After the AMA title I got a chance
to break into the international
scene, pretty much. People took a
bit of notice – I was the first Aussie
to win it.
Back in 1996, World Supers
was compulsive viewing,
with larger-than-life
personalities and massive
crowds. What are your
memories of that year?
Because there were lots of
different nationalities at the
top – Americans, Aussies,
Japanese, Kiwis, Brits, and all
the Europeans – half of them
couldn’t understand each other
and I think that really helped
bring out the personalities.
Plus a load of wildcards each
round. It was quite different
to today, and these really
big characters naturally
developed. They were great
times and I was glad I was part
of it back then.
I didn’t really have a main
rival. Maybe the odd run-in
on track, but no real grudge or
rivalry. It was all clean racing. I
just did my thing, and as long as
they didn’t get in my way I was
... happier! I raced for myself
really, and didn’t really worry
about anybody else.
Fogg y [Carl Fogarty], we had
lots of close races. Frankie Chili,
Noriyuki Haga, Colin Edwards,
Aaron Slight, John Kocinski ...
lots of big names and lots of
close racing. It wasn’t unusual
to come back after a race and
have tyre marks all up yourshoulder. Some of the tracks like
Hockenheim and Monza, we
used to be six deep in a corner.
The bikes were fairly evenly
matched and it came down to
the rider a lot more. Set-up and
tyres were crucial. Some tracks
favoured the Dunlops, some
tracks favoured the Michelins.
Some tracks favoured the
Ducati, some were better for
the Yamaha or Honda.You have two WSBK titles
and still hold the record for
longest time between titles
(nine years). Which one
was your favourite?
The second one, I think. In
1996 we were kind of expected
to win. After that, the years in
between where we didn’t win, it
made me work for it harder. And
on a manufacturer that hadn’t
won that title before [Suzuki], it
meant a lot.
W hen I was on the Ducati, it
was considered the best bike
out there and we had the best
team. To win it on the Suzuki
with the Alstare team, who were
probably the most experienced
in the paddock, was really
satisf ying. They were amazing
and it was a great year.
I had missed out on another
title in 1998 with just a stupid
little crash on morning warm-
up in Sugo that put me in
intensive care for weeks. So I
was also determined to get that
second title. Three would have
been nice.Are you looking forward to
getting on track with Colin
Edwards again at the AMCNIsland Classic?
For sure. I always had a lot of
close racing with Colin and it
was always clean. He has been
a good friend over the years.
He and Jamie James were my
main competitors in AMA and I
remember we would go out with
Colin’s dad and have a few beers
on the night after a race. They
were really good times.He has the Texas Tornado
Boot Camp, and you do
a school called Race
Academy, right?
Yes, I work with the Race
Academy. It’s a Dutch company
and they’d been operating for a
while even before I joined them,
which was about six years ago
now. It’s a race school that I was
first introduced to by BMW.
The first thing I wanted to do
was create a program that ALL
the instructors would stick
to. So basically we started by
instructing all the instructors!
There is nothing worse than
instructors all telling the
customers different things. It
doesn’t work and it’s confusing.
I came in and modified what
we teach and we’re getting
some really good results. It’s
surprised me to see how quick
people progress.
We have a great team, who
all work well together. We go to
some really nice tracks, all GP
circuits, and it’s basically a f ly
in and ride deal, you just have to
turn up. We’ve had a few Aussies
come over and really enjoyed
it. It’s good for me to have a few
Aussies around.With Colin Edwards at
Phillip Island in 1999
(above); on his way to the
title in 1996; and on the
grid at Magny-Cours with
wife Sam, 2005 (right)