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/1542343
I I ,v \< g ftbert Back in the spotlight Anthony Gobert's long and bumpy rac- ing career has been well chronicled here in the pages of Cycle News. His raw tal- ent has impressed even his most bitter rivals over the years, but staying on track enough to win a major championship has eluded him. Goben has raced every- where including winning his first ever high-profile World Championship race at the Phillip lsland round of the World Superbike Championship as a wild card in 1994 on a Kawasaki. As a matter of fact Gobert has competed in 57 World Superbike events riding for Kawasaki, Ducati, Yamaha and Bimota. He then went on to race for Luch,/ Strike Suzuki in the 500 Grand Prix Championship for the 1997 season but was fired for testing positive for an ille8al substance before the season ended - his best finish a sev- enth and finishing l5th in the champi- onship. Gobert eventually made a come- back in the U.S. riding flrst for Ducati, and then the factory Yamaha team, tak- ing ll Superbike virtories between 1998-2002. Then it all went wrong again a{ter signing with E.ion Honda in 2004 to contest the AMA Superstock series: Gobert was sacked after getting arrested for a Dul- He moved back to Australia and has been racing in tlle Australian Championship. Cycle News caught up with him at his ,irst international appear- ance in years at the World Supersport race at the Losail Circuit eutside of Doha, Qatar. cn: How dld lt go on gour first World sup€rsport daUP anthonySobere First time on track, first time on Pirellis, first time this team, first time I've ridden since September. A lot of the corners are very similar, and as you go into the lefo out the back, you dont know which ones are hairpins and which are long comerc. cn: What hav€ gou b€cn doing thE last couplE of gearsP arlthooygobert: I raced all of last sea- son in Australia, but I had nearly two years off before that. cn: How did this rid€ with GMT com€ about? anthonygobcrt: They only called me on Friday and I didn't get much time to prepare myself. They wanted me to do Phillip lsland for them, so when I asked if I could have a day of testing beforehand they said, "\rr'hy don't you come and race in Qaar." Considering all that, I'm pretty happy with how things are going. It's good to be back, I iust want to stay in town, that's all. Maybe if I do well, I can do the whole series - who knows? cn: What nowP anthonygobere I'm down to do the Spanish Championship. That's going to be done with Austin Suzuki, in Formula Extreme and with a new sponsor on the cn: Hav€ gou Ev€r had ang trEatm€nt or couns€llng for gour probl€ms with substanc€s in th€ pastP Hav€ t€ams lnslst- €d on itP anthonygober* Not since Luclq Strike Suzuki. I don't really want to talk about it too much. That stuff is all in my past. But if I thougk I needed counseiing I would Eg to counseling. I don't need some d--- head trying to tell me how ltick. He doesn't know how ltick- He doesn't know what it takes to race bikes. He doesh't know the way that we live or the risks that we take. You risk your life the whole time. I always lived life to the fullest; I just got unlucky with the rule changes when I came on the scene, after a few years. lf it hadn't been for that I would still be laughing. Gordon Ritchie trHHT a a c I I/ t!t! l:l PAYMENTS ASLOWAS { L t-- hS ry.i , 1! \ /',' ) ri r ) PER MONTH- on approved credit \