The single most important factor why you chose Öhlins?
I think it was back in 1998-1999 when Kenny Roberts JR joined the team and his father (who rode on Öhlins) was really keen on trying with Öhlins suspension on his son’s 2-stroke 500cc GP bike. The first tests that were made showed at least as good results as the components that were already on at the moment.
The laptimes got a bit better and from that moment on our team used Öhlins for both the 2-stroke and the 4-stroke MotoGP bikes.
Technically it is very hard for me to say what is better or worse with a Öhlins product compared to the competitors, but I can say from a reaction point of view that Öhlins is a very big help to us. If one of our engineers comes up with a good idéa the Öhlins guys listen and consider and sometimes they will do some changes inside a suspension unit that we would like to try, other times the Öhlins guys comes up with their own material.
The balance is quite good and they are very open minded and they like to progress as quickly as possible but always with a referencepoint of performance. All that we can say is that every year something better comes. We always use new stuff, not because the old stuff is worn out, but there are always some new improvements made..
The relationship is very strong and if we have something to improve on our bike right now it is definitely not the suspension, we have other things to focus on.
Is it hard to be a team manager with so many eager suppliers that constantly come up with new technologies? Any problems keeping the performance stability?
No, the factory controls that very carefully, they never start racing on new stuff until they have compared it carefully to the old stuff. We actually had the complete 2007 setup on our bikes in our tests in Qatar in the beginning of this season just to compare with the new 2008 suspension setup, just to make sure. Now we are all confirmed on the new stuff and all of the old stuff is gone.
I personally do not find my way around the garage but I have understood that telemetry is a huge help for you to evaluate a race… but how many decisions are still based on the riders own feelings?
Data is data but rider comments are more important. The confidence of the motorcycle rider is so important, they have the feeling and the knowledge to give detailed information, so the information from them is at least as important as telemetrics.
What would you like to see more of when it comes to Öhlins and the suspension that is on your bikes? Any dreams that you want Öhlins to deliver for you?
Apart from free suspension parts for my private motocross bike (Paul laughs) I think that constant evolution, reduction of weight and an increase in performance are some of the most important wishes. The new 800cc chassis have changed the rigidity of the fork and the riders are looking for the right feeling and we need to work together on that.
As I said, what we request from Öhlins is continued evolution and to continue the partnership on an engineering level to support our engineers on the track because keeping that consistency with Öhlins technician Graeme Irvine is very important. He has almost become like a third crew chief. He understands the bike, he understands the riders well and he understands the way the crew chief works and he has become a very important part of the team. That is why consistency is so important.
Could you give all bikers that will read this article the three most important parts of a bike that would increase the quality of the ride the most when changed?
The three things that are most important to increase the performance of a normal street bike would be in no particular order (1.) tyres, (2.) suspension and (3.) engine mapping. You’re not looking for more power when you change the mapping of the engine but to get smoother power and better throttle response. Some of the fuel injected bikes are not as good as others and you can make an improvement by a combination of exhaust and a good settings guy with a dyno, and you can improve the initial response quite a lot which is important for smoother riding and throttle connection.
Tyres are tyres and of course you can improve the grip, but in terms of benefits against costs improving is the suspension is the best alternative.
Today the bikes are built very cost efficient and the standard suspension is normally very good, but as an accessory part a fork internal kit and a rear shock replacement can make quite a big step up in grip and feedback, and if you like to ride on the track the suspension is even more important than power.
What is the greatest thing about being a team manager for Suzuki Rizzla?
Somebody said to me years ago that racing is such hard work that the only thing that justifies it is to win. Anything else but winning is no good.
The best thing for me is to see the satisfaction in the faces of the engineers, riders and the rest of the crew and everybody else in the team when we get a good result. It doesn’t always need to be a race result, it can just as well be a test result or taking a bad situation and turning it into a competitive situation. We have a group of talented and hard working people in the team and they need results in their job. The job is just too hard to justify without results.
Do you have a bike back home?
A GSXR 750. I actually have a Suzuki shop back in England, so there is absolutely no problem in riding bikes.
What is it like working with the Öhlins technicians? Are they any different?
As I mentioned before, our Öhlins technician Graeme Irvine is very special because he is very deeply involved in our team and he knows everything about the machine and the riders, so I think that he is an important part of the team. On the development side the guys are very open and serious about improving the bike, and it is quite interesting to see how the MotoGP technique is getting fed into the production shocks and forks after just one year or two, giving the customer access quite quickly. Great technique makes sense to the Öhlins investments in racing.