Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127813
500cc World Champion Michael Doohan ew three-time 500cc World Champion Michael Ooohan's racing record speaks for itself. Eight more wins this year bring his personal total to 34, third on the all-time list behind Giacomo Agostini and Mike Hailwood; three consecutive 500cc-dass World Championships put him in a select band of just six: the above two, Geoff Ouke, John Surtees, Kenny Roberts and Wayne Rainey. He is the current colossus of racing, and when during 1996 he w as actually beaten twice, by teammate Alex Criville, it was. big news. Ooohan won his title decisively, nonetheless, then followed it up with another decisive drubbing in Rio. Then came the dramatic finale in Australia, where Criville, every attempt to overtake confounded, ran right into the back of him, sending both flying into the gravel. Ooohan is a man of many moods, and a forthright character' to boot. Last year, he admitted that his obsession with winning two successive titles had . been at the expense of his good nature; this year he started the year cheerfully determined "just to enjoy racing"; but as the title battle developed, there were several times more than a trace of the argumentative Aussie of the previous season. How would he deal with this potentially lethal error by his increasingly dangerous challenger? Well, frankly, he was elated. "It proves what I've been saying all season," he sirid. "He (Criville) follows me all race long, then goes out of control on the last lap." It 'was as if Ooohan had found something to motivate himself for next season - here was a puppy who needed some serious housetraining. This conversation was condu'cted in calmer waters, after the title was . tied up, with Ooohan in an expansive and goodhumored' mood. We took ad vantage of his end-of-year relaxation to toudl on many subjects. This winning the championship is becoming a bit of a habit, Mick. Hopefully not a habit depends how you look atit. A good habit. Yeah! (laughs) It'snot easy. 1 didn't expect to win this year. Who did you expect to win? I felt I'd be lucky to win it a third time. Just the odds of it. I only set out this year to win races. 1 wasn't going to beat up on myself if I didn't win the titre. And 1 won it, so I was lucky. What keeps you competitive? It must really take it out of you psychologically to pull this out of yourself weekend after weekend. I'm not sure. The want to do it. The want not to let the team down as well. I guess I'm competitive (lll and off the race track. I just don't like finishing second, basically. I know there's not much difference between finishing 10th and finishing first. I prefer to put in that extra little bit of effort. . How long will you have this commitment? I know I've got it for another year anyway, otherwise I wouldn't . have signed. I was speaking with people before the start of this season about next year, and I couldn't commit to it because I didn't know' if I was capable of pusrung myself again for another season. It got to a point where I had to make a decision, and the only way I could was to say, "Well, if this was the last race of the season I'd want to race again next year." So I based it on that, and I still feel the same now. I don't want to race just for the hell of it. I'd prefer to stop. I still want to push myself mentally and physically. I don't know if I've got that for '98. I don't think I'll sign a contract next year until later in the year. I don't want to be . pushed into the decision. I just want to go. through next year and then sit back and think, do I really want to do another year, or am I quite happy to stop now? Or - go somewhere else... do something completely different. Ride a 250 or something to be totally different. Or a Superbike? Superbikes or something. Maybe that can keep the fire burning. Just to come back and do the same thing... (interrupts) But now this is... 500s are the top level... Yeall. ... there's no question between you and me about that. Some others might doubt it. How can you take a step down? '(Iaughs) The superbikes wouldn't be too bad. Just because of the political . side' of things. And I quite enjoy riding super- bikes. Oon't quote me on any of this stuff - it's just something I've thought about, something to keep me going. I quite enjoy the way a superbike is quite docile to ride. So if I find I haven't got the commitment here... I'm not necessarily saying that's what I want to do, but that might kind of get me r~vitalized and get me the commitment to come back here. I do enjoy superbikes. They're quite docile, the physical side of it isn't as much as a 500. And it'd be good to try and win that championship as well. Just to be different. Does a superbike give you more chance' to express yourself as a rider? On a 500, to an extent, you're just hanging on. You're able to get more out of it than the other guys, but you're not full throttle all the way around, so to speak. A superbike is definitely a lot more forgiving. That's why a lot of people get dose to each other. And you could take a lot of liberties with it. Well, yeall. If you go back from GPs and ride a superbike, you go quite good. I've only ridden the RC45 once. I rode Aaron's (Slight) at Eastern Creek. Admittedly, he did go faster than me. After a day and a half. I only did 10 laps on his bike. He'd been testing for a day and a half, and all I did was pull the seat pad off the back so I could sit back a bit, and went half-a-second quicker thilll him in 10 laps. This is the first time I've ever said anything about it - though he did.' He told everyone: "Mick rode my bike, but I went faster than him." Which he did, but he took another day and a half to do it. (chuckles) I think it's the same with other people. I'm sure if Scott Russell hopped bilCk onto a superbike he'd get a lot more feel out of it and push it a little bit further than perhaps he. can do on one of these things. What I noticed when I got back on it was how fast you can go into the turns on it. You're used to going in so quick an these things (500s) that when I rode Aaron's bike, I was so much quicker into the turns than him. I had the thing on the rev limiter in top gear going in at the end of the straight. But don't quote me on any of this. Mick, I've got a tape recorder running. What else am I supposed to do with it? Yeah, well you