Question & Answer Time!
I have created this section to answer questions relating to my job as a Grand Prix mechanic that I have been asked several times by people on Twitter or friends. Many questions are because I have been very lucky and worked for some of the most famous motorcycle riders on the planet, and some questions are more to do with people's interest in racing and how it all works and how I came to be involved. I will probably add to this section as time goes on. It's not something that is fixed, new questions are asked all the time.
I’m afraid you won’t find anything controversial here. I often get asked questions which I am unwilling or unable to answer - be it due to restrictions in my working contracts or just my belief that the answer should be private, or may cause a brand or a person damage.
I will answer more and more as time goes on, but for now these are the most asked. You're welcome!
I’m afraid you won’t find anything controversial here. I often get asked questions which I am unwilling or unable to answer - be it due to restrictions in my working contracts or just my belief that the answer should be private, or may cause a brand or a person damage.
I will answer more and more as time goes on, but for now these are the most asked. You're welcome!
Why do you call him the Rider?
This question is very high on the list of FAQ. I get asked this because on Twitter I mostly refer to Valentino Rossi as THE RIDER. It all started for me when I arrived in Grand Prix in 1993. The mechanics at the time in Rothmans Honda often referred to Mick Doohan or Daryl Beattie (the rider I worked for at the time) as the Rider. I think it was in some part due to the Japanese referring to test and race riders like parts - thats not being harsh, just factual. Anyway I have just kept on calling the riders I have worked for "THE RIDER". But I have now worked for Valentino so long and referred to him as the Rider that I think I may retire the word for a rider after him as he is in my mind THE RIDER!
What's He Like?
This question I get all the time, I guess it's because many people don't get to meet the riders and when they find out what I do it's one of the first questions I get asked normally right after they say "I will carry your bags for you if you like?"
All the riders I have worked with have been fantastic to me. Always very appreciative of our efforts, and have never lost it with me or anybody else in the team. Daryl Beattie is a friend and we had a great time in Europe together, we both were new to it in '93. Mick Doohan was the most visibly intense rider I have worked for and I once said to him that after him every other rider would be a dream. But honestly working with Mick you get infected with the burning desire to win, he taught me that more than any other person and he was so good to all his mechanics. Sometimes when the pressure was off and we got the chance to have a drink - and some of those stories from Mick's early racing can make you laugh so hard you will piss your pants. Very Australian and very funny, I get to see him every now and then and always enjoy catching up.
With regard to the RIDER, Valentino Rossi, I always say the same thing. How you see him in interviews and at the races is very close to how he is generally. Very, very funny, he has one of the best racing minds I have met, he knows more about most forms of motorsport than anybody I know and he is unreal with who passed who, when and how.
But probably the most common answer I give to the question of "whats he like" is ....."If you were his parents and he could not ride a motorcycle out of sight on a dark night, regardless, you would be very proud of the kid you brought up"
All the riders I have worked with have been fantastic to me. Always very appreciative of our efforts, and have never lost it with me or anybody else in the team. Daryl Beattie is a friend and we had a great time in Europe together, we both were new to it in '93. Mick Doohan was the most visibly intense rider I have worked for and I once said to him that after him every other rider would be a dream. But honestly working with Mick you get infected with the burning desire to win, he taught me that more than any other person and he was so good to all his mechanics. Sometimes when the pressure was off and we got the chance to have a drink - and some of those stories from Mick's early racing can make you laugh so hard you will piss your pants. Very Australian and very funny, I get to see him every now and then and always enjoy catching up.
With regard to the RIDER, Valentino Rossi, I always say the same thing. How you see him in interviews and at the races is very close to how he is generally. Very, very funny, he has one of the best racing minds I have met, he knows more about most forms of motorsport than anybody I know and he is unreal with who passed who, when and how.
But probably the most common answer I give to the question of "whats he like" is ....."If you were his parents and he could not ride a motorcycle out of sight on a dark night, regardless, you would be very proud of the kid you brought up"
How did you get into GP's?
Below is part of an interview I did with British magazine/paper MCN. I could write something new but it would end up the same, so anyway my answer to the question is below. I probably don't answer exactly like this when talking in a pub but I think it's better than me walking off to the bar or the toilet half way through answering your question anyway!
My story goes like this: I raced motocross in Australia and was okay, but not great. To support my motocross habit and my future I had become an apprentice mechanic for a government bus company in Australia’s capital city Canberra.
I was a decent rider but afraid I was not going to reach my schoolboy dream of being a motocross champion. I had become friends with many good riders and begun to travel with them to races. I would drive to Sydney and drop my van at their house and put my bike in their van or vice versa, and then we would split the costs as we raced around Australia. Sometimes I would work on their bikes for them, including suspension and engine rebuilds and when they were successful, people would ask them who worked on their bikes. So eventually I was sitting at home with a broken tail bone (from a motocross crash) and the phone rang. It was the manager of the Australian Yamaha Motocross Team, asking if I would like to work for them.
So I took a pay cut of over half and went to Sydney and worked with that team for a few years. I ended up working for one of Australia’s top riders, Craig Dack, who now owns the best motocross team in Australia.
During the time there, I met Peter Luczkowski, who was a mechanic for Michael Doohan. He had previously worked for Jeff Leisk who rode for HRC in the European Motocross World Championship. I also met Garry Benn who was running Yamaha’s Motocross Team in Europe (both Australians). I told them both that I wanted to work in Europe as a motocross mechanic. Towards the end of 1992 Gary offered me a job in Europe for the 1993 motocross season and whilst at the Motocross Des Nations in Perth Western Australia, I shook hands with Gary and the deal was done.
I drove the truck to Brisbane (bloody long way, and a funny story which I’ll leave for another time). When I arrived in Brisbane I had a message to ring some guy called Jeremy Burgess. I rang JB and he offered me a job in road racing for Darryl Beattie and Rothmans Honda. So I then spoke to Gary Benn and told him as we had shaken on our deal, I would be working with him. Gary said to me “Go road racing – it’s cleaner” so I must thank Gary for that! I called JB back and he said “Okay, you have the job”. I said “What? Just like that?” and he replied “Don’t worry, I can sack you at any time!”.
So to answer your question, it seems to be word of mouth. But the word of mouth are recommendations and you will get that if you are trustworthy, and are able to get on with a wide variety of people and can cope with being away from home and various other small things that some people can’t handle. Don’t get me wrong, the mechanical skill side is very important but many people have that ability and to be honest probably greater than me, but that alone is not what makes a racing mechanic.
My story goes like this: I raced motocross in Australia and was okay, but not great. To support my motocross habit and my future I had become an apprentice mechanic for a government bus company in Australia’s capital city Canberra.
I was a decent rider but afraid I was not going to reach my schoolboy dream of being a motocross champion. I had become friends with many good riders and begun to travel with them to races. I would drive to Sydney and drop my van at their house and put my bike in their van or vice versa, and then we would split the costs as we raced around Australia. Sometimes I would work on their bikes for them, including suspension and engine rebuilds and when they were successful, people would ask them who worked on their bikes. So eventually I was sitting at home with a broken tail bone (from a motocross crash) and the phone rang. It was the manager of the Australian Yamaha Motocross Team, asking if I would like to work for them.
So I took a pay cut of over half and went to Sydney and worked with that team for a few years. I ended up working for one of Australia’s top riders, Craig Dack, who now owns the best motocross team in Australia.
During the time there, I met Peter Luczkowski, who was a mechanic for Michael Doohan. He had previously worked for Jeff Leisk who rode for HRC in the European Motocross World Championship. I also met Garry Benn who was running Yamaha’s Motocross Team in Europe (both Australians). I told them both that I wanted to work in Europe as a motocross mechanic. Towards the end of 1992 Gary offered me a job in Europe for the 1993 motocross season and whilst at the Motocross Des Nations in Perth Western Australia, I shook hands with Gary and the deal was done.
I drove the truck to Brisbane (bloody long way, and a funny story which I’ll leave for another time). When I arrived in Brisbane I had a message to ring some guy called Jeremy Burgess. I rang JB and he offered me a job in road racing for Darryl Beattie and Rothmans Honda. So I then spoke to Gary Benn and told him as we had shaken on our deal, I would be working with him. Gary said to me “Go road racing – it’s cleaner” so I must thank Gary for that! I called JB back and he said “Okay, you have the job”. I said “What? Just like that?” and he replied “Don’t worry, I can sack you at any time!”.
So to answer your question, it seems to be word of mouth. But the word of mouth are recommendations and you will get that if you are trustworthy, and are able to get on with a wide variety of people and can cope with being away from home and various other small things that some people can’t handle. Don’t get me wrong, the mechanical skill side is very important but many people have that ability and to be honest probably greater than me, but that alone is not what makes a racing mechanic.
What advice can you give me? I would like to work in MotoGP too.
I get asked this question a lot and below is an answer I gave to somebody via email, at the end I also said he should read some of my interviews as I talk a bit about it in them. (You can find them in the "in the Media section".)
So there are two ways really.
If you're an academic and study engineering, dynamics and lots of words I can't spell you will have to contact factories directly and would probably remain in an office. There are several F1 and car companies that advertise positions in auto sport mags in the UK. Motorcycling is smaller and factory jobs are harder to get as most factories are Japanese. BMW and Ducati are the ones most likely but still it's a small percentage.
My route into this game is from the other end. I was a Qualified Bus Mechanic and raced motorcycles. Turns out I was a better mechanic than racer.
Nearly every mechanic in MotoGP has similar stories. Almost all have no official qualifications relating to mechanics. Most started helping a friend or racer at their local club or they worked at a bike shop that had a race team. Most start just helping and work for no money and as they got better they went further afield to more races met more people and that's how it starts.
Don't just limit yourself to MotoGP. There are a million jobs in bikes and racing that would be and are great. Also once you have one getting the next job is much easier. Test teams, R & D, electric bikes, motocross, movie stunt teams, extreme stuff like X Games, Crusty Demons to name a few and there are many other ways to become a mechanic in a cool fulfilling way that let you travel and work with the best.
Basically apart from having some mechanical skill you need to be a logical minded person, be able to get on with others and be able to talk to a variety of people about a variety of subjects because that is how others find out about you. You need to not get stressed out about food, beds and all the things that come with traveling. Many people struggle with that, they are great mechanics but terrible race mechanics because it takes more than just the actual mechanical skills to be good at this job. Word of mouth is still the most powerful employment tool in this game.
So there are two ways really.
If you're an academic and study engineering, dynamics and lots of words I can't spell you will have to contact factories directly and would probably remain in an office. There are several F1 and car companies that advertise positions in auto sport mags in the UK. Motorcycling is smaller and factory jobs are harder to get as most factories are Japanese. BMW and Ducati are the ones most likely but still it's a small percentage.
My route into this game is from the other end. I was a Qualified Bus Mechanic and raced motorcycles. Turns out I was a better mechanic than racer.
Nearly every mechanic in MotoGP has similar stories. Almost all have no official qualifications relating to mechanics. Most started helping a friend or racer at their local club or they worked at a bike shop that had a race team. Most start just helping and work for no money and as they got better they went further afield to more races met more people and that's how it starts.
Don't just limit yourself to MotoGP. There are a million jobs in bikes and racing that would be and are great. Also once you have one getting the next job is much easier. Test teams, R & D, electric bikes, motocross, movie stunt teams, extreme stuff like X Games, Crusty Demons to name a few and there are many other ways to become a mechanic in a cool fulfilling way that let you travel and work with the best.
Basically apart from having some mechanical skill you need to be a logical minded person, be able to get on with others and be able to talk to a variety of people about a variety of subjects because that is how others find out about you. You need to not get stressed out about food, beds and all the things that come with traveling. Many people struggle with that, they are great mechanics but terrible race mechanics because it takes more than just the actual mechanical skills to be good at this job. Word of mouth is still the most powerful employment tool in this game.
Alex what have been your favourite races?
I have been asked this many times and as of Assen this year I now have another one to add to the list!
So my list goes like this:
1. Mick Doohan's championship race in Brno in ’94. It was my first championship win I was involved in, best memory was being thrown out of a discotech by some security bloke who then got jumped by some of the other guys so I could escape........ I cant say who sorry, but they were brave and got away also. Great memory.
2. Valentino's win in the rain in Donington. It was incredible to watch, no need for him to go faster but he just went faster and faster. He was in the zone that day and in a class of his own. If you braved the weather that day and saw it live you are a lucky person.
3 .Valentino's win in Phillip Island after getting a 10 second penalty for passing under a yellow flag. This race for me is possibly the best one. Very boring race if you had no idea what had happened, but absolutely fantastic if you knew what you were seeing.
So if you don't know, VR was in front and then got a 10 second penalty. We had to convey through the pit board what had happened so he could decide what to do. Just continue or try to push for a ten second gap over second. Something most people did not think would be possible. They even changed the penalty rule the next year as a result!
I was on the radio just before Lukey Heights with JB doing the split times. JB told me what had happened and to just keep giving the split to second place and that he would add the time so Gazza could put P2 (position 2) on the board with a -10 even though Valentino was winning. So I think it took a lap for VR to see the board, figure out what had happen and then decide he would go for it. The next half of the race was fantastic, VR just raced his lap timer and the pit board out the front all alone and just kept pulling a gap on second until he won the race by 15 seconds. For me it was maybe the best race and a great team effort. So in the end it was probably my favorite race where he did not really race anybody!
4. This was the win in Welkom in South Africa. His first win on a Yamaha. It was just fantastic after all the press and experts said he may not even win a race and it was a mistake to leave Honda. He rode so well that day and all year, we had several problems and things to learn that year but the rider pushed like crazy that year. There as a pool at the hotel we all stayed at and as you can imagine it was a fantastic party and most people ended up in that pool whether they wanted to or not!
5. Now this race just moved into my top five, the win at Assen this year (‘13). Because of all the reasons you would be aware of. Two very difficult years at Ducati, lots of press, much of it with a negative slant about the Rider's skill, our skill or his age and even our age! It was great to see and I was extremely happy for Valentino. It also was not a skin of your teeth type of win, it was a controlled win and he really enjoyed riding the bike. Was great to see all the smiles and to see my Twitter feed explode from so many fans that had also been with us on the roller coaster ride that is GP racing.
So that is my top 5, not that easy when you have been involved in over 336 GPs races.
My whole first year with Daryl Beattie was great also. Mainly because it was for both of us our first time in Europe racing. I loved that year, made a million mistakes and made a million friends, and became addicted to this life. I still have a MotoGP syringe jammed deep in my vein and there is still plenty of juice in it. So I know I will have many other races that will be trying to get into my top 5.
So thats it for now, I am sure I will add more as time goes on.
So my list goes like this:
1. Mick Doohan's championship race in Brno in ’94. It was my first championship win I was involved in, best memory was being thrown out of a discotech by some security bloke who then got jumped by some of the other guys so I could escape........ I cant say who sorry, but they were brave and got away also. Great memory.
2. Valentino's win in the rain in Donington. It was incredible to watch, no need for him to go faster but he just went faster and faster. He was in the zone that day and in a class of his own. If you braved the weather that day and saw it live you are a lucky person.
3 .Valentino's win in Phillip Island after getting a 10 second penalty for passing under a yellow flag. This race for me is possibly the best one. Very boring race if you had no idea what had happened, but absolutely fantastic if you knew what you were seeing.
So if you don't know, VR was in front and then got a 10 second penalty. We had to convey through the pit board what had happened so he could decide what to do. Just continue or try to push for a ten second gap over second. Something most people did not think would be possible. They even changed the penalty rule the next year as a result!
I was on the radio just before Lukey Heights with JB doing the split times. JB told me what had happened and to just keep giving the split to second place and that he would add the time so Gazza could put P2 (position 2) on the board with a -10 even though Valentino was winning. So I think it took a lap for VR to see the board, figure out what had happen and then decide he would go for it. The next half of the race was fantastic, VR just raced his lap timer and the pit board out the front all alone and just kept pulling a gap on second until he won the race by 15 seconds. For me it was maybe the best race and a great team effort. So in the end it was probably my favorite race where he did not really race anybody!
4. This was the win in Welkom in South Africa. His first win on a Yamaha. It was just fantastic after all the press and experts said he may not even win a race and it was a mistake to leave Honda. He rode so well that day and all year, we had several problems and things to learn that year but the rider pushed like crazy that year. There as a pool at the hotel we all stayed at and as you can imagine it was a fantastic party and most people ended up in that pool whether they wanted to or not!
5. Now this race just moved into my top five, the win at Assen this year (‘13). Because of all the reasons you would be aware of. Two very difficult years at Ducati, lots of press, much of it with a negative slant about the Rider's skill, our skill or his age and even our age! It was great to see and I was extremely happy for Valentino. It also was not a skin of your teeth type of win, it was a controlled win and he really enjoyed riding the bike. Was great to see all the smiles and to see my Twitter feed explode from so many fans that had also been with us on the roller coaster ride that is GP racing.
So that is my top 5, not that easy when you have been involved in over 336 GPs races.
My whole first year with Daryl Beattie was great also. Mainly because it was for both of us our first time in Europe racing. I loved that year, made a million mistakes and made a million friends, and became addicted to this life. I still have a MotoGP syringe jammed deep in my vein and there is still plenty of juice in it. So I know I will have many other races that will be trying to get into my top 5.
So thats it for now, I am sure I will add more as time goes on.
