Donington Park WSBK Special – Part 1

Motopod, proudly supported by Road Skin, a UK label specializing in protective outerwear for motorcyclists. Modern biker clothing that you can wear all day long, and engineered to save your skin. For the road, for life, visit roadskin.co.uk Hello and welcome to Motor Park, the internet radio show all about motorcycle road racing. This is episode number 780, and this is Rich again with more from the Donington Park World Superbike Round. This time we're talking to the British riders in the Superbike class.

So first up we have Benovo Action BMW rider Scott Redding. Now apologies for some of the language, I did decide not to clean this one up too much, so please be warned in case you're of a nervous disposition or have youngsters within earshot. Scott is of course very famous for speaking his mind, so here you get his unfiltered thoughts on the season so far. As of recording this introduction, which I'm doing on Saturday the 21st of September, there's still no official news on where Scott will ride next year, although rumours do abound about a return to BSB. I actually wonder if there might be a spot for him at the FHO BMW squad in the seat being vacated by Josh Brooks, particularly as BMW are wanting to increase their performance and results in the British Superbike Series.

And Scott is of course now associated with BMW, having been on the Benovo squad for the last couple of seasons. Watch this space I guess. Next up we speak with Karasaki racing team rider Alex Lowes. Alex is having arguably his best World Superbike season so far, and is of course confirmed in the new Bermuda-Karasaki team for 2025, so it's interesting to hear how he sees the season to date and beyond. After Alex we hear from Bradley Ray.

Brad's been chipping away on the Moto X Racing Yamaha and is another rider with as yet unconfirmed plans for next year. For my money he does deserve to stay put in the World Superbike class, but a switch to World SuperSport or even back to the British Superbike paddock is a possibility. We then speak to MIE Racing Honda rider Taron McKenzie. I did actually speak very briefly with Taz at the Donington World Superbike Round last year when I door-stepped him in the paddock, but it was good to be able to speak with him properly about his first full season of World Superbike, especially as he and the Honda Fireblade improve bit by bit. And finishing up we speak with Sam Lowes.

New this year on the Alfmarque VDS Race in Ducati, it was particularly interesting to speak with Sam, as some will recall that I was able to speak with him in Qatar last season towards the end of his Moto2 career. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe we'll see Sam out on the Ducati again next year. As always a big thanks to all of the riders, press officers and teams involved, and again sorry for the background noise where it occurs as these days are always super busy and crowded and therefore somewhat noisy, particularly in the media centre. A quick footnote on episode 779 and the chats with the Sekmet Racing ladies. I think I said these were recorded on the Thursday media day as well, but that of course was a mental aberration on my part as both Mallory and Lissy had been out on track that day, so those discussions were actually recorded on the Friday.

In terms of the World Superbike races, well it was very much the top rack show with the Turkish riders dominating all three races. Alex Lowes did have a pair of podiums and Scott Redin scored fourth place in both the sprint and race too, but it was a bit more of a mixed bag for Sam Lowes and Brad Ray. Unfortunately, Taz crashed in practice which ruled him out for the rest of the weekend. So before we go to Scott, just a quick mention that next up we will have the last of the Donnington chats, so look out for the next special which will feature Garret Gerloff, Iker Lekowona, Axel Bissani and Oli Baylis. So then over to the first of the chats, kicking off with Scott Redin.

Scott Redin, you might recall we bumped into each other behind the tag Honda truck at Donnington a few weeks ago when you were there supporting Fraser. So Donnington obviously holds fantastic memories for you going back. What does it feel like to be back in front of the home crowd again? It's good, I always like coming to Donnington, it feels kind of local, you know you don't have to take flights and hire cars and everything else and you get there, you have the reception with the great fans, everyone's speaking English, you know they get the character jokes, like the humour, it's just all different in a positive way. It's what I like coming to Donnington, you know, it's like when I come to watch BSB, I can drive up here, have a laugh, I just feel like I'm doing the same thing but I'm racing and that's a big thing to have.

Yeah, you're well known I would say for wearing your heart on your sleeve, so I mean 2024 has been a tricky year today, although I was just talking with Garrett, I mean we're in the middle of the summer and you've only had four rounds up until now, so it's kind of a bit of a weird championship. I'll just jump in with a question actually that I asked him, does it frustrate you a little bit, these big gaps in the calendar in terms of getting rhythm? Not really, I kind of like it in a way, everyone I speak to hates it but I look at it, it's like I can have a normal life at home with family and I can have my racing life. From my experience of being in MotoGP, you can have no life quite quickly and it takes a toll on everything, it's quite stressful. Whereas here, some of the gaps are a bit long, yes, but in the end you can go and do other things, you know, so your life is not 100% always racing, it is a job, your job shouldn't be all day every day, you know, you should have some time to clear your mind, so it's nice to get rhythm when it's going well, that's okay, but when it's not going well and you've got back to back races, that's hard because you don't get a breather.

Yeah, that's an interesting perspective, I hadn't thought of it like that. And I've always said that more when I started to struggle a bit here, everyone was like oh we need to do more testing down, I just need to fucking clear my head, I need just time away from the track, away from the bike, regroup and go. MotoGP, when I was having a bad time at Attrilia, one week next week I was at the track and the week after at the track and it was never getting better, so I just felt like I was being held under water, so for me sometimes it's nice to have this break. Let's turn to the bike weight rules that came into effect this year, because obviously you were one of the main advocates for that change for obvious reasons, I mean how old do you feel about it now, you know, bearing in mind that the team have had a full and up and down year to date so far, although we'll come onto today, which has been very very positive for you, what are your thoughts on it now, I mean clearly it has affected a few of the people that you were hoping it would. Well the thing is, is the weight thing is not purely to help me, it's to make the championship better, but it got pinned up onto me because I was vocal about it and you know I got quite a lot of negative stick off, loads, hundreds, thousands of people on social media about it, they never get the picture.

I didn't have a weight limit so I could then win, you know, that's not the case, it's to make it more fair, when I'm watching racing, I'm in the race but I'm not in the race, when I'm sitting 12 and I'm watching the guys at the front and I see Alvaro for example is passing two people in the straight with two fingers in the nose, it's not fair, you know, you got raced so hard, you know, and Alvaro's a good rider, I've never said he's not a good rider but this just makes it harder for everyone else because he can sit and no one can pass on the straight. I mean I had exactly the same conversation with Loris last year and also Danilo, you know, we're two of the bigger heavier riders as well by comparison, so it's not just you. You know, like Alvaro is not dominating because of top speed, now it's like Alvaro wins, fucking fair play, like I shake your hand, no issue with him, fair fucking play. But it just goes to show a little bit of weight and you've got to bear in mind he is not on the full weight limit. No, quite far away I think.

That's the thing, every kilo you're under you only have to have a kilo, in my opinion that's bullshit but it's a start. It's a start of something and it's made it better racing. Yeah, I would agree. We touched on this behind the Tag Team truck a few weeks ago just very very briefly but given the unique rider style that Top Rack has, you mentioned when we spoke the other week you get to see all of the data and so on and I'm wondering because he has such a kind of a unique style, I think it's reasonable to say, is the data a help or a hindrance? What's your sort of take on this?

No, I say help because in the end he's the one making the bike perform so if he can do it, it's possible, that's a good thing and I mean when you see on track it looks a lot different but when you see on the data it's not that different. That's interesting that you say that because Garrett has just said exactly the same thing. It looks spectacular and it looks like he's breaking a length of a truck further because the rear wheel is in the air but reality is it's not what's happening. On the Yamaha he was breaking later but he was also coming slower in the straight so now I see the data, I was thinking, where's the rest going to be and sometimes yes he is making a step in the braking but overall it's not what it looks like so it is useful for us because we can see the rear wheels off the floor but if you look at all the other parameters it doesn't mean anything that the rear wheel is not on the floor, that's just how he feels comfortable. Let's talk about today then because it has been a really good day, let's say on 10th in FP1 and then 5th in FP2, you've got to be feeling pretty confident going into the rest of the weekend.

To be fair I probably should appreciate a bit more, FP1 I was a little bit annoyed because I should have made a bigger step with the new tyre but there wasn't and the electronics wasn't working the best way possible. And then to end up 10th, a lot of the time in the season 10th I'd be happy but I just felt like I had more to give so I saw 10th and I was a bit pissed off. And then FP2 went out and again I was just struggling, I'm like fuck I feel I can do more but it's not there. I was really used to having to use tyre from the morning so when I put a new tyre in it gave me what I feel I could do and that was a bit of a relief, I felt like that was good, I feel like I should be that area and I was quite happy. I was saying to Garrett in FP1, because I'd just arrived at the track, I was down at Melbourne Airpin and just watching you guys gassing it up towards Goddard's and I was spotting that both you and Garrett were having quite a bit of trouble keeping the front wheel down, is that something that you were feeling as well?

I'm always struggling to keep the front down on this. It's better than other people though, that was kind of my takeaway. Yeah I feel it but it's always been that even when I was on the other bike I had to put a wheelie there, I don't know why, it could be set up with the electronic, it could be chassis set up, where the riders sit in, but yeah funny you say that because I do feel a lot of wheelie there. What are the realistic targets do you think for the rest of the weekend? Just depends, tyres are a big factor here, tyres dropping midway through the race, if you can use the X if you can with the zero, there's a lot of things that can make the race, last year I was quite far back and I came back at the end which was not really like me normally because of the tyre wear, so first thing first is to get a good qualifying, that's the most important thing of it all, because that will set you up then for the races.

Would you be happy on row one or box row one, row two? First three rows, first three rows is a must, after that it gets hard and you know I'd love to get a podium, that would be like phenomenal. Do it with all the crowd. Yeah like it would be great, absolutely amazing, top five I'd go home happy, I just always want a bit more here at my home race. Let's just quickly touch on 2025 because I know you've had a few comments on it, as I just mentioned chatting with Garrett, Jürgen Røde is pulling the team out for personal reasons, whatever those reasons are I don't know, it's not important, but I was saying that one would hope logically that BMW are in such a strong position now with the package that they have, that another team in the pit lane would be quite happy to come on board as a satellite, so I mean is that your personal hope?

I know you have a contract for next year, so can we hope perhaps that there will be another TPMs out next year? Yeah I mean I don't know really, if you would like to think so, it's quite a big commitment you know, changing manufacturers is a big commitment for a team in general, so I don't know, I mean I'm really trying not to think about it, I'm just trying to keep my head clear, I know I've got a contract, I just keep saying I'm going to be okay, everything will be sorted, and that's what I've got a manager for, to kind of look after that and let me stay focused on my job for racing, so I just need to keep showing performance and then hopefully good things will come. Absolutely, they normally do, some of the British and American listeners to the show obviously commenting on the fact that you shot the world by going to BSB in 2019, won the title first time out, does Moto America kind of appeal at some point in the future, I mean you've got an American wife, family on the way? Yeah for sure, to be fair I would love to do Moto America at some point, but you know racing is a business, so it's a cross over of having the equipment to win and what you're doing, obviously you need to earn money, you've got to kind of play your cards right the best you can, because we don't work until we're 60, but I really enjoyed BSB so I'd probably go to BSB before Moto America, and then maybe Moto America a bit later down the line, but you know all saying that if summer come along in the future that was interesting, I'm happy to race forever, I'd fucking race a horse if I could win on it, that's how I am. Well that was kind of seguing on to my final question because I must let you go, but anybody that follows your social media channels know you're a super competitive and highly accomplished cyclist amongst other things, you've got the child coming along, congratulations again for that.

Where do you see your sort of long term future in terms of, interested in kind of team rider management, you had I don't know if you still have the rider academy? No I don't have the academy anymore, the problem is I want to do some, I want to do it properly, so that normally means having time to do stuff and be committed, same like when I started cycling it was for fun, then I got a bit addicted to it, then I got competitive, but now like I'm at the level where to be good you need to be full time, and I'm not full time because I'm here racing, so kind of my interest in that is not clear at the moment, I just, I like to do it with an enjoyment, but it's really hard for me to have a hobby that I can just enjoy. So who knows what the future like for me when the baby is born is more about them than me, should I say like I know people that's worked in paddocks in MotoGP that's had babies and they've been home maybe 80 days in the year, I don't want to be that guy, I want to be there for my baby and my family and be an actual good parent, that for me is probably the next achievement to be in. It's got to be changing nappies in the middle of the night, eh? Yeah, I mean if it's got to be done, it's got to be done.

We've all been there, mate, we've all been there. Exactly, so I would like to be there committed and then if there's some hobbies on the way, do it, I just, you know you get older you want to start to enjoy things a bit more, I am 31 now, I'm not 20 like I used to be, yeah as long as the racing's going well that's kind of priority. It's good to see you looking and sounding really positive and obviously it's been a good day today and I'm sure that's part of it and wish you the best of luck for the weekend and I hope you get a couple of really solid, well three after-baccs, there's three races in there but some really solid results and that kind of really sets you up for the, let's call it the second half of the season. So yeah, we wish you all the best and Scott we've never spoken to you before I don't think properly on MotoPod so it's a great pleasure to have the opportunity to do so and hopefully we'll be able to do it again. Yeah, thank you, appreciate it.

Thanks a lot mate. Cheers. Alright so penultimate interview of the day and delighted to say I'm sitting with Carat Accuration team rider Alex Lowe's. Alex, welcome onto the podcast, I'm pretty sure for the first time. Yep.

So we're sitting here, thankfully not in the pouring rain but it is raining pretty hard so hopefully it's not going to be like this all weekend but thoughts of the year so far and heading into this weekend? Yeah, the year so far has been good, we've been a successful start to the year with some podiums, won a couple of races in Australia which started the year well so that was nice. It's been quite spread out at the start of the year just with four rounds so far but this weekend and next weekend back to back starting with a home round at Donington, yeah it's great to be back going, back trying to obviously be back on the podium with my home race, very much a home race living so close. Yeah, is it pressure or excitement being at home? Nah, not pressure anymore, not the long as I've been doing it, you try to do the best every weekend because riding for an official team in Superbike there's always that pressure to be on the podium and fighting at the front so I don't really feel any extra pressure I guess excitement, it's nice to have a few more family and friends around, not to have to travel too far to get to the race and to be honest it's a track that I really enjoy anyway regardless that it's so close to home and obviously just being in World's Superbike for the last 11 years we don't get to test at Donington because being quite far let's say for the team, most of our 80-90% of our testing is done in Spain where the weather's quite good or Portugal and south of Europe in the winter so we don't really get to ride this track any more than anyone else but it's always nice to be, I would say as much as the track it's always nice to come and get the opportunity to race in front of the British fans obviously coming through the British Superbike paddock, feel close to them so it's nice to get that opportunity at least once a year.

Like a lot of the field obviously with Britain there you've got a lot of experience at Donington from down the years when you're in BSP and so on coming up through the ranks, I mean where does it rank Donington and say Craner Curves, is it up there in terms of all the tracks you get to? Yeah I like the final part of the track but I would say that's obviously a bit, some people like it, some people hate it but I don't think you'll hear anybody from the start and finish line to let's say BS's after Coppice on the back straight, that's section of a race track, I don't think you'll hear any rider complain about that, it's some of the best natural terrain for a track in the world and it's not like a lot of the new circuits we go to are more computer designed, not as much character so I think it'll always be one of the iconic sections of track so yeah it's really enjoyable. Now I've not checked the stats but just having a quick look last night, I'm guessing this must be your best start to a World Superbike season ever is it? I think 2019 might have been a little bit better on the Yamaha, I'll start the year real strong, I don't know I'll have to check in terms of points, I would say I don't know I think in 2019 the year before I joined Kawasaki I was quite strong, 18, 19 and then Covid some injuries on the Kawasaki's been a tough couple of years but I've sat back now to where I was. It looks like you've taken a step this year, a marked step, so is there something in particular that you can identify, you've been the bike, the crew, I know you've got different crew chiefs this year.

Yeah that's all, being healthy is a big point, I had some, in our game you're always trying to ride through a lot of injuries, I'm 21, 22, last year I missed 7 or 8 races, trying to race sometimes, I missed a lot of races so it was like half a year really which was a shame and also the change of crew this year has been a good step, I'm enjoying myself a lot, I've got a lot of experience, the speed is still there, I'm still as fast as I have been in Superbikes so I think all that together has been nice and yeah, and you're enjoying it and you're feeling good, normally the results come so it's a real positive start, obviously you're always trying to do a little bit better and every weekend is an opportunity to do that. I'm kind of really interested to talk to you about next year because obviously there was this big news that came along about the association between Kawasaki and Bimotor, so is there anything that you think with that collaboration, I know you probably can't talk in detail about it obviously but the Bimotor I assume is going to be a much more exotic piece of machinery that will compete let's say more toe to toe with the Ducati, so is an area of that bike that you know of which is going to sort of help to make the transition a bit further to the front again? Yeah, that's the target obviously of Kawasaki, their association of collaboration, let's say with a brand like Bimotor and putting their experience, their expertise with the proven expertise of Kawasaki together I think is a formidable force, I think the bike, when we get to see the final version of the bike I'm sure it's going to be fantastic so yeah I'm excited to see what they can produce and yeah it's exciting times. I mean obviously I don't know the details exactly what's happening but I'm assuming that the current motor kind of goes into the Bimotor does it and then is it chassis or is that something we can't talk about? Yeah I don't know.

The whole world's kind of keen to know how this is going to work. Yeah, there's two, I think it's in the end Kawasaki's target I believe is to produce the best, obviously bike they can in the way that other, you see the bikes like very much race bikes for the street, the Ducati, the BMW, fast powerful bikes with the latest technology and I think this is the direction that they are trying to look at in this collaboration so I think it's going to be interesting obviously we know that Kawasaki engine is strong, there's lots of fast bikes now and you always want to try and go as fast as possible and a faster bike obviously helps in a race situation but I'm sure whatever they decide to do and whatever they come up with will be competitive. Are you doing a rain dance for this weekend, what conditions would you like? Not really, how I'm riding at the minute, I'm fast in the wet or the dry, I'm certainly not anti the rain, I try not to be somebody that's negative if it rains because west of here it can happen and I enjoy it but I feel like always the results in the rain you don't get as much credit if I go and win a race in the rain, rightly or wrongly it's not the same as winning a race in the dry and I think this weekend if we do a good job tomorrow I can have a chance in the dry so that's what we're, I would prefer it to be dry also for the people on the bank watching but we have to be ready for whatever conditions we have. Because you're not that far behind Alvro in third place are you and even top rack is only 55 up the road in terms of the points so it's all to play for still so what are your realistic expectations of this weekend, is it a win on the cars do you think or a podium at least?

I'm trying to think about it to be honest in terms of it's so close now in world superbike the times are so tight, if I want to achieve some good results I need to work hard on Friday to be working well with the crew in the practice, two good sessions, get the bike, talking with the bike, understanding with the bike and then normally Friday night after FP1, FP2 we have a bit more understanding of our realistic target for the weekend. If that's close to challenging for the win then I'll focus on that, if it's this year perfect example in Barcelona not the easiest track for us but I had three top six finishes fifth in one race, that was like a podium for us because if you can achieve them results on a bad weekend you have to accept that and it's understanding what a good result is it's also helping to be consistent in the championship, I can't just say oh it's challenging I want to win, everybody wants to win but we need to do the work tomorrow I feel like if how I've been riding the bike I know this track well I think it's a good one for our bike and if tomorrow goes well it's not unrealistic. Last question, with the Liberty thing going on and I would assume you don't know what's going to happen with world superbike in terms of whether Liberty gets to keep control of that Would you be in favour of doing something about the calendar so that we don't have these long gaps, I don't know if it's feasible to put more races in I guess you would be in favour of that as well but do the long breaks between the races bother you or is it an opportunity to go off and train and do other stuff? I think the first thing you have to think is that the racing in world superbikes is fantastic this year my GP has also been fantastic but all the way down the grid of world superbikes there's good riders on good bikes, you have some good racing and it's nice to be involved in that. I think that we have to understand it's easy to say we want 15 races but then you've got the super sport class, there's other classes, smaller teams, different budgets and we need to firstly race at tracks that want to have world superbike, race at tracks that are going to pay to have world superbike and also make sure some of the smaller teams can afford to do the championship, you can't just have 20 races at all these exotic venues when only 10 or 15 of the guys can afford to go so we need to understand very well our position and as a rider you want to ride as much as possible obviously I've got a lot of experience now I've been there and done it and to get to spend some time with the family is valuable moments away from racing that you don't get back so I make sure I appreciate that and I'm at the stage now where it's not more important than racing because I do everything I can to do the best I can on the bike but if you have an extra two weeks to watch the kids grow up a little bit I think that's also quite nice which whenever I speak with not just riders but mechanics and teams and people involved in the MotoGP circus obviously knowing from my brother and other experiences it's a tough schedule and it's only getting tougher and less European races, more overseas, more travel and I think for world superbike I think we need a few more races overseas I don't think we need to be a 16, 17, 18 race calendar I think a few breaks are okay and we're testing these breaks and it's always nice to start in Australia because it's sort of before everything else gets going and it's like a weekend that people look forward to on the calendar but yeah the breaks are not, they don't seem as bad for the riders if you have a couple of tests but I understand for the flow of the championship and for the fans it's nice to have a little bit more but I think the number one goal has to be an affordable championship to keep the teams there also in the super sport and the feeder classes I'd rather have 11 round series with good teams, good bikes, riders getting paid, everything going well, good audiences, good attendance at the track and a 16 round championship with a race in Brazil and Argentina and Indonesia with 12 bikes on the grid just to be a world championship so ideal worlds that exist and obviously you know everyone will be getting paid millions of pounds to race all around the world and do whatever they want but that's not the reality so as long as the racing is good and we can have some good competition obviously a more than one race outside Europe is needed for a world championship but I don't think we need to go crazy on the negatives or positives of the calendar it's always beyond our trial and error.

Fascinating insights yeah brilliant well look really wish you the best of luck this weekend thank you, home round, there'll be lots of flags on the banks supporting you so hope you have three good races and three good results and thanks for talking to us at MotoPod. Thank you very much. Cheers, thanks Alex. Right here we are again chatting to Brad Ray, Brad welcome back onto the show so well just exactly a year since we last spoke so tricky first four rounds a little bit but how'd you sum up the season so far? Yeah it's not been easy that's for sure I mean yeah coming off the back of last year we started to make some progress from the end of last year so I was hoping to be a little bit closer to the front especially like the top ten around the area but it looks like boys in the top teams have made big progress with the bikes and with the teams so yeah we're doing the best we can that's for sure just need some small upgrades and some small changes to get a little bit closer but we made a little bit of a step in Mizano in the second race so hopefully we can bring that into my home round.

I know obviously Donington really well I know how it should feel around Donington so hopefully we can carry on the work and get a little bit closer to that second break. When we spoke here last year one of the things we talked about was the very significant difference obviously in the electronics package between BSP, don't mind you won the BSP championship in 22. 22 yeah. So what are the areas for adaptation and improvement with the bike is it still electronic in terms of you getting to know it or you said perhaps some new bits would help? Yeah no the electronics nowadays is something that I've got used to.

You've dived into it. Yeah over last year and this year I understand it quite well now so yeah it's just trying to find the best overall package to fight a little bit closer to the top ten. Yeah obviously there's so much you can do and change on these bikes it's quite it's non-stop when you feel like you've got good set up there's always something more you can find. Is it a bit daunting in a way? Yeah not so much now I understand it a lot more now.

Last year it took me a while to understand the best outcome but yeah it's coming together obviously I feel good I feel like I'm riding well in myself I'm going to tracks and improving lap times and on race times so it's just everything else has made a massive step in front of us so it makes it look worse than it was. Yeah I mean obviously things have gone in an interesting direction with BMW obviously we're top back on the bike and the Ducati we know is a kind of a specialised weapon. Yeah. So where do you see yourself in comparison to say the other Yamahas out there because Johnny's having a tough year Raka's having a sort of an okay time out there and there's obviously a few other I suppose Remi would be the guy that's doing perhaps visibly the best but where do you see yourself up against the other Yamahas? Yeah I mean that's the only sort of thing I can do is overlay and look at the other Yamahas obviously Ducati and BMW are a step above everyone so yeah I can just look into Yamaha some tracks were a little bit closer than others obviously it's not like Yamaha are winning every race and we're down to 18th so there's some positives to take but yeah from the outside it looks the same bike as Johnny's but there's some bits that obviously.

I'm sure there's some big differences yeah. Do you get to see anybody else's data? Yeah yeah I can look at Johnny's data and look at Raka's and all the other Yamahas look at the overlap the lap see where they're stronger where I'm stronger and sort of try and suss a little bit out there but yeah we're just trying to do the best we can with package and yeah obviously some tracks it's not as big of a difference but others sometimes need a little bit more so hopefully this weekend with the experience we've got around Donington yeah a little step we've made in Misano we can hopefully close that gap and be closer to the other Yamahas. Yeah well I know I shouldn't really ask this but in terms of 2025 do you know or an inkling of what you might be doing or are you not thinking that far ahead? No not so much obviously the best way to get a ride in the future is results and obviously results at the minute aren't too great so we've just got to focus on this year we've only done four rounds there's still quite a few rounds to go.

Yeah it kind of feels like the year's half way gone and you haven't had any races. No exactly it's obviously signing season for some people and other teams but at the moment my focus is just to do the job in hand and hopefully get some good results. Yeah and I mean again you just sort of alluded to the fact you have immense amount of track knowledge here won many races in BSB here as I remember what's a realistic expectation I mean could you grind to top 10 do you think if conditions are right? I think top 10 is maybe a little bit difficult I would say obviously. Because you've been sort of hopping around 17?

Yeah around that I think if I can be in that at the minute I'm a little bit far behind that top 10 group fighting for 10th to 15th but if I can make a step this weekend and be in that group fighting for top 10 around the points area then I'll be happy with that but obviously the weather plays a big part tricky conditions a little bit cold. Yeah so tomorrow's going to be a little bit sketchy and then Sunday I think I mean looking at the weather forecast on my phone it does look a bit better on Sunday. So what would you prefer? Honestly obviously everyone prefers a dry race it's a lot more consistent but something in between maybe some damp patches some dry lines and that would be quite nice. Let the cream come to the top?

Get a solid result yeah so no we just play the weekend out I know track really well. Looking forward to riding again so I'm just doing my best. Yeah well we're certainly looking forward to seeing you out there and we'll be sort of waving the flag for the Brits including yourself so wish you all the best. We'll try to do a good job. Brad and yeah I hope you have a good rest of the season.

Thank you. Cheers mate. Thanks. Next chat Taron McKenzie. Yeah.

Welcome to MotoPod. Thank you. I did just remind you you were on for about 3 minutes last year but you can't remember that but this one's official so let's dive straight into the year so far. So what was the start as? I was going to say maybe a tricky year but perhaps a bit under the radar.

I mean you had an 11th place in after the last time out didn't you? Yeah. You've always got a smile on your face but sum up the year from your point of view. It was just a tricky start really. We missed a lot of testing at the start of the year.

We meant to have 2 days in Portomere and then only ended up having one which was on the old bike. And then it was straight to Phillip Island really so any pre-season testing I'd done the year before was just on the 2022 slash 23 bike. So yeah just went in just a bit sort of under prepared riding wise. And then kind of got through Phillip Island and then had a change of crew chief after there which brought Mick Shamley over to my side which was nice. Famous name.

Yeah and then since then it's just been a lot more straightforward for me really. I've known Mick a long time. He was in the team of course last year so we built some form of relationship with him. Yeah it's just getting deeper into that really at the moment just us understanding each other how we work. Came in a Barcelona test.

Made a little step there. Made a little step at Barcelona race. Kind of like from Phillip Island to Barcelona I was off the back of the likes of Brad and Otto and Rabat and the guys like that. Got a little bit closer in Barcelona and then in Assen made a good step there. Didn't really have that much dry track time but in the rain I was quite competitive and then.

All those years practices in the UK. Yeah it helped for sure. And then yeah in that last race was probably a bit of a surprise really but it just showed that kind of what we had to work at certain tracks. And yeah didn't have much dry track time but nor did anyone else and ended up kind of less than 20 seconds off the wind. Battling with Chavy, Gerloff, Rinaldi like experienced guys that have been on the podium and to be kind of I know I'm not a rookie in the sense of riding a superbike but it's my first year.

And to be three rounds in and battling with those guys I think is a good step. I struggled in Masano but I think that's just part of being new to it and understanding what I need and yeah coming here now with a good superbike reference and had a lot of experience here in the past. And presumably you're on the fully up to date 24 bike. I mean it is a completely new bike isn't it? Yeah.

So I mean how much of a challenge is it to kind of get to grips with that? Yeah obviously last year I kind of dipped in and out a little bit, did the odd superbike test and went to Suzuka and then did a little bit of testing at the end of last year but it was always on the 22, 23 spec bike. And that was my only reference to riding a CBR really so yeah it's just about understanding what I want. And as I said we kind of went in last minute into Phillip Island. Yeah that was my first time riding the 24 bike so if you look at what HRC did, tested all of last year with a new bike, started this year.

And then kind of where I started and then to be three rounds in and kind of battling with them. In at the deep end. Yeah yeah and getting close to them, each round goes on. I think the signs are there that it can be good, I just maybe need a bit more time. So MIE or MIA I'm not quite sure how to pronounce the team name.

It's kind of an independent team isn't it? Yeah. But how much support is HRC throwing behind the project? I was just talking with Ike and he can clearly see that HRC, Superbike and obviously MotoGP are really throwing everything at it. Maybe a lot of changes culturally perhaps in the way that they work so are you kind of excited to see that coming through?

Yeah a little bit. We have Kimbara Sandroot from HRC in our garage all weekend for the electronic side and any information we want gets passed down to us. Our bikes are slightly different, it's kind of like a satellite package but some things are the same so we can use them as a reference and using their data or anything like that. Seeing for me the biggest thing and even Mitt is just seeing what Chavy and Nika are doing compared to me so I think we have to be realistic at points for sure and understand that I get frustrated at myself when I can't beat them or get close to them at some tracks. I think it's just understanding that sometimes our packages are different and I am new to it and I still need to learn so like I said at some rounds I can be competitive and my sole focus isn't on them but they're the owner of the Honda so I need to use them as a reference for sure.

That's the competitive racer instinct isn't it? Yeah exactly and like I said I think we're doing an okay job so far and I get frustrated for sure but then I also need to remember four rounds in and need time. Well yeah and let's just remember, let's go back a couple of years just to show the pedigree that you have got, 2021 BSP Chalkin, 2021 seems to have gone a long time ago didn't it? And then obviously you made the very brave decision to jump across to the world stage going into super sport stuff which a lot of people questioned at the time but you're on the bigger bike now so irrespective of the difficulties I'm assuming that you're happy you've made the jump and that you are in this paddock? For sure I made a massive sacrifice at the end of 22 and when I think that now I'm like maybe I was a little bit stupid but at the time it felt right so I just went for it and for sure it's the right decision now.

I love BSP and I love watching and I sat on my sofa all weekend watching Snetterton on the weekend, gladly I was on my sofa with the weather but it was such a good stepping stone for me going there and wouldn't be where I am today without BSP but being mid-20s and winning there and not getting the chance to come here and having to do another year full of injuries I just needed a change really and yeah like I said Midori gave me an opportunity to come here and I was willing to make a sacrifice of a lot of things and just make the step, show people who I am and get them to know the name of Taro Makenzie and I think I did that. And then yeah ended up winning a race which was obviously massively unexpected and a really good deal with Midori and everything I love the team and everything about it it's just the kind of unfortunate thing that Honda are just struggling at the moment but I'm confident we can turn it around between Mick and myself and all the team that will get the best out of the job. I know you can't compare BSP and World Superbikes because they're completely different technically in terms of electronics in particular but given your experience at this track and your knowledge now of the Fireblade can you see any areas of this track assuming it stays dry for some of the weekend which doesn't as if it will which I'm sure you're happy about but where do you think the Fireblade might actually show itself on this track? It's a track of two hours for sure and the last part is a very stopped start and when I rode the Yamaha and BSP or even when I did the wild carder here that was somewhere where we struggled a little bit so I think that's where a place at Honda could be strong. I genuinely like riding the bike like it's good, I enjoy it.

Sometimes it's just a little bit difficult in certain areas but I think I'll just have to see I think the biggest thing is just staying consistent over the 23 laps and kind of have a reference from BSP here but surfaces change never in the Superbike here so I need to understand. I need to understand where our strong points are going to be and where I'll need to work on but yeah whatever the weather I think we're ready and we've got a good base setting now that's something that Mitt's brought kind of to the party a little bit getting that dialed in and each track we go to we don't really vary now we just kind of keep the bike similar which is a good thing I think and shows that we're in a little bit of a good window and yeah just got to keep working with it. We were having a little chuckle a moment ago about doing a rain dance which I suspect is quite a few of the Brits are because yourself and Brad are in a similar situation. If it does rain on Saturday, it's Thursday today, what do you think you could actually do? Your famous win on the 600 last year you just made reference to, you are very very good in sketchy conditions.

Yeah honestly I don't know I wasn't even that fast in the rain in BSP but I think here when maybe a slight disadvantage to others it just gives you something where it's a level playing field and it just kind of you can make the difference in your riding so I kind of saw a little bit of it in Assen, first time riding the bike in the rain I just went out of pits and kind of just got stuck in and felt good so I don't know it's hard to say like can't sit here and say I'm gonna get this result or do this because everyone's so fast here in the wet and the dry. What would be a satisfying result in the three races? Points for sure yeah for sure I qualified 14th in the rain in Assen and was a little bit closer ended up fifth in FB3 so it's so hard to tell but each track varies in the rain as well Assen was really slippy and sometimes you can with a bit more feel you can make the difference but here's really grippy so I know a lot of people can be fast in the rain a lot of people can take confidence from that so I don't know I'm coming here with a points goal for sure in the wet or dry and if it does rain and it's a little bit tricky then just try and push on that a little bit more. And last thing because I'm clenched another time do you see a future in World Superbikes? I'm not going to ask you what's going on next year because you may not know yet but...

I haven't signed anything for next year but it's looking likely I'll stay here again which is perfect that's what I want and I think continuity is a big thing I learned that from BSB is just keeping in the same environment same paddock and chopping and changing championships year on year I don't think it's a great thing I've been in kind of BSB, SuperSport, SuperBike now and I want to stay in Superbike again for next year all these kind of niggles and where I'm not as experienced as the others arriving at tracks where I've never ridden a Superbike that's what you kind of have to get used to in your first year as a normal rookie I think Booliger is maybe at a different stage kind of fighting for wins and championships Yeah but the first year is always going to be the most difficult in my opinion and it's about just getting through the first year and learning and understanding what you need and I think that's the biggest thing so hopefully stay here and have another year here and make next year a little bit easier Well we're certainly going to look forward to watching what happens this weekend in the three races I do call them three races I might have locked down with this super pulse, can't be doing with that So yeah we wish you the best of luck and hopefully the weather might help a little bit or give you a chance as I said to Brad the cream rises to the top in situations like that so fingers crossed and have a good weekend thanks for talking to Motorpod Cheers thank you Delighted to be joined on the show again, second time within a year, Sam Lowes, Sam first of all how are you doing? I'm very well thank you, nice to see you again Yep it's good to have you on the show again so when we spoke in Qatar last year I distinctly recall that you made reference to the fact that lack of track time in Moto2 was starting to get on your nerves so three races a weekend in World Superbike how are you finding that as a change? Yeah good really enjoying it, really enjoying the format, little blip in Misano but the first three rounds progressing nicely and the only big difference the first half of the year is we started in February and this is the fifth round so it's quite spread out You've gone from one extreme to another Yeah in some ways but the next half of the year is more busy with some testing in the middle and stuff so it's good but I think the format of the weekend is a lot more enjoyable especially for me being, I don't want to say rookie it's not the right word but first year in Superbike over the weekend you can do the sessions and stuff but the racing is where you really understand what's going on with the bike, the tyres and everything so I'm enjoying it MotoPod subscriber each month Scott Baldwin, thanks Scott, he sent in a question just simply asking to compare a Moto2 bike to the World Superbike, I mean what's the key difference in change? The biggest thing I would probably say is the weight and the stiffness of the chassis because it's a real stiff Moto2 bike, obviously 30, it depends on the fuel but let's say 33, 34 kilos lighter the bike so it's quite a lot, the rest is ok a little bit the power, the top speed as a bike is faster but because of the weight of the Moto2 and the weight it's still off the corners pushes quite hard even though the horsepower is quite low and the electronics, the Moto2 is really one to one you feel like you have no electronics and Superbike have a lot so these are the three main things Is the electronic side of it the ability to do a lot more, is that something that inspires you? Yeah it inspires me, it takes a bit of understanding because the comments, you can improve things that in the past like Moto2 you would just ride around because you can do engine brake corner by corner, power corner, you can do a lot more things so it needs a bit more understanding to how to do it Also the power, the way they control the power, the first touch of the gas is something I've really worked on this first half of the year because for me it can feel a bit strange the first touch, you know when they have a lot of control I'm used to it being like one to one but like in Barcelona I rode the bike very much one to one compared to the Ducatis and obviously the tyres didn't last long so I'm just working on that sort of thing but first thing when you first ride it will be the weight really Yeah and I imagine you've been in fairly close contact with the Moto2 teams because obviously you're still part of the Alfmarque VDS racing outfit so have you had some input with Tony in terms of his adaptation to the Pirellis which you are on?

Now I know they're different tyres, different bikes so it's not directly relevant but he appeared to take a step forward at Saxonring last weekend Yeah I mean the SC0 and SC1 is actually the same tyre that they use and the front one they have one different front but some of the tyres are quite similar, we have a bit softer stuff in the Super White, different races but he took a step forward, Tony his riding style is quite unique in the way he rides, he has a lot of lean angle and coming from Moto3 he goes fast but he stresses a lot the tyre, especially the rear tyre so Germany is never his best track even though he's done a lot so he actually did well that weekend, he dropped back at the end which is unfortunate because the result didn't really show the weekend he had, also in Assedin he was in Perseus, I think step by step he'll figure it out, I think that class has been a strange start this year, it's been a bit up and down, a lot of strange results so he can fizzle it out but yeah he's been tough also as much as I'm using Pirelli I've never used him with the Moto2 and the bike's so different that the Moto2 actually is harder on tyres than SuperBike, strange, it was the same with Dunlop, I used to have a training bike in R1 it used to be when I was in Moto2 and honestly I could do 60 laps with the Dunlops and it's like the stunt compared to the Moto2 with stresses on the tyres you've not had a sneaky test out on the Moto2 bike then? not a sneaky test, there was a plan to do a bit in Aragon a little bit with the team, potentially with next year's bike but I think that's sort of fizzled out because I've got enough to focus on here yeah I was going to say well we must return to World SuperBike because that's why we're here so how long have you been in racing with a completely different bunch of people? because obviously you've been in Moto2 a long time and this is a complete, not a culture shock but it's a complete change in terms of who you know, who you can trust I'm still figuring that out a bit, because the races have been a bit strange, you know, Philip Ireland was in pit stops, Barcelona's a different style race because I didn't but a lot of the guys to pace at the beginning to save the tyres so this was strange Assa was very difficult conditions all weekend, you know, 6, 5, 6 degrees and rain and then Rosano was a little bit, with higher temperatures, that was a bit of a baptism for me, the tyres are so different in them conditions so I'm loving it but figuring it out a bit and yeah, the guys used the tyre well in the beginning so actually he's not too bad in the beginning but like the SuperPol race is amazing, he's just 10 laps of either closing the door or going past someone, he's that sort of race It's mint but yeah, if you're not passing you're getting passed which is just what racing is, you know, you can't help but smile, it's tough Because you love that kind of thing right? Yeah, of course, of course, but you need to be ready for it, the first couple are like alright, fair enough, with this bike being a bit, it's more forgiving than the Moto2, it's hard to have that style of racing in Moto2 because you click someone or you just dive inside with a, maybe we're probably a bit different but it's too, it wouldn't be as nice I was probably not the only person before your brother resigned with KRT, wondering if there was going to be an Elf Mark VDS Super Team with Alex and Sam in it, but is that something you would have welcomed or is that something that might even happen in the future do you think? I would say that the plan is, the theme I guess for next year will just be one rider again, because it's all new and because they're still very committed to the Moto2, they've just signed a new deal with a different manufacturer there Yeah, moving to the Boscosco You know, it's a massive job to run this whole project, but the overall goal in the future is definitely to run two Super Bikes Obviously any rider that's worthy of a ride, me and Alex on the personal side to show a guy would be amazing, something that would happen and we would like to do before we retire, but I don't know, I don't have that sway in the team Not for next year, obviously he's got a new deal, he's doing really good this year, he's made a step forward with the team and the experience he's got, he's been a long time on two bikes with a new project, it's perfect, so we have to see how things pan out It's definitely not something that's on the cards to happen, but it's obviously not off the cards, especially if he's performing well, I'm going to make a step over the years, if you're doing well, any rider deserves it, he's won races this year, so it's not a strange, you would sign him wouldn't you?

No, I was delving back into Wikipedia, which is not always the most accurate place to delve into information, but it's 2009, the last time you raced at Donington Park back in SuperSport It would have been 2013 in World SuperSport, I won both times, that was nice, I live 10 minutes away from here, this is really a home racing So do you do a lot of track days here? I have, since I crossed the line in 2013 I've never been around the track, so I've been here a couple of times to watch Alex and come to the BSP, but I've literally not been around the track So what are you looking forward to most about getting back out there then, it's obviously a great track I've done a lot here when I was younger, obviously Leon Haslam, a close friend of mine, his dad Ron used to help me in Alex's time, so I've done loads of laps here, it's a track that I know, I took 11 years ago So the first session is going to be a little bit of a, I know where to go, but with a superbike, so it's going to be a little bit of a steady go, but yeah, just looking forward to the weekend, it's a track that suits my style, especially the first half And then the areas I'm really working on with a superbike, just to stop the bike a bit better and pick up the bike on the exits, you have to do in the last sections, so it's going to be good for my progression this weekend I'm not trying to expect too much, we tested so good in Mazana and we expected maybe something more from the, not something more, but different from the weekend because we were fast in testing, but them hotter conditions I wasn't ready for And at the minute with a superbike I don't have everything 100% understood, so when the conditions have changed I'm not reacting well and I'm against guys that are absolutely on it and know everything about, say Alex for example Because we tend to forget, he knows everything about everything, this tyre and then this temperature, this 2 degrees more, I'm thinking can't make a difference, and it does So at the minute I'm not ready to have everything to put on it in every situation, but we're not far away, I'm just going to look forward to the weekend and see how it is, but it'll be nice Looking forward to barreling down the crane as I expect Yeah, honestly it's a track that anyone that's ready will know, you smile riding on it, and I will be doing that this weekend Final question, what would be a result that would make you happy this weekend, I mean it's going to be sketchy-ish looking weather, perhaps on Saturday, Sunday's looking a bit better I think, but what would be a realistic goal Given everything you've just said about it, and it's super competitive this field, we forget that little bit Yeah, yeah, it's a strong field, my goal here would be, especially over the weekend, see how I feel, and it's hard as a home rider, someone that has achieved what I have, I would still look for a podium, top 5 podium Let's say top 5 this weekend, top 5 or 6 is my goal, but then something happens in the race and then I get another, obviously 2 goes Sunday So if I can have a solid result top 5 or 6 Saturday, I should be able to make it bigger step than most because of evolution over the weekend Do you believe in the notion of the home crowd and that kind of, what is it, the X factor that you get from being on home tour I do and I don't, I think that when you have got good support, I think it's nice, I think it's nice, so it helps you maybe in some ways focus a bit more on try, but then I also know having travelled 10 years in the jump reap paddock that you turn up in, I don't know, in Japan and you're on the lap record straight away because it's so part of your job, so I think the top riders are fast everywhere But I think it's nice to perform well and maybe the last few laps if you're struggling, this is a very physical track Donington with the arms and stuff, so maybe you can find a bit more But I just think for the sense of it makes you feel good, you get a lot of support and this is always nice and maybe it does bring a little bit Well I'm sure you're going to get a lot of support this weekend Sam and we wish you the best of luck in the races, we'll be sort of keeping an eye on the results It's great to see you over in this paddock now and enjoying your racing Yeah let's see, see how we can get on, we'll be nice Cheers mate