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/128201
Kennv Roberts Jr. a done deal anyway, and we really didn't know how to improve it. The four-stroke came out and had a lot of technology in it, but now they seem to have a good grasp of what they need next year's bike to be. They have a lot of confidence they can achieve this, with changes to the engine, chassis, gearbox, clutch, everything - so I have to give them a chance at it. They're the only ones who came to me - besides, if I hypothetically talked to anyone else! - who said to me, "We want to win the World Championship, and we know you're the guy who can do it." Re-signing for Suzuki wasn't about money; it wasn't about status. It was about, "Hey, we want to win this thing, and we're going to do it with you if you stay aboard." So - I did. was part of your performance last year conditioned by switching to Dunlops for the first couple of races then back to Michelin at Jerez, with all the frustrated development that must have entailed - quite apart from the fact you then had to wait till you got the best Michelins again? ln this game, it's tough to be on something you're trying to make as good as Yamaha or Honda and not do it with the same tires - that was a major factor in holding us up at the start. It was Suzuki's choice to go with Dunlop, and it was their choice to switch back. I can't say if we'd kept on with development whether the tires would have been competitive by the end of the season or not, but the problem is that we were the only ones using their tires, and we had a brand new motorcycle. They had a steep learning curve themselves - but we couldn't say to them, "The rear tire's doing this, and it oughtn't," when we didn't know if the problem was the tire or the bike. We weren't helping each other, so it was as well we split up. Getting the standard Michelins meant we at least had a proven baseline, so we could focus on improving the motorcycle - but then, when after a few more races we started getting the new, best Michelins, it was one of the biggest improvements in tires I've ever felt in my entire career. It was that big of a difference, in terms of the consistency, the grip going into corners, the side grip - it was like night and day. Just a huge improvement. But didn't you still have problems with side grip, even with the new tires? Q A Q 30 FEBRUARY 19, 2003' cue •• n _ I think that we created our own problems with tires, back through 1999. Like I said, we had a lot of torque even on the two-stroke - we didn't have a lot of top power compared to the others, so that's why we got passed down the straightaways. We always ran harder tires than anybody - not through choice, but because we ran a lot of heat in the tires, so we were forced to. It was never something we wanted to have. Then this bike (the GSV-R) came along, and we were actually running cooler temperatures in the tires than a lot of the other guys, which hasn't resulted in lap times, because of other factors, but has made it easier for us to work on development. Yamaha runs the coolest, but they've probably got the smoothest motor off the bottom and the least amount of spin, whereas Honda runs more temperature than us, but this means since they're going a second faster it's spinning quite a bit more. We have to keep ours in line, otherwise our lap time goes from a second slower to a second and a ha If slower. YOU worked very closely with your former race engineer Warren Willing for several years, first with Yamaha, then the Modenas, and latterly at Suzuki, and you've always credited him publicly with being a key element in your winning the World Championship in terms of helping you refine the handling on your motorcycles and find the sweet setup that lets you win races on a slower bike. He's now with KTM and was let go early by Suzuki some races before the end of last season. Was it a blow to lose his services? It hasn't helped - not technically, nor I guess in terms of confidence and moral support. We all wish it was something that hadn't happened. We came here together, and he really turned things around, as you saw from the difference in performance between 1998 and 1999, which was quite consider- Q VII' S able. Then we were able to beat Honda and win the championship the following year, but from then on we were never able to achieve what we wanted to achieve technically, and that was really frustrating for Warren, I know - and of course for me as a rider, too. Last year was all about trying to get the bike as consistent and competitive as possible as a prototype, and that was again frustrating for Warren, because he had a lot of ideas that he wanted to implement and see done. But I guess the factory has a limited amount of resources, and it was hard for him not to see some of his ideas that he was sure would make a difference, put into practice quickly enough. When the KTM offer came, I knew this was something he'd been dreaming of doing, being technical director in charge of making things happen - which is the reason I never once asked him to stay, even though it was a big blow, ltim going, both personally a!1d professionally. What am I going to say - "Don't take your dream job because of me"? I understood he had to take it. and I wish him the best for it. We had good years together, and we won that title together. They can't take that away. How about the tests with the new bike at Sepang in January? Did Suzuki do what you'd hoped they would, after riding it? Those first tests went really well, and the new bike has given us reason to be optimistic for the coming year. There are a few major things that still need doing to win races, and improving the top speed is one of them. But the factory has already taken the biggest step forward that I've ever known, even compared with introducing the new fourstroke last year. The new bike has a lot of promise. There's still a ways to go, but everyone in the team is really enthusiastic. It's been a great start to the year after a winter lay-off that seems to have gone past in the blink of an eye. So at the end of the first season with the GSV-R, about to start the second of at least three, do you feel you're where you expected to be - if not yet where you're aiming at? We had a lot of ups and downs last season, and our expectations at the start of the season that we could get some of these things fixed and be right up there didn't really happen, as much as anything because Honda and Yamaha also moved along Yamaha in particular made a big jump. We never got as competitive as we'd have liked, for sure - but now with the new bike, it's a question of fixing those problems for next season, and to be competitive enough to start winning races again, and eventually the championship. I know we can.