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/127847
Yes, people always say yo u shouldn't break u p a winning team, but obvious ly this one had to be broken up. I' m happy with the guy we'v e got now. He's good a t ge tti ng thi ngs do ne a nd cha nging things bu t, at the mo ment, I don 't think he und er s ta nds m e as a rider like Anders d id . It is d ifficult beca use I'm not the easiest of riders to work with. Do you think that the Honda is now up to the level of the Ducati? . People only said the Ducali was a cut above the rest because you had rid ers on it that wer~ wi nnin g races. The simple fact is that the Hon da 's been as fast as the Du cati s ince it came o ut in '94. But [ think Aaron 's (Slight) rid ing better than he was. Some where through '95 he became a better rider a ll of a su d d en . Colin Ed w ards is getting better eve ry year, too. Those two go on abou t the Ducati, bu t even then it di dn't have an advantage, speedwise. I've ridden Hondas and Ducati s, and speedwise there's no thing in it. It's just that the Ducati, for me, wa s a be tter package . [ could ride faster on the bend s on it and tha t's what wo n me World C ha m pions hip s . No t because it was faster in a s traight line. It (Opposite page) A"hough many ot this year's World Superbike races have been held In less-th an-no rmal condllIons, Carl Fogarty (4) had been able to hold his own. Fogarty (below) Is trying to win his third World Superblke title. (Right) Fogarty poses lor publicity photos with his Ducati teammate Neil Hodgson, wasn' t. Overall the bike worked rea lly well in the comers, and the other guys weren't rid ing as well as they are now. Wha t happened at Do nington? You seemed to s uddenly go a lot better for the second race. Everybody noticed tha t. Wha t happened was basically that I was just back to '95. All year I'd not felt right getting seconds and third s. But it had been wet a lo t, so we hadn 't done proper races . But those las t 10 laps a t Don in gton, I jus t remembered w hat I was su pposed to do, how I rod e the bike like I d id in '95 - and it just felt gre at. I felt aggressive, har d; I felt fresh and the bike felt easy to ride pushing those limits . It just felt exactly like it did in '95. 1 hope I can continue that now. Was that just racing at ho me or was it the result of some changes ,to the b ike ? We changed the bikes for the second race because I w ent ou t o n the wro ng bike for the first race. But 1 thin k it wa s just more me than an ything else. Th e bik e might have changed a little. In the first race, everylime I got in front I just co u ld n' t ma ke m y self push and go aw ay. I felt like that at Australia at the beginning of the yea r as well. "I know 1 can win at Laguna this year! Wh en I go t in front, I Carl Foga rty ha s no t had much s uccess at Laguna Seca co u ld n' t push to go since the first World Superbike race was he ld there in 1995, He away, but when I scored a fif th and a seven th that yea r, but s till w ent on to win h is secon d was fo llowing title on the Duca ti. In 1996 , on a H ond a , Fogarty left La gu na with a fourth a nd a p eople th ey seventh place. How does t he doub le World C ha m pio n feel abou t co mi ng back to Ca liwe re s lo w fornia this yea r? in g m e u p . "I've never really liked Laguna Seca ," he said . "But I went ba ck there this yea r and tes tBut in that ed and it felt lik e I really g ot to grips with the place. I even started to enjoy riding around second race, it. I'm looking forward to racing I pushed th ere. I th ink I can go th ere and win this y ea r. When we were tes ting there, I had a co u p le o f cras h es which s to p ped me from being the fastest, but going by m y tim es, I feel co n fid en t I can win this yea r. It's a circuit that takes a lot of I'm no t as motivatge tt ing u sed to. I usuall y ge t to g ri ps with circuits very qu ick ly, ed as 1 wa s two years but that one I've struggl ed with. But I seem ed to find ago, that' s for su re. 1 still the sec ret last tim e I w as there. " wa nt to win, but so mehow I'm too rela xe d and I d on ' t li ke tha t. Hopefully, tha t will change. Is is true that yo u we re contacted by ha rd and it just fe lt g reat. I Bob It team (the Yama ha team of Luca was back in ' 95, sitting on the fro nt, totally in contro l a nd Cadalora and Troy Corser in 500cc GP raci ng) to re place Cadalora in case he pulling away. . . Does it mak e a diff erence left? havin g Neil (H od gson) as a It's true, b u t I d on ' t rea lly know if I'm interes ted . 11 wo uld hav e to be a n team m a te, s o meo n e y o u know w ell an d you can w ork incred ible d eal wi th a very good bike to with ? ge t me aw ay from superbikes. You're not tempted by SODs? It doesn 't make any difference who I'v e go t as a tea mNo t re all y . It see ms th at un le ss m a te . J d on't te nd to w ork you're on a Ho nda, it's a waste of time. with th em tha t much a t race You have to have the rig ht sort of packmeetings. Obv ious ly, it helps age to go a nd d o it. It' s not some thing that 1 ge t on we ll wit h N eil; that I'm reall y thi nkin g of seriously at we tra vel toget her and s tu ff. this stage of my caree r. But as far as racin g goes, it D o yo u intend to retire qu ite soon, doesn't make any d ifference. then ? As he 's sti ll learning, do 1 thin k so, We'll see wha t happen s you take time to help him? nex t ye a r bu t I'm pretty su re tha t if J Not reall y. You ca n't help do n' t sto p this year, then next year will so meone w hom you're racing be m y last. aga inst. It 's d iff icult. It What do you make of An thony Gobwouldn't make sense to help ert an d Troy Corser's current problems so meone who's trying to bea t in 500 GP racing? yo u. Go be rt seems to be picking up the After tw o World Champipace now . But Corser, well , he's just an ons hi ps, how d ifficult is it for e mba rrassment , to be ho nest. He yo u to motivate yourself ? sho uldn' t be going tha t badly. He 's betIt' s difficult. I' m defini tely ter than that , 1 know he is . Ma yb e he feeling myse lf cha nge. J think d idn' t do enough years in superbi kes , I' m a lot m o re easy a nd but he should still be going better than re laxed than I was in '95. I tha t. I've jumped on a 500 be fore an d don't like tha t, bu t it' s just the fin ished fif th or sixth; he' s not even d oing tha t. Mayb e it 's hard er now ; I way thin gs hap pen as you get older. Hav ing won two world do n't really know, being on the outs ide. Bu t he's talented enough to be a regul ar titles" not many people would ad mit it but obvio us ly th e top-10 finisher. Th ere's obviously more goi ng on there tha n I kn ow . There must dri ve has go ne a little bit. It's be so me thing else, He's lost his configo t to, because you have won de nce and once he gets it back, he'll be it and held on to it. So it' s defiall right. '0' nit ely ha rd to get motivated. - 29