Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Even now we are struggling with a few things that we have been improving on, but at the same time we're trying to get more power and so on. You fix a problem, find more power, then the problem comes back. So we're taking two steps forward and half a step back, two forward then another one back. I felt happier on the bike in Australia than I did in Japan, even though we had more power in Japan. I knew what the bike was going to do at Phillip Island and Valencia, because we had already tested there, but at Sugo it was something completely new again, and we had to reset the mapping of the fuel injection because of the temperatures that the bike was running at. That's where it makes it hard, because we're trying to make the bike more competitive in races while improving it at the same time. GR: Did you ever think that when you were racing against Carl Fogarty that you would race a bike with his name on the tank? TC: To be honest I didn't think that there would be a day when not just Carl but any ex-racer was going to be the owner of a race team. Obviously I had ridden for Davide Tardozzi in the past, and it works well. They know what you need to know. To be honest, I didn't think that Carl was a business person who wanted to get involved in that side of things, just because of how I knew him as a racer. GR: The Petronas contracts have been said to be very strict about what you can and cannot say. Is that the case, or is that all overblown? TC: No it's not the case. It's all in-house stuff, no different from any manufacturer. You are always sworn to secrecy, if you can call it that, about what's going on. They are no different from any other manufacturer. GR: What would you consider to be success this year? TC: Previously I would have said a top-five finish would have been a good goal to achieve. Once we turned up to the first race of the year, knowing what equipment other people have out there, a podium definitely seems possible this year. I don't know whereabouts on the podium, but I do feel confident that we can keep going the way we've been going and improving the reliability side of things. I haven't been able to go out there and do a full one-hour practice session without any troubles, and just be able to try out different tires on the bike like everybody else does. We're coming in, making changes to mapping and the setup on the bike. My goal is to stand up on that podium, and I think that the latter half of the year will be better than the first. Laguna is one I am looking forward to, but even that may come a bit too soon, just with the development of the engine. With the tires we are slowly starting to get the same support as the Ducati team with the quality, but the quantity has been a bit too low so far. They have told us that's only going to get better, so hopefully sometime soon we will have four or five race tires to try in practice. GR: How Iowan ebb is the SBK championship this year compared to other seasons? TC: The number of people at a higher level of traditionally been in Superbike. TC: I knew Ducati was going to be there because out of all the manufacturers in the world, Ducati has probably got the most experience of top level four-strokes in competition. Honda's four-strokes have always been a big part of it, but GPs were always twostrokes. So Ducati has again been given the rules it really needed to beat everyone else. I think they really will start beating Honda in the next few races. competition has probably stepped down a little, obviouslY.. Elut at the same time it is because there are no other manufacturers really that has decreased it a bit. Not because the riders are any less, just because the manufacturers are not supporting the championship. So I blame them more than the riders or the teams. The organizers I do blame a bit because they should have made sure that they had manufacturer support. That's why there is more interest in MotoGP, because there are like six different manufacturers in there. GR: How good is Neil Hodgson now? Is he the finished article? TC: Well, when you are winning races, you are always improving because you are getting confidence in yourself. That's when you start to improve the most, not when you are trying hard and racing against everyone else and getting beat; that just teaches you other things. I think everything's working for him, and he is only going to keep improving until someone comes out and beats them. GR: What do you reckon to the new Suzuki, restrictors and all? TC: To be honest I really don't understand why Flammini has made the rule changes with threes and fours [cylinder bikes] and not in the twins. If you look at the AMA, where they run almost unlimited, and you can do what you like, Ducati are just getting their arses kicked. For me I think that is great - great for any championship that there is not just one manufacturer with a restrictor, yet other manufacturers haven't. The amount of power that Suzuki are allowed to use, because of the restrictors compared to the Ducatis, shows that if they were allowed to run just a normal engine, then they would probably be a long way in front of Ducati. It will be good to see that the rules will change next year, and other manufacturers will come back. GR: Do you think all the lost manufacturers will come back? TC: I think they will. It would be nice to see them all come back, and I think just because the MotoGP thing is such a big deal that all the manufacturers are putting all their resources into MotoGP. But at the same time it is only really Yamaha that is competing against Honda and Ducati. The Suzukis and Kawasakis are struggling a bit, but that's never going to change. There will always be a couple of the manufacturers who are the dominant ones, and everyone else is there trying to catch up. GR: It's interesting to see that Ducati and Honda are the big two in MotoGP now, the way they have GR: Edwards and especially Bayliss have been going well in MotoGP. No surprise to you? TC: Not at all. They are riding high-powered Superbikes, even though they are substantially different. It's only going to make it easier for someone who can ride a Superbike fast. It's not like they've jumped into a Ferrari after driving a Mini. They've got a handlebar and two wheels, and the more power you've got, the easier it is to ride - as long as you have the right setup. GR: Do you have any ambitions to get back into MotoGP ultimately? TC: Ideally, yes, even more so now because it is four-stroke. I always wanted to race in GPs. Now the opportunity may well be there because a few riders should be changing in the GP paddock in the next two or three years. There are a few guys who have been there quite some time and haven't really done a great deal. Obviously Troy [Bayliss] and Colin [Edwardsj are going well. It hasn't really surprised me that Noriyuki has done nothing because I don't really rate him as a top grade week-in-week-out racer. He is fast on occasions but not like Colin and Troy. He's basically got the same equipment as Colin, and he's not even close, except on the odd day where he's been testing. As a complete racer he doesn't seem to be in the same league. GR: Where do you feel most at home now? Australia? Monaco? The UK? TC: Well I've been here in Monte Carlo for seven years, and to be honest I feel more at home here in Monaco. When I go to Australia now, it's more like I'm going on holiday at Christmas time, to catch up with my family and friends and have a bit of fun and off-season training. GR: How would you describe yourself to someone who had never met you before? TC: I suppose easy going, got time for everybody, really. I've got time to stop and talk, especially to somebody who has an interest in what I do. GR: What's the hardest part of being Troy Corser, high-profile motorcycle racer? TC: Nothing hard about it! GR: What's the easiest part, the best part? TC: I can get out there and do something that I want to do every time I get on the bike. I most enjoy trying to improve on what I did last time, and there is nothing better than being able to prove it to yourself, not necessarily anyone else, that you've still got what's needed to do it - and not worry about anything else. eN cue I e n e _ s • MAV21,2003 37