Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Ben Bostrom really available. They were putting Troy [Bayliss] on that bike, and the sponsor didn't really want an American and an Australian. They were trying to get an Italian, basically. I know they tried real hard for [Max] Biaggi. And something must have gone wrong with the contract negotiations, and the next option was get [Loris] Capirossi on that bike. And Capirossi took it because I think he knows it's a great bike, too. Those guys should do really well. I'll be cheering them on. DO you want to get back there at some point? Your deal here is two years with Honda. t's kind of a strange deal. I don't talk about the deal, no matter what. I definitely plan to be home for a year or two and enjoy it, and I want to go back only because I put three years in, and I really have the goal to be World Champion. I still have that. If I would have acquired it, I could've come home nd been like, "It's a lot more fun to stay home." I'll tell you that. And there's no real difference in the money, so why go? Only bee use you want to be any Superpoles. We were second like five times. J was going, Ducati, they don't appreciate it much if you're not doing anything. You've got to be winning a race or two or like setting some Superpoles. I wasn't putting it together, and I was just off the podium many times, a lot of fourths. And yOU kind o{ see the end. They were pretty disaPBointed. They wanted to win the championship the next ear. They're real concerned about the Honda. hey already had Neil [Hodgso I signed up. And even though I was maybe t1ie more popular guy in )'Jorld Superbike, Ducati's all about winning races. So they were 'I(e, "We need to get Colin [Edwards] on the bike." They wanted to have Neil [Hodgson] and Colin [Edwards) to have this really strong team. And so that was their big push, and that's when I was like, "My ride's gone." Because L&M [tobacco] was going to pull out ana Rut aU their money into the GP thing, as they did. I hope that goes well for - Ducati. Right about the end I started thinking of options. I could've stayed in World Su erbike. There was certainly an option; we always looked at the Aprilia thing, as we did the year before because that's another strong Italian company, and they had a good bike. Granted, they were on the wrong tire manufacturer. That was changed. Q The more you know the person, the more into it you are. So they [the fans) became really into it. I was there for three years, and I watched the crowds build. And by the time we got to Imola, we had this 100,OOO-people crowd and it was amazing. We were waking up on Sunday morning at the last event; the hill was completely packed. That was really a fantastic series, and it had all the riders [who] were all business on the track. Come off the track, all friends. You parked next to each other and take off the helmet, and it was like a different person. Put the helmet on, it was Jekyll and Hyde. Every rider had it. Where I heard in the GP thing, it's not so much like that. They kind of stick to themselves, and it's kind of a closed paddock, and the people can't really get into it as much. What about racing Eric in 2003? Q That's going to be tough. He's all charged up, • artd he's real fast. Everything we do, when. we're climbing, surfing, it doesn't matter what we're A Q A That was changed. They were trying to get it changed. I mean they're going to pour aU this money in, and they need to be up front. And t ey're pretty loyal Dunlop people, I think. But until Dunlop kind of catches back up, I think a lot of teams tried to switch over. Which is tough, because I don't think 'ctielin accepts all the teams. So I just kind of looke at a couple of World Superbike options. As it went on w' World Superbike, many of the riders were signing contracts to leave. I was thinking it's going to really ownplay the season. I tried to get Fred [Bramblett, Bostr,Qm's manager) and said, "Hey, we need to find a GP ride." So he called a few teams. We had a couple of optio' s there, but nothing that I really, really felt was going to ron up front. It's like I told myself, "If you can't win, why are you there?" It's better to come home and recharge your battery. Life's pretty short for a rider. Enjoy that. That's why home looked like such a good option. The only problem with coming home is there weren't any rides. There just wasn t. With Yamaha pulling out, Suzuki's full. oriCle was full. Kawasaki, they're just there for my brother. I was like, "We're going to have to d a ride in EUrope whether we want to oat.' And then we jUSkgO kind of lucky. Nick [Hayden) was heading overseas, and the door Gpened up. Did you keep abreast of Hayden's negotia· tions' Yeah, I reall kept up every day. "What's going on? What's l1appening?" Because I wanted to know. It's kind of you future. You better watch it pretty close. It worked out really well for myself, and it worked out really well for Nick. Nick wanted to leave. So it's great - I wish him all the luck. Hopefully, he does really well over there. It:s good to see the Americans. I was kind of cheering for Colin because he's the World Superbike Champion; that's the series I was in. I know he's a great rider. I really hope the best for those guys. was getting to MotoGP with Ducati your ultimate goal? Yeah, I wanted to. That was the option I wanted the most. I'd seen the bike in development and knew it was going to be a great bike. And I was like, "God, I really want that ride." But that ride wasn't world champ. We never acquired the goal so now I feel like I kind of ve to go back over there. But we'll just see. ybe rll end up be ng at home, and I'll love it too uch, and I woo't a back. But, right now, I wan to go back. And Ule tracks are really great there. What about that? tracks you'll race on aren't like the Eurgpean tracks. None of these racks are. Not even Laguna Seca. I'm used to really fast tracks. I wish we had some. I'm used to going through a corner quite a bit quick r t an we go here and sliding the tires, and th ' what I'm comfortable doing. And then we keep coming to these tracks where you've got to stop and go. I need to kind of reprogram the computer. DO you think the AMA championship will be a better series than World Superbike this year? Far sure. I loved World Superbike. I thought it was the best series in the world. It had an open paddock. I mean, open to a point. Each track they were allowed to sell a certain amount of tickets. Those always sold out. It was a good atmosphere. You'd walk out of the garage, and there'd be 100 people waiting for you to come out of your garage, and the fans got to be right there and really see the people. See what really goes on. See how the mechanics are bringing tires. What's going on with the trucks there. See the riders' lifestyle because you're going from your motorhome to the garage. A Q A Q A Q A •.. . c U a • • n e _ s doing, we're just really competitive against each other. Get on the track, the same way. If I'm going to be beat by anybody, it's Eric. I don't mind being beaten by him. He's my brother. The last time you guys raced each other heads up was in 1998. In '98, we had a couple of Superbike events, like Brainerd, and we would have had a great race at Colorado if I wouldn't have had a problem. And then in Vegas. In '99, he broke his ankle [at Daytona] and wasn't really up to speed. I think the AMA's now the best Superbike series by far. They've got a lot of great riders. All they need is to take some of those British guys over here. There's some really fast British guys. I don't know how they'd adapt to the AMA tracks, but there are a lot of great British riders. Who's better, Hodgson or Ruben Xaus? Q A Q A Q A I thin~ Neil [Hodgson] is, because he's got the expenence. Do you think he'll be better this year? I don't think he'll try as hard. He won't have to. I think Xaus will be there to push him, and Xaus has been on Michelins, where Neil's been riding Dunlops for years, but the new Michelin is a bit like the Dunlop anyway. Neil started riding young. He's just smart, fast, and he knows what it takes to win. He's going to be Xaus' nightmare. CIII

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