“There needs
to be a point
where you don’t
just throw your
life on the line
and sacrifice
everything to
make everybody
else rich”
Indeed! You seem more relaxed JR
since the birth of your son Jake. Do
you think becoming a father has
changed your outlook on racing or
life? Has it mellowed you?
I’m not really sure. I had this
conversation with Tatia when she
fell pregnant - the crisis talks! ‘Sh*t.
What’s going to happen to my racing?
You should probably stay at home now
and let me get on with it…’ I was just
kind of looking to protect my job really.
Then things progressed and I became
affectionate with her bump, and then
once Jake surfaced, that bond came.
They are my family and I couldn’t
think about doing it without them. In
our sport, especially when you are
racing the World Championship, you
are travelling so much that to try and
keep any kind of a relationship with
any family is tough. Having them travel
with me , we get a lot of downtime
together. Doing it by yourself is tough.
I have always tried to have someone
there with me. Now I have Kev [Kevin
Havenhand] and he is a part of my unit
along with Tatia and little Jake.
I don’t know what has specifically
changed, but my outlook is certainly
different now. When I joined WSBK, I
had a kind of young, immature attitude
of ‘I’m great, I can win any race’. Yeah,
I’d win some but I’d also crash a lot
trying. I had so many ups and downs
that I came to understand, I need to be
realistic about what can be achieved
on the material I have and what I can
actually do on the day. Once I became
satisfied that maybe 5th was a good
result on certain days, it became a lot
easier to get through a season and
build consistency. I’m spoilt because I
have so many good people around me
helping me do what I do. To achieve
anything at any level, I think, you
need people in your corner. I’ve got
great people. Having the little one, I
was worried at the start that it might
negatively affect things, but I’ve seen
no signs of that. I think it has probably
helped me become more at ease with
myself as a person.
I think it is fair to describe you as a
motocross rider who happened to
be supremely fast on a road bike!