with limited drama
splashed across the tabloids. It is
a journey that has proven to be
harder than they expected. Fellow
teammate Marc Marquez has
continued his domination of the
MotoGP class with eight victories
(including this years Aragon GP),
thirteen podiums and a shiny
seat at the top of the pyramid. It
is the most podium-consistent he
has been prior to flyaways since
his debut in the MotoGP category
in 2013 where he claimed
sixteen of the eighteen rounds.
He is calm and strong, fully fit,
has a well-blended and long
established team.
At the beginning of the season
the Repsol Honda/Jorge Lorenzo
collaboration was thrilling. We
were eager to see what the team
could do and how Lorenzo approached
taming his new beast.
He had just come out of a season
where he finally worked his way
under Ducati’s skin and secured
three victories over a two year
period. But, similar to this term,
the team dynamic did not mesh
well. The Honda appeared to be
an even larger obstacle but not
impossible after his adaptation to
the Ducati. However, we all know
that within this sport it’s not just
the rider or the bike or the team

By Sienna Wedes
that makes it work. They must all
mesh into one. Lorenzo’s team
consists of many new employees
who speak several different
languages, and through observation
haven’t blended as well as
Marquez’s team (a loss before
he even started). Their workflow
which naturally builds with time
has been disrupted frequently
and has affected the teams ability
to work as a cohesive unit.
Not only that, Lorenzo has not
kept coy about his struggles with
the RCV. “My feeling on the bike
was not good”, “I cannot ride
confidently”, “in this season I do
not think we will reach the top 5”
and “in this world, there is no
magic” has spread like wildfire.
When negativity cements itself
within the team an unfavourable
working environment cultivates.
Even when he was racing in
twelfth place at the beginning of
the Aragon GP, something still
lacked and he disappeared. He
hinted at a defective rear Michelin
in MotorLand and, on his side,
the Honda has been notoriously
hard to turn in 2019 – Cal Crutchlow
also not shy in voicing his
concerns and difficulties with the
equipment.
The physical and mental side of
Lorenzo’s job go hand in hand,
one does not favour the other.
In Saturday’s qualifying press
conference Marquez indirectly
provided words of wisdom when
attacking the Honda.“If you are
not fit, it is impossible to be fast
on this bike. You need to be fit.
It is difficult, you need to set up
well and believe in your project. It
is not the easiest bike of the grid
but if you find that point you can
be competitive”.
Lorenzo has suffered not only
physical injuries but also mental
scratches that are much slower to
heal. Broken bones, internal damage
and Chinese whispers have
raised doubts about his commitment
to Honda and his future
in the sport. We have witnessed
ex-racers like Kevin Schwantz and
Mick Doohan suffer painful traumas
and end their careers rather
than risk further damage. Could
this be a similar narrative unfolding?
Could the second most
successful rider of the decade
be holding himself back from
making any kind of damage but
also substantial breakthrough?
Maybe it’s becoming clearer that
the main block here is Lorenzo
himself and we are all just trying
to guess what the next step is. I
know I am.

PRODUCTS
www.dirtbikeshow.com
The International Dirt Bike Show
Europe’s largest dirt bike show – with over
100 exhibitors – moves to the confines of
the Staffordshire Showground this year (just
north of Birmingham in England’s midlands)
and starts this weekend with tons of
activities taking place between 10am-5pm on
Saturday and Sunday. Lee Musselwhite will
have his ‘Inspireshows’ running throughout
the programme, Yamaha and Kawasaki have
their ‘MX Experience set-ups’ and there is
loads more happening including live
big-screen streaming of the Motocross of
Nations at the same time from
Assen.
As always the annual event is a fantastic
chance to pick up some bargain ‘bits’ and
also meet and chat with the wide off-road
riding community. Tickets are 8 pounds in
advance (10 on the door). Children between
11-15 cost 5 on the door and kids under 10
are free. A family entry will set you back just
25 pounds.

T E A M U S A
Z A C H OSBORNE
O P E N
Photo: Octopi Media

T E A M U S A
J A S O N ANDERSON
M X G P
Photo: Octopi Media
@ P R O T A P E R P R O T A P E R . C O M

FEATURE
“I’M NOT REAL

LY THE NORM”
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by S.Cudby/Husqvarna
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETAENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM

FEATURE
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
Team Manager
Bobby Hewitt recently
featured in OTOR and the
Texan chatted at length about
his enduring career-long
relationship with the mercurial
Jason Anderson – 2018
450 Supercross Champion –
and how the racer from New
Mexico had to cope with the
wave of obligation and expectation
after winning one of the
sport’s biggest prizes.
After years of domination by
the likes of Ryan Villopoto
and Ryan Dungey (athletes
almost conditioned to success
and all the responsibility
that brings) it was refreshing
and ‘humanising’ to hear of
Anderson’s struggles: it was
a reminder that for all the
unbelievable discipline and
commitment and the energy
that a 29-30 race calendar
dictates that this elite athletes
are not infallible or indestructible.
Part of Anderson’s European
‘immersion’ and acclimatisation
to sand riding ahead of
his role for Team USA at the
73rd Motocross of Nations
at Assen was a visit to the
recent San Marino MotoGP,
and it presented the perfect
chance to ask the 26 year
old to open up about a 2019
where he experienced and
endured life as a #1 target.

Firstly, you’ve travelled before
and have kept open minded
about racing overseas but
when it came to the Nations
this year was there a part of
you that thought ‘this is a big
risk…’
Yeah, I felt that I really had to
come over and prepare for it
because of the sand. As far as
being a ‘risk’ then I feel any
time you ride the bike it can
be risky. At the same time I
love racing and I want to do as
much as I can. There are points
in the season where you get
burnt out but you take a week
off and then you are ready
to go again. I wanted to keep
racing this summer. I wasn’t
able to have a full Supercross
season. The MXoN will be a
difficult one due to the sand
and it will be a tall task to be
competitive but we’ll try our
butts off.
Talk a bit about this year
because Bobby mentioned
that you were perhaps not
prepared for the full set of
obligations that went with
being a defending Supercross
Champion. How was it to
achieve a lifetime goal and
then have to readjust?
“I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS AS
‘NORMAL’ AS POSSIBLE. IF
I KEEP THINGS FUN THEN
PROGRESSION PROFESSION-
ALLY IS EASIER AND THE MO-
TIVATION IS EASIER TO FIND
AND LONGEVITY COMES
WITH THAT.”
Obviously you reach your goal
and your lifelong dream and
you get excited but then all
the stuff and the BS that goes
with it is not always fun. I understand
that it is our job and
obligation to our sponsors to
market the #1 plate as much
as possible but at one point
I did not feel there was such
good communication so they
understood all of what I had
to do to be ready for another
season. I think at some point
that got overlooked with the
whole ‘that’s your job’.
There was a bit of them pushing
me and me pushing back!
The championship was awesome
and I was happy to win
it but as soon as it was over
it was non-stop stuff to deal
with. I like doing my own
thing. The attention is cool
but I like to hang out with my
own friends, my team and go
race. But there is a little more
to it at the level we are at now.
In the past did you find that
people asked you to do stuff
but that converted into people
almost demanding…
100%. There was a lot of
demands and talk of marketing,
selling more bikes and
this-and-that. I understood,
but I needed some more middle
ground and I don’t think
we reached that. Once we got
into the season they saw how
much it had taken a toll on
me. You only learn by trial and
error. Hopefully we can get
into that position again soon
and handle it better.
Fans and followers of supercross
and motocross know
you race a lot but they don’t
always see the hours of travel,
training and promo that
can make for some very short
weeks…
Yeah. I understand we have to
give the fans and the people
in the sport the attention that
they want and I enjoy doing
that. But at some point it does
take a toll and puts out a lot
of energy.
JASON ANDERSON

FEATURE
Sometimes on a Friday before
the race you just want to relax
but you can’t. You land, gotta
eat, gotta get to the dealer
signing, do media, get dinner
and get to bed. It’s a full
schedule. It’s not like you are
just hanging out. I don’t think
people see all the other side
of it and sometimes we get
crap for not being outgoing or
something like that but sometimes
we are just worn out. At
the same time I have learned
from this experience in the
last year and as the seasons
go on I’ll be able to manage
it better and have more communication
with my team to
do that.
Do race-winning contenders
in your position need more of
a breather? And I don’t mean
just physically…
Yeah, definitely mentally but
when you get to November
and December you cannot
really have one because you
need to keep training and
looking ahead to Anaheim 1.
If you cannot do it there then
you are going to feel it! I was
stressed out dealing with that
around the time in 2018 but
you cannot let-up. If you do
that it will affect your results.
One way or another something
has to give. I think my
riding took a bit of a hit. It
was a tough year for me but
valuable in another way and
going into next season I feel
happy and I feel motivated. I
don’t feel the pressure is on

me that much; not that it was
the pressure that got to me…
more all the stuff I had to deal
with. I’m 26 years old and I
feel I still have a few more
chances at making a title run.
That’s my goal right now and
to be best prepared to do that.
The Outdoor season was good
for me and I wasn’t expecting
very much. I just wanted
to enjoy it and bring myself
back-around and I think I accomplished
that.
Do you feel like warning
training-mate Cooper [Webb]
of the mantle of being a
champion?
Yeah, I think he will have to
deal with it. I really like doing
off-season races whereas
he doesn’t. So I think I put a
little too much on my plate
last year. I like to do two offseason
races and I did that
and followed it with the FIM
Awards. Then there was a
load of other stuff. I think his
schedule is lighter so it might
be easier. For me, I know what
I have to do now. I think he
will be good next season and
there are quite a few that will
be good. It’s interesting to see
how it will play out.
Supercross is unreal in terms
of how close it is and how it
will be in ’20. It will take the
whole package to go for the
championship again.
What about you and Bobby?
That relationship is very long
and has been through a lot.
Is it similar to a Dungey/De
Coster thing?
I was going to sign for him
as an amateur but it didn’t
end-up working out and we
waited until I went Pro and
we’ve been through everything
since then! First and foremost
I think the difference between
a ‘Ryan-Roger’ is that it’s
more about a human connection
rather than being about
JASON ANDERSON

FEATURE

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

FEATURE
results or business. If I have
bad nights then it is not like
he’ll just ask about my riding
or my training or anything
like that, sometimes he’ll just
ask me where I am at with life
in general. He’s been a great
help to me because I’m not
really ‘the norm’. The way I go
about things is maybe not the
way other people would like
me to, in terms of the corporate
world. But the good thing
about Bobby is that he accepts
each person for who they are
and then to achieve the best
they can. I think that’s why
he’s been able to have riders
that maybe haven’t succeeded
in other places enjoy success
on our team. I think you can
see that with Zach [Osborne].
He had a hard time with Geico,
bided his time and look how
he is performing now. Bobby
helped with that and even if it
takes time and our programme
can sometimes seem like we
are ‘winging it’ we’re always
trying hard. As long as the
heart is in it and the effort is
made then we’re happy.
How do you manage life on
two coasts after all these
years?
I’ve had a home in Florida for
five years now. I don’t like

Florida that much but over
time I have learned to embrace
it and be more involved
over there. For me California
is my home and when I retire
I’ll be back there. I’ve become
pretty good at managing the
balance between going back
and forth lately. I think Bobby
will also get a base in Florida
because when we are altogether
there he’s usually on
the other side of the country.
It’s probably also the biggest
difference to a European
MXGP programme because
we have two working bases.
In Europe you can just be in
Lommel! We have to juggle
and it’s a six-hour flight. It
can be a bit wild. Most of my
friends and family and on the
west coast. I grew up in New
Mexico. California is just an
hour flight away.
“IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE IT
IS SUDDENLY TWO YEARS
LATER AND YOU ARE
LOOKING BACK THINKING
‘MAN, I SHOULD HAVE
ENJOYED THAT MOMENT
WHEN I HAD IT’ .”
You mentioned Bobby might
ask you where you are in life
at the moment. So where are
you? Did 2018 set you up?
Did it create even more freedom
away from dirt bikes?
I think, compared to most racers,
I have more of a life away
from motocross and sometimes
it gets tough to juggle
both of them. I have friends
who don’t have anything to do
with moto at all. Sometimes
I would like to hang out with
them…but I also really enjoy
what I do. I try to embrace
both sides. I feel I have a part
of my life that is not just motocross
based. Although I will
say there are people on my
team, and even teammates,
that feel like family to me.
We’re together every weekend
and also ‘in the trenches’
whether it is through those
hot summer days or being
sat there waiting for delayed
flights. [thinks] It can be difficult
to switch off but I have
a group around me that helps
turn off the motocross button
and we enjoy ourselves being
normal, sometimes dorky kids
playing video games or whatever.
I like to keep things as
‘normal’ as possible. If I keep
things fun then progression
professionally is easier and
the motivation is easier to find
and longevity comes with that.
I’d like to race a lot of years. I
know it will be hard to go for
that number one spot for a
long time but I feel like I can
do a top three pace for many
years to come.
The reality is that the window
for ‘title contention’ is
so short for anyone lucky to
make it to that level…
Definitely. And I don’t take
it for granted. When you get
stressed then you can [take
it for granted] but you know
deep-down that in the blink of
an eye it is suddenly two years
later and you are looking back
thinking ‘man, I should have
enjoyed that moment when I
had it’. I’ve learned that but it
still hard. You want to win, you
want to be good but you also
don’t want to be mad every
day because things are not
going your way. You try to find
the balance between joy, being
successful and having that
hunger to win.
No danger of you joining that
Carmichael/Villopoto/Dungey
‘27’ club of calling it a day?
Oh no. Sometimes you look at
JASON ANDERSON

FEATURE
“IT IS TOUGH BECAUSE WITH OUR
CONTRACTS THE HEAVIER SIDE LEANS
TOWARDS SX. AT THE SAME TIME YOU JUST
WANT TO RACE AND OUTDOORS IS THE
ORIGINAL GROUND, IT IS OLD-SCHOOL &
WHERE WE CAME FROM...”
the numbers and see there has
never been a supercross champion
past the age of 29. I feel
I have a good couple of runs
left in me. I’d like to break that
record and consider being an
older champion. If not then I’ll
take it for what it’s worth and
at the end of the day if you are
on the podium or in the top
five of your sport then that’s
very awesome. I think people
like RV and Dungey had a hard
time because they had to win
all the time. At some point
people add to the pressure
because if they were not winning
then something must be
wrong with them. But they’re
human, you know? I think if
they could have coped or been
ready for those kinds of questions
then they might have had
a longer career. It’s [the pressure
of] being in that group of
‘needing to win’. It’s not like I
de-classify myself from that…
but I am well aware that eventually
I’ll be a bit further back
and still hoping that some race
wins can come. As long as I
can stay in the top three or
be competitive then that’s the
goal. If I can keep that into my
30s then that would be really
cool.

Are people getting more
dismissive of motocross again
now compared to supercross?
What’s your view?
It is tough because with our
contracts the heavier side
leans towards supercross. At
the same time you just want
to race and you want to be
competitive and Outdoors is
the original ground, it is oldschool
and where we came
from. It has a culture. I want
to be good at both but sometimes
it’s hard because of
the amount of races. You’ll
get done with the supercross
season and you’ll feel mentally
drained and you’ve got two
weeks to get ready and feel
fully refreshed for an Outdoor
season. To do two solid seasons
in a row is one of the
hardest parts of the job.
Not wanting to push you in
a corner or ask for a blithe
quote but would you consider
the idea of MXGP? An
attempt at the world
championship?
I always tell them [Husqvarna]
that I’d be completely open
to it. The logistics side would
have to be a little bit laid-out
for me in terms of having a
home and dealing with the
culture differences. I don’t
mind the change but I’d just
need a proper plan. As far as
racing then I don’t mind at all
and enjoy coming overseas.
I’ve been in Europe for more
than two weeks now and have
a couple more weeks ahead.
I’ve enjoyed it! There are little
bits of home that I miss
– mainly foodwise! – but the
people are really helpful and
Firstly I have two more years
left in the U.S. then we’ll see!
Thoughts on MotoGP?
I’ve been to a couple of Formula
1’s and this feels similar.
I’ve always wanted to go to
the Austin MotoGP but it’s
at a weird time for us in Supercross.
It is amazing and
a different level to dirtbikes.
It’s funny because I’m a fan of
many of these guys and I go to
say hello and find out they’re
a fan of me! It goes back and
forth. This is another level
of racing. It’s cool and fun to
check out.
JASON ANDERSON
There is a lot of pressure on
supercross…but I think if you
can be good at motocross
then you are bad-ass and
that’s a cool thing.
[Rockstar Energy Husqvarna]
IceOne have a good thing
around them. I have good
group of sponsors around me
that would help make that
transition easier. I’d be openminded
about it.

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AMA
BLOG
HEADING TO THE BEACH...
With the 2019 Motocross des Nations looming this coming
weekend in Holland, I have no idea if Team USA is going to end
their record ‘winless’ streak (since their first win in 1981) of
seven years.
Let’s be real here, it’s going to
be really tough to beat the Dutch
on their home soil with their
preferred ‘soil’ underneath them.
I mean, last year they came so
close to winning at Redbud with
just four scores out of the five
needed!
There will be lots of pressure on
the Dutch for sure and you never
know how that can affect people
but they’re the heavy favorites
and for all the right reasons.
Seeing them win their first ever
MXDN at Assen and the first
Dutch Nations since Lierop in
2004 would be a pretty cool story
for sure.
But as far as the USA is concerned,
the team this year has
been all-in, all the time and that’s
a pretty cool thing to see for
American motocross fans. Last
year, IN THE USA, couldn’t have
gone any worse and was rock
bottom for the fans over here.
For 2019 there wasn’t the massive
change to the structure and
management of Team USA like I
thought their might be but there
was a change of the process,
a re-thinking of the team and
maybe, just maybe, they can pull
off a huge upset. Like, say, the
1981 team in Lommel perhaps?
The dysfunction from the team
has been removed in the fact that
Kawasaki, whose management
are not fans of current Team USA
manager Roger DeCoster, removed
themselves from the running
by keeping the two national
champions at home. Last year
the green guys used their own radios
and communicated amongst
themselves rather than the rest of
the team. The Honda guys have
also not always played nice with
DeCoster who has rankled some
feathers with the OEM’s going
back to the last Ryan Dungey
450SX title for KTM. So by default,
in 2019 Team USA has a
lot more “team” in it than in past
years with Rockstar Husqvarna’s
Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne
being on the same squad. They
work closely with DeCoster and
the KTM guys so that’s a good
thing. Star Yamaha that work
with Nations debutant, Justin
Cooper, will be team players as
they don’t compete with Roger,
KTM and Husqvarna week in and
week out.
So team unity will be better, the
red, white and blue team will also
pit all together or at least real
close for the first time in a long
time. No matter what the color,
Team USA used to all pit together
but has gotten away from that in
recent editions - another thing
that rankled some Team USA
members over the years.
The second thing that’s positive
is the fact that Anderson and
Osborne headed over to Europe
early to train and ride in the sand

By Steve Matthes
as well as, most importantly,
test. Talk to any member of Team
USA in 2011 in Lommel and
they’ll tell you that jetting in midweek
and trying to get the bike
to work on the sand wasn’t ideal.
Lots of confusion with the American
riders that just don’t ever
really ride the sand that much.
The Rockstar Energy IceOne
Husqvarna team has opened its
doors to Osborne and Anderson
and provided tracks, support
and help with settings for the
last three weeks. Anderson has
seemed to embrace it with a
series of Vlogs from his personal
film guys that’s pretty entertaining
and Osborne, well he’s all in
and has been since before he
was named to the team. This going
early stuff and sacrificing his
off-season time was something
he was accepting eagerly.
Cooper got there a bit later but
still earlier than any member of
Team USA the last decade and
he’s hooked up with the two
Husqvarna guys for some sand
training.
“It’s been a great experience
for all involved but I have to say
it wouldn’t have been possible
without the huge effort from
Husqvarna and Ice One. Having
those guys and the bikes completely
sorted with the most high
level workshop in the sport has
been a big asset for us,” Osborne
told me over text. “We both adjusted
quickly to the time change
and the lifestyle and got straight
to work. The riding has been better
than I actually expected and I
think as a team we are in a really
good place. No matter the result,
we have put in every bit of work
that we could and left no stone
unturned to have the best result
possible.”
Yep, Team USA is indeed turning
it up to eleven to try and get
back to the top in the Olympics
of Motocross. You really gotta
love this effort by the guys if
you’re a Team USA supporter
and win or lose, you have to
respect what all three, and the
crew members, have done here.
Will it be enough? Who knows
but this has been really cool to
see. If they do pull off the
miracle win like the boys in 1981
then the blueprint for future USA
teams has been set right?

PRODUCTS
www.ktm.com
ktm
KTM launched their SX-E 5 with some fanfare
this week and deservedly so. The bike
will not hit KTM dealers until next month
(the last quarter of 2019) but there has
been a high degree of anticipation about
this model considering the path of development
and the ramifications for introducing
new kids and riders to off-roading. The SX-E
5 is aimed at three-ten year olds with ‘comparable
power output to the KTM 50 SX’
and ‘six power modes allowing a complete
beginner to step on with ease, whilst the
full power mode is exciting and challenging
for the fastest junior’. The chassis can be
adjusted to cope with the child’s changing
height. The SX-E 5 has been given the same
R&D importance as any other SX model
and the WP Suspension means this is a key
part of the wide KTM MX range.
“It offers a premium chassis, like those on
all of our SX models, but also a lot in terms
of rideability thanks to the electric motor,
as it’s easy to ride, but at the same time it
can be super-fast without making noise,”
says KTM’s Senior Product Manager for
Offroad Joachim Sauer. “We tested the bike
with such a wide range of riders; the complete
beginner can ride on a track almost
straight away, yet a national level rider can
have comparable lap times to that of the
combustion bike, which is something special.”
Click on www.ktm.com for
information on pricing and where to find a
nearest dealer.

FEATURE
THE EXPERIENCE
THE JOURNEY
TIM GAJSER TALKS ABOUT THE KEY
CHANGES FOR HIS SUPERLATIVE
MXGP CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETAENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM

FEATURE
Tim Gajser had a ‘Jeffrey
Herlings-free’ championship
year in 2019 but he
still had to take on the might
of Red Bull KTM and one half
of an axis that had obliterated
MXGP the previous term. The
Slovenian faced-off against
Tony Cairoli in two gripping
and close Grands Prix in Italy
and Portugal and profited
from some very rare slips by
the nine times world champion
and one of the very best
motocrossers of the modern
era.
Gajser is now a three-time
title winner and managed the
feat before his 23rd birthday.
He is very much the flagship
for HRC in MXGP and the poor
luck with injuries for Brian
Bogers means that #243 has
largely carried the red banner
by himself for two years.
When he claimed the 2016
crown against an ailing Cairoli
(dealing with neck and shoulder
nerve damage), a partially
absent Romain Febvre and a
Kawasaki ‘rookie’ in the shape
of Clement Desalle, Gajser
brought a new energy and
youthful verve to the premier
class. It was a level of performance
and speed that Jeffrey
Herlings hoisted onto his
shoulder and threw into the
air towards the end of 2017
and even more emphatically
last year. Gasjer was fantastic
in 2016 but there were some
that felt he existed on the
edge of his Honda saddle: just
one kicker away from disaster.
His luck ran out in 2017 with
several big crashes carrying
consequences and 2018 was
ruined from the outset with a
horrific prang at the Mantova
Starcross International (a concussion
and broken jaw was
the physical cost, the mental
repercussions lasted longer).
2019 saw the likeable and
strangely vulnerable racer mix
two powerful attributes: the
preparation and zeal to match
Herlings’ might and a milder
– more mature - approach
necessary for a nineteen
round campaign that was later
clipped to eighteen dates.
Sitting down for a conversation
at the Grand Prix of
Imola where he’d confirm his
‘gold medal’ status thanks to
a massive points lead (Cairoli
had long departed the
competition with a dislocated
shoulder) Tim is cheerful and
thoughtful company. He opens
up hesitantly, especially about
his Dad and the evolution of
their oppressing and close relationship,
but the honesty is
refreshing, almost innocent.
Impressively for an athlete
who is still so young – he
could have contested MX2 this
season – Gajser has made
huge strides in 2019. Importantly
and crucially this bodes
well for 2020 when Red Bull
KTM will be armed with three

MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER
riders of such potency and
power that even the smallest
or most viable of threats will
be welcomed.
“YOU MIGHT THINK HE CAN
BE DIFFICULT TO WORK
WITH, BUT IT’S THE COM-
PLETE OPPOSITE. HE’S A
NICE GUY. HE’S A GENTLE-
MAN WITH ME, THE CREW,
WITH EVERYBODY.”
Did you reach a new peak this
year or was your level the
same as the crushing season
of 2016? It seemed that your
racecraft was a bit more consistent
and considered…
Well, it’s three years on, so for
sure I have more experience
but I think in my head and
with what I have been through
in the last two seasons - with
all the injuries and not riding
well - I was able to learn and
not repeat mistakes. I did a
couple of changes during the
winter with my preparation…
and my Dad…I think the decision
was the right one. I’m
feeling happy.
The relationship with your
Dad: has that changed from
him being more like a trainer
and coach to something more
paternal?
Yeah, let’s say it like that.
Since I started riding and
even up to last year he was
completely involved in everything
I did with training on the
bike, testing. Everything. Last
winter we had a little meeting
and I explained to him what
I wanted. I knew that I had to
change something because I
wasn’t happy any more. We
spoke nicely and we decided
we’d have to make a bit of
distance between us. He came
to two GPs this season I think
and it was just me, my girlfriend
and my brother: who is

FEATURE
also my practice mechanic.
When I was practicing then it
was just me and my brother
and he came along a couple
of times. He’d opened a bar
by the sea – quite far in Croatia
- so was busy with that. He
came to work on the practice
track a little bit and would offer
a couple of pieces of advice
but that was it.
Was it strange not having that
presence?
Yes, at first I didn’t really
know what to expect from my
race weekends. I was a bit
scared to make that change.
I’d never been to a race without
him – actually there was
one: in 2017 in France at the
final round he had hurt his
ribs and could not travel. That
was the first time ever. 2018
was normal so this year was a
big difference. He’d helped a
lot with advice about the track
and other things…but then it
was also too much. There has
to be a balance between when
he’d tell me something and
telling me too much. Know
what I mean? It was the biggest
change in my career so
far. It worked out, because I
feel more comfortable and a
little bit more relaxed at the
races.

It’s clearly worked but was
there moments when you had
doubts? Or did you find that
support you needed in the
team?
Definitely. I have such an
amazing team. They are always
behind me, even when
I have a bad race or two bad
seasons and I didn’t feel
myself, there was always support
and help. We had a good
winter and set the bike really
well. During the races now we
don’t change so much. Some
races – like Valkenswaard or
Kegums where the ground is
changing from year to year
and the sand feels like it is
becoming more hard-packed
and the bumps evolve differently
– I struggled a bit to
set-up the bike but we’d done
so much testing that if something
didn’t work then we had
another plan. We always found
something where I felt quite
comfortable.
Romain Febvre had a torrid
season in 2017 after making
a miss-step with winter testing.
If anything your championship
this year shows how
well it can work if you get it
right…
Yes and we did small things
like changing the dates so we
did our testing a bit earlier.
In the past I’d take a break
after the season and we’d test
in mid-November and, looking
back, I perhaps was not
the best prepared. It means
that some parts on the bike
are not acting or reacting the
same as when you are on top
form and race fit.
For two years you were also
hurt around that time-
Exactly. So the past winter we
did it earlier, straight after the
last GP so I could easily do
30-35 minute motos. It helped
me to develop the bike. When
I came to Argentina fully fit
and ready I had a familiar
feeling with the bike already.
In the past I was unable to go
fast in mid-November and to
really make those GP-speed
35 minute motos.
Have you become a better
test rider? HRC must have
many questions…
The winter was also the first
test without my Dad and
I think my focus was even
bigger. In the past I’d have a
feeling or idea but he’d always
see something from the outside
and have his opinion, like
the bike would be more nervous
in one corner or kicking in
another place. Without him I
focussed really hard on every
kind of test and every kind of
part and I paid more attention.
We’d do more comparative
stuff if I was unsure and
the whole team was there so
I could call on all the experience
of people like Massimo,
Marcus, Nico and Giacomo to
help me. We found that set-up
together.
Tell me about the effects of
injury. In 2017 there were a
couple of crashes and you
even started the season sick.
Then 2018 was ruined by that
massive pre-season accident
at Mantova. Was there a
sense of relief that 2019 gave
a clear run?
Definitely. When you have
a great winter and you are
free from injury then you can
also build your confidence.
You can bring everything you
have done in that time to
the races. When are entering
the season unfit then the
confidence and the mentality
is not in the right place.
MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

FEATURE

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

FEATURE
You don’t think correctly. You
are not afraid but you don’t
believe in yourself. In 2017
we had a great start and took
the red plate after the third
round but then the struggle
started with the crashes and
the injuries and I missed two
rounds. Tough, tough year.
I prepared and hoped again
for 2018 and kinda had what
I wanted before Mantova.
We had identified two preseason
races and now, looking
back, that was a mistake.
You should make more races
before the GPs start because
competition helps with confidence
and building a rhythm,
making starts and being with
others on the track because
during the winter you just ride
by yourself. That crash ended
my season before it started. It
was huge. I was still remembering
it half way through
2018: I looked down when I
was in the air and didn’t know
how it would turn out. I woke
up in the hospital. I couldn’t
talk. It was a very emotional
time. I was not angry but I
was disappointed I could not
race in Argentina because it
was only two weeks before the
first GP.
What was harder to deal
with: 2017 and the championship
slowly slipping away or
’18 when your chances were
wrecked from the outset?
They were both pretty tough!
Maybe 2018 was worse because
I didn’t even start the
season. In ’17 missing a GP
is very difficult because you
know the points gap is just
getting bigger and bigger and
the championship is not finished
but the prize has gone.
2018 was tougher mentally. I
would say two months after
the crash I was very close
to being 100% on the physical
side but mentally I didn’t
believe in myself. I was thinking
too much about crashes
and what could go wrong. I
think by the second half of
the season I was trying hard
to put that to one side and
focus just on the riding and
getting a good feeling. I was
trying to enjoy myself again
and got better to the point
that I was back on the podium.
I was second behind
Jeffrey at the last GP at Imola
but the gap was still too big.
I was confident though and I
knew during the winter – with
a little bit of a different preparation
– that we could close
that down.
Did you take confidence this
year by going toe-to-toe with
Tony Cairoli and beating him?
Capitalising when he made
mistakes?
Yes, for sure. I already had a
good feeling about the year
when we riding pre-season
in Sardinia because I was
enjoying myself so much
on the bike and the Italian
races went well. I thought ‘we
are on the way’. In the first
races Tony and I were always

close together and we’d gap
the next rider by something
like thirty seconds. I knew he
was well prepared and he’d
be really fast all year. I tried
to push and keep pressure
on him all the time and that
was the strategy but we rode
a similar pace so it was hard
to do. If I was in front then I
could not gap him and he’d
see where he was faster and
use that. He’d watch my lines,
and then I’d let him past to
have a look at his and he
wouldn’t be able to gap me. It
was like that in Arco and also
Portugal.
I imagine your preference is
to win by 20 seconds but do
those battles represent ‘good
days’? Is that part of why you
do this?
For sure. It was a case of ‘who
will crack under pressure?’
I was going into those races
with the mentality that if I
was leading then I would let
him pass. I would try to follow
and – knowing my preparation
was good – attack in the
last five minutes and as late
as possible so he could not
get me back. If I look back
now it seems strange because
the normal mode is to pass
and try to go, but we were
both at a good level. We were
both setting the fastest times
on the last laps. It was really
good.
What happened at Mantova
this spring? You crashed
multiple times and it was the
only race where you missed
the podium right up until the
end of the season…
Tough one. Maybe I put too
much pressure on myself
coming from Arco and winning
both motos after some
great racing. We’d had a big
break in the calendar as well
with five weeks off that kinda
broke the rhythm of the season
and I’d never had that
before. I had a lot of expectation
and people were telling
me that I would win the GP
again after I’d done it in ’16.
There were some bad things
that had happened at home
as well because our house
had been broken into from
Saturday to Sunday and I
didn’t sleep so much. It was
definitely a hard weekend,
and - added to all of that –
the track conditions changed
completely from Saturday to
Sunday. The start was the key
and if you were in front then
you were OK.
The slow-mo video of your
first corner crash was scary…
I know! I didn’t feel so bad
when I actually crashed but
when I saw that video later I
realised how sketchy it had
been [laughs]. It was scary.
MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

FEATURE

Outwardly you always seem
the same – friendly, open
– it’s hard to tell if you are
struggling and you also don’t
go too crazy when you win.
It is frustrating when people
cannot always understand
how hard the job can be and
how much pressure there is
going for a championship and
fronting a team like HRC?
For fans or people involved
in the sport that only see you
on race day winning or losing
or whatever, it can be difficult
to understand just how much
sacrifice and effort goes into
the race day. Actually, Sunday
is the easiest day of the
week. Every day you are pushing
hard or training hard and
watching every little thing you
do. When I get to a Thursday
I cannot wait to get to a race.
On Friday I can breathe a little
bit, Saturday I ride and Sunday
I race-
What about the pressure involved?
Sure there is pressure…but
otherwise you wake up at 7
and do everything to ensure
you are ready for the weekend.
Everybody does this.
Every pro athlete as well no
matter what sport. We’re
only human, not robots and
it can be hard to keep supermotivated.
When things are
not going in the right direction
then the motivation can follow
[down]…but the important
thing is that you don’t lose it
altogether. Even if there is just
a little bit then that’s crucial.
At the low times when you
look around then the people
that are there can really help.
I always have Spela next to
me and she always finds the
words that I need at any moment.
When I was completely
on the ground and watching
the races from the sofa in
2017 and 2018 I felt like crying.
You mentioned enjoying the
bike: has the current
CRF450R been the best race
machine you’ve had with
Honda?
Let’s say yes. The set-up is
not too radical, even from
what I had in 2016 where we
again didn’t change much.
Not even a click at some GPs
and it is very similar this year.
The starts seem to have improved
and this is where KTM
have been so strong…
Yes and that was one thing
where we were struggling
with in the past years. KTM
were always top three or taking
holeshots but we worked
hard with the engineers and
the Japanese to look at everything:
the clutch, the discs
and the small details. What
was important is that we
found a set-up where we could
start well consistently. People
always talk about good starts
and that is simply because
you can immediately go at the
pace of the leaders. If you are
down in tenth then you need
to scrap and take more risks
to get to the front. It’s easier
to crash in those circumstances.
So it’s the most important
part…and also the only moment
where you can pass
everybody in four seconds!
People said that Herlings
raised the bar in MXGP.
Did you think you’d have to
change much to catch him
and match that level?
Last year – every year – he
was really fast and if I look at
my 2018 then at the beginning
I was two-three steps
behind him and by the end
I was closer. The weakness
for me last year was the last
fifteen minutes and that’s why
I worked hard in the gym to
be stronger. I was definitely
focussed to meet his level –
and maybe do even better
– this year. During the winter
you never really know where
you are because you don’t
have the chance to compare.
You only get all the information
at the first Grand Prix. For
sure it is dangerous if you get
it wrong and that’s why every
year the ‘line’ is getting higher
and higher because everybody
is pushing harder. It’s not
always about how much you
work but the effectiveness of
it and it depends on the personality.
We are all different
and if you took ten riders and
gave them all the same programme
maybe only one will
feel good at the races. It takes
time and experience to find
and know the right plan.
MXGP WORLD CHAMPION TIM GAJSER

Photo: R. Schedl
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range in 2020.

M
FEATURE
THE
ULTIMATE
BRUSH
HOLDER
TALKING ART, DESIGN, CREATIVITY,
PRESSURE AND POLKA DOTS WITH
TROY LEE DESIGNS’ ARTISTIC GURU
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Troy Lee Designs

FEATURE
Senior Designer Maki Ushiroyama
has been holding the palette, mixing
it himself or splashing colours
and ideas for Troy Lee Designs for almost
thirty years and three quarters of the
famous art-and-product company’s lifetime.
He has been responsible for some of the
company’s best, most memorable and
most talked-about visuals in motocross/
supercross and continues to find inspiration
on the same canvas to this very day.
“TROY LEE DESIGNS IS A GRAPHIC-
DRIVEN PRODUCT COMPANY, AND I
WANT TO PUSH A LOT OF GRAPHIC
INTO THE PRODUCT BUT AT THE
SAME TIME I AM ALSO THE ONE THAT
IS ELIMINATING GRAPHICS...”
In the depths of the TLD workshop/museum/workshop/function
space ‘hub’ in
Corona – the heart of motocross country
in California – Ushiroyama has a well
established base of operations; a working
space just across from Troy Lee’s office
from which he has constructed a ‘tower’
in the MX and motorcycling industry for
thinking outside of the box and never
fearing the outlandish.
Talking with Maki involves a breezy conversation
about creativity and challenge.
We’re curious as to how he can continue
to keep TLD at the top of the apparel and
helmet business when it comes to aesthetics,
and especially since the company’s
wares never cease to advance: their
MIPS-equipped helmets are excellent
products while the latest limited edition
apparel lines in collaboration with Adidas
promised an unbeatable forward step for
riding gear performance.
Taking a break from the pencil, mouse
and headphones we asked Maki for some
insight…

In all your time at TLD is it far to say the
practical and functional role of the products
like the helmets, protection and
race gear have caught up to the appeal
of the design and the artistic view?
Yeah. Since we’ve had a racing team
riders were always commenting on the
weight of the gear generally with helmets,
chest protectors, neck braces and
the whole thing together generates quite
a bit of weight. So we started researching
to know how we can shave it. Of course
in the price range we had to make sure
we were offering the customer durability
as well. If you are chasing the elite level
racer though and some of the world fastest
guys then they don’t care if the gear
lasts past thirty minutes! Supercross can
be fifteen minutes. We started doing a
lot of investigation into fabrics and we
MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

FEATURE
had a guru that showed us a lot of material
and construction technique that we
didn’t know anything about. We’d relied
on the vendor’s advice before when it
comes to triple and double stitching,
folding it this way or that way and using
this fabric: that was as far as it went for
strengths and durability. So it made a big
difference using another designer, Silvio,
with that knowledge and who pointed
out there is a lot that the moto industry
doesn’t know about fabrics yet. We
started experimenting and that’s when
the safety and also functionality part really
increased. For helmets we’ve been
doing our own studies. We use MIPS but
we’ve looked into it ourselves. Then we
thought ‘how can we do that with apparel
as well?’
“THE INDUSTRY WASN’T READY FOR
THE POLKA DOT AND – ALTHOUGH
I DON’T WANT TO PAT MY OWN
SHOULDER – I DID SOMETHING TO
WAKE EVERYBODY UP. IT WAS TIME
TO CHANGE...”
Did that mean any compromise for design
and the artistic side? Maybe even
down to a budget point of view…
That’s where the ‘good designer’ or ‘bad
designer’ kicks in because a good one
will know there is a limit to what a certain
fabric can do aesthetically. Sometimes
it can be as simple as a colour
block or even just a colour to get the
‘wow’ factor and bring in the newness.
Troy Lee Designs is a graphic-driven
product company, that’s what we are
known for, and I want to push a lot of
graphic into the product but at the same
time I am also the one that is eliminating
graphics. A lot of the time the mentality
can be ‘more is more’ but I have a ‘less
is more’ mentality too: stripping back
graphics to get to the core design. I think
Troy started getting it; an empty space
to him is scary. He has to fill it in some
way. To me it can also be beautiful and
can compliment something else. It is all
about the balance. To me, a single colour
can still be a graphic! When it is supersimple
it can blend in. It kinda becomes
like a wall.
I remember the video when you
launched the famous ‘polka dot’ livery.
It seems like the latest TLD stuff is a little
more conservative?
It [the polka dot] definitely shocked a
few people and turned some heads. And
a lot of people hated it! The industry
wasn’t ready and – although I don’t want
to pat my own shoulder – I did something
to wake everybody up. It was time
to change. When I showed Troy for the
first time he ‘got’ it; he knew that everybody
would hate us. I said “are you
ready? Because I believe in it” so we
went with it: TLD style. It kinda sold OK.
It’s not like we sold millions of sets but it
was another to cover the costs.
What the relationship like with Troy?
Can you go to him with a crazy idea or
will he just dismiss it?
It’s been about collaboration. Always.
He’ll show me his ideas and sometimes
they click and sometimes they don’t. Actually
a lot of times they don’t. He has a
particular way of doing things and what
he thinks is cool: and I have mine.

Do you ever bump heads?
Oh, all the time! We disagree on pretty
much everything to begin with! Although
when we click then that’s unbeatable and
we don’t care what people or sales guys
think. I’m totally fine with that.
Is that another good reason to have
stayed here so long? If you were at
another company and had some more
corporate responsibility then maybe
your visions could get closed down or
watered down…
Yeah, I’d have more ‘layers’ to convince
but I’m the only guy here designing motocross
apparel and it has been a long
time. I have a couple of guys doing the
helmet graphics. I still do a lot of helmets
too. Troy is an artist. He can know what
he wants but sometimes doesn’t know
how to execute it, so he needed people
like me to make sure that his visions
become a reality. I like that messy art approach
and I don’t want to lose it but we
must also be careful about what we are
offering. In certain years we have been
very clean looking but if I have a ‘busy’
type of year with a lot of art in there
then things get lost and ideas have to be
pocketed for the following collection.
MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD
Are you principally an artist or more of a
designer then?
I’m a product designer with a graphic
designer mind. It’s like I design the form
of an F1 car but I am also responsible for
the livery as well and both are equally
important. Functionality without style
means that people will think something
is ugly. A terrible graphic will ruin the
first part of the product. So you have to
marry both together. A lot of people say
‘oh, Maki is great with a graphic’. No,
no…I’m an overall designer.

FEATURE
So have you ever been in a situation
when you have a good product but cannot
get the right graphic to do it justice?
Or vice versa?
Yes! We have had those moments. But
we also have quite a lot of variety in the
line. I think I know the products enough
to be able to say ‘this graphic goes here,
that graphic goes there’.
Has a blank document ever scared you?
Coming up with designs is never an issue.
I have almost way-too many ideas
that I want to show to the world. I have
ten+ years of sketchbooks full of stuff.
The last three-four years is always closeby
[in a book]. It will be in my backpack.
I’m still sketching, like the good old days.
No iPad! I should use one though. I’m
not denying new technology because it
makes life so much easier. For instance
an iPhone is a wonderful tool. I can get
all the information I need right away and
that’s what design is about, having those
first touches close to hand. I still need
to connect my head, heart and hand
though! It cannot just be ‘head to hand’.
There has to be a bit of heart and soul
in the stuff that comes out. That’s why
sketching just works. I cannot go straight
to a computer or a screen. It is small
things, small doddles: many ideas where
you just connect the dots. Sometimes
you get lucky, sometimes you don’t and
sometimes you can get too far ahead: it
might be an idea that is already ten years
old but it’s still not ready for the market.
I can be late too. I might have a great
idea but someone has already done it. I
might have made something look a bit
different but it was not exciting enough.
Is the sketchbook like your ‘vault’?
Where else do you draw inspiration
from?
Many visual places like Instagram, Pinterest
but also just going out and watching
people and shopping malls, museums
and art: daily stuff. I’ll even go somewhere
like the opticians and think ‘oh,
those graphics are quite cool’. It’s easy to
get inspired.
It must also be tiring to always be so observational…
It can be! My wife will say “can you just
shut it off?!” But I do forget, so I have to
keep recording it, whether that’s with a
snapshot or something else. Every couple
of months I have to download the
contents of my phone and organise it.
[About] half of the stuff I’d had similar
ideas before but the other half is very
new and I don’t know what to do with
it! If I think something is cool then it is
already brewing, and in my heart I am
ready to use it. The new stuff is also
exciting and I think ‘how can I link the
ideas?’ or ‘how will one link or bounce to
the other?’ I can present both ideas and
explain my inspiration and nobody will
‘get’ what it is. They end-up confused.
Do you have a system or a process? Do
you have slow days? Or hard deadlines?
We are all driven by the deadline right?!
Those ‘oh s**t’ moments can also bring
up some ideas. I think the older I get it
then it is not necessary to rely on that
pressure sometimes. You just train your
brain for ‘go time’. That period can also
be relaxed too. It depends on what it is.
‘Alone times’ are productive whereas a
bunch of meetings can see designers
just doodling. I’m not quite ready for the
multitask thing. I kinda need to be in the
zone and when that happens everything
seems to disappear, even the music
stops in the headphones and the cup
of coffee on the desk gets cold. I think I

“I ASK PEOPLE: WHAT IS TROY LEE DESIGNS TO YOU? SOME WILL SAY
‘IT IS ALL ABOUT WILD AND WACKY AND NEON COLOURS’: SO THAT’S
COLOUR RIGHT? THE NEXT GUY WILL BE ‘YOU’RE ALL ABOUT THE
FLAMES AND EYEBALLS’: SO THAT’S GRAPHIC. OTHERS WILL BE ‘IT’S
ALL ABOUT THE FLAT BLACK, THE CHROME AND THE HOT ROD’ SO
THAT’S THE CONCEPT. SOME MIGHT SAY ‘THE SPORTY, FIELD-BASED
STUFF’ SO THAT’S A FOURTH ELEMENT. WHAT DO YOU WANT?”
MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD
need that. Without it then I don’t think I
can come up with the ideas.
Are there any basic rules for motocross
gear? Things like rider’s position on the
bike? You might have a good graphic but
then sit in the stands at Anaheim and
not be able to see it…
Erm, rules? Mainly just to make our
gear look like ‘ours’: the TLD signature.
If our gear and graphic is presented
without the logo can people still identify
our look? Sometimes it is graphics,
sometimes colours, sometimes shape.
Of course we are living in a ‘make the
logo bigger’ world! Somehow people still
love the big logos. I’m the first person
to want to remove logos and just let the
graphic speak – which I have started to
do here and there – but every time I do
that then I have to be aware that people
are also buying as a branding/bonding
loyalty thing. I understand that. So it’s a
balance again. If I use giant TLD logos
on the sleeves then maybe only small
ones on the chest. A soccer jersey is a
good sports tool – a patch can represent
a team right? So how do we do that for
the moto industry? Instead of having
logos on the chest, arms, elbows, legs,
knees, thighs, butt and zipper area: how
many do you want?! Customers already
know the brand they have bought. I want
to break that rule. It’s a second priority
though. The first is: did I come up with
an idea that nobody has? If we have a

FEATURE
second year of gear and it has the same
feel or vibe as the one before then I definitely
reject it. Unfortunately I’m the only
one here doing that! The sales guys want
something comfortable so they can sell it
all day long - so we have something that
looks like TLD but also the other stuff
- but I try not to go there. My job is to
try and bring something original. Doing
something timeless is always my design
street.
Is there any pressure that comes with
that though? Especially for a company
with a name like TLD and the long archive
of your work and the firm’s output?
Yeah, people have expectations of us
but then I’d also ask them: what is Troy
Lee Designs to you? Everyone will have
a different idea. Some will say it is all
about wild and wacky and neon colours:
so that’s colour right? The next guy will
be “you’re all about the flames and eyeballs”:
so that’s graphic. Others will be
“it’s all about the flat black, the chrome
and the hot rod” so that’s the concept.
Some might say “the sporty, field-based
stuff” so that’s a fourth element. What
do you want?! People want the next thing
and that’s my job. I have to make a new
flavour.
OK, so talk about something that was
great but didn’t sell-
Oh! All the time.
And something that you thought ‘that
was a really cool piece of work’…
Well, a good rider makes everything look
good. Even the ugly designs where you
think ‘how or why did people buy that?!’
But that shows you cannot pick and
choose what is ugly or not because it
depends on personal taste. Mine changes
all the time, almost every week! Sometimes
a thing that seemed ugly to me ten
years ago suddenly has new virtues. So
it’s hard to really pick good and bad. A
lot of people ask me “what’s your favourite
design?” and the answer is always
easy: the one I came up with today!
Sorry… that’s not much of an answer.
Talk about the collaboration with Adidas.
That must have introduced some new
design constraints…or maybe possibilities…?
That was a fantastic project. It started
with an introduction and eventually collaboration.
A representative from Adidas
came up to us and said “hi, I work
in the Future Department” and we said
“what does that mean?” and he was part
of the advance team that is working on
projects five-ten years ahead. They were
keen to have some of Troy’s artistry on
some of their products and we thought

‘that’s cool!’ First of they gave us a small
range of shoes and asked us for the TLD
‘touch’ as we’d done with helmets. We
did a bunch and they loved it and that
triggered all the next steps. They are like
us, working behind a screen and looking
for inspiration and I wondered if I could
get rid of the ‘three stripes’: that was my
challenge. I did many, many things and
we just rolled on together for more stuff.
One day I was asking about new fabrics
and making new steps and it was another
direction in which the Adidas/TLD collaboration
could move. They did a study
for us. I remember them saying “this is a
new fabric, by the way its hundred dollars
a yard!” It was a bit advanced for the
market but they made a prototype mockup
and a video to show all the stretch. If
Adidas were going to make a motocross
pant then that’s how it would be. We were
shown a presentation and we were blown
away. It looked great on the mannequin
but we needed to get it into the real test
and race condition so that’s when we
used our race team – Shane McElrath
at the time and Jessy Nelson – and they
wore it and thought it was amazing but at
the same time we knew right away where
it needed improvement. So that was five
years ago and we just weren’t ready to
make and produce it: it was so ‘out there’
– Adidas and TLD! In the end, about
three years ago, we saw that our competition
was starting to come up with similar
things so it was the moment to push
hard. It was our fault that we weren’t able
to make it first. We knew the Adidas pant
would be good so three years ago we
went for it and a year ago the first pant
came onto the market. That was three
years of development on and off.
What about the actual look of it?
They give us a little more freedom but
the true story is that we couldn’t put
much of a graphic because of the nature
of the fabric. We tried, and we are
MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

FEATURE
working on the next generation where we
will be able to. It was an Adidas project,
idea and knowledge that went into the
patterns, fit and fabrics and the way the
construction is cut-in. There is a lot of
multi-functional stretch. It is very calculated
and if that is the main marketing
story then maybe we don’t need a graphic
but I see what you are saying because
people might have expecting more of a
‘wow’ thing from TLD and Adidas but in
the end it was quite simple. I heard that
many times.
It’s still a big deal for motocross and
the industry: a major sport-performance
brand putting their eggs into TLD and
dirt bikes. There’s expectation that
comes with that but also it’s a massive
opportunity…
That’s right and we have a wonderful
relationship. There is mutual help in
many ways. It’s not just TLD stuff with
an Adidas logo slapped on. It’s not like
that. The gear was born from Adidas and
manufactured by TLD. The shoes were
a different canvas and I loved it but I’m
sure half of the designs I came up with
they have done before in some degree
with colours and flavours. But for them
they had millions of variations of colours
– more than you can think of – and that
education process help us and our creativity,
especially because TLD is known
for having several layers on helmets to
get that right colour. It is not as simple
as saying “oh, there’s a red metallic”
there is a lot more: the kind of silver being
used, the candy colour that makes
the red jump and then which kind of red!
There are so many possibilities, which
I learned from helmets and could apply
to the shoes and even the gear. We even
surprised the manufacturers sometimes
by saying they have to use a particular
colour first to achieve the end effect.
Lastly how do you view TLD, your work
and the position on the landscape?
Interesting question. I don’t think I have
made it to the top yet. But what is the
top to you? Or to me? When I design and
finish the concept then I am the ‘king
of the world’! I’ll think ‘this is the best
design I could come up with’ but then I’ll
look at it again in the next days and think
‘oh man, that’s s**t!’ It’s like writing a
love letter in the night and you read it the
next morning and you’re like ‘what was I
thinking?!’ Same thing! But I will go back
and make sure it will be the best design
I can do at that time and be confident in
it enough to present it, whether it’s to a
customer, the sales department or Troy.
At least I will have put 100% into it. If it
doesn’t sell then tough s*t! I’ll do it again
and keep trying, keep trying. So, I don’t
feel like I have ‘won the championship
yet’ but I keep going and I keep enjoying
it.

MAKI USHIROYAMA & TLD

6

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

PRODUCTS
www.scott-sports.com
scott sports
Two products worthy of attention here from Scott.
The first is the latest Limited Edition Prospect
to coincide with the 94th ISDE in Portugal next
month. The design features a ‘map motif’ and
comes with a matching storage bag. The Prospect
is the flagship eyewear from the goggle specialist
with the widest field of vision on the market, 3-layer
No Sweat Face Foam, the innovative Scott Lens
Lock System, articulating Outriggers an Enduro
ACS (air control system) and an anti-fog doubleglazed
lens.
For Scott bicycle fans and owners then the new
Syncros iS Tailor Cage ‘offers a safe, sleek and
integrated way to carry all of your ride essentials
no matter how long the route.’ This means a sideentry
cage for a re-designed bottle and compatibility
for other items such as new multi-tool with
19 functions and an integrated chain tool and a
MTB specific mini-pump and CO2 nozzle using a
bracket and shim system.

FEATURE
THE
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer
PERSISTENT
INNOVATOR

FEATURE
Watching Dr Chris Leatt
explain the reasoning
and virtues of neck
protection to an audience of
riders, team members and
curious paddock personnel
during a presentation at the
Grand Prix of Belgium was a
dynamic reinvigoration of a
key concept of safety and protection
that first made such
an impact on motocross and
off-road more than ten years
ago. Neck protection is now in
the phase where it has to be
refreshed or re-explained to a
new generation and the South
African creator of the device
was the ideal person to do
that.
Leatt talks passionately about
the role the neck brace can
play in the reduction of neck
injury and even broken collarbones
(yes, you read that
right) and the exposition at
Lommel would actually be a
precursor to a similar talk with
the FIM a few days later in
Geneva and the first key steps
towards establishing a belated
standardisation protocol.
The specialist has since been
at the forefront of a wider collective
effort at his company.
Leatt, the firm, have invested
and recouped on their innovations
and turned their
attentions to helmets, knee
braces, body armour, apparel
and other products where
they have spotted a flaw or a
shortcoming from their peers
on the market. They have now
focussed this approach on
motocross boots in another
alternative vision soon to grab
the attention of motorcyclists.
In between a series of interviews
and duties at Lommel
we pinned Chris down for a
twenty-minute conversation on
the role Leatt are playing with
their work and some of the
difficulties they’ve had to face.
What’s your personal involvement
in the business these
days because Leatt has grown
and diversified so much…
I think it is important to play
to your strengths and mine
is not running a business!
It doesn’t ‘get me up’ in the
morning. I’m an ideas person.
I like starting things and I’m
not terribly good at running
things. There are people better
suited to that. We have a
fantastic CEO in Sean Macdonald
who is a CA [Chartered
Accountant] by trade. We have
a very flat management structure
and a fantastic team. I
can remember back in the day
it was like a family; people
would play games and leagues
at lunchtime and go riding
after work. We’ve maintained
that. We’ve tried to find the
best people for the job and
that can fit into that culture.
I’m still chairman of the board
and I take those responsibilities
seriously and then I’m in
charge of R&D. That’s what I
really enjoy doing: looking at
the market and not necessarily
the status quo, things that
will challenge the norm and
ways that can make the best
product possible. I think that’s
viewable in some of the new
stuff we have been working
on.
There are only so many hours
in the day and so much energy
or attention you can exert,
so did you ever find that a
project like the GPX helmet
was swallowing 90% of your
time and other ideas suffer?
Some of these projects take
so long. By their very nature
there is a hive of activity and
then you make a prototype
and it goes out for testing.
You make more
steps and listen to
what the market
says and
the impact
testing
and then you
adjust again. So there are lots
of periods where you are
very busy and some where
you are not so busy.
When you are running
a lot of projects simultaneously
you
find a gap and
work where
you can.
Some you
have to
prioritise
as well.
Some
get put
on the

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

FEATURE
limits and thresholds we are
testing for and then that goes
to a technician in the lab who
does all of that. We might do
repetitive testing 100,000
times on a component but in
terms of prototyping we may
have a pneumatic leg that can
test a knee brace and it will
run for 24-48 hours straight,
while we are looking at the
results we’re also keeping an
eye on other projects.
Have the lab and facilities in
Cape Town undergone any
expansion in the last couple
of years?
We’ve just got a new helmet
drop rig and had developed
a new rotational acceleration
rig. What with the new upcoming
FIM standard – of which
we are part of the working
group – we decided to forkout
for the same rig that will
be used in the standardised
testing. Now the discussion
is about which anvil to use,
which impact velocity and all
these things but being part of
the working team means we
are close to what is going on.
We don’t do that much neck
brace pendulum testing as
before because our database
is so large. We’re looking at all
the different tests and methodologies
that are happening
around the world at this time.
As we develop a new product
we develop the specific test
for it, which means the test
equipment changes from time
to time.
What’s the scene like for neck
braces at the moment? You
invented the market for that…
So we’ve sold about 800,000
to-date and – I might stand
corrected on this – but I believe
we have 70-80% of the
market. It’s our flagship product.
But can you also talk about
the helmet because that is a
major-
Investment?!
I was going to say task
because the market for this
product and things like
apparel is massive with so
many competitors…
Our apparel has done extremely
well and we are very
delighted and with our body
armour and chest protectors:

we have taken serious market
share away from the big
players. We’re really proud of
what we have done. There is
a concertina study made in
the U.S. which shows what
riders are wearing and what
they will buy next so we follow
that and look at our market
share. We’re really happy and
of course we are in bicycle
as well and that is growing
quicker than the motorcycle
market. In terms of helmets:
that is an enormous project.
They say it takes at least five
years to develop a helmet and
we’d have never done it before.
It’s been three and a half
years and it’s a busy time. We
have learned a lot and you can
produce the best helmet technically
and if the fit isn’t quite
right then you get hammered.
You might think your styling is
right and the market doesn’t
think so. When you have a
neck brace and nobody else
makes one and you are known
for being the gold standard
then it’s easier! When you
start making helmets then you
are playing with the big boys.
The irony is that it can be a
headache…
It can be a headache! Hopefully
not with our helmet on!
It seems that the aesthetics
of the helmet and the overall
design is something in which
you have made big gains in
the last year or so…
We had to go from ‘tech’ to
‘cool’. You can have the best
products but if they don’t
look the part then people just
won’t wear them. So we had
to make a conscious decision
and we are growing up. We
are still a young company and
we were wet behind the ears.
Growing up means you have
to take market, industry and
fashion trends seriously and
get in that matrix. Hopefully
we can still push boundaries
but within the scope of what
the industry expects. The
other challenge for us is that
we are used to innovating a
product and releasing it when
it was finished. You cannot do
that with helmets and apparel.
You have orientate around the
release dates of the others, or
what the distributors require
or you won’t hit the market at
the right time. You’ll miss the
peak sales periods. If you miss
it by a day then you’ve missed
it by a year.
Are you allowed to be frustrated
by that as a Doctor and
innovator? A product with a
lower safety spec might be
the most popular purely because
of a look…
You have to have your feet
firmly in reality. You have
to play the game in certain
boundaries but also keep trying
to push the envelope. Even
with our apparel we try to put
3D design and choose the
right materials and to make it
the best fitting gear possible
while at the same time still
try to make it cool. It’s never a
dull moment.
The helmet and the knee
brace: it has been interesting
to watch Leatt create an identity
where they have tried to
find holes or flaws with products
on the market and do
something better. It’s a good
selling point.
It is. I think our starting point
is not to necessarily look at
what everyone else is doing.
If we decide to make a helmet
then how do we make the best
one possible: that’s the first
mark. If we want to make a
knee brace then what is one of
the main customer preferences?
In my mind if you are riding
a motocross bike then you
want to be able to be able to
grip the bike as much as possible
so let’s not put a hinge
in the middle. That’s quite an
engineering challenge so how
do we do that? The DNA of
Leatt is to work on the intrinsic
problem and come up with
the best solution possible. We
recently launched our goggles
and for us it was a milestone
moment because it was supported
by the first proper
marketing campaign we ever
did and it bore fruit. So we are
moving and evolving.
Isn’t it tough to keep developing
products that have a
distinct angle or reason-forbeing?
Yes and no. This is a debate
we often have. You go to your
LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS

FEATURE
patent attorney and say ‘I’d
like to patent something’.
Then you have to look at the
prior art and then - however
innovative or clever you
thought your idea was - you
find out that someone has
done it somewhere. It might
not be for the application that
you have in mind but it is still
known on the market place.
People say advances in technology
is like a snowball and
it gets bigger and bigger but
in our industry it is getting
difficult to come up with constructive
technology. I think
our role is to come up with
products and make them as
efficient as they can possibly
be. We started in motocross
circles and now we are in
cycling and I still think there
are enough products out there
that could use some improvement.
I don’t foresee there will
be a decrease in innovation in
the next decade. Maybe not as
many disruptive ideas but still
some innovation.
What about shoulder protection?
It’s an area of the body
that always takes such a hit
and the 2019 MXGP title was
partially decided by one of
the riders suffering that kind
of injury…
Shoulder injuries are hugely
common, especially collarbones,
and we have talked
about how neck braces actually
helps prevent collarbone
injuries. We have a number
of athletes and one of my old
consultants in orthopaedics
when I was doing an orthopaedic
rotation said to me
“I’ve got a netball team in
South Africa and there are
so many dislocations…” The
problem is that surgery often
means the end of a season.
So he wondered if there was
any way an operation could
be pushed until after a season
and the player could keep on
competing. So we looked at
the pathophysiology of shoulder
injuries and why people
have them and what’s the
mechanism causation; like
we did with the neck brace in
fact. And we found that 85%
- depending on whether you
are looking at something like
rugby or downhill mountain
bike or motocross – are anterior
inferior displacement: in
other words the shoulder gets
hit from behind but slightly
above and it forces the top of
the humerus bone downwards
and forwards. If you look at
all the shoulder braces on
the market they all strap the
shoulder down and forwards.
It’s the opposite of what you
need to do: you need to go up
and back. So we designed a
strapping system with lots of
different iterations until we got
something comfortable and
usable and it reengages the
shoulder joint in place. The
interesting thing with people
who have had a dislocated
shoulder is that they usually
tell you that their shoulder
is unstable. With this protection
we gathered comments
that the feeling had decreased
and they were playing basketball
and riding bicycles even
though they’d had a dislocation.
They were able to push
back the operation. It is not a
huge product for us but it is
fantastic because it works so
well.
Is it amazing to you that
somebody hasn’t already
made that discovery for
motorsport specifically?
Every time I look at a problem
I am amazed by the solutions
out there, and people are
still missing the boat or the
picture. They are not looking
at research or studying the
problem properly. Also if it
has actually been done somewhere
before then what were
the subsequent issues? With
biomechanics you have to be
incredibly careful that you
don’t induce another injury
when you are trying to avoid
the primary one.

LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS

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

What’s your view on airbags?
Is it something that can enter
off-road and bicycles or is it
something that is too impractical?
So there is a device called a
Hovding which is sold in Holland
for street cyclists and
at a point it will deploy and
cover the head and neck and
it has really good head-andneck
force results. It’s a great
product. If you look at MotoGP
and airbags then they are getting
better, better and better
in terms of the algorithms.
There are a couple of key
problems: how do you deploy
at the right time? And there
have been huge advances in
the algorithms to help with
that. We are not privy to the
data and the actual end result
and the clinical worth of an
airbag and what it does so
there are a few reservations.
We have discussed airbags ad
nauseam. We have also tested
them and airbag jackets and
we are still convinced that it is
not the right solution for Leatt.
We believe that a hard shell
in the right place, at the right
time - all the time - is the best
solution. Why? If you have a
piece of safety equipment it
absolutely has to be there or
deploy at the right time or
you risk causing an accident.
If you look at body size and
shape between deployed and
non-deployed then it is considerably
different. Our major
concern after doing some
research and impact testing is
that the way the body impacts
the ground changes: air does
not absorb energy. It becomes
a rigid structure and it protects
the occupant but if stays
that way for more than the
primary impact then it needs
to dissipate air over a period
of time. If you look at a car
airbag then as soon as you go
into it then it starts dissipating
energy immediately. Initially
when they started testing
them in cars – and Volvo did
this – they were a lot of fatalities
particularly from children
from hitting airbags that
did not dampen the force or
because the size of the occupant
and the airbag were
mismatched. If you consider
a MotoGP rider who crashes
at high speed and slides down
the track with the airbag
deployed then his ‘shape’ has
changed. If he starts tumbling
instead of sliding then you
have other injuries. In a motocross
environment it would go
off and can you imagine getting
back up and trying to get
on the bike with a deployed
airbag? Will it actually protect
you when you hit the ground?
Will it cause more injury and
how will you quickly deal with
the inflated airbag? I think for
these types of sporting applications
then it is not practical.
For someone riding on the
street then I think the products
test really well but I don’t
think you can take that technology
and apply it to all sorts
of situations.
Lastly, you spent time and
effort developing a road
racing brace that never came
to fruition. Is the road neck
brace something that’s dead
in the water?
I think street is a very different
market and naïve enthusiasm
in the beginning meant that
we tried to solve all problems
with the same solution. I also
think that you have to pick
your battles. If a problem is
very difficult to solve then
your solution might not be the
best one. In off-road racing
there is no doubt that Leatt
provides the right solution.
But if you look at the instances
of head and neck injuries
at high speed sports then
normally it is reduced because
you slide. Probably the worst
thing you can do is fall off a
horse – at a height at relatively
low speed because your
whole force and weight follows
the head into the ground
and your torso weight-loads
the neck. You don’t slide out
of the way, you just load the
neck. The same in motocross:
you hit sand and you just stop.
On the street you can slide
more and that’s why the neck
injury rate is much lower. I’d
really like to see what impact
the airbags have had in MotoGP.
I’m not sure we’ll ever
see that data but it would be
fascinating.
LEATT & MOVING FORWARDS

WEAR YOUR
STRENGTH
THE SCIENCE OF THRILL

LEATT.COM

PRODUCTS
www.ride100percent.com
100%
The first of two hits to come out of 100% for
2020, and before dipping into the cool-looking
casualwear we’re looking at the American
company’s glove offerings. We use 100%
gloves for mountain-biking as well as general
use on the motorcycle in and around the
city. The combination of the stretchy, comfy
fit, and appealing design is the attraction.
For 2020 100% say they bring ‘a variety of
new graphics and designs across the staple
100% glove chassis. The Airmatic, Ridefit
and iTrack all bring a fresh look, while maintaining
the fit, feel and function that 100%
customers are accustom to.
Returning to the glove range will be the
newly-released Ridecamp, the fan-favorite
Brisker, the D3O enhanced Cognito and the
Hydromatic line of waterproof gloves with
options for cold and warm temperature demands.’
Check out some of the images here
and click on photos to head straight to the
website.

FACE FOAM

www.alpinestars.com
PRODUCTS
alpinestars
Alpinestars unveiled the fruits of a special project at the
MotoGP GP Octo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.
Founder Gabriele Mazzarolo was joined by President of
the OTB Group, Renzo Russo, to talk about the association
with renowned fashion brand Diesel. The collaboration
led to creation of a special motorcycling-influenced range
that includes three men’s jackets and one for women,
leather pants and a smattering of t-shirts and sweatshirts,
shoes and a cap. The exclusive collection will be on
display at flagship Diesel high street shops and is notable
for the heavy ‘biker theme’ with sponsor-type livery
and colouring. “I love Alpinestars and I’m a very big fan
of motorcycle gear,” said Russo exclusively. “Diesel, if you
see our archive and our history, we have a lot of this kind
of mentality and design. One day I thought it would be
super-nice if I could do something ‘real’, so I called Gabriele
with my idea and he immediately said ‘yes’”.
“We have known each other for a long time and Renzo
rides motorcycles as well,” said Mazzarolo. “Alpinestars
has always focussed on something very technical and we
have over hundred people working on safety equipment
and electronics but style is also a very important part of
our activity. Working with Renzo and his team at Diesel
was a perfect combination to bring the feeling of motorcycling
to a bigger audience.”
“We have put this collection only in the best Diesel stores
in the world because we want to give a good image and
not just have it everywhere,” Russo adds. “It is a limited
edition and the young generation love this selective gear:
they are buying it and selling it on and making money!
Limited edition is great. It’s so exclusive that it helps build
the brand, build the status.”

SBK
BLOG
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES...
More than Europe’s
largest MC store
It would seem that part of the ‘sport’ of WorldSBK in the final
weeks of the current season is actually putting together
the puzzle for the forthcoming season.
There have been some announcements
on rider signings but whilst
most other series have declared
their calendars for 2020, the
WorldSBK schedule is still a mystery.
We know that the first race will
take place in Phillip Island as usual,
at the end of February, but after
that it is anyone’s guess.
The Buriram race will be consigned
to the history books given that MotoGP
has moved to an earlier slot
but options for a replacement seem
limited. There had been a suggestion
that a return to Sepang was on
the cards, it may still be, but my
understanding is that the previous
WorldSBK events were so poorly
attended that the circuit have no
interest in hosting another one. All
indications point to another European
race being added to maintain
a 13 date schedule but I can’t
imagine anywhere other than Jerez
being an attractive option climate
wise for racing in March.
There have been press reports that
the series will return to Oscherleben
in Germany but ‘when’ is the
big question. Slotting it in in the
middle of March I don’t think would
be ideal from a weather perspective.
It would inevitably have a
detrimental effect on the crowd
figure and when you are trying to
re-establish the event, a slot between
June and September would
be preferred. That, however, is the
most congested part of the calendar
at the moment so something
else would need to be shuffled.
When the Superbike championship
last visited the German circuit it
was at the end of May/beginning of
June, but that itself was a shift from
an early September slot. The World
Endurance championship currently
has the 8 hours of Oschersleben
in June so a March or September
opening might be the only choice.
I would still like to see a race in
August to fill in the summer gap.
The MotoAmerica championship
has released their calendar for
2020 with the usual early July date
for Laguna Seca. However, there
is a big TBC next to the entry on
their website and I have heard
from some of the photographers
and journalists I work with in the
US that the circuit and County
of Monterey are playing hardball
again. The last I heard was that it
would not happen but then that
MA calendar was announced, so
I would put it back in the ‘maybe’
folder. I have already had a look for
accommodation and with a two star
motel charging $200 per night I
guess someone is hanging their hat
on that date.
Personally I would really like to see
a race in Japan to fill that early part
of the season. I really enjoy travelling
to Japan and with the current
level of manufacturer support in
the championship form Kawasaki,
Yamaha and Honda I really think a
Japanese race could be viable.

By Graeme Brown
The only question would be which
circuit to use. There will have reservations
about using Suzuka given
Dorna previously deigned it unsafe
for MotoGP, although it is homologated
by the FIM for the 8Hrs endurance
race. Sugo was never well
attended when I was there and you
have to ask; are HRC committed
enough to the series at the moment
to offer up a date at Motegi for
WorldSBK. I fear my wishes will ever
be fulfilled but there is now harm
in having a dream. It worked for
Soichiro.
One piece of the HRC puzzle has
finally been confirmed with Alvaro
Bautista taking a seat on the 2020
Fireblade. It was one of a few poorly
guarded secrets and maybe now the
others will start to come into the
public domain. Whilst it has been
all the talk for a few weeks I am
still surprised that he has chosen to
move. I can only imagine that HRC
have opened their cheque book far
enough to tempt him away from
Ducati, who are beyond desparate
to win the championship again, with
some reports suggesting he has
been offered close to €1m as a base
salary, more than double what was
allegedly on offer at Ducati.
Ducati came into the 2019 season
with an unknown package in Bautista
and the Panigale V4R but promptly
blew everyone away in the first half
of the season. The wheels have
however, well and truly fallen off the
wagon and I now can’t see beyond
Jonathan Rea re-writing the history
books again with five championship
wins in a row.
Who will join Bautista at Honda is
still to be announced but the smart
money is on Takumi Takahashi. With
Johann Zarco ending his relationship
with KTM in MotoGP though there
may still be some heat in the embers
of the rumour that was stoked way
back at the beginning of summer.
I would expect this coming weekend
in Magny Cours to be a busy one,
either lots of rumour and intrigue or
announcements to fill in some of the
blanks. Another worst kept secret
is still to be made official; Toprak
Ragatlioglu joining Michael VD Mark
at Yamaha, but that may not be
released until all the seats in the
Yamaha teams are confirmed. In the
twitter chat that followed the HRC
announcement both Razgatlioglu
and Loris Baz replied to
comments with a ‘what about me?’
I expect Baz to stay at Ten Kate but
he should have a teammate for next
year and then there are the two
seats at GRT. On the outside there is
still much work to be done at Yamaha,
as there would appear to be at
Kawasaki.
Having announced that they will
retain Jordi Torres for 2020 Pedercini
this week confirmed that he will
be joined by Lorenzo Savadori. The
Orelac team of Leandro Mercado on
the other hand have more or less
said farewell as team owner Jose
Calero is stated as being unwilling
to bankroll their participation
in WorldSBK any further and with
Puccetti Racing having lost their star
man there is still the potential for
some shuffling in the green corner.
Chat still persists that Alex Lowes
will be taking over from Leon Haslam
with JR’s current team-mate
moving to Puccetti, or indeed back
to BSB. The Kawasaki UK teams
in BSB have just gone through a
transformation with Haslam’s former
title winning JG Speedfit team losing
their support for the Superbike class
to FS3 Racing. His best bet would
therefore seem to be to either stay
where he is or take the seat at
Puccetti.

SBK
BLOG
One interesting little insight came
to light (to me anyway) at the last
race when Dorna issued the details
of the engines used per rider this
season. Each rider has an allocation
of seven engines and Alvaro
Bautista currently has six engines
‘in use’. That means he only has
one fresh engine left to use for
the season. I remember from days
gone by that the service intervals
on the likes of a 996 or 1099 were
really short and there were stories
that the Ducati engines were
so stressed to get the maximum
performance that they had to be
changed at the end of each day.
With my conspiracy theory hat on I
wondered if Ducati had started the
season with the wick turned up on
their engines to get the maximum
performance out of them, whilst
at the same time a few crossed
fingers to hope they will last. That,
however, may not be possible any
more given that all engines have
their maximum revs restricted
but it is an issue nonetheless why
Bautista has used so many engines
whilst Rea, by way of contrast,
has three unsealed and one
completely unallocated engine still
in his locker. We now come to the
final three races of the year with
circuits that have long straights,
Magny Cours, Villacum and Losail
so it will be interesting to see how
the Ducati fares.
We are in the home stretch of 2019
now and the coming weekend will
see JR have his first chance of
clinching the title. Magny Cours is
a favourite destination for him to
do so but the opportunity won’t
arise until Sunday. I expect it to
run until Argentina but then again I
didn’t expect Bautista to crash out
of the lead in Jerez or Misano. I am
now ready for anything.

PRODUCTS

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com
husqvarna
Husqvarna have really upped their game with
the line of casual wear and functional
clothing for 2020. The company have maintained
the tone of smart and simplistic
thanks to subtle branding and attractive
colours such as blue and grey. As ever,
quality materials and construction are the
hallmarks of the collection and the latest
goods do not disappoint for the price/offering
ratio. Check out the Remote Parka:
a forceful protection against the elements
made of polyester but with 2-way stretch material,
an inner bag, concealed pockets and
tapered seams. The Remote Pants are an
ideal compliment and are made of Duratec,
4-way stretch and a pre-formed knee.
The construction mixes polyamide, polyester
and elastane. The Remote Hybrid Jacket is a
breathable but water repellent, wind resistant
hooded top with raglan sleeves, side pockets
and a PRIMALOFT Silver insulation. The ORI-
GIN sweater is made of cotton with a natural
touch and a 3D embossed logo. The ORIGIN
polo is a moisture management product with
cotton and polyester, odour management and
is fast-drying but with a natural touch. There
is much more choice on the Husqvarna
website and from garments with a similar
neutral appearance or more sport-related
stuff for Husky fans or riders. We’ll feature
some more in a coming issue.

TEST

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

TEST

Triumph’s new Speed Twin has a tough
act to follow. The original bike of that
name revolutionised the motorcycle
industry on its launch back in 1937, inspiring
a new era of British dominance with its
500cc parallel-twin engine, which suddenly
made rival singles seem lumpy and dull.
More than eight decades later this latest
Speed Twin can’t hope to make a comparable
impact, in a market containing multi-cylinder
machines of almost every imaginable
layout. But there’s a reason why Triumph is
now bringing back the famous name: this
bike introduces a new level of performance
to the firm’s retro-roadster family.
TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN
There’s nothing revolutionary about this
Speed Twin. Its format of 1200cc liquidcooled,
eight-valve parallel-twin engine and
steel-framed, twin-shock chassis is shared
with several of Triumph’s other modern
classics, and dates back to the Hinckley
firm’s reborn, 790cc Bonneville of almost
20 years ago.
But this latest lump is livelier even than the
current Thruxton café-racer’s similar-sized
unit, thanks to a magnesium cam cover and
new, lightened components including the
crankshaft and clutch. The maximum output
of 96bhp is modest for a 1200cc unit
but the hefty peak torque figure is delivered
below 5000rpm, and the reduced internal
mass makes for quick pick-up.
Triumph also trimmed weight from the
Thruxton chassis, giving the tubular steel
frame a new aluminium lower section, and
specifying new aluminium wheels and a
lightweight sealed battery. The Speed gets
slightly more relaxed geometry and a longer
wheelbase for added stability, plus higher
handlebars and more forward-set footrests
for a less racy riding position.
This is a compact and stylish bike, not overly
retro despite its twin rear shocks. Its shapely
fuel tank holds just 14.5 litres; its seat is a
mere 807mm off the ground. It has plenty
of neat details including Monza fuel cap and
brushed aluminium mudguards. Its fairly
sophisticated electronics set-up incorporates
three engine modes and switchable traction
control.
The Speed Twin ‘look’ hits the spot – especially
with the test bike’s fashionable brown
quilted accessory bench seat fitted – but it’s
the riding that really impresses. Its engine’s
performance is a huge part of that. After riding
other Bonneville family models you’d expect
sweet fuelling, a broad spread of grunt,
and a pleasingly smooth yet characterful
parallel-twin feel and exhaust note.

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

TRIUMPH SPEED WORLDSBK TWIN POR

TEST
The Speed ticks those boxes, and adds a
mightier low-rev punch that makes the bike
thrillingly lively and involving. Pull away,
click the six-speed box into second and
open the throttle, and the Triumph leaps forward
with exhilarating eagerness, then just
keeps on charging as you lean forward into
the growing breeze and keep changing up.
By 90mph it’s still accelerating with plenty
to come before a top speed of about
130mph. And the short-geared Triumph is in
its element at a slower yet still brisk backroads
pace, thundering out of turns with
enough force to excite but without the sometimes
brain-frazzling ferocity of a supernaked.
A more relaxed ride is enjoyable too. The
Speed cruises long-leggedly, and its milewide
torque band ensures it’s always happy
to snap forward into an overtake with a lazy
roll of throttle. The exhaust crackle on the
overrun adds to the entertainment, especially
with the test bike’s accessory silencers
fitted.
Chassis performance is excellent, despite
the Speed’s relatively basic suspension
specification of KYB front forks and the
same Japanese firm’s shocks, whose preload
is the only option for adjustment. There may
be little scope for fine-tuning, but Triumph’s
development engineers are among the best
in the business and the bike steers with
confidence-inspiring ease and neutrality.
Practicality is never going to be a highlight
of a naked retro-bike, but the Speed is
very useable, helped by a riding position
that mostly feels like a good compromise
between Thruxton urban wrist pain and a
more upright position’s open-roads windblast.
The bar-end mirrors work well until
you’re threading through traffic; the twin
clocks are attractive if busy. The alternative
riding modes are easily activated, if hardly
essential on such a rider-friendly machine.
There’s an argument that the return of this
famous old name demanded a more aggressive
bike with top-class suspension,
radial brake calipers and cutting-edge
electronics.
But arguably the original Speed Twin’s
greatest achievement was that it sold in
huge numbers. Keeping its namesake’s
spec simple has enabled a competitive
price (starting at £10,700 in the UK) that
can only add to its popularity.
More Speed Twin performance will doubtless
come in the near future, with an uprated
S or R model. In the meantime Triumph’s
stylish, quick, sweet-handling and
most of all fun-to-ride parallel twin is pretty
damn brilliant just as it is.
At 196kg it’s light, and those trim 17-inch
wheels and relatively slim, 160-section rear
tyre help make it flickable whether you’re
banking into a back-road bend or negotiating
traffic in town. A pair of four-piston
Brembo front calipers ensures plenty of
stopping power, and Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso III
tyres make the most of the generous ground
clearance.

TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN

BACK PAGE
MXGP of China: photo by Ray Archer

ON
TRACK
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ROAD
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