It is a short winter, especially when
you are changing bike, team and
tyres. You have a lot to take in over a
short time period. Will you get much
testing before the winter break or
will it be just that one Jerez test?
I think that is what it’s looking like, it
will be the normal two or three days
in Jerez - what most teams do. It’s
difficult in WSBK because the winter
period just flies by. The cold months
of December and January we have a
testing ban so there isn’t much you
can do there. I will be speaking with
the team at a later stage to see what
the plan is and see how many tests we
can do in Europe before we go down
under for the final test and round one
in Oz. I do know on the positive side
that the Aprilia suits Philip Island really
well, so it’s a good place for us to start.
The SMR squad who will run the
team are new to you, but they are
a team I have experience with and
they run a great setup. Will you bring
any staff with you into that team?
How’s that transition going to work?
Are there Aprilia technicians joining
the team etc.?
I’m discussing with Aprilia now what
technicians are going to come across.
They still have their focus on MotoGP
and a lot of the engineers that I worked
with in the past are now part of the
MotoGP project. We have got to suss
out which guys are going to be there
to help me. I definitely want guys
who know the bike well - guys that
were there when Max [Biaggi] and I
were teammates - that experience is
invaluable. I’d like to bring some staff
across, that’s in discussion too. I think
it’s very important to continue that
working relationship with your crew
chief - he is the guy who knows what
you need from the bike, every rider
is different. That is going to be key
in making the transition as seamless
as possible with so much changing especially the tyres - and we need to
be able to hit the ground running!
You mentioned Aprilia’s MotoGP link
with their Factory effort there, which
is building year on year. Is that
something you will be linked with
next year, will you stay in contact
with the GP side of their project?
It has been talked about - to do some
testing on the MotoGP bike. But my
focus will be on WSBK, especially
during the season. I don’t want to be
jumping back and forth between bikes
and tyres because my intention is to
go there and fight for a world title. u