Chaz Davies
Do you harbour MotoGP aspirations
or is that WSBK title the goal?
Both. The title is obviously the goal in
World Superbike - the main thing for
me is that when I hang up my leathers
in how ever many years’ time, I don’t
have any regrets. And I think that might
be a bit of a regret if I don’t get at least
an option to go and race in MotoGP.
I’m not even talking about a full season:
just a wild card with some tests prior
to it, to test myself against those guys.
Because I think with time and the right
surrounding infrastructure, it would be
an interesting test and I’d love to pitch
myself up against those guys!
I would also love to bring home a World
Superbike title, they are both goals. If I
finish my career in SBK then for me it’s
a fantastic way to earn a living. I have
absolutely nothing to complain about,
but in terms of personal aspirations with
MotoGP, it would be nice to have a lash
on it one day.
You live an active lifestyle, to some
it would seem like a permanent
vacation, but you work hard on
preparation, is that the key for you?
Finding the right balance between
work and play?
Yeah, definitely, I feel it is a massive
balance. I’ve been there. I’ve been the
guy in the gym leading up to a season
and I’ve been the guy who sits on the
bicycle for x-amount of hours a day.
I’ve found with experience over the
years what works for me and how to
strike that balance, hopefully to others
it doesn’t seem like a permanent
vacation! I like to enjoy what I do and
that means travel, seeing different parts
of the world. I always have my running
shoes with me so even if I’m away
somewhere, I do enjoy getting out.
It’s the best way to explore a city, pull
on the running shoes and go for a
morning jog. I do think it is a balance
though, you need to know when to
knuckle down and do the specific
training for what I do but at the same
time I’m not a believer in hundreds of
kilometres on bicycles every day. I think
that can be an easy path to get lead
down, that you have to be this super fit
Tour de France spec motorbike racer
when in reality I think you have to be a
jack of all trades and enjoy what you do.
One of the best things for me this year
was getting an e-bike, which seems
pretty lazy, but it means that rather than
doing a 20km MTB ride and going up
and down and smashing myself to bits,
I can do a 50-60km ride and cover more
ground, have the same sort of intensity
training over a longer period and enjoy
it a lot more. So yeah, it’s all a balance
for sure.
Enjoy what you do and you will never
work a day in your life…
Exactly. I live in Andorra, which is a
great base for the lifestyle I like to
lead, being outdoors and having the
opportunity to go into the mountains. I
can do a mountain run or do a flat run,
go mountain biking etc. Then I’ve got
access to a lot of good circuits too, so
riding is still a big part of preparation
- especially in the winter when I base
myself in Spain with you, John McPhee
and Leon Camier. Riding is a big part of
what I do, that’s pretty much the reason
I came out to Spain originally: to spend
more time riding!
You have been with your team for
a number of years now, do you feel
there is a big advantage of continuity
and having that support network?
Definitely. For me it’s been a really
welcome change in my racing, because
I jumped from one team to another,
from one championship to another from
2002 through to 2013. I rode different
bikes every season, then from 2014
through to now I’ve been on the same
bike and for me that is worth a lot. Not
just the same bike but the same team,
same people, same infrastructure, same
mechanics. It’s worth a lot because they
know me, I know them, I know the bike.
The development is always heading in
my preferred direction; there is a lot to
be said for that. I know what it’s like
to be jumping around learning a new
bike, learning a new team and all the 20
Italian names that go with it, there are
so many advantages to that continuity.
Tell us a little about how you got into
racing bikes...
I got into bikes basically racing mini
moto on the track at home. My
parents kart circuit was used obviously
for karting, but then the mini moto
association came to use it and we got
involved in that as a family hobby - and
it sort of came as a natural step. I was
karting at home just for fun and then
mini moto showed up and it seemed
like a good thing to do. u
FreestyleXtreme.com | 67