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/1542342
- the sefiings: and as it was a 999 - I had never ridden it. Now it leels like my bike from 2002, but it's got eight or l0 horsepower more. maybe even more, I don't know. lt feels like l'm on my old bike, Everything else is the same, and I even 8ot my old numben 21. So at a lot of tracks it's not goinS to bother us. Monza, Australia ,,, you come onto the straight fast anyway. At places where it's stop and surt, we have a few litde prob- lems, because their bikes have quite a bit of power l'm sure they have more power than we've 8ot. much better than in World Superbike. Vyill you look at Monza, for example, in a different light from pre- vious yearsl No, never. Did we go to Laguna Seca this year with MorqGP? This may seem like a silly question to ask given the good t€sting results, but are you going to get enough time to get back into full Superbike mode before the season r6rt5l We haven't done a lot of riding, but there i5 nothing both- ering me righr now. The bike feels great - we haven't touched a click on it since Qatar- We made a couple of changes at that test, just hopped on it here and I've Sone over a second faster than I did last time I was here. on tirc same tires. [He would go wen faster when he got more track time and qudirying rubberl. I'm nor gqing to find another magical second somewhere, but l'm already at the front of the field, and l'm ready to run for the victory The primary safety elements of MotoGP tracks - dis- tance to barriers, gravel traps, run-otr - are usually rJVhich was your favorite track in MotoGP and your faYorite one in World Superbike? I haven't got one real favorite. I like Phillip lsland - b8um Seca as \a€ll. Back in Superbike I also like Misano ard Moua. Cll How is four arm, and how many brcaks dld you odg- inally haw in it? The inner bone lradius] iust exploded! The outside bone lulna] broke straight through in one phce, ard it got screwed t ether - ttBt's it, The other side was iust mush - Uke a smashed glass. No scaphdd - no$ing else, but when it wBnt - it went crocccckkl. lt must have been close to the pdnt of dle bone coming out because it wEs dEped like an S bend, h was bloody painful! As soon as I looked at it I neart Eot sick, I was supposed to race three weeks hter and the guy who operatd on it in A6tralia did put a bt of meal in there. He thougln that I had to be racing again in a very short time. He said that I shouH leave the plates in there for the rest of my life, unless something happens, I up6et the iniur), a bh about a week and a half before the hst Vahncia test, and now it's gMng rne a little bit of pain, I had rnor€ X-rays to check if lt was all okay, anii it was. There are no cracks - it $ems like it's impossible to crack it, because there is so much metal in tfrcre. lt didn't slo\ / me up in tlle tesq but obviousy I wam it to be 100 Perceflt. I I I I I What do you make of lanzi G a teammate! He's a young, fast guy. lf he's ever going m do it, then he's in the rigln place to do iL The gu),s here really like him: he's \€ry ch6e to the factory and ont liveJ just down the road, Davifu flardozi] has known him for )€a6, so this is the best place for him to go; there is no other place he shoutd to. L'\ "E Ho@A ( What about tfie "ot rer" Troy [Corser]? How do you think he's going to take to you .oming back? I dunno. All I know is that Troy's really f"*, .eally smooth and now he's got a Sreat bike. lf he's ever going to win races ard championshipa, he's on the right bike to do iL He's tcing to be rny main contender this )€ar. s You'll give him the "hurYy up" an,rxidy? I hope so! I realt believe that our bike is the best all- round package, but we don't haw the acceleration from second to fourth 8ear. At Qatar on the straight I \.tas los- ing probably 20 meters in that se€ond to fourth gear nnge, but our bike is not sbw, because it is really ero{namic. .t Are the Pirellis the way you thought they would bel I wasn't here when they runed out [with the Pirelli spec rules] so ldidn't know much about ir, but even i[ I was. I wouldn't have given them as much flak as rhey got off a few people. Everyone is on the same tire, and they are doing a good iob, Honestly, the front tire is really good, and the rear - even since I first tested in Valencia - they had made a step or two from what they had at the start of 2005- Now they have got new stufl again, even better again. They keep on making steps, so they are daing a good iob. How do you feel about the leyel of the champi- omhip? When you left it, was at some sort of pinna- cle - lots ol factory support from the lapanese Ducati and Aprilia. The factory support is definitet back now. But not through the front door? The four-cylinder Suys will rit and tell you all day that they don't have any real factory parts. All right... okay--. (only a knowing smile permeates his silence), Honestb/ I can't say what they've got and what they haven't got, All I can say is dlat their bikes are not too slow, and I don't think they should be complainirE about their bikes. I've seen a few Japanese gr.rys floatirg about, Yes, but ther.e were some track chang$, were thetE not? Of the places we [World Superbike] 80 to, Brands Hatch and Laguna are the most dangerous. I never sren thought about the danger of going there because I've been to a lot worse places. lt's not something that bothers me. lf we go back to Kyalami, what do you think about that? Can't wait to go there. I hope it's confirmed because it is fun. TnoY Bavlrss rs RETURNTNG To Wonlo SuprnerKE FoR 2006. Arvo HE's HAPPY ABour rr. --- BY Gof,DoN nncHrE PHoros sv Goo & Goosr F J ( I o!l { I \ / I I I { -* CYCLE NEWS 2@6