My preference is to stay at Honda , yeah , sure . But I wouldn ’ t mind moving back to one of the others - if the deal is right for me to do so . One thing I ’ ve always said is I ’ ll always do things that I ’ m interested in .
I ’ ve been very fortunate to have the jobs that I ’ ve had in MotoGP , and I ’ ve enjoyed them all . There ’ ve been different qualities to them all - some I enjoyed more than others . I think I have the possibility to maybe ride any of the manufacturers again if I really wanted . But I want to stay at Honda . I think continuity is good with a manufacturer , and they know my desire . I know they ’ re keen for me to stay . So we ’ ll see how it pans out . I ’ m not in a rush . We ’ ll see .
That kind of addresses the other big rumour , which was about a month ago and involved retirement . I called bulls ** t on that . I take it there was nothing behind it ?
I think it was some guy in England actually , some guy who goes to the BSB races . I ’ ve got his phone number and I will call him . He ’ s got a website and he ’ s fishing for clicks using dodgy stories . He also announced Jorge was going to KTM . Things like that .
I ’ ve always said : honestly , if I want to retire , I ’ ll retire . But at the moment I don ’ t feel like it at all . I ’ ve got a some years of racing left and I want to achieve things in those years . I ’ ll assess it again after that . Same as what most riders do . But if I woke up tomorrow morning and thought , I don ’ t want to race anymore , I could quite happily be fine for the rest of my life . I ’ ve not had the best career ever but I ’ ve enjoyed everything I ’ ve done .
Someone said to me the other week , do you regret doing certain things ? At the time you always say “ I don ’ t regret a thing ,” - but if you look back sure , I ’ ve got some regrets .
But in the end I chose my way and I ’ ve enjoyed it . If I stopped I ’ d be very , very happy with the podiums I ’ ve had in MotoGP , and with winning the World Supersport Championship . I ’ ve had a year in World Superbikes . I feel I ’ ve done quite a lot . But I still have things that I want to achieve . If I didn ’ t think it was possible , I wouldn ’ t be doing it . If I was racing a Moto3 bike in the MotoGP trying to win , then there ’ d be a point to retire . But at the moment I don ’ t feel anything like that .
What about Superbikes ? Would you consider that before you retire , to
“ I wouldn ’ t go racing for a
pay cheque . I race and I get paid very well - but I wouldn ’ t move to another championship just for that .
go back and have a crack at the World Championship there ?
No , I want to finish my career in GP - it ’ s nothing against Superbike or anything like that - it ’ s just that I would not think of going back . I don ’ t need to go back to prove a point or win the championship . I only did one year there and I thought my speed was good enough then . After that I feel I only became a real motorbike racer when I came to MotoGP . I transformed as a rider in the way I rode the bike , the way that I was able to push myself , and the determination I had . I think if I went back I wouldn ’ t have that . I don ’ t know why . I just have that feeling . So I ’ ve got no interest in doing that at all . I just don ’ t need to .
A lot of people go back to racing in Superbike when they ’ re finished because they want to earn some money and they think it ’ s an easy championship to go and win . I don ’ t necessarily think it ’ s an easy championship to win . And I would never go racing to try and earn some money for my later years when I ’ ve got good enough investments and stuff anyway - and things that keep me busy . I wouldn ’ t go racing for a pay cheque . I race and I get paid very well - you want the best deal for yourself . But I wouldn ’ t move to another championship just for that .
And you ’ ve got a baby on the way . Congratulations on that . Do you see yourself being a modern father changing nappies or the Neanderthal ‘ just leave it to the wife ’?
Cal Crutchlow
No , I ’ ll change the nappies . I don ’ t know why but I don ’ t think it will change me so much . I ’ m a selfish motorbike racer and I know I am , but I can openly admit that . A lot of people can ’ t . I think it will change me in the sense that obviously I won ’ t be able to just get up and go cycling for five hours whenever I want , or if I want to turn left I can ’ t just turn left . But I don ’ t think it will change me on the track or anything like that . I think I ’ ll be the same , if not even more determined because I ’ ll have another person to provide for in my family . But I ’ ll change the nappies , no problem at all .
I ’ ve always noticed that you like to work on the management side . You like to be involved in the wheeling and dealing . Would you ever consider being a manager on the side for someone else in racing ?
Yeah , I do like it . I negotiate a lot of stuff anyway personally . I did some stuff with Stuart ( Easton ) but in the end he ’ s old enough to take care of himself . I would like to take on a younger rider when I stop . I ’ d like to take Jack ( Miller ), honestly , if I could . Now ’ s not the time because we ’ re racing against each other . I wanted to take on Maverick ( Viñales ) two years ago - and I suggested it to him but he didn ’ t take it . We ’ re also racing against each other , give or take .
But I think the idea of a motorbike racer working for another motorbike racer , they get it . They understand it . I know what somebody needs and I know how it feels . I know their emotions , what they ’ re going through . Sure , every rider ’ s a little different but in the end you ’ re all trying to go around the track as fast as possible . You all want the least amount of worries . You all want the best package . You all want to be paid as well as possible , or at the very least you want to earn what you think you deserve . So from my point of view , yeah , I could easily manage a rider .
At the moment I ’ m probably a little bit too busy to manage someone , but I think that I ’ m quite ruthless when it comes to negotiating . Along with my management company that I was working with at the time of the deals , we negotiated some fantastic contracts . I think that I ’ ve got the contacts now to be able to do it for somebody else . So maybe in the end I will , but at the moment I ’ m still managing my own career . t