#GETD

BEAST MODE ENGAGED

2020 KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R

The NAKED rulebook has been re-written. The KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R is now leaner,
meaner and even more menacing than ever before. Sporting an all-new chassis and suspension
setup, the flagship LC8 V-Twin 1301 cc boasting brutal forward thrust, blinding acceleration
and an advanced electronics package, the NEW BEAST is locked and loaded for battle.
 Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!
Photo: R. Schedl The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost.

DUKED
 MotoGP

NIGHT
The probing, doubts and experiments of the MotoGP
off-season can now be locked away. In just over a
week all will be sealed, and the serious business of

RIDER
racing begins at the venue where the teams have just
completed their last test. Props to Red Bull KTM’s Brad
Binder for a lap-time that hints at the South African
rookie’s potential…

Photo by Polarity Photo

 SX

THE TERRIBLE
TWO??
A tough weekend for some of the
AMA Supercross field in Dallas also
sees the first glimmer of daylight
appearing in the 450 SX standings.
Eli Tomac (four wins from the eight
rounds so far) and Ken Roczen (two
victories and six podiums) are split by
7 points and are almost 20 ahead of
Cooper Web. This one could run and
run to Salt Lake City. Here’s hoping.

Photo by James Lissimore

 MX
FEATURE

THE ONE TO GUN

Twenty rounds of MXGP is on the verge of getting underway and at 23 years of age, the might of
HRC behind him and two premier class titles in four years it’s hard not to imagine that Tim Gajser is
getting near his peak. Will the Slovenian claim round one? Or Jeffrey Herlings? Tony Cairoli? Glenn
Coldenhoff? Gautier Paulin? Jeremy Seewer? Jorge Prado? Romain Febvre? Pauls Jonass? Clement
Desalle (winner of the most opening GPs of the last decade)? Who is your pick for Matterley?
Photo by ShotbyBavo
FEATURE

WHAT DO
 By Adam Wheeler. Photos by KTM/S.Romero/M.Campelli
Polarity Photo/CormacGP & GeeBee Images

YOU SEE?

THE EXPERIENCE OF RIDING A RACETRACK FOR

THE FIRST TIME (WITH A RASPING 2020 KTM
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM
1290 SUPER DUKE R FOR COMPANY)
 FEATURE

T
here is a moment in
seminal 1990s action
movie ‘Point Break’
when Patrick Swayze’s co-
lead character – the myste-
rious Bohdi – dissects the
spirituality of riding waves.
“It’s a state of mind: that
place where you lose yourself
and you find yourself,” he
explains. For decades, from
a range of motorsport and
cultural idols and icons, there
has been a stream of think-
ing, philosophy and medita-
tion of existence on the race-
track. Mostly connected with
the feeling or sensation of
finding (or ‘losing’) oneself in
the ‘zone’ or being immersed
in a world of extreme compe-
tition.
the British group of journal-
ists and testers commented
“your first time on a track is
at Portimao with a SUPER
DUKE?! Fair play…”. Perhaps
the decision to unearth the
possibilities of the Austrians’
180hp and 140Nm of torque –
the ‘ultimate’ naked bike – for
first-time dip around a course
that former MotoGP ace,
track day master-instructor
and key KTM bike developer
Jeremy McWilliams described
as “one of the hardest in the
world” the previous evening
during the media call was not
the most lucid.
Slightly nervous, slightly over-
whelmed by the ability of the
company I was keeping and
extremely curious for the first
of six twenty-minute sessions in
fantastic sunshine and twenty-
degree temperatures the mo-
ment of truth came closer.
Luckily a two-hour morning
jaunt around the surrounding
roads of Portimao gave a valu-
able introduction to the new
SUPER DUKE and the third

We can all watch and appreci-

ate that going fast within the
boundaries of a circuit takes
extreme focus and concentra-
tion. It also looks formulaic,
with similar lines and actions
from those attempting to live
within fractions of a second
of each other. Like any skill
it takes practice for a degree
of competence. Unlike many
pastimes, circuit riding comes
with an alarming sense of ur-
gency, trepidation, occasional
panic and – buried away
somewhere and not spoken
about – fear.

There was a moment at the

recent 2020 KTM 1290 SU-
PER DUKE R launch in
Portugal where a colleague in

generation of the 1290 ‘Beast’.
90% new for 2020 the thrill-
ing amounts of torque from
the v-twin was matched with a
robust and stable chassis that
genuinely inspired confidence.
The bike tractored out of the
tightest country lane with
ease and a handful of throttle
was met with the feeling that
the bike could shift to another
line at will.
MCWILLIAMS: “IT WAS PRETTY SPECIAL: GETTING MY KNEE
DOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME! I BURNT A HOLE THROUGH MY
JEANS! I DON’T THINK ANYBODY WOULD GET ON A CIRCUIT
NOW WITH A PAIR OF JEANS...”
At Portimao the road-going
1290s were parked outside
the pitboxes. A walk through
the garage delivered the sight
of another set of Beasts; this
time in track trim, with four
models in full PowerParts race
guise adorned with slick tyres
and warmers attached. With
the bikes warm and almost
ready to go it was at this point
that the words and guidance
of McWilliams offered some-
thing akin to a soothing effect.
The 55 year old has already
spun a number of test and
demo laps at Portimao on
the launch and thanks to the
prompting of KTM personnel
like Street Marketing Manager
Riaan Neveling and Product
Manager Adriaan Sinke has
agreed to act as a point of
guidance. I casually ask if he
remembers his ‘first time’.
“It must have been thirty-five/
six years ago; at the aptly-
named Nutts Corner raceway,
close to where I live,” the
Irishman smiles. “We had pro-
duction bikes with street tyres
and it was quite a special
moment. We had no restric-
tions, no traffic and could go
as fast as we wanted without
worrying about speed traps
or getting pulled-over. I had
no idea what I was doing! If I
FIRST TIME ON A RACETRACK
went back today then I would
have sought some instruc-
tion or direction beforehand.
It was pretty special: getting
out there and getting my knee
down for the first time! I burnt
a hole through my jeans! I
don’t think anybody would
get on a circuit now with a
pair of jeans. At that point I
realised I really wanted to do
more. We also ventured down
south to a circuit near Dublin
called Mondello Park. It was a
little better. Then Kirkistown.
They are all within a couple of
hours of each other.”
I’m doing my best ‘all the
gear, no idea’ impersonation
thanks to the people at Al-
pinestars. My Techair-ready
Specter jacket is the ideal fit
and the V2 pants with knee
sliders (being optimistic)
could not be any more com-
fortable. Black and white SMX
V2 boots complete the
 FEATURE
compulsory outfit and must
rank as the snuggest and easi-
est set of footwear I’ve worn
on a motorcycle. Absolutely
no complaints.
As I climb on one of the race-
spec 1290s and speed after
McWilliams down the pitlane
it’s impossible not to feel a
‘little MotoGP’ and get excited.
I mean, how often do you gas
a motorcycle in the knowledge
that there isn’t an immedi-
ate car, pedestrian or traffic
hazard to look out for? A few
deep breaths and pitlane exit
means hard throttling and
into another environment. The
plan is to take a few laps to
follow Jeremy and see which
way Portimao winds. Almost
instantly the world is much
faster and there is less time to
get things done. I find myself
doing daft things like flicking
my gaze towards an imaginary
mirror before tipping into a
corner and the fact that Jer-
emy is ahead and seemingly
cruising with one hand con-
trolling the bike and the other
pointing at lines and zones I
should hit is even more hum-
bling when I have the sensa-
tion that I am abusing the
SUPER DUKE far more than I
would on the road.
It’s hard to fully commit and
lean into corners. The track
is between 10-15 metres wide
but it seems like 100; it’s
tricky to know exactly where I
should be and where I should
be braking, tipping and aim-
ing. At the same moment it’s
utterly thrilling. The swoop
into the downhill final turn
that winds up to the main
straight is like a rollercoaster
g-out. The speed up to sixth
gear makes my head shake,
my vision blurry and I hold
onto the SUPER DUKE with
all the power in my arms and
with the alarm that I might get
sucked off the back.
Turn 1 is a challenge and
remains so for the entire day.
The dip into the braking zone
makes my stomach roll and
the apex of the right hander
comes alarmingly into view
and quicker than I’d like. Jer-
emy tells me to brake when
he brakes but I have no recol-
lection of trusting my skills
and courage as well as the
bike throughout the day. With
more and more laps I’m learn-
ing that the Brembos of the
1290 SUPER DUKE are pretty
damn good and I slowly get a
bit later and a bit closer. Ironi-
cally, one of the most daunting
parts of the circuit – Turn 1 -
leads immediately into one of
the best: another right-handed
kink where you can feed the
power of the bike in, slide a
little bit, and then test braking
prowess again for a tight right
Turn 4. The section becomes
a meaty challenge throughout
the whole experience. Twenty
minutes feels like twenty sec-
onds.

Following Jeremy back to the
pitlane the sensations are one
of exhilaration, education, hu-
mility and wider understand-
ing of the art behind track
riding.
“I think I was fourteen years
old when I hopped on my
FIRST TIME ON A RACETRACK
Dad’s Superbike at Grant
Raceway in Michigan and
everything was too fast and
everything happens too quick,
you don’t feel comfortable,
you don’t trust the tyres: there
are so many different things
going on. It’s foreign!”
Chris Fillmore, former AMA
Superbike competitor, Pikes
Peak winner and long-term
KTM rider is another racer at
the launch. “I grew up racing
motocross and hadn’t touched
supermoto yet. So, you had
to develop trust between the
pavement and the tyre. Some
people have it quite naturally.
Maybe ignorance is bliss!
Some people never do.”
Second time out and we keep
the traction control on the
TRACK setting near the top
MXGP NETHERLANDS
and anti-wheel engaged. With
the barrage on the senses
fractionally diminished it is
now easier to concentrate on
doing things a bit better and
thinking about positioning. I
move more on the bike and
progressively trust the tyres
to enter corners a little faster
and a little more committed.
“I did a lot of road riding and
it is quite different when you
get on a circuit,” explains
McWilliams. “You are looking
at completely different things
and obviously don’t have
those reference things that
are on a road. On a circuit the
most important thing is tee-
ing the point you have to hit
before turning in or braking or
even accelerating.”
 FEATURE

FILLMORE: “I’M COMPETITIVE AND I LIKE PUSHING THE LIMIT

OF THINGS AND FEELING LIKE I AM A LITTLE BIT ON THE EDGE. I
LIKE TO DO THINGS THAT SCARE ME. IT OPENS ME UP AND LETS
ME LIVE A BIT. IT’S HOW I ENJOY EXPERIENCING LIFE.”

As the afternoon goes on the
confidence rises, as does the
appreciation for how road rac-
ers go about their task. It is
also easy to comprehend how
the lightest gesture of braking,
positioning or acceleration can
alter fractions of a second of
a lap-time. As for the racing
itself I didn’t come close to
overtaking anybody all day, so
that’s another aspect that re-
mains undiscovered. Chopping
up the track into sections and
working out which areas feel
slow or harder compared to
others – instead of just riding
around and around - becomes
part of the routine. Bizarrely
it starts to feel a bit like ten-
nis or golf: a process of hitting
a few good shots, followed
by fist-gnawing ineptitude.
“That’s a pretty good analogy
actually,” McWilliams says.
“What makes a good circuit
rider? Somebody who is very
consistent, very smooth and
learns good throttle control.
A lot of things you don’t learn
for the road you must for the
circuit, like brake management
and how hard you can pull it
and how hard you can push
the front tyre into the turn,
how much throttle you give
when you are in the turn. A lot
of guys will go into a road turn
and opening the throttle when
they want to get out: that’s
not what we do and not how
we go faster, it’s the opposite
actually and our rolling speed
is much higher than it would
ever be on-road. It’s another
level.”

“I can only speak from the
opposite direction actually;
so being comfortable on a
racetrack and going onto the
street,” comments Fillmore
by way of a contrast. “As a
racer you hone your skills on
slicks with tyre warmers and
we push the limits. We under-
stand them. On a surface that
is unpredictable then that is
another thing. For a person
coming from the street to the
racetrack there are a bunch
of ‘red flags’ and it was the
same for me getting on a
street bike where I wanted to
be much more cautious: there
was traffic, white lines, guard
rails and the knowledge that
the road surface could change
at any time or you didn’t know
what was around a corner.
On a track you know, for the
most part, it is in a certain
condition and there are track
marshals to let you know if
there is something wrong. So,
you start to ‘turn-off’ all those
little signals in your head that
might make you hold back a
little bit.”
Even from my very limited
time there was a parallel with
track riding and other sports
in terms of the mental void
where you think about nothing
except when you are doing.
For the most part - before I
knew it - the track’s light-
ing system was flashing to
indicate another session had
ended. By the time of the last
outing I’m still trying to digest
what I’m doing. Jeremy runs
as a guide again and gets even
more specific with track mark-
ers and speed but gradually
I’m also thinking about lap-
time and how much quicker I
must be compared to the first
try. In the last twenty minutes
I’m shifting as much as I dare
off the bike to try and get a
scuff on the knee slider…but
without success. I know I have
marginally improved – even in
conviction alone and gained
a much deeper impression of
the KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R
and its capabilities – but have
also realised how potentially
addictive this can be. McWil-
liams instantly agrees back
in the pitbox. “It is something
that starts as a hobby and it
can become an obsession,”
he claims. “There are people
I coach on track that I see be-
coming quite obsessed. I think
it tests everything: your brain
power, your physical shape.
You have to use many ‘inputs’
at the same time. It is not
the easiest thing to learn in a
short space of time and every
time you come back then you
can improve. The more you
ride the better you become.
Why do we keep coming back?
Probably because we never
really crack it.”
“Everyone is different,” says
33-year-old Fillmore, an avid
surfer and fan of extreme
sports (a ‘Bodhi’ if you will),
when I ask him if there an
added sense of spirituality
FIRST TIME ON A RACETRACK
attached to an activity that is
hazardous and could be costly
but then seems to ‘pay back’.
“I’m competitive and I like
pushing the limit of things and
feeling like I am a little bit on
the edge. I like to do things
that scare me. It opens me up
and lets me live a bit. It’s how
I enjoy experiencing life.”
A portion of what he says
strikes a chord. It must explain
why track days seem like the
domain of an exclusive club
but remain popular draws. I
cannot help but feel that my
experience was helped by
the use of the SUPER DUKE.
The bike felt like a missile
although the torque meant it
was a blast and a whole lap
became a simplistic process
of flicking between 3rd, 4th
and 5th until the straight.
“You have more torque on
this motorcycle than I think
anything else out there on the
market today,” Jeremy said.
“Torque is our friend: when
you have that much on-tap it
makes the riding experience
that much more fun. It doesn’t
really matter what gear you
exit the corner on this bike, we
never use second gear here.
We don’t need it because third
has so much push to get it off
the corner at any speed.You
can become a bit of a hooligan
on this and you can also ride
it as sedately as you want.
There is a lot of variety thanks
to the electronic settings. A lot
of options.”
 FEATURE
PORTIMAO
Constructed in 2008 and only
ten miles from the rolling
waves of the Atlantic, 4.6km
Portimao has been a regular
on the WorldSBK calendar
since ‘08 and has been de-
scribed as one of the most
technical racetracks on the
continent. Current BMW racer
Eugene Laverty has previ-
ously likened Portimao as a
‘motocross track covered in
asphalt’. The 15-14 corners
(depending on configuration)
and the undulations make for
some thrilling and difficult
sections with blind corner en-
try and cambered turns con-
stituting frequent obstacles.
Apparently Portimao could
host it first round of MotoGP
as early as 2022.
On the last run I had the trac-
tion control down to 4 from
9 and the anti-wheelie dis-
engaged and revelled in the
brief laps with the bike giving
marginally more movement.
It still felt wild. The naked
bike seems simple and almost
pure in form but the 1290 is a
sophisticated piece of kit. The
slick tyres were another di-
mension; where a slide never
felt too unsettling. “On any
bike, of course, you always
have the input of the rider to
the rear wheel through the en-
gine and you have to control
the engine through the elec-
tronics: what we tried to do is
give back the rider a lot more
feeling for what the engine is
doing and what the traction
control is doing and this has
been a large part of the devel-
opment,” reveals Sinke of the
2020 model. “We now have a
6D lean angle sensor. We’ve
had cornering ABS and trac-
tion control for a while with a
lean sensor that measures the
side-to-side and front to back
motion of the bike and this
one also detects the drift mo-
tion of the bike and it helps
us to determine whether a
certain loss of traction of the
rear. Is it information to make
that connection between rider
and bike that much better.”
Portimao permitted a more
extensive exploration of the
SUPER DUKE and its new
virtues. The satisfying part
was the fact that I’d ridden
the 2019 model for almost
two months the previous sum-
mer and could already detect
the improvements on the
road (the quicker and shorter
gearbox among various up-
grades); the amplified limits
of the track just increased the
fondness and admiration for
the bike.
“We are here just to show
how good the SUPER DUKE
is,” Sinke says. “There are
people that use these bikes
just for the track and we love
that because it shows just
how capable they are and how
superbikes can be scared! If
you are a good rider then you
can be very fast on a SUPER
DUKE. The chassis, torque
and brakes: it’s a really good
package and we hope we
might be able to convince a
few track riders to pick it up
and I’m sure we will. You will
ride the SUPER DUKE on the
streets but if you want to go to
the track then you won’t need
two bikes.”
The 1290 lacks a fairing but
that makes it even more bra-
zen in terms of its sporting
potential. “It is more of a hy-
brid: a race bike but more for
the street,” ponders Fillmore.
“The first thing I noticed was
that you could really plant
and put a lot of energy into
the front tyre and trail brake.
I think that was a bit more
of a struggle on the previous
generation. Coming out of

the corner it is really good. It
is one of those bikes where
now you can grab a handful
and feel like you are pushing
forward. It’s an improvement.
One of the most impressive
parts was the chassis and
when we went onto the street
I was thinking ‘it’s stiffer so
it’s going to be more harsh’
but the feeling was the com-
plete opposite. They did a
great job of making it so com-
pliant for the street.”
According to Project Leader
and creator – the man who
fashioned the first 990 SUPER
DUKE back in 2005 – Her-
mann Sporn, the traits of the
1290’s performance were born
from some serious mileage
on-track and with the likes of
McWilliams providing techni-
cal affirmation for electronics,
handling (the chassis is three-
times stiffer with a freshly-
positioned engine) and even
moulding the new Bridgestone
S22 tyre with a compound
especially made for the Beast.
“We were given a free hand
to make our brief for the new
bike, and we had some dis-
cussions with management
when they saw the amount
of tests we were making on
the track,” the Austrian ex-
plains. “We said: ‘that doesn’t
mean it will be worse for the
street…we have to feel the
limit to know what the tyre
is doing and so on’. You can
sometimes only make dis-
FIRST TIME ON A RACETRACK
coveries at the maximum. 95 or
even 99% is not enough. It has
to be at 100. The work goes on.”
“For me it is always about test-
ing the limits of what you have,”
says Fillmore of choice of ma-
chinery for the circuit. “Right
now we have the street and the
track versions of the SUPER
DUKE and they are pretty much
the same except for some sus-
pension, but the biggest thing
are the tyres. A slick tyre just
feels different and you need to
get up to speed and get to know
them. The limits are similar…but
you still need to find them.”
“The lovely thing about riding
on the circuit is the idea you
have a lot more freedom and
that you can ‘test’ everything
that the bike is a lot more capa-
ble of,” says McWilliams, a man
who has battled on Irish streets,
against Valentino Rossi and still
troubles the stopwatches. “You’d
never be able to do that on the
road. Today’s machinery is so far
advanced and with horsepower
figures right up into the 200s; it
is not something you can really
use on the road. There are guys
that are only riding circuits now
and forgetting about the road.”
The search for precision, sec-
onds, betterment, a strain on
the bike’s potential and even the
eye-widening effects of speed
seems to be what it is all about.
I couldn’t recommend it enough.
COMMENT
 2020 1290 SUPER DUKE R VERDICT

BEASTY
wheelie-happy fashion with
the help of its much-hyped
Beast prototype.

Hyper-naked bikes’ popularity

By Roland Brown
Photos by KTM/S.Romero/M.Campelli
The Super Duke has long
been regarded as slightly
crazy, with its manufacturer’s
encouragement. Back in 2005
the original 990 Super Duke
established KTM as a maker
of hardcore streetbikes, no-
tably when terrorising urban
Japan in a famously feisty
promo video. Six years ago
the 1290 Super Duke R upped
the stakes in similarly
has inspired a flurry of activ-
ity, with new arrivals including
Ducati’s Streetfighter V4 and
MV Agusta’s Brutale RR join-
ing a host of others in com-
bining a wind-blown riding
position with four cylinders
and outrageous horsepower.
KTM’s revitalised contender
keeps its traditional V-twin
layout to take them on. The
Super Duke’s distinctive knife-
edge look is subtly revised; its
riding position slightly
 COMMENT
sportier thanks to a lower
and more forward-set han-
dlebar, but still comfortably
upright for street use. A new
TFT instrument panel is part
of an electronics revamp that
includes more easily used
switchgear plus updated
Bosch traction control and
cornering ABS.
Changes to the 1301cc, 75-de-
gree V-twin engine begin with
a new intake system. A duct
between the headlight’s ag-
gressively angular halves, in-
stead of one each side, feeds
new top-mounted injectors via
a larger airbox. Many internal
parts and the crankcases are
lightened. Peak power goes up
by 3bhp to 177bhp; more im-
portantly the eight-valve unit
kicks out a hefty 100Nm-plus The engine is held higher in
of torque everywhere above the frame, which KTM say
3500rpm. aids handling and gives a
5mm higher pivot for the
Biggest changes are to the single-sided swing-arm, which
chassis, whose retained lay- is also substantially stiffened.
out of tubular steel frame and A new rear subframe of cast
aluminium swing-arm masks aluminium and carbon-fibre
a complete redesign. The replaces saves more weight.
frame uses larger-diameter The WP forks are revised and
tubes and employs the engine now fully adjustable. More im-
as a stressed member for the portantly the WP rear shock
first time, trebling rigidity and gains a rising-rate linkage
saving 2kg. that allows a longer action,
“STRAIGHT-LINE PERFORMANCE IS NOT
DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT, WHICH IS FINE
BECAUSE THAT MEANS IT’S AS BARKINGLY
ENTERTAINING AS BEFORE. THE BIG
V-TWIN LUMP IS WONDERFULLY FLEXIBLE,
REGARDLESS OF WHICH MODE IT’S IN...”

while reducing the excessive
rear wheel travel (from 156
to 140mm) that was a hango-
ver from the original frame’s
origins with the dual-purpose
Adventure.
Straight-line performance
is not dramatically differ-
ent, which is fine because
that means it’s as barkingly
entertaining as before. The
big V-twin lump is wonder-
fully flexible, regardless of
which mode (Sport, Street
2020 1290 SUPER DUKE R VERDICT
and lower-output Rain) it’s in.
Throttle response is refined,
low-rev running civilised –
and the charge from 4000rpm
threatens to dislocate your
shoulders.
On the road that makes the
Super Duke huge fun as well
as outrageously fast. It revs
smoothly, nonchalantly hoik-
ing its front wheel if required,
and despatching gears with
help from efficient two-way
shifter. At least, it does if
you’ve paid extra for the
shifter and the Track Pack
that allows the anti-wheelie
function to be disabled.
Cruising at 80mph-plus is
effortless for the KTM, if not
always for its rider, who has
nowhere to hide up near
the 160mph-plus top speed.
Whether the lack of wind
protection or reduced, 16-litre
fuel capacity are drawbacks is
debatable. More of both would
be ideal, but wind-blast is part
of a naked bike’s appeal on
 COMMENT

the road, and the range of about a launch blast around the Bridgestone rear tyre.
120 miles is tolerable. swoopy Portimao circuit in That chassis improvement
Portugal’s Algarve confirmed. means that for the first time
The Super Duke always handled the Super Duke is as capable
fine on the road and it’s now The KTM felt sharp on its way on a circuit as it has always
better still: slightly sportier and into turns, its frame’s extra been on the road. It’s compet-
more composed even when its rigidity beneficial especially itively priced, too (at £15,699
rider is shifting weight or bat- when slowing with the eye- in the UK), even though most
tling the wind. Unlike some ball-bulging force of Brembo’s riders will pay extra for the
rivals there’s no semi-active Stylema front calipers. And quick-shifter and Track Pack.
suspension option, but the forks when exiting bends the Super Keyless ignition and cruise
are manually adjustable via Duke was more firm and con- control come as standard; ac-
knobs at the top of each leg, trollable. It no longer squatted cessories range from heated
and the shock has an equally under power but stayed taut, grips and tank-bag to rearset
useful remote preload adjuster. steering more accurately and footrests and an Akrapovic
On track the new chassis is delivering its V-twin grunt silencer.
a notable improvement, as more controllably to the fat
This Beast 3.0 update is an
effective and timely reboot
for KTM’s hyper-naked con-
tender. Its four-cylinder rivals
are gathering with menace,
and the 1290 Super Duke R
is fighting fit to take them on:
slightly more refined, distinct-
ly more composed and burst-
ing with as much crazy V-twin
character as ever.
 2020 1290 SUPER DUKE R VERDICT

“THE SUPER DUKE

ALWAYS HANDLED FINE
ON THE ROAD AND IT’S
NOW BETTER STILL:
SLIGHTLY SPORTIER
AND MORE COMPOSED
EVEN WHEN ITS RIDER
IS SHIFTING WEIGHT OR
BATTLING THE WIND.”
 PRODUCTS

HUSQVARNA www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com

Husqvarna’s 2020 Street functional clothing sees the brand continuing their association with
Dutch company REV’IT for another batch of fetching and dependable attire that must rank as
some of the most stylish and subtle on the market. We like the Gore-Tex Pursuit GTX jacket
which is waterproof, windproof and features several ventilation openings for when winter ebbs
into spring. The garment has SEEFLEX protection in the elbow and shoulder areas. The Pur-
suit jeans are a cool complement – literally – with COOLMAX elements in the construction
ensuring effective moisture-wicking properties. The Pursuit jeans have the added advantages
of triple seams, safety stitching and a relaxed fit for maximum comfort. The Pursuit gloves
look a little heavy-duty but they are made with dyed goatskin palm, Hydratex® liners and
knuckle protection and will suit most climate and conditions. We own several pieces of the
2019 collection and love the way that Husqvarna have crafted clothing that works in the sad-
dle but is casual enough to wear on an everyday basis.
Click on any image for more information.
M

FEATURE

HIDING
TO
NOTHING
WHAT GOES INTO A MotoGP
RACER’S LEATHER SUIT?
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by CormacGP
 FEATURE
H
igh-tech synthetics or
the butt of an animal?
MotoGP and WorldSBK
race suits offer a wealth of
protection thanks to the pres-
ence of airbag engineering but
custom-made leathers still
blend properties of materials
that go back before the wheel
was even invented.
Curiosity regarding what
MotoGP athletes are using
as their principal form of
safeguard against high speed
tumbles and scrapes led us
to a revealing sit-down with
Alpinestars Jeremy Appleton
last season. Just under half of
the entire MotoGP grid were
wearing their leather suits in
2019 (and more than twenty-
five throughout all classes),
among them the world cham-
pion and his HRC brandmate
Cal Crutchlow. “They have so
much experience with what
works and what doesn’t work
that it is very rare to see a
problem with the leather or
any problem,” says the Brit
who has been using ‘Astars’
since 2014. “They are special-
ists and are constantly im-
proving and that’s important
because we have to maximise
protection with weight, safety,
design and many things.”
Onto the details then…
We have two fundamental
materials in terms of
leather…
It is either bovine (cow) or
kangaroo and the vast major-
ity of riders use kangaroo.
The reason being that we

can make the suit somewhat
lighter because we can reduce
kangaroo leather to be thinner
than bovine. It is all to with the
properties within the skin of the
animal and kangaroo offers a
bit more flexibility: the tensile
strength is similar but a thinner
kangaroo hide is more-or-less
the same as a thicker bovine.
Interestingly the bovine leather
tends to retain its shape and
fit for longer, and some rid-
ers really like that. They like
the fact that a suit is tight and
hugs them closer. Casey Stoner
always liked to have a bovine
suit because the feel he got
was very particular. Someone
like Jorge Lorenzo prefers
more space and Kangaroo
works just fine; if the suit
flexes out for him then that’s
better. It comes down to each
rider’s approach and they are
all super-sensitive to every-
thing. So, for us, once we have
defined the pattern and the fit
solution for a rider then – un-
til a change is planned – then
every suit is made exactly the
same as the previous one.
Riders are sufficiently sensi-
tive that they will pick up the
difference in feel between two
“CASEY STONER ALWAYS
LIKED TO HAVE A BOVINE
SUIT BECAUSE THE FEEL
WAS VERY PARTICULAR.
SOMEONE LIKE JORGE LOR-
ENZO PREFERS MORE SPACE
AND KANGAROO WORKS
JUST FINE...”
different suits and we go to
great lengths to make sure
they are identical. Neverthe-
less, you are dealing with
an item that is made from a
natural product and there are
vagaries within that.
In terms of construction then
the base material for the suit
is the animal hide…
Then it goes through a tan-
ning process and we have a
very unique technology which
we apply to the outer surface,
which is a coating that ac-
cepts the print finish that we
MotoGP LEATHERS
put on the material. The suits
in MotoGP are prominently
printed. That allows us to
make them as light as possi-
ble because we are not adding
extra material and the base
graphics can be any colour
and whatever intricate pat-
terns to get good registration,
so they look very sharp. Most
importantly it means we don’t
cover up the ventilation sys-
tem we build into the suit or
the perforation and the suit’s
natural flexibility is retained
because we are not putting
extra layers in. So, in the tan-
ning and finishing process
there are other chemicals
used to make sure the leather
feels good; things like antibac-
terial treatment and similar
considerations.
For our wet weather suits we
have an aquaphobic treat-
ment we also apply to the
outer skin…
For the rain riders have tradi-
tionally put on an extra layer,
or a plastic, the problem with
that - as you have probably
seen on camera - is that they
flap around because it is very
hard to get the fit really tight
and they don’t breathe very
well. During a Grand Prix
you are not getting rid of the
moisture from a rider’s per-
spiration which is fatiguing.
So, the aqua treatment has
been a good win. We’ve sub-
stantially reduced the intake
of moisture into the leather
(which absorbs it quite ef-
 FEATURE

“A LOT OF A KANGAROO
SUITS IN MotoGP WILL
BE ABOUT 1-1.5MM BUT
WE MIGHT LEAVE A LITTLE
BIT MORE THICKNESS IN
CERTAIN AREAS. WE COULD
ALWAYS GO WITH HARDER
AND STRONGER LEATHER
BUT THE TRADE-OFF IS THAT
YOU HAVE LESS FEEL AND
WITH A STIFFER FINISH.
RIDERS DON’T WANT THAT
AND IN MotoGP IT IS ALL
ABOUT SENSITIVITY AND
AS LITTLE WEIGHT AS
POSSIBLE.”

fectively) so it is around 70% over time they tend to stretch

better with the treatment. That
means we tend not to put as
much venting on a wet weather
suit and it just shoots the
water off the surface, which is
helpful.
The Pros and Cons to bovine
and kangaroo…
Generally-speaking bovine will
last longer…but that that’s to
do with the filaments in the
hide of a kangaroo suit being
longer and more flexible so
more than a bovine suit. The
hide in the bovine suit is a bit
thicker so again you have more
longevity out of it. There are
not too many other differences
between the two. Kangaroo is
more expensive and, critically,
you have to select a good hide. ences in quality can be quite
At Alpinestars we define very great. Kangaroo hides can be
carefully where the hides come effective provided they are the
from before we even get to the ‘right’ kangaroo hides and that
tanning process, and with kan- takes research, development
garoo your sources are always and an understanding of what
going to be limited: the differ- makes the right hide.

We don’t add anything specif-
ically with the material itself
to help with abrasion…
What we tend to do is put
external protection on the
suit, like the polymers you
see on the shoulders, elbows
and knees, and where we have
really high wearing areas we
have either double-thickness
or we scarf-out the leathers to
a lesser degree. For instance,
a lot of a kangaroo suits in
MotoGP will be about 1-1.5mm
but we might leave a little bit
more thickness in certain ar-
eas. We could always go with
harder and stronger leather
but the trade-off is that you
have less feel and with a
stiffer finish. Riders don’t want
that and in MotoGP it is all
about sensitivity and as little
weight as possible. Like other
athletes in may sports these
guys are operating at the
absolute limit of their physical
potential so anything prevent-
ing that is not ideal.
The MotoGP suits and
customer suits are really
similar…
They will have the same mate-
rials, same construction pro-
cess and same performance
and protection, even down to
the lessons and applications
we learn about venting and
keeping a rider’s body ambi-
ent temperature during the
race. We can move that across
for the customer. In GP we
are dealing with many highly-
individual fits as well as the
graphic customisation, which
means that the make-up pro-
cess is slightly different even
if the technology is the same.
The suits that we offer to cus-
tomers are simply a couple of
months behind what we are
doing with the riders in terms
of the tech. The Kevlar stretch
panels and everything else is
the same spec.
Of course, not all of the suit is
leather…
We have sought to improve
the flexibility of the suits and
MotoGP LEATHERS
that’s a case of using ara-
mid fibres for the elasticated
stretch panels that you see.
On our suit we have what
we term as a fully floating
back: there is a multi direc-
tion stretch panel all the
way around but that is actu-
ally concertina leather. So
we stitch elasticated thread
through the leather and that
gives you that ‘accordion type’
effect which allows the suit to
move very comfortably in any
direction and also means the
consistent leather itself is not
being pulled in any particu-
lar direction because the suit
flexes out and back in those
joints. The aramid fibres per-
haps don’t have the length of
travel that the stitch has but
they are very strong and allow
us to join the leather panels
with an area that is light-
weight, very flexible and very
strong for abrasion resistance.
Those areas have increased.
We have probably gone from
80-90% of leather down to
something like 65-70% - haz-
arding a guess. The airbag
has made a difference as well
because we had to re-spec the
suit to accommodate not only
the airbag in its passive state
but when it’s activated, we
need to give the rider some
breathing space.
Fundamentally the suits have
remained predominantly
leather because at the
moment there is no better
substitute…
FEATURE

If you look at all the perfor-

mance criteria from a leather
suit, then natural leather still
does the job better than any-
thing else. We’ve looked at
multiple man-made fibres to
try and improve areas and
maybe in abrasion you can
find a better material but it
doesn’t breathe, or it doesn’t
stretch or it is too heavy. All
sorts of issues that don’t quite
work. There is an ongoing bat-
tle and the material research
department are always look-
ing at different industries for
new technologies and new
ways to define the perfor-
mance characteristics of a
suit…but the lab test is the
ultimate dictator before we
get to the track. Until the lab
team sign-off for something
that is proven to be better
what we’re already using then
of course it does not make
it onto the product. Then it
comes down to our field test-
ing at the track. First off what
sort of response we get from
the riders and what sort of
evidence we get out of the use
of the materials.

We actually have a test

team…
Before the material would
ever make it to the track it
would be evaluated through
all of the scientific processes
and laboratory analysis. It
would then go out on the
road. It’s very likely that Ga-
briele [Mazzarolo, company
owner] himself would be

trying it. If it got through the
road stage then it would prob-
ably come here to MotoGP
and likely make its absolute
debut at a test and we would
involve different riders across
the categories. The athletes
themselves – by-and-large –
tend to be very happy with the
specification they are using at
this particular time and any
change we introduce needs to
be done in a very open and
communicated way so they
understand what it is coming
and why. They are extremely
good for testing because they
are mentally attuned to being
highly sensitive and capable
to analyse what is working
and what is not working
and what makes a difference
to the performance on the
bike. And they are used to
giving feedback, which means
we get great feedback! The
development team are al-
ways looking to push ideas to
change technologies as new
things become available to us
but ultimately the athletes are
testing those ideas and new
construction techniques and
giving us the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or
what adjustments need to be
made to optimise it.
There have been times when
the performance of the suits
have amazed us…
I know we had a couple of rid-
ers in the AMA series – about
ten-fifteen years ago - go
down on the Daytona banking
at very high speed and the
suits were remarkably intact.
That was impressive. Perhaps
the one issue we began to
look into as a result of those
accidents was not so much
the leather technology but
the control of friction heat.
Through our auto racing we
came up with some solutions
involving Nomex fibre which is
a fire/heat shield material to
see if we needed to be lining
areas of suits for very high-
speed racetracks to prevent
that heat coming through.
More recently the incident
that immediately comes to
mind is Loris Baz’s crash in
testing at Sepang three years
ago. That was a 200mph+
get-off and the deceleration
MotoGP LEATHERS
between the time that Loris
lost control and hit the track
was minimal because we saw
the airbag data. He hit the
track at more than 180mph
and the suit was battered but
it held and Loris’ only fall-
out from that was a slightly
bruised elbow. It was a good
‘pat on the back’ for the de-
velopment team – not that we
ever want to see riders crash
or take pleasure in seeing
them go through that situation
but the fact that suit held up
was pretty special.
It does beggar belief that Mo-
toGP is so high tech but we
are using the same materials
as the cavemen…!
But like anything when you
are dealing with it daily then
you don’t think of it that way.
It is a big compliment to
‘mother nature’ and it is ex-
traordinary that something so
simplistic has stood the test
of time. With all the technol-
ogy and all the know-how we
have not been able to repli-
cate what we source from an
animal. The team of people in
the racing development centre
and the product department
are incredibly clever at being
able to harness properties of
very natural material that has
been around forever and find
ways to use it better and more
effectively.
 PRODUCTS

ALPINESTARS
Alpinestars Techair 5 airbag is the latest
generation of a technology that he company
have been fashioning for the better part of
twenty years and the efficiency of which has
been protecting riders on a weekly basis in
international racing series. The firm claim it
offers a greater effect than 18 back protec-
tors and now has more upper torso cover-
age than ever (shoulders, chest, ribs and
full back). It uses 3 gyroscopes and 3 accel-
erometers to deploy in a maximum inflation
time of 20 to 40ms based on the volume
of the airbag size. Alpinestars claim ‘the
impact absorption while wearing the airbag
results in a decrease of the impact force by
up to 95% compared to a passive protec-
tor’.

The autonomous product comes in Race

(triggers at higher speed) and Street set-
tings - which are easily configured - and
is compatible with a range of leather and
textile jackets in the Alpinestars catalogue.
It simply slips underneath, is connected via
cable and provides up to 30 hours of riding
time before needing a recharge. Expect to
pay around 700 dollars.

www.alpinestars.com
 ARLINGTON
SX AT&T STADIUM · RND 8 OF 17 · FEBRUARY 22
450SX winner: Eli Tomac, Kawasaki
250SX winner: Chase Sexton, Honda
 SX TEXAS

ET
TRIPLE
By Steve Matthes. Photos by James Lissimore
SX TEXAS
SX TEXAS
 SX BLOG
THE HARD YARDS...
The 2020 Monster Energy Supercross series is coming up to its half-
way point (who knew?) this weekend in Atlanta and we’re starting to
get some separation here in the 450SX class. But not in a good way in
case you’re wondering.
Look, supercross is danger-
ous, we all know this and
year after year it becomes
a series with the walking
wounded going out each
weekend. We all know this
but the past weekend in Dal-
las, we saw the first time all
year just how much of a toll
this sport takes on people.
We had round two of three of
the Triple Crown format, we
had the second round of the
250SX east coast and maybe
we had a full moon. I’m not
sure because the stadium
in Dallas is covered but how
else to explain the carnage
we saw?
Let’s recap shall we?
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s
Adam Cianciarulo crashed off
the dragon back and broke
his collarbone in practice,
he’ll be out for a month or so.
His impressive rookie year is
on hold for now.
Honda’s Justin Brayton
crashed five or six times
throughout the day and
finally the final one after the
finish line did him in for the
night and he missed the final
two races.
Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb
had a bad crash in the sec-
ond Main exiting the dragon
back where he landed on the
concrete. It was very scary for
the defending champion and
although he missed the last
main event, somehow it looks
like he will be ok for this
weekend’s race in Atlanta.
JGR Suzuki’s Jimmy Decotis
had a big fall off the, wait for
it, dragon back, in practice
and missed the entire race.
Monster Pro Circuit’s Jordon
Smith crashed approximately
14 times in his three races
while Martin Davalos ap-
peared to want to match his
racing number (37) with his
number of spills.
And these are just the ones
that I can remember, I’m sure
there were more than a few
more out there. What was
it? The Triple Crown format?
Some riders like Rockstar
Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson is
pretty adamant that it’s the
format that’s doing it as the
shorter races cause more rid-
ers to really go for it as well
as the simple math of more
laps equals more crashes
because, well, it’s supercross
and for most racers, it’s not
a matter of if they’re going to
ditch, it’s when.
 CREATED THANKS TO
But you’ll notice that in the
description above there were
a few mentions about the
dragon back obstacle. There’s
a certain speed you can go
off of these and more than
a few guys pushed it a bit
hard, missed the top jump
“LOOK, SUPERCROSS IS
DANGEROUS, WE ALL
KNOW THIS AND YEAR
AFTER YEAR IT BECOMES
A SERIES WITH THE
WALKING WOUNDED
GOING OUT EACH WEEK.”
that “bumps” you over the
landing. When you miss it,
things go sideways. Perhaps
the obstacle itself could have
been built a little better but
the riders are always free to
go to the track crew and rec-
ommend some changes. The
track in Dallas was also slick-
er than the riders thought it
would be. There was a hard
base to it and traction looked
good but a few riders told
me how they would spin out
there.
BY ADAM
WHEELER
Meanwhile out front, we
have Monster Kawasaki’s Eli
Tomac and Honda’s Ken Roc-
zen starting to pull away from
everyone else here as Webb
crashed out and Rockstar
Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson
has had a few bad races.
“The dragon back was
sketchy a little bit, for sure.
I’m sure everyone had a mo-
ment on that thing because
the dirt here is really good
but it breaks apart and gets
slick and you lose traction,
and then you get kicked on
that last one,” said Monster
Yamaha’s Justin Barcia after
the race. “So it took out a
lot of guys. Then there were
other sections that took out
guys, too. It sucks to see
some competitors get taken
out right now.”
“In my opinion, it was the dirt
and the way they built the
obstacles,” said Brayton who
was a victim of the night in
Dallas. “If we have good dirt
and traction, we don’t see
BY STEVE MATTHES
the crashes. The whoops are
the same way. The obstacles
and the dirt didn’t match.
Also, too many whoops on
dragon back also and the way
it shaped up didn’t work out
either. It was more of that, we
were hoping and expecting
traction and didn’t get it.”
I went to one of the more
outspoken riders on the
circuit in Chad Reed the day
after the race and asked him
about “Carnage Cross” that
we saw this weekend.
“It was the easiest dragon
back I’ve ever raced,” said
Reed and thereby confusing
me even more. “There is this
weird thing on the right side
of the bars guys can use!”
Typical Reed, blunt and not
holding back, continued: “I
thought it (dragon back) was
like everything nowadays,
super fast and easy and the
top one got steep. The issue
is everyone’s just used to pin-
ning it with no real technique.
 SX BLOG

#
To me the real problem is
everything’s so easy and fast
so when there are crashes
that are huge and costly. The
bikes are the best they have
ever been, tracks are faster
and easier than they have
ever been.”

So there you have it, a cou-

ple of riders that said they
didn’t have an idea of why it
was so nutty in Dallas while
some others point to the
track, dirt and the TC format.
Myself, I go back to the top
of this column. We usually
see the field thinning out a
little more gradual than we
had at Dallas and maybe, it’s
the natural order of things
but this past weekend, we
were reminded of the bru-
talities of the sport all in one
night.
#GO
ADVENTURE

Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!
The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost.
Photo: R. Schedl
KTM 390 ADVENTURE

ADVENTURE MORE
Fuel your restless spirit with a new adventure
every day. Discover KTM’s sporty attitude and
proven performance credentials aboard this new,
compact single-cylinder travel-enduro machine –
the KTM 390 ADVENTURE. Versatile ergonomics,
smooth power delivery, and innovative technology
all come together in a comfortable, lightweight
package – created for those who want to fit more
adventure into their daily lives.
SX TEXAS
 PRODUCTS

FLY RACING
Fly Racing’s owners – Western Power
Sports – have prided themselves on sourc-
ing proven, quality goods right across their
product range and therefore their Sedona
Tyres project (mainly in the USA) is worthy
of note. Of particular interest is the new
MX-208SR; a steel-belted radial carcass
that allows motorcyclists to run at lower
air pressure and to withstand hard, sud-
den blows without rebound or shock to the
bike’s handling. The tyres also feature a
dual rubber compound with a front ellipti-
cal and rear drive-link tread pattern.

“The comfort that I get was unmatched out

on the trail,” said industry product tester
Kris Keefer. “On longer days in the saddle,
the MX-208SR’s almost acted like a second
set of suspension, which at my age, was a
welcomed feeling”.

“The knobbies are the deepest I’ve seen,

yet to my surprise I did not experience tyre
roll,” offered former racer Brock Sellards.
“It also hooked up well on the motocross
track that was on the dry side. Sedona hit it
out of the park on this one.”

Sedona claim the model offers ‘a controlled

footprint for predictable performance’. Clink
a link to read and see more.

WWW.FLYRACING.COM
 PEACE OF MIND WITH
PERFECT VISION

4.5 & 5.5 GOGGLES

The answer to your question? Yes! Our goggles are bulletproof, they can take impacts like no oth
perfect fit and cool looks that won’t break the bank. They meet all the design criteria we set out w

THE SCIENCE OF THRILL

 Jonny Walker

her allowing you to look ahead without fear of the roost or branches,
when we started developing these for you.

L E AT T. C O M
PRODUCTS

TROY LEE
DESIGNS
Watch for the Monster Energy Yamaha MX2
team (Jago Geerts and Ben Watson) this
weekend at Matterley Basin: thanks to the
squad’s new association with Troy Lee
Designs both the Belgian and the Brit will be
wearing not only some of the best looking
gear in the gate but also some of the most
technically advanced. We visited TLD’s HQ in
California last year - and will hopefully be get-
ting over again in the next two months - and
can verify that the Ultra Limited Edition line
is featherlight, stretchy and feels ridiculously
tough; it’s a premium set of kit and sits at the
top of the perch with the likes of Fox FlexAir,
Fly’s Evolution, Answer’s Trinity and Alpine-
stars’ Supertech. In collaboration with Adidas
the jersey is made from HeiQ® Smart Temp
Technological fabric which ‘thermoregulates’
depending on the body’s temperature. The
Yamaha Ultra livery won’t be on sale until
April apparently, so fans should get in touch
with the company or a reliable TLD dealer to
make enquiries asap in order not to miss out.
See more on the Ultra here:
www.troyleedesigns.com
FEATURE

DROP IT!
PLAY
READY FOR 2020 MXGP? WE SPEAK TO JEFFREY
HERLINGS, GLENN COLDENHOFF, TOM VIALLE &
THOMAS COVINGTON AHEAD OF GP#1 & ASK HOW THEY
(AND OTHERS) DEAL WITH FIRST RACE NERVES
By Adam Wheeler. Photos Ray Archer
 MXGP

T
his weekend the 64th FIM Motocross World
Championship gets underway at arguably the
best track on the calendar. For the first time
in the modern era the British Grand Prix will run the
gauntlet of late winter weather to open the sched-
ule for what will be the tenth MXGP visit to Matter-
ley Basin. Not since 2012 has the championship got
underway on European shores so the turnout from
across the north of the continent for the initial taste
of twenty will be curious to chart. In 2019 Matterley
demonstrated that the southern English can play ball.
Regardless of the conditions – except for a 2017 MX of
Nations style deluge – there is little doubting the fine
stage and course that the Winchester venue provides.
As March 1st draws closer, we spoke with a handful of HERLINGS: “I DON’T FEEL
athletes keen to develop their own individual
narratives for 2020… I NEED TO WIN EVERY
RACE”
There are still a few hours and title at a canter. 2017: breaks GP I raced that year except for
days left to go but it seems that hand on the eve of MXGP de- Mexico [the final round]. So
a fully fit Jeffrey Herlings is but but finishes as runner-up. it was awesome…apart from
ready to slay MXGP once more. 2018: sets a new benchmark for missing those three-four races
From an utterly dominant 2018 performance at elite level. 2019: and then the championship! I
in which he owned 17 from 19 double break to the right foot. also had a shoulder injury at
Grands Prix and finished run- the beginning of the season.
ner-up in the other two events Herlings could be ready to But…2019 was easily the worst
to a virtually non-existent 2019 unleash a degree of anguish year of my career.
where he made just 4.5 appear- but he insists he is ready to
ances (winning two of those sacrifice short-term glory for You had two tricky starts but
however) Herlings is hoping long-term gain from within the still came back to win and then
the pendulum swings back the confines of Red Bull KTM (the claimed the Nations at Assen…
other way. greatest team ever assembled it finished well.
in the premier class) and his The last races were just the
Aside from 2012 and 2013 eleventh world championship cherry. The complete cake was
where he stamped his name season. long gone. It had been eaten
into the annals of the sport, by the time I got to the table! It
Herlings has bounced from We’re struggling to believe him was a tough year mentally and
dominance to disaster almost as well… physically. The second injury
on an annual basis. 2014: loses was not so bad but the first
the MX2 crown by just 4 points Mentally, was 2019 worse than one was. I was out for a long
after having a lead of more than 2014? That year you were still time. It’s a part of the sport
150 and breaking his left femur. very young and lost the crown where ‘everyone gets their turn’
2015: loses the MX2 crown in a so narrowly [special feature kinda thing; you can see it with
similar position after dislocating coming up in the next OTOR!]… [Jorge] Prado and it happened
his hip. 2016: claims third MX2 Way worse. I think I won every to Tony [Cairoli] as well,
MXGP 2020: HERLINGS
 MXGP
MXGP
[Romain] Febvre and [Clem-
ent] Desalle. Everyone has their
turn every couple of seasons. It
frustrating.
Is there a different approach to
this season then? Realisation of
the sixty starts and forty mo-
tos to come? A repeat of 2018
perhaps isn’t necessary…
My mentality is different. I don’t
feel that I have to win any more
– I mean, I want to win but in
the past if I didn’t then I had
‘failed’ and the world would fall
in. I’ve learned that your health
is the most important thing.
Racing is important to me but
my health and my life way-
more. So if I have to take risks
to win then I don’t want to do it.
I want to be in the ‘safe zone’.
You can definitely still crash or
go down in the start and break
bones at any time but some-
times I went a bit ‘over’. Now I
prefer to be in the safe zone and
take a 3rd at whatever race than
take a risk and end up in hospi-
tal again. My goal this year is to
be at all twenty races. And to try
and fight for the championship.
Try to become a bit smarter and
maybe lose a few fights but try
to win the war.
In 2018 you virtually changed
the sport and raised the level.
Do you ever think about that or
are you too close to it?
I did it the Aldon [Baker] way.
I went all-out. If 100% was the
maximum I did 110. I watched
every single piece of food I ate,
I calculated sleep and jet lag,
I trained my ass-off, I left my
social life on the side for almost
a year. It was tough. I took the
Aldon method for supercross
but perhaps went even more ex-
treme. It is hard to do that just
for a few years, physically and
mentally. It was worth it though
to come to that level and win
17 from 19 races and finish
second twice: I think it is one
of the greatest seasons a rider
has had. I also won pre-season
races, all the Dutch Champion-
ship events I did, and my class
at the Motocross of Nations. It
was almost a picture-perfect
year…and I cannot do it again.
First of all you need to be lucky
and you need to take some risks
to make it happen: I remember
starting some races from fif-
teenth and still pushing hard for
the win. I’m not looking for that
now. I won the championship by
something like 150-points and
through missing a race and you
can win a championship by just
5 points if necessary. I don’t feel
like I need to win every single
race anymore.

The way you race makes that
difficult to believe…
You need some injuries, and
then you’ll understand.
It is rare to see you at any-
thing less than 100% commit-
ted…
Look at Assen last year. In
the last moto I was OK to
take fourth. I wasn’t feeling
good that day with the mud.
I thought ‘if this is my worst
day – a 2nd and a 4th – then
I’m still looking good if it was
a championship’. You need a
few hospital visits to be able to
think that like.
You still looked annoyed that
day though…
I was disappointed in myself
because I feel like I failed…but
at the same time I was smart.
It wasn’t my day, but I accept-
ed it. I had worked for more
than two months just for that
race but nothing went for me;
the starts were bad, the track
had been flattened each time
and that meant it was harder
to pass, and then the condi-
tions. So, I was pissed, mainly
because it hadn’t rained for
like two months in Holland and
then it didn’t stop that week-
end! Quite a lot went wrong
for me but looking back I think
it was one of my best races
because I accepted not to win.
It’s something I wouldn’t have
been able to do two years ago.
The older you get; is it easier
to think more like Tony Cairoli
where a podium each week-
end means a very high level of
consistency…?
Yeah, that’s my goal as well
this year. There are definitely
some tracks where I really want
to go for the win, but when I
MXGP 2020: HERLINGS
go to somewhere like Russia
or Czech Republic then I know
these places are not my tracks.
If I can get on the podium then
that’s good enough and – most
importantly – I get to the races
after. I need to be at each GP.
Injuries can happen but you
have to remind yourself to be
smart. It’s easy to sit here at
this table and say it but you’ll
see it in my racing this year:
if I can get a win or a podium
then I’ll try for it otherwise I’m
OK to let it go.
 MXGP
COLDENHOFF: “I’M NOT A COCKY GUY”
Another member of the strongest (current)
motocross nation and something of a recent
MXoN specialist, Glenn Coldenhoff is sitting
in front of us in KTM racewear. The hurried
nature of the factory GasGas deal means that
Matterley Basin will be the big unveiling for
the latest marque to grace the premier class.
The 29-year-old is using his Standing Con-
struct 450 SX-F in the meantime for the final
stages of winter prep and an off-season pe-
riod in total contrast to 2019 where he broke
several vertebrae and raced his way back into
fitness and form.
Coldenhoff frustratingly chucked the positive
momentum from his RedBud Motocross of
Nations crowning moment into the sand with
his violent and shocking crash at the end of
2018 but is hoping that the five podiums and
three wins (including Assen) from the close
of ’19 will run into the new campaign. #259
scaled the top fifteen of MXGP in rapid style
to snag the bronze medal at the final round.
Anything like the same level of form will mean
the Dutchman is an outside title contender,
regardless of the colour of the plastics.

The question everyone must have for you-
‘Can I back it up?’ [smiles] I don’t really
know. I feel very good and had a good
winter so far I just had a small injury
before Riola [Sardo in Sardinia and the
first International race of 2020 at the end
of January] and that’s why I did not race
there. It was to the same ribs where I
broke my back, so I tend to feel any prob-
lems quite quickly there. Anyway, it was
just one week off the bike and I rode some
more in Italy before going to Hawkstone
Park. I definitely have more confidence
and more experience. It will be pretty
interesting to see what I can do from the
start.
You’ve always relied quite heavily on
confidence, so there must still be some
important value in leading those races in
Turkey and China and making someone
like Herlings work hard to catch you…
Yeah, he also said something like that in
an interview; like he was dealing with a
new ‘Glenn’ that he hadn’t seen before. I
definitely felt really good at the end of last
season and everybody recognised that. I
think when Jeffrey is really fit then he is
hard to beat…but you never know. I will
try to be up there every single weekend
with the guys. Consistency is very impor-
tant, and you need to make sure every
start is good.
The injury must have severely dented
the first half of 2019 because people see
you racing and assume you are fit and
100%...but that’s not the truth…
Sure, but I also feel that I underestimated
myself. I had a lot of pain until the halfway
point of 2019 and then you are always
playing catch-up to the others that are fit.
There was one moment early-on where we
ended up having a five-week break in the
MXGP 2020: COLDENHOFF
calendar and I could work in that period.
Only having two weeks on the bike com-
ing into the season definitely isn’t good.
In the end I got fit, got better, got more
confidence and made the results.
Another obvious question: is a bid for the
championship a realistic goal?
I’m not a cocky guy and won’t tell it like
that but I’m working my ass off every day
to get the results and winning is the best
feeling out there. I will go into every sin-
gle race for it. Championship-wise I got
3rd place last year and there were a lot
of injuries [to others] but I was also in-
jured myself. Anything can happen. I had
a strong finish to the season and for most
of it I was around tenth in the standings
and finally pushed up to third, so it is a
very long series. I will try to be consistent
all year long and hopefully be on the box
many times.
COLDENHOFF FRUSTRATINGLY
CHUCKED THE POSITIVE MOMENTUM
FROM HIS REDBUD MOTOCROSS
OF NATIONS CROWNING MOMENT
INTO THE SAND WITH HIS VIOLENT
AND SHOCKING CRASH AT THE END
OF 2018 BUT IS HOPING THAT THE
FIVE PODIUMS AND THREE WINS
(INCLUDING ASSEN) FROM THE
CLOSE OF ’19 WILL RUN INTO THE
NEW CAMPAIGN.
 MXGP
MXGP
COVINGTON: “I’M HEALTHY BUT IT TAKES TIME
TO GET THAT FITNESS BACK”
Midway through 2018 Thomas
Covington was picking up
form. The Grand Prix of France
delivered the first of five MX2
podium results in the next six
races and would represent the
purple patch of nine trophies
and a victory that year. That
weekend at St Jean D’Angely
he also confirmed that he
would transfer works Rock-
star Energy Husqvarna teams
from MXGP to the AMA and
head back to the States for
the first time in more than half
a decade. Injury and illness
meant that Covington – who
would have had one more year
of MX2 eligibility in 2019 –
meant his first season as an
AMA Pro was a write-off. Mar-
riage to a Brit and the chance
to return to Grand Prix as an
MXGP rookie with the Gebben
Van Venrooy Yamaha brought
Covington over the Atlantic
once more.
As one of the only Americans
attempting to find his way in
the FIM World Championship,
Covington is still a novelty and
faces yet another fresh start
in his career. Can he (or we)
expect much from a tentative
first step in 2020?
First of all: sum-up the Husky
experience in the U.S. It just
didn’t work out for you…
I would have liked to have
stayed for my last year in MX2
but the way things were there
was not the chance to remain
with Husky for a 450 ride at
that time [for 2020]. So, I’d
rather agree to a two-year deal
in America than maybe
nothing. Looking back, I
maybe should have stayed
but I learned a lot over the
past year and I’m glad I did it
regardless because I’d always
wonder ‘what if?’ otherwise. It
was a bummer the way things
went with the illness and a
few nagging injuries as well as
moving everything back home
and getting used to super-
cross it was a lot to take on at
once. It was a hectic year for
sure. All-in-all I’m happy to be
back in Europe. I got married
last year and that was great.
It is good to be back ‘home’
around family in England. I’m
enjoying it.
MXGP, Yamaha and more new
adventures, so you must have
stood at a big crossroads
again at some point…

Obviously, it was a difficult sit-
uation with Husqvarna. It was
my first year in America [as
Pro] and they expected a lot
more from me. Things were
not going well with my rac-
ing and they were not happy.
I missed racing in Europe for
sure, so when the opportunity
came up to possibly do some-
thing with Yamaha that was
really interesting for me and
I decided to go for it. I have
always like the 450 and raced
it at the Nations a few years
ago. I think it suits me…and I
was ready for a change.
You moved from a factory
team to a blossoming priva-
teer team: is that something
else to get your head around?
Yeah but it’s not been a really
big deal because Gebben have
been really good in providing
anything that I ask for. There
are a lot of positives because
the guys are really eager to
get the bike dialled-in and are
listening to what I say about it
while I’m learning.
You’ve faced some adversity
the last few years - and it
must be character building -
but being a rookie in MXGP
must be like starting over…
Definitely a new challenge
and the field is very stacked,
especially this year. It’s pretty
crazy. I feel that if my fitness
is good and my bike is dialled
like I want it then I can put
in some decent results. Obvi-
ously, I’m not expecting to
light the world on fire in my
first year but if I can get some
consistent good results then I
can build from there.
By the end of your stint in
MX2 you were disappointed if
you didn’t make the podium,
so what do you think MXGP
will be about? Top tens?
Yeah, especially this first year.
I think the top ten will be good
for me. That’s probably my
goal; to be in that top ten as
much as possible and I feel
that it’s realistic.
Physically are you 100%? Will
you go back to the old GP
training programme?
Yeah, exactly that. In America
I was on quite a different
programme and I drove myself
into the ground with all the
pressure as well. I did every-
thing and anything I had to
do to be competitive in that
MXGP 2020: COVINGTON
outdoor championship but I
think I pushed my body too
far. It took about six months –
after consultation with doctors
at the clinic – of doing nothing
to get back to feeling better.
Now I’m healthy but it takes
time to get that fitness back.
With a regular injury - to your
hand, arm, whatever - you
can still do some basic train-
ing but with this it was a case
of ‘do nothing’. I’m working
again with Joel Roelants and
building myself back up. I
wish I had a bit more time but
hopefully at some point into
the season I’ll be back to my
full potential.
You’re based away from the
U.S. again but perhaps more
settled than ever?
Yeah, that’s true. I see myself
staying over here for at least
the rest of my career and
maybe even after that too. It is
definitely a different mindset.
You’ve had a question mark
for most of your career, such
as ‘can he do it on this bike?’,
and it’s still there. Does that
feel heavy sometimes?
At times I guess, last year it
did get pretty heavy. I had so
much time on my hands to do
nothing and you start think-
ing about those things. But
that also forced me to grow
up too. I don’t really care any
more about what everybody is
saying. I will just do the best
I can and what is best for me
without worrying about other
opinions.
 MXGP
VIALLE: “TO BE HONEST WE HAVE NOT TALKED MUCH ABOUT GOAL
Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle
has a tough lineage to main-
tain. The Austrians boast no
less than eight different world
champions in MX2 since
2004 and have missed out
on title success with their
250 SX-F only four times in
that period. They have won
all-but-one MX2 crown since
2010.
Understandably KTM are
top heavy for 2020 with the
axis of Cairoli, Herlings and
Prado in MXGP so the MX2
programme falls largely on
Vialle’s shoulders for what
will be only the French young-
ster’s second season in Grand
Prix. His teammate, Rene
Hofer, will be hoping to gather
even a slice of the 2019 ‘Vi-
alle rookie effect’ that led
to seven podium results, a
maiden victory and 4th place
in the world. Despite his
inexperience (but undoubted
potential) Vialle is one of only
two riders in the 2020 MX2
pack that knows what it is like
to win a GP.
From the status of being an
unknown ‘gamble’ for KTM in
’19 Vialle now needs to cope
with another level of expecta-
tion…
So, a different season
ahead…
Totally different and I keep
seeing it [a reminder], even
on social media. It’s a big
step. Last year I still hadn’t
done a Grand Prix and had
no idea of where I could be
in MX2: top ten? Top five?
One year later and many
are talking about me for the
title! It’s a really big step but
I know I have the speed and
I was pretty strong in many
GPs, especially at the end
of 2019. I had a good winter
and I feel good on the bike. I
want to win as many races as
possible but I don’t want to
start-off too crazy, I want to
stay calm and to see how the
championship is going.
You were not over-excited
or too down in the tough
moments during 2019; you
seemed to take everything in
your stride. Can you envisage
keeping the same mentality?
It is a new challenge now and
the approach for the season
is really not the same as last
year. I’m not someone who
usually gets stressed though
so I think I will be OK.
You must have fully assessed
2019. What did you want to
improve for this year?
At the end of last season my
level was pretty good and I
was fighting with Jorge. It
is difficult to improve the
speed much more, so we
have worked a lot physically
to improve the last ten min-
utes of the race and to be
stronger. I’m also looking at
the championship in a bigger
way. In 2019 it was a bit up-
and-down for me and I guess
that’s normal in a first season
but I need to be more consist-
ent. To be honest we have not
talked much about goals for
2020; we just made a plan
and followed it as much as we
could this winter.
 MXGP 2020: VIALLE

LS FOR 2020”
Your starts were good and your
race-rhythm also when you were
with the leaders but there were
some motos when you dropped
back, so what was the weak point?
Some riders have different
rhythms. There are some that start
fast and drop down and others who
are the other way around and I had
to discover that in 2019, both for
myself and of the other guys. I felt
that was one way I improved every
race; my knowledge of where to go
and what to do.

“DESPITE HIS
INEXPERIENCE VIALLE
IS ONE OF ONLY TWO
RIDERS IN THE 2020
MX2 PACK THAT KNOWS
WHAT IT IS LIKE TO WIN
A GP...”
 PRODUCTS

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 MXGP
AWAY
WITH
THE
BUTTERFLIES
Matterley Basin is the opening salvo of
twenty and aside from the unknown permuta-
tions for the results there are also a barrel of
different riders and characters dealing with
the emotions and heightened fuss surround-
ing the first major race of the year. Athletes
– from rookies, to those with ‘comeback’
stories, to those with the added pressure of
the expectancy to win or challenge for cham-
pionship honours – will all be dealing with
the slightly closer microscope of ‘round one’
in a variety of ways, so we thought we’d ask
a spread of them about their thoughts, man-
nerisms and attitudes to what is perhaps the
most intense date of the season.
Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: Nerves?
Yes and no for the first races. I use the pre-
season ones to get rid of a few issues like
arm-pump. You go through different phases:
I remember being super-nervous at every
GP when I was eighteen - I was very anxious
about winning – whereas in the last two races
of 2019 the championship was already decid-
ed and I lined-up thinking ‘I’m either going to
win or lose here…and nobody really cares’.
Shaun Simpson, SS24 KTM MXGP: By the
time of the first Grand Prix you have usually
had some pre-season races, maybe even a
British Championship, so the cobwebs are
gone, and you are into a weekly routine. The
first GP is still a massive deal because it’s
the start of the world championship and the
first batch of points.
Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM: The fact that we
ride a lot before the first big moto helps, I
think. We have the practice sessions, the
qualification heat, warm-up: all to get a good
feeling on the bike.
Jed Beaton, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna:
Having so much time on the track before the
races help let out the butterflies before the
races. I think there will be a lot more nerves
on Saturday at Matterley compared to Sun-
day because people will already have a gauge
of how they feel and seeing where everybody
is with their times. It’s weird but Sunday is
more relaxing.
MXGP 2020: NERVES
 MXGP

Rene Hofer, Red Bull KTM: I usually sleep BEATON: “HAVING SO MUCH
well. It’s a normal situation for me. I might
be thinking a bit more about the race and the TIME ON THE TRACK BEFORE
routine. You can sometimes feel the nerves of THE RACES HELP LET OUT THE
other riders around you compared to another
race. It’s good that the EMX classes are on the BUTTERFLIES BEFORE THE
same days as the world championship be- RACES. I THINK THERE WILL BE A
cause that means you can get used to the en-
vironment and things like the crowd, the busy LOT MORE NERVES ON SATURDAY
SkyBox and the TV. When you finally make it AT MATTERLEY COMPARED TO
to MX2 then it doesn’t feel like such a big dif-
ference anymore.
SUNDAY...”
Beaton: You have a lot of nerves going into the
event but once you hit the track it just feels
normal. You have that tunnel-vision until the
chequered flag when you can look around and
appreciate the thousands of people that are
there and see the chainsaws and airhorns that
you have heard while you’re riding.

Thomas Covington, Gebben Van Venrooy

Yamaha: For sure you always get a few nerves
before the first race but I’ve never been one
to struggle much with that. I just focus on
the things I need to do: I know I need to get
the bike right, I need the right feeling through
the corner and ruts and then I know I have to
make a good start.

Herlings: I get to the gate late because it’s

usually pretty hot and when I’m there I see
the other guys but I don’t want to, I want to
focus on my own thing and not be intimated
by anyone. That’s how I’ve done it for a few
years now and since we’ve had the metal
mesh. What’s the point waiting there for fifteen
minutes until the guy says ‘OK, go out for the
Sighting Lap’?

Glenn Coldenhoff, GasGas Factory Racing:

Experience helps. A few years ago [for me] it
was worse. I think I will still feel nervous at
Matterley but not to the point where it will af-
fect me. I’ve done enough races now! I don’t

focus on any other guys and I also started to
question this idea that you have to do a lot of
pre-season races. Why? I’ll ride at Hawkstone
and have a few competitive motos against a
solid field. Although I do believe it’s good to
have one race before going to the first GP.
Vialle: I sleep pretty good! I’m actually excited
more than anything because it feels like the
last GP – or big race – was a long time ago,
a lot of months. I really enjoyed 2019. Every
GP, every day at the circuit, every practice and
now it means I’m really looking forward to go
again.
MXGP 2020: NERVES
Hofer: I try to visualise the track before the
sighting lap and then try to highlight areas
when I am doing the sighting lap.
Simpson: In the past we’ve been in Qatar and
Argentina and there has been a stress-free
vibe because there is either not much of a
crowd compared to a European round or the
paddock is not too busy. There is not so much
‘weight’ and just the usual amount of duties
like the TV graphics and photos to be done.
When it comes to Saturday morning and prac-
tice then that’s when you start looking around
at the other set-ups and riders and other
changes that maybe you hadn’t seen up until
MXGP
 MXGP 2020: NERVES

then. You are also not so sure about your form:

there is a certain amount of the ‘unknown’
about it. I just want to go, get stuck in, leave
nothing on the table and see where we are; my
best is only good enough.

Beaton: In the same way that everything builds

up to A1 in Supercross and it becomes this
massive thing and then drops into something
a bit more ‘normal’ for round two, I think it’s
similar for the GPs: nobody knows where they
are going to stack-up and where fitness levels
are, but once that first race is done you are
like ‘ah, right, OK…’

Herlings: You do know about the others be-

cause every year when the championship
starts to fall into place then it is always the
same guys: it has always been Gajser, always

Tony, always Febvre. Sometimes people

step in, sometimes others step away. Prado
will ‘join’ this year. It’s nearly always the
same though.

Hofer: I just try to go smooth because I feel

that many riders try to show their potential
at the first big race of the year but we all
know the season is long. So, you have to
almost have a ‘pre-season’ mentality: try to
take it easy and put maximum fun factor
into it.

Beaton: At the first round you have to think

‘it’s a long season’. You cannot get over-
excited when there are nineteen more to go.
In my case I will need to be pretty relaxed.
I missed Argentina in 2019 because of a
back injury and by the time I’d come back
for round two people had settled-down and
I kinda missed that ‘first round build-up’.
Being back in Europe I think the hype will
be high and it will be cool.
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 Swijgers

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 MXGP
SBK BLOG
BLOG

TITULAR TITULAR
THE VALUE OF THE FIRST...

Ah, first round hype. To be honest there is nothing like it. There can be
other challenges and situations such as ‘who can defeat Tony Cairoli on
Italian soil?’ or ‘who can stop Jeffrey Herlings at Valkenswaard?’ and
‘will the French prevail in France?’ but there are few better prefaces than
Grand Prix #1 where every rider has yet to start their roll of momentum
and confidence and the formbook is blank.

We all know the factory riders
likely to be setting the pace
at Matterley this weekend but
that doesn’t mean nerves, jit-
ters or rustiness won’t come
into play and possibly deter-
mine a final result. The Brit-
ish Grand Prix is first on the
slate for the first time in the
modern era which means the
conditions could range from a
moderate late winter climate
to extremely testing mud, rain
and wind although it seems
that the Winchester-site has
braved the grim stormy UK
weather fairly well in recent
weeks. It’s a mixed bag and
who knows what racer will
jump out first.
Matterley will see MXGP and
MX2 protagonists eager to
compete after their last ma-
jor outing in the Netherlands
on September 30th 2019.
For the vast majority of the
experienced Grand Prix pack
it is also the first nibble of a
big cake that will carry both
sweet and sour tastes over the
next six months with visits to
sixteen other countries and
three fixtures per month (with
the exception of July). Once
the teams start rolling out of
the UK and on towards the
Eurocircuit near Eindhoven
thoughts will already be work-
ing on the next instalment of
57 race starts to take place.
Matterley encourages excite-
ment but will also see some
reservation, especially from
riders returning from serious
injury like Cairoli, Clement
Desalle, Romain Febvre and
(maybe whisper it with hope)
Jorge Prado. A couple might
gorge on the occasion, most
will show some restraint: this
could be another decider in
the overall top ten classifica-
tion on the day.
The value of round one is
debatable and will be a source
of a small feature in MXGP
Special Edition of OTOR next
week but mathematically it
still constitutes a maximum
haul of 50 points. Take it or
leave it, considering that only
two of the last ten MXGP
championships have been won
with an advantage less than
50 at the end of the season.
CREATED THANKS TO
You could argue for the bol-
stering effect administered
in the victories by Tim Ga-
jser and Jeffrey Herlings in
Argentina in both 2016 and
2018. Rookie Gajser went on
to be champion that year and
Herlings’ last lap battle and
demotion of teammate and
reigning #1 Tony Cairoli set a
template for the ’18 season.
In terms of the final outcome
in the standings then round
“ONLY TWO OF THE LAST
TEN MXGP
CHAMPIONSHIPS HAVE
BEEN WON WITH AN
ADVANTAGE LESS THAN
50 POINTS...”
one has proven to be fairly
unprophetic in the last ten
years. Since 2010 only four
athletes have won the premier
class: Cairoli (2010-2014 &
2017), Gajser (2016 & 2019),
Romain Febvre (2015) and
Herlings (2018). From that
spell only Cairoli (2012 and
2017), Gajser and Herlings
BY ADAM
WHEELER
BY ADAM WHEELER
have walked away from the
opening salvo with the first
win bonus of the campaign,
just 50%. Other victors have
included Clement Desalle
(three times), Gautier Paulin
and Max Nagl; all of whom
had their subsequent title
plights disrupted or ruined
through injury.
Of course curtain-closers are
fantastically dramatic and
watching Herlings
limp into the 2014 Mexican
closer with a weak left femur
and lose out on his second
MX2 crown by just four points
and witnessing the jubila-
tion that accompanied David
Philippaerts’ final race title-
confirmation at Faenza in
2008 (the first Italian to take
the premier class crown since
Andrea Bartolini’s 500cc
success) provided unforgetta-
ble fare. Those moments are
few-and-far between however
whereas ‘round one’ comes
around without fail on an
annual basis.
That only leaves me to urge
fans to make the trip to
southern England. Yes, it
could be a washout but could
also also serve up something
a little different compared to
the usual British Grand Prix,
and is worth the investment
considering that Matterley al-
most didn’t make the sched-
ule for 2020 as part of an
events-promotion and organi-
sation landscape that is not
getting any easier or more
feasible. Even if the odds
seem pretty long for a ‘com-
fortable’ Matterley experience
the chances of catching some
promising and unexpected
action appear to be much
brighter.
 PRODUCTS
THE
INSIDE LINE
Motocross is poorly served in terms of books,
and therefore former Grand Prix rider Rob
Andrews’ ‘The Inside Line’ is not only a wel-
come publication but a pretty damn good
one. Andrews’ labour of love in documenting
a racing life and a career competing in what
many regard as some of the glory years of the
sport - the 1980s 500cc FIM World Champion-
ship - immediately makes his story one of the
most comprehensive and detailed accounts
available to any fan. As an autobiography the
account is obviously first person-heavy and the
Brit sometimes feels like he has to justify be-
ing part of the start gate with some legendary
names but the amount of detail and insight of
what it is actually like to have raced on ‘those’
tracks, against ‘those’ rivals and in front of
‘those’ crowds makes this one a little
unmissable.
The description of the first years falling in love
with motorcycling throuhg a chance encounter
and schoolboy racing at the tail end of the ‘70s
is the start of a journey that would lead up to
his first Grand Prix qualification in Germany
in 1984 and then onto podium finishes at the
highest level, include frank and honest
accounts of those experiences.
Andrews can be heard voicing Eurosport com-
mentary on MXGP these days so he keeps up
with the sport and is not some sort of dinosaur
that has pulled himself off the shelf in order to
create something that goes up on it. The book
is full of little asides, whether about passion,
influential figures like Bryan Wade, paddock
life or a detailed recollection of the Namur
Citadel. He doesn’t hold back when it comes
to describing the lasting effects of injury (the
danger of supermarket glass doors!) or his
initial appraisal of the 1985 factory Kawasaki
KXs. The book costs 40 pounds but Andrews
has done his homework and almost 400 pages
are chocked-full of stunning photographs
both of action and behind-the-scenes. In fact,
thanks to the clean and appealing design, ‘The
Inside Line’ is both a story and a picture book
which only increases the value for money.
Andrews may believe that modern motocross
and MXGP fans probably won’t be interested
in his tale but I disagree. I think many people
with even a passing interest in the sport have
been waiting a long time for something like the
‘The Inside Line’ and the effort and sincerity
that has gone into the book mean it’s almost
an essential purchase.
To buy a copy simply visit:
www.theinsidelinebook.com
PRODUCTS:
www.theinsidelinebook.com
 NO SHORTCUTS

FAC E F OA M

SCOTT-SPORTS.COM
© SCOTT SPORTS SA 2020
SCOTT CAMO EDITIONS
 MotoGP BLOG
ANY TREASURE IN THE DESERT?
So MotoGP testing is
done and dusted. The
new bikes for each
manufacturer have
been turned upside
down and inside out in
pursuit of maximum
performance. New
parts have been
tested, approved, dis-
carded, and everything
in between. Factories,
teams, riders are all
as prepared for the
new season as they
are going to be, or not
quite as prepared as
they would like to be,
in some cases.
Extrapolating the results of
testing onto the coming season
is always notoriously difficult.
The best-laid plans of mice and
manufacturers rarely survive first
contact with the cold, harsh real-
ity of racing. Pace during a long
run in testing turns out not to be
the same as running twenty laps
in the middle of a hectic battle.
Only once the bikes and riders
engage in combat on track does
the real balance of power become
visible. We will only really get an
idea of where the MotoGP riders
and factories stand at Qatar.
Or will we? If predicting how the
season will pan out on the ba-
sis of testing, is the first race at
Qatar all that much more instruc-
tive? If history is a guide, then
the answer to that is: not really.
Last year, Andrea Dovizioso beat
Marc Márquez to win the first
Grand Prix, but it was Márquez
who went on to win the title ut-
terly convincingly. Cal Crutchlow
ended up on the Qatar podium in
2019, but he would only manage
to get on the rostrum in two of
the remaining eighteen races.
2019 is no exception. Andrea
Dovizioso won the race in 2018
as well, and again finished sec-
ond after Márquez. In 2017, it
was Maverick Viñales who took
victory: he would go on to fin-
ish third in the championship,
nearly 70 points behind the
winner, Marc Márquez. In 2016,
Jorge Lorenzo won in Qatar, but
Márquez took the championship
again. In 2015, Valentino Rossi
won the first race, but it was his
teammate who took the title that
season. You have to go back all
the way to 2014 for the last time
the rider who would go on to be-
come champion won the season
opener.
Why the lack of correlation
between the first race in Qa-
tar and the rest of the season?
First and foremost, because of
the test which happens shortly
beforehand. With three days of
track time at the circuit before
the race weekend, everyone has
their bikes pretty well dialled in.
No one is scratching around for
a setup which might work, and
the bikes barely change between
the test and the race. Qatar is a
bit of an oddity as well, for a lot
of reasons. Being in the desert
means the track is always dusty,
as strong winds bring sand and
limestone dust from the sur-
rounding area. Running the race
at night means track tempera-
tures are lower than most other
events, ironically, without the sun
to heat the tarmac. This might
change a little this year, though,
with the starting time pushed
back to 6pm, shortly after sun-
set.
The layout of the track is unusual
too. From the first corner to the
last, there are plenty of flow-
ing corners were an agile bike
can open up a gap over a bike
which doesn’t turn so well. From
the last corner, the bikes blast
along Losail’s kilometre-long
front straight, which registers
the second highest top speed on
the calendar, second only to the
mighty Mugello. But this doesn’t
mean the track suits an all-round
bike. Instead, it tends to favour
machines with either fantastic
corner speed or mind-blowing
top speed. It isn’t a track which
suits compromises.
The season doesn’t get any more
predictable after Qatar either.
The first few overseas races
take place at venues where the
teams lack data, so setup rou-
tinely involves a bit of guesswork.
Thailand is hot, humid, and
punishing, and has three massive
straights. Austin is another pecu-
liarity, a rollercoaster of a track
blighted by subsidence bumps.
Argentina barely sees any use
during the year, so MotoGP ar-
rives to a dusty and rubberless
track.
It is only once the teams get
back to Europe that they get
back into their stride. On tracks CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S
they know like the back of their NEWEST RACING TEAM
hands, on circuits the engineers
had in mind when designing the
bikes, the championship starts to
shake itself out. By mid season,
factory engineers will have fig-
ured out what they got wrong at BY DAVID EMMETT
the start of the year, and brought
parts to address that, adding a
further twist to the champion-
ship. Crashes, injuries, mechani-
cals can all add extra complica-
tions. The season never quite
pans out like you expect.
Would I bet on the outcome of
the Qatar race on the basis of the
test here? There are a few names
I’d be willing to put money on.
Would I bet on the eventual Mo-
toGP champion based on what
happens in the race? History
tells me I’d do better to invest
my money in a decent meal in
downtown Doha.
 MotoGP

CormacGP
 MotoGP

Polarity Photo
 MotoGP BLOG
CRISIS AVERTED?
Crisis? What crisis?
One or two head-
lines were made to
look a touch foolish
come Monday night
when Marc Marquez
claimed parity had
been restored amid
the Repsol Honda
ranks, and he would
sleep easy in the ten
days between the end
of the preseason and
resumption of hostili-
ties on 8th March.
Qatar provided the backdrop for
a turbulent three days for HRC
and its trio of riders attempt-
ing to make sense of the 2020
machine they will command in
what will be MotoGP’s longest
ever season. The long, fast right
bends that mark out the 3.8-mile
Losail International Circuit were
the new RC213V’s kryptonite on
days one and two as a lack of
front end feel (sound familiar?)
dogged Honda’s boys.
Come the close of Sunday’s run-
ning and it was hard to conclude
anything other than things were
looking dire for the factory that
has emerged from each of the
past three seasons with Mo-
toGP’s elusive Triple Crown. Its
riders using the latest factory
trickery were 14th, 19th and 21st
on the time sheets. And it didn’t
end there.
The elder Marquez was unable
to lap the track within a second
of riders he beat with one eye
closed a year ago. Cal Crutchlow
abandoned his media duties in
favour of resting a right arm that
had ballooned up to the size of
pig’s thigh after a bruising crash
at turn two. And class rookie Alex
Marquez was sporting the kind
of thousand-yard stare normally
associated with returning war
veterans.
“Of course I’m worried,” Marc
told us on Sunday. The issue
stemmed from front instability
and a lack of agility. “We’re push-
ing on entry and stressing the
front tyre and the consequence
is that you push the front more.”
Crutchlow chipped in, saying “we
can’t decelerate the bike and
we can’t turn the bike with this
pushing that we have on it. So,
it’s essentially, you’re holding the
brake a long time, you’re unable
to turn the bike in the middle of
the corner.”
We all know one of Honda’s
maxims is to provide power,
believing it a requisite of its rid-
ers’ jobs to do the rest. But even
their technicians’ efforts seemed
a touch extreme. Last year’s ma-
chine was no walk in the park, as
Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo’s
struggles demonstrated. With
their comments appearing to go
unheeded, management in the
factory team was privately less
than impressed with the fruits of
HRC’s winter labours.
So, the following day, when
engineers were spotted wheel-
ing one of Takaaki Nakagami’s
’19-spec RC213Vs into the reign-
ing champion’s garage, it was
safe to assume drastic measures
were being undertaken at a less
than ideal time. Team manager
Alberto Puig told a group of us
they were attaching and testing
parts from the ’18 machine, as
well as last year’s, including the
aero package.
Later that evening there were
smiles. And just out of shot sighs
of relief. “We found the problem,”
Marquez exhaled. His time was
some way off pace setter Fabio
Quartararo. But he was within
range of both Suzukis and Mav-
erick Viñales. For a man that
hasn’t finished a race outside the
top two in 18 months that’s all
that is needed to know he can
push to repeat his feats of the
past four years.
Rushing to any hasty judge-
ment at this test is a perilous
task. Historically it’s never been
kind to Honda with the track’s
flowing sections more suited to
the Yamaha and Suzuki’s char-
acteristics. Repsol Honda was
approaching full-scale meltdown
here in 2016 before Marquez won
two of the first three races (and
finished third in the other) on the
way to a third premier class title.
Last year Crutchlow lingered in
17th in the test yet both were on
the podium two weeks later.
Let it not be forgotten he is still
some way off peak fitness, too.
A damaged nerve in the right
shoulder continues to prod him
with pangs of pain. His crashes
at both of this year’s tests
stemmed from a lack of upper
body strength to save the kind of
front slide he’d recover from the CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S
brink in previous years. And un- NEWEST RACING TEAM
like the recovery twelve months
ago on the left shoulder, nerve
damage has no definitive time-
line for full rehabilitation.
And while Marquez’s mood was BY NEIL MORRISON
upbeat, Crutchlow is only too
aware of the task ahead. “It’s
the same problem that I said I
had in Valencia when I first rode
it. It felt even worse in the area
[where last year’s bike was weak-
est]. It seems that they’ve car-
ried on with it, and this is where
we are today. So let’s see if they
can work a miracle.” It’s all well
and good building for one of the
greatest of all time to win. But if
the others struggle for top sixes,
top eights or top tens, recent his-
tory may well repeat itself.
 MotoGP BLOG

If you were in the Englishman’s

shoes, you’d surely be feeling
maximum frustration. Like last
year, Honda’s thinking seems
to have mirrored what technical
chief Takeo Yokoyama spelled out
last year. “We concentrated in the
winter time [of ‘18/’19] to give
him as much power as possible,
knowing that there will be some
other problems. But we decided,
OK, the problems will come,
but again, he’s the best rider, so
maybe he can manage.”

To be fair, this thinking has been

good enough to bring the rider’s
title home in each of the past four
years. But for how long can Honda
continue placing all its eggs in the
Marquez basket without getting
caught out. With Viñales, Quar-
tararo, Rins and Mir all lurking in
the shadows, you do feel they’re
riding their luck.
 PRODUCTS

MX VICE
Not content with being the best online out-
let for news and updates across their social
media and website platform, MX Vice are
diversifying with items of casualwear, their
lengthy but entertaining Podcasts (always
better with studio guests or interviews inter-
spersed) and their interactive MX Manager
game. The ‘fantasy’ MX Manager is free to
play, features some great prizes and is a fun
way to bench-race with hundreds of other
fans that think they know which rider is bet-
ter at bringing in the points.

www.evenstrokes is the e-commerce offshoot

that features a range of premium brands at
competitive prices. Well worth checking out.

WWW.MXVICE.COM
MotoGP
 Y
WorldSBK

L
FEATURE

E TO F
FIV rldSBK
I N W o
RESIDENT WorldSBK EXPERT AND
NEW OVERSEER OF
WWW.RACINGLOWDOWN.COM
STEVE ENGLISH GIVES US HIS FIVE
TALKING POINTS (OR QUESTIONS/
THOUGHTS) AHEAD OF ARGUABLY
THE MOST COMPETITIVE
CHAMPIONSHIP CAMPAIGN FOR A
NUMBER OF YEARS
Words & Photos by Steve English
 WorldSBK

Suddenly Redding was winning races again,

and the confidence that was his hallmark as
a youngster returned. The swagger was there
but so was humility. As a racer, the 26 year
old had seen his career hit rock bottom. It
taught him who to trust, who had his back
but most importantly it reminded him how
much fun racing can be. Redding showed
that winning races can come easily because
he loves the grind that goes on behind the
scenes.

SCOTT REDDING:
HISTORY MAKER?
No rider has ever won a British Superbike
and World Superbike title in consecu-
tive years. Can Scott Redding be the first?
There’s a real chance that the Englishman
can live up to the hype.

In his final years in MotoGP it was easy to

forget that Redding was the youngest Grand
Prix winner at one point in time; a 15 year
old that turned up for his Grand Prix debut
in the 125cc class and promptly qualified
on the front row of the grid in Qatar. This is
a man who won races in the 125 and Moto2
classes and also had podiums in the premier
class. Talent was never a question but there
were plenty of doubts hanging over him by
the time he was discarded by Aprilia.

Twelve months ago, Redding moved to Brit-

ish Superbikes as a curiosity. Would he be
able to resurrect his career and adapt to
British tracks? Would he be able to get the
most out of a production-based bike after a
decade riding Grand Prix machinery? Would
he be able to deal with the pressure of being
a big fish in a small pond? The answer to all
of these questions was a resounding yes.

This was shown by his recovery from pre-season
injuries. Breaking his leg while mini bike rid-
ing in Spain last winter left him with in a race
against time to get fit for Round 1. Team boss,
Paul Bird, had laid it out in no uncertain terms
to Redding how close he was to finding another
rider following this injury. His career lifeline was
slipping away from him. Training and rehab took
over for Redding and when he lined up on the
grid at Silverstone, he had already done enough
to prove his hunger and determination.
2020 WorldSBK TALKING POINTS
From that point onwards he showed why it
was always likely that BSB would be a “one
and done” operation for him. His talent,
experience and speed didn’t surprise any-
one but his approach to the season did. His
performances at Oulton Park, Brands Hatch
and Cadwell Park were very impressive and
showed that he was a quick study for new
tracks but also that he could accept being
beaten and ride for points with a bigger pic-
ture in his mind.
That bigger picture was the title, and when
he was crowned champion at Brands Hatch
in October it was richly deserved. Can he
repeat the trick in 2020? Redding will have
all the tools at his disposal to get the job
done and can start the year with lots of mo-
mentum behind him. He goes well in Phil-
lip Island, loves Qatar, knows Jerez better
than any other track on the planet and then
heads to Assen which was a second home.
Success breeds success and the confidence
that comes from winning keeps a rider roll-
ing. Redding is ready for the confidence to
flow in WorldSBK and he won’t be underesti-
mated in ‘20.
 WorldSBK
KAWASAKI:
REA OUT FOR SIX,
LOWES OUT TO
SURPRISE
2019 was the best we’ve seen from Rea. To
win that title meant giving everything he had.
Can he go to the well again in 2020?
Jonathan Rea was a heavyweight boxer in
2019 but as he juked it out with Alvaro Bau-
tista for the title it was more about rolling with
the punches rather than landing a knockout
blow. It was Rea’s best championship but also
showed how easy it can be to lose his grip at
the top. Getting the job done showed that he
is still the man to beat but also that the com-
petition is closing in.
The Ducati V4R was a game changer in 2019
and it will only get stronger. Kawasaki are back
with the same bike as twelve months ago and
as the ZX10RR gets longer in the tooth, the
odds for Rea extend too. That he was able to
weather the storm and come out on top shows
that you underestimate the five times world
champion at your peril...but it’s the chinks
in the armour that his rivals will focus upon.
Winning is hard but to keep winning is even
harder. Look around the sporting world and
there’s countless examples of this but Rea was
so relentless last year once momentum shifted
his way. He was a pitbull backed into a corner
after four rounds and he came out with only
one intention; to put everyone in their place.
Let’s see if he has the same fight in 2020.
On the other side of the Kawasaki garage Alex
Lowes joins from Yamaha. Being the teammate
to Jonathan Rea is a thankless task; he’s the
greatest Superbike rider of all-time. Rea never
gives an inch. Who’d want to be compared to
that? After spending three years as teammate
to Michael van der Mark and having grown up
with an incredibly competitive sibling rivalry,
Lowes is arguably the best placed rider in the
world to slip into the second Kawasaki berth.
He won’t be fazed by days when Rea beats him
and he won’t get carried away if he comes out
on top. He knows that world class racers all
have their days and that it’s about the
balance of 39 days of on track action through-
out a season.
 2020 WorldSBK TALKING POINTS

Winning and learning from the team is the target

for Lowes. The move to Kawasaki meant that he
switched to a crew that had won six of the last
eight WorldSBK crowns. The team - and not the
bike - was what impressed Lowes immediately.
He’s quietly confident for 2020 but also very
realistic. The goal is to make sure that he adds
to his Brno 2018 win. Despite a weather inter-
rupted testing programme, Lowes has felt more
and more comfortable every time he’s ridden the
Ninja.

He’ll need to adapt his riding to the Kawasaki

compared to the demands of the Yamaha but
braking harder in a straight line and being ag-
gressive was what marked him out as a British
Superbike rider on a Honda. This could be the
year that he makes the step forward and be-
comes a regular race winner.
 WorldSBK

FULL FACTORY HONDA: CAN THEY LIVE

UP TO THE HYPE?
 2020 WorldSBK TALKING POINTS

Honda is back! We said it twelve months
ago but now it’s the real deal…
When it was announced at EICMA in late
2018 that HRC would be back in WorldSBK
as a full-factory effort, it set up a chain
reaction of expectation. For the first time
since 2002 Japan was taking an interest in
winning a Superbike title. It was a massive
story. It was fantastic for the series…until
the opening round when suddenly it became
clear this was a year of gathering data.
As the season went on it became clear that
the story for Honda in 2019 was “nothing to
see here.” It was disappointing at the time
but when the bikes rolled out in January at
the Jerez test the initial buzz from EICMA
came right back! The bike looks tiny, it’s
got a strong engine and seems to be cutting
edge at every angle. This is what HRC is all
about. With lots of Japanese engineers com-
ing from HRC HQ this is clearly a proving
ground for them, maybe before they move to
MotoGP, and the same can be said for me-
chanics and crew members. They are shy on
experience in Superbike racing, but maybe a
clear set of eyes can be used to their advan-
tage.
The excitement around Honda also comes
from their acquirement of Alvaro Bautista.
The Spaniard won the opening 11 races of
2019 and has the tools to be a WorldSBK
champion.
“Compared to Ducati this is different. I was
comfortable with the Ducati straight away,
it was like putting on a glove because the
engine character was the same as MotoGP
with the V4 engine. Now I’m using an inline
four and that’s different, but this is a very
new project and we’re working in a good
direction with the bike and evolution of the
bike. We need more kilometres but Honda
are working day and night in Japan.”
Bautista and Leon Haslam offer a strong rid-
er line-up with Takumi Takahashi also join-
ing WorldSBK for a full season. Hiring Domi
Aegerter as a full-time test rider also shows
their ambitions. This project will leave no
stone unturned but 2020 is likely to be an
inconsistent year. The key for Honda will be
to maximise their good weekends and come
away from those races with podiums.
When Honda puts all their chips to the cen-
tre of the table they expect to win big other-
wise heads will roll. Patience might be key at
the start of the campaign but it’ll wear thin
very quickly if the Fireblade isn’t cutting it at
the front.

“This is a full factory team and it’s just like

in MotoGP,” Bautista said recently. “It’s full
of Japanese engineers from HRC. There’s
nothing for us to be envious of because the
level is high. Honda is serious and we’re
supported by HRC. I’m convinced that we’ll
fight for good results. Alberto Puig and
Kuwata-san have been at the tests and that
shows how serious they are about this pro-
ject.
 WorldSBK

BMW WILL
BMW:
LAVERTY
FINALLY GET
BACK TO
WINNING?
Last year BMW sprung a surprise with
their return to WorldSBK. Tom Sykes
had podiums and a pole position. In
2020 they’ll expect to make another
step

Shaun Muir has set a target of fourth in

the world for Tom Sykes. To do that he’ll
have to beat factory riders from Kawa-
saki, Ducati, Yamaha and Honda. It’s not
impossible but it seems like a stretch to
see the 2013 world champion achieve
it. Winning races again should be Sykes’
aim, and then wait and see where the
chips fall for the points at the end of
the year. Mr Superpole showed that the
speed is still there with the switch to
BMW but a step is needed to be able to
fight for race wins over a full race dis-
tance.

That step can come over the winter but

it would still be a big ask for Sykes to
consistently win races. Phillip Island is
 2020 WorldSBK TALKING POINTS

a chassis circuit where Sykes the maximum. During winter

impressed last year. With
more power on tap he might
be closer in Australia than
people expect but it’s later in
the season that the wins will
be possible. Donington Park
will definitely be the round
circled on his calendar.
For Eugene Laverty, this is
last chance saloon territory.
Whichever BMW rider comes
out on top is likely to have
their contract extended but if
you’re beaten by your team-
mate, you could easily be
testing, Laverty was focused
on dialling in the electron-
ics on his bike and making
them more progressive. Find-
ing the right feeling was key.
In Portimao it seemed they
had achieved this, so now it’s
about getting the most from
the bike and hitting the front.
With almost the entire grid
in a contract year it’s more
important than ever to have
momentum from Round 1, and
Laverty will know this. The
dynamic within the team will
be very interesting. Sykes has

“FOR EUGENE LAVERTY, THIS IS LAST

CHANCE SALOON TERRITORY. WHICHEVER
BMW RIDER COMES OUT ON TOP IS LIKELY
TO HAVE THEIR CONTRACT EXTENDED BUT
IF YOU’RE BEATEN BY YOUR TEAMMATE, YOU
COULD EASILY BE SHOWN THE DOOR...”

shown the door. Laverty is relaxed since leaving Kawasaki

now six years removed from
winning races, an eternity for
a man that grew accustomed
to challenging for world titles,
and now it’s put up or shut up
time. A series of bad injuries
robbed him of opportunities in
recent years and a succession
of poor bikes didn’t help his
lot.
and is back to his gregarious
self. He will row his own boat
in terms of setup, and the
team has already seen that
Laverty offers them feedback
that helps develop the bike.
Will this divergence be the
difference between the two
riders?

He needs to make the most

of his BMW opportunity and
that means using the two
days of testing in Australia to
WorldSBK
Michael van der Mark and
Toprak Razgatlioglu. Has there ever been a
more eye-catching partnership in WorldS-
BK? No matter what the results this pair
will be a box office draw in 2020

For three years Yamaha has had one of the

most complete and even rider pairings in
the Superbike World Championship. Alex

YAMAHA:
Lowes might have left, having finishing third
in the world in 2019, but in his place comes
Toprak Razgatlioglu. The Turk would have

TOPRAK been a fantastic gun slinger in the wild west.

He’s brave, never knows he’s beaten and has

VS VDM the fastest reactions this side of the Black

Sea.

Up against him is Michael van der Mark.
The Dutchman oozes natural ability. Riding
comes easy to him and at times in his career
he relied on his talent too much. In recent
years he’s been able to knuckle down and
get the most from himself. If you want an il-
lustration of what van der Mark can do, look
at some of his battles with Jonathan Rea.
Going toe to toe with the five times champi-
on doesn’t faze the Yamaha rider, and having
come out on top of those battles he’s clearly
not a man to be underestimated.
The same goes for Toprak who, like van der
Mark, claimed his first WorldSBK victory by
coming out on top in a gloves-off battle with
2020 WorldSBK TALKING POINTS
Rea. The young duo won’t be afraid of upset-
ting the apple cart. Being the first rider from
their countries to win WorldSBK races? Job
done. The objective now is the title.
They have the talent and both could cut it in
MotoGP. Winning is the key to getting there
on a good bike and giving themselves that
opportunity. The Netherlands is an impor-
tant market in motorsport, as seen by the
crowds at the Dutch TT and the return of
Formula 1 to the county, and Turkey has a lot
of eyeballs to engage with for television. For
both riders the road to MotoGP goes through
the opposite side of the garage.
 WorldSBK BLOG

TIME TO GO AGAIN...
Even though we are almost two months into
and standard lighting switch
2020, when you work in WorldSBK, there is
gear included, and building it
an almost spiritual feeling crossing the bridge into a race machine that they
that connects the towns of San Remo and could go testing with the fol-
lowing day.
Newhaven. Arriving on Phillip Island, 17,000km
from home, it’s only now that the new year has In Phillip Island they were
really just begun. represented only by Ta-
kumi Takahashi. They had
It is quite fitting that the two-day test at Phillip Island, confirmed Jordi Torres as
season should kick off so far immediately before the race a second rider at the team
away from the European base weekend, is always an op- presentation but it was too
of the teams that compete portunity to see who is ready late in the day to get a bike
in the championship. It feels for the task ahead and who is together for him to race
like we are properly starting facing an uphill struggle from this weekend. On track the
an adventure for another year the start. contrast couldn’t be starker
and it brings with it a tangi- either. Takahashi was over
ble sense of anticipation. We In the Honda camp the dif- five seconds slower than
have had the winter testing ference couldn’t be starker. Leon Haslam on the factory
and the team launches and At one end of the pit lane machine, who ended the test
here were are, ready to start the HRC squad arrived fresh fifth fastest overall, only half
the first round, with teams from a team presentation in a second off Jonathan Rea.
and riders resplendent in the Tokyo days before. They were That and the fact that the
new liveries. fully prepared and look every MIE machine blew an en-
inch the factory outfit they gine on the first day leaving
The sense of anticipation for are. At the other end of pit- Takahashi to jump off it at T4
this year’s season is greater lane however, the MIE Althea as flames billowed out from
than it has been for some Honda squad, run by Mori- under the fairing. On to bike
time. Sure we still have the waki Engineering, had also no.2 then.
same reigning champion for come from the presentation
everyone to aim at but the in Tokyo but spent their first
distance they have to reach day in Phillip Island stripping In the factory team Haslam
seems to be shortening. The down a road bike, pillion seat would appear to have adapt-

ed to the new Fireblade far
quicker than his team-mate
Alvaro Bautista who, it was
reported, admitted to strug-
gling to find a set up he was
confident with and had only
been concentrating on get-
ting a good feeling with the
bike rather than setting a
fast lap time.
LAST YEAR WAS
UNIQUE IN THE WAY
THAT BAUTISTA
DOMINATED, AND I
CAN’T SEE IT
HAPPENING THIS YEAR
AGAIN,
There doesn’t seem to be
much room for maneouvre
at the top of the time sheets
as we head into a day-off at
Phillip Island. The Yamahas
of Loris Baz and Toprak Raz-
gatlioglu, the BMW of Tom
Sykes and Scott Redding’s
Ducati, alongside the afore-
mentioned, Haslam, were
all within half a second of
Rea, who only set his fastest
lap on the second day. He
BY ADAM
WHEELER
improved his time from the
first day by half a second but
I think that improvement is
more down to the rider being
a bit more in the groove over
any set up changes to the
Kawasaki.
With all that anticipation
floating in the air the old
cynic in me has been offer-
ing some words of caution
- we have been here before.
Phillip Island is a fairly
unique circuit that throws up
some close racing, regard-
less of the class, and I don’t
expect this year to be any
different. What is doesn’t do
is open a window to the form
for the rest of the season.
Last year was unique in the
way that Bautista dominated,
and I can’t see it happening
this year again, but Raz-
gatlioglu, Sykes and Redding
all seem to be within striking
distance of Rea.
Rea himself looked relaxed
and comfortable. Phillip
Island is of course a second
home to him as his wife
BY GRAEME BROWN
hails from the Island and
her parents still live here. A
few years ago Jonathan and
Tatia built their own house
so every night after leaving
the track JR heads home
to sleep in his own bed.
He therefore seems pretty
chilled when he is out and
around in the paddock. On
track there are a few little
terriers starting to nip at
his heel but I wouldn’t bet
against him just yet.
Looking to the year ahead I
have mixed feelings about
heading from Phillip Island
to Qatar. I never like going
there but straight after such
a good event in Australia will
bring me back to earth with
a bump. That said getting it
out of the way and having
Argentina as the last round
to enjoy is actually quite a
pleasant option. Let’s hope
that this year when we go
there we don’t have any dif-
ficulties with the track and
more importantly we crown
another World Champion.
 WorldSBK

Steve English
THE JOY OF 6?

JONATHAN REA ON THE

SEARCH TO KEEP BREAKING
NEW GROUND
By Adam Wheeler. Photos by Steve English/GeeBee Images
 WorldSBK

F “I HAVE NEVER LOWERED MY

or all the promise at Honda, the
mystery of Yamaha, the growing
potential of BMW and the strong MOTIVATION AND I LIKE TO SET
personalities now a factor with the works TARGETS. I GUESS I AM ADDICTED
Ducatis, it is still the world championship
winning Kawasaki Racing Team that carry TO THE BIG W. THE UNIT I HAVE
the strongest narratives into the 2020 AROUND ME WORKS SO WELL:
season of WorldSBK.
I WALK AWAY, COME BACK AND
There was a showbiz element of their ALWAYS FIND A BETTER BIKE.”
‘talk show’ format for the 2020 Team
presentation, well within an audible
throttle blip of the Circuit de Barcelona-
Catalunya pitlane. The KRT workshop
had been transformed into a stage where
much was made of the crew’s first ‘home’
event – due to take place at the track
in September and where, unbelievably,
they’d tested for the first time in their ex-
istence a few days previously – but also
where questions were centred around the
adventures ahead for 33 year old Jona-
than Rea and 29 year old incoming new-
bie Alex Lowes.

Lowes gave-off a confident air. The for-

mer Yamaha man may be holding a
heavy chalice as teammate to the five-
times #1 and assuming a role that frus-
trated both Tom Sykes and Leon Haslam
but was clearly relishing the competitive
environment, equipment and atmosphere
that proved so effective for Rea from day
one of joining the Catalan set-up in 2015.

As for the champion, Rea once again

props himself up as the largest target on
the range and prepares for another sea-
son of arrows from competitors, critics,
fans and neutral followers of the sport
that would like to see a changing of the
green guard. Rea was pelted by Ducati
and Alvaro Bautista in 2019 but some-
how found a way to reverse his predica-
ment and profit from the wavering aim

of the Spaniard in the second half of the
campaign. It was his hardest test and
real proof of his mettle as title-holder.
Rev limits aside, Rea’s quest to stay at
the peak of his profession means he wel-
comes the next threat: how long can the
hegemony endure?
When the few hundred guests were fun-
nelling to the other side of the workshop
2020 WorldSBK: JONATHAN REA
for drinks and copious plates of ‘pernil’,
we snuck through to grab JR for a few
questions on his perspective for a twelfth
superbike season and whether he can do
it all again…
Last year you tried to boost your fitness
further and you also keep using Fabien
[Foret] as a rider coach, so what has
been the off-season project this time?
“[ON ALEX] ON TRACK HE IS VERY
COMPETITIVE AND IT’S THE RIGHT
TIME TO COME TO THE BEST TEAM
IN THE WORLD. I THINK A 1-2 IN THE
CHAMPIONSHIP IS A REALISTIC GOAL
WITH HIS LEVEL. IT WILL BE COOL WHEN
HE IS BEATING ME OR IS FASTER IN SOME
SECTIONS BECAUSE I WILL BE ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND AND ADAPT.”
GeeBee Images
 WorldSBK
That’s an ongoing process. I completed all
the human performance testing that we
do in the team this week and last week
and I’m surprised because I am ahead…
but I’m getting older! Physically I’m hit-
ting good marks. The most important
thing is to stay healthy, especially with
the first races happening in quick suc-
cession. Australia is not followed by a big
break anymore. I’m still working a lot on
my style with Fab and my focus for this
year is trying to get my bike to turn a bit
better, especially in the longer corners. It
is a characteristic we struggle with a little
bit. So, a few aspects of my riding and the
turn is the main area. I will have to under-
stand how the start of the year goes and
adapt accordingly.
“[ON POSSIBLY REACHING 100
WINS] WE HAVE SOME RECORDS
NOW; I THINK THE LAST ONE WAS
SEVENTEEN IN A ROW. I DON’T
MEAN TO SOUND UNGRATEFUL, BUT
IT WAS ENOUGH JUST TO BE PAID
TO RACE, THEN TO WIN & TO GET
A CHAMPIONSHIP: I TICKED ALL
THE BOXES SO THE REST IS JUST A
BONUS.”
2019 seemed stressful but also enjoy-
able: did you get something from it? Was
it educational and, if so, does it sustain
motivation?
Yeah, especially in the first races when
it was clear that Ducati had come with
a really strong bike and package. It was
super-fast, especially in a straight line
and it was really hard to see past that in
the first races. It was only after I had ac-
cepted that and seen it as a challenge as
opposed to [thinking] ‘we’ve been beaten
again’ I could change mentality and come
a bit closer when we returned to Europe
[and] winning that round in Imola was
good for my confidence. After that I think
Alvaro just knew we were going to be
there every race and he started making
some mistakes. It was a season of ‘thirds’
because in the first third we got beat, in
the second he made some mistakes - and
we were thereabouts - and in the last third
we dominated. It was a season that – back
in February - I never expected to finish as
it did but that’s racing: twists and turns.
You’ve taken titles through wins and
dominance but – even generally – there
have not been many campaigns where
the reigning champion has been so com-
prehensively beaten in the first stages…
A few races really stick in the mind. Don-
ington race one was wet and Alvaro was
still leading the championship but I saw
it as a real opportunity to win and put
pressure on him. I remember going out
in that race and only thinking about 25
points. Sometimes it is strange with mind-
set. Sometimes when you are chasing
you have ideas of pushing for a win but
if I make a mistake and lose more points
I am further away. It was like that at the
beginning of the year but at Donington –
where it was easy to crash – it was like
‘Jonathan; you have to win’: those were
the exact words that Guim [Rosa, Team
Manager] said to me Saturday morning at
breakfast. We had to have 25 points…and
we did it. It was almost the biggest race
of the season for me. The Qatar weekend
was special because I did the triple at a
place where I thought I would really strug-
gle. Positive attitude. Now I’ve come to
the front, won from the front, won from
behind and I think mentally it puts me in
a better place for whatever will come.

For this year why do you think people
are asking you about Scott Redding so
much? Is it because he’s expressive?
Almost brash? It could be a good clash…
I don’t know. I think as long as there
is respect between riders then there is
never need for a clash. I mean, it is hard
to build a rivalry with someone as quiet
as Alvaro. I enjoy the battle. I’ve had a
fierce rivalry with Chaz Davies for a few
years and Tom Sykes and then the posi-
tion against Ducati with their V4. I’ve
been part of this championship for years
now and at this part of the season eve-
ryone gets excited. Potentially there are
challenges from everywhere. Maybe the
media are talking about Redding because
he ‘puts it out there’ so much and he’s
not scared to talk himself-up but if you
do that then you can also hang yourself
out to dry. Alvaro got on with things very
quietly. There will be other challengers,
and you have to respect everybody but to
put your finger on who might be cham-
pion at the end of the year then there are
arguments for five-six guys if they get it
right and run with it. My idea is to be one
of them. Let’s see.
You could say you’ve gone ‘beyond’
the point of people wanting to see you
knocked off the perch. How has that
changed your philosophy towards rac-
ing? Does it make your shoulders even
broader?
It’s funny now, even with maturity…
people are happy for you when you win
your first championship and the second
as well and then it starts to get a bit sad
because now people cannot even look
in your direction in the paddock. Other
riders. You feel that. But it then makes
you stronger because you know how
they work. I feel like I am the same guy
still doing the job. Having a young fam-
2020 WorldSBK: JONATHAN REA
ily gives you clarity. I know one day I will
get beaten and the idea is to prolong that
day arriving as much as possible really.
It has definitely gone past the point of
people being happy for you but in SBK
now the travelling support I have from
Northern Ireland is incredible and if I
look at the support on social media with
the mentions and replies then I have so
many fans and not a lot of negativity,
which has really helped. Of course when
you put yourself out there and post stuff
on social media then people can get to
you but generally I’ve had very positive
feedback and that’s really nice. I don’t
want to make big statements. I try to be
as humble as I can and get through it.
It’s funny…with success you can feel the
change of people’s perception of you.
You can see you get under people’s skin
a lot more and there are some that you
enjoy doing that to and others that end
up judging you for different reasons. I’m
conscious of what I am doing, and I am
really supportive of my team and I know
my fans have my bag. If I can continue
what I am doing that will be amazing.
GeeBee Images
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 BACK PAGE

Tom Vialle 2020. By Ray Archer

 ON
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