INTERVIEW
JAKE LEWIS
P100
chine, so it's only logical that his frame
will be a better fit on the larger dimen-
sions of a 1000cc Superbike.
"It's amazing how compact he looks
on the motorcycle, it's kind of surpris-
ing," Sakakura said of Lewis after
watching him in his initial test session. "In
some ways being taller could help him in
terms of leverage, but he'll probably have
to develop a little more strength. It's very
impressive what he's done so far in just three
days on the motorcycle."
The selection of Lewis as teammate to
Roger Hayden also has Sakakura's finger-
prints all over it, and it perhaps goes back
to a time when the team featured a much
more contentious pair of teammates.
While Sakakura is known for keeping his
approaches close to the vest, there are
indications that he was understandably
not thrilled with the inter-squad strife a
few years back between Mat Mladin and
Ben Spies. Since that memorable, but ultimately
clashing pair, Yoshimura's Superbike effort has
Although Lewis
gets a learning
year with a two-
year deal, he
expects more from
himself and wants
to run up front his
rookie season.
