Crafar reveals what’s drawn him back to racing

Simon Crafar is back. The New Zealander who once humbled even the mighty Mick Doohan is coming to British superbikes. Very soon he’ll get his first ride on the Yamaha R1 he will ride. But before he leaves his Andorran home for tests in Spain, he took time out to fill us in on his return to racing.

Now 32, this is the man who beat Doohan by 12 seconds to take the British GP on a Red Bull Yamaha YZR500 in 1998, only to see his career go awry early in the next season. He left the team after just six races, and for the past year he’s worked as an Ohlins technician in GPs.

Now he and new team-mate Steve Plater are fully-committed to developing the latest R1.

What made you want to race again this year? ” Niall Mackenzie planted the seed in my mind about coming over here to race. I got talking to him at the Malaysian Grand Prix and he suggested two teams that I should speak to – one was the factory Suzuki team and the other was Yamaha.

” I tried to put the conversation we had to the back of my mind but it just wouldn’t go away and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Two years ago I’d had enough of racing. When you’re doing well the GP paddock’s a great place to be, but when you’re doing badly it’s a hard place to live. Now the fire is burning again. ”

But why Britain? ” It’s a good championship, you only have to look at how well guys like Steve Hislop and John Reynolds have done as wild-cards in WSB to see how tough it is.

” Also the crowds at British race meetings are fantastic, large and really enthusiastic. Rob (McElnea) and the Virgin Yamaha team have all been supportive to me and also I won’t have to spend all my time living out of a suitcase and I’ll be able to spend more time with my family. It should be perfect. ”

Why did Yamaha want you? ” I’m sure Rob is taking the gamble but if I ride to my potential then I should win races – and the championship. He’s also sees me as having the skills to develop the new bike. ”

How much of a gamble is Rob taking? ” He was nervous when we first talked. I imagine him saying to sponsors: ‘I’m thinking of hiring a suspension technician’ and they were like – ” who? ” But I understood that so I said ” let’s test ” and it went well. I’m sure we’ll be running up front after a few races. ”

So what would you be doing if you weren’t racing? ” Last year I worked for Ohlins in GPs, looking after the suspension for the Norick Abe and Luis D’Antin in the Antena 3 Yamaha team and the 250 of Roberto Locatelli. I was really enjoying and if it hadn’t been for the conversation with Niall I’m sure that I would have been happy to still be doing that. ”

It must have been really hard, working alongside racers that you were beating previously? ” Yeah, I can see why people would think that but it wasn’t an issue, because I had decided that I didn’t want to race anymore and wanted to move on and do something else.

” I’m a motorcycle mechanic by trade, and when Ohlins offered to train me up at the end of 2000 I was really keen to do it. I’m so glad that I did it and really enjoyed my year there. ”

So why did you quit in the first place? ” I really didn’t enjoy 1999. The whole tyre change thing just spiraled out of control and everything just fell to bits.

” There’s nothing that I enjoy more than riding motorbikes, but like any job if you’re not enjoying it then you can’t concentrate fully on what you’re doing. When that happens it’s time to bail out. ”

How much riding did you do last year? ” Not much. I did a little bit of testing for Ohlins, but the combination of the Swedish weather and the fact that the bike was old and pretty unreliable meant that it was hardly anything. I haven’t raced since the 2000 Suzuka Eight-Hour. ”

So what motivates you to come back? ” Racing’s what I do best. I see the deal with Virgin Yamaha as a way of enjoying my racing again, like I did before I went to Grand Prix. After Niall first got me thinking about coming over here I discussed it with my wife and she’s been really supportive, she told me that if I wanted to race again then I should. ”

Will it be difficult having to re learn all the British tracks? ” No. It’s 10 years since I last raced in the British championship and although there’s a few tracks I haven’t been to I certainly know most of them. It won’t be a problem. ”

Are you better suited to a superbike than a 500? ” I can ride both. Superbikes have forgiving chassis so you can be aggressive. If you are aggressive on a 500 it will spit you off. I’ve always tried to ride smooth anyway and can adapt to both. ”

How’s your fitness after being out for a season? ” It’s fine. I’ve kept on training even though I haven’t been racing. I’m working really hard here in Australia and I’m just a week or two away from full race fitness. ”

Is this a springboard back on to the world stage? ” I genuinely haven’t thought about it. I suppose you can never tell what’s around the corner, and if a chance of going back to a world championship with the right package comes along then you can never say never. Right now I’m looking at racing for Yamaha in Britain and hopefully that’s something that can last for two or three years. ”

What are your thoughts on developing the new bike? ” It would be asking a bit much for us to have the best bike out there from the first race as we haven’t even ridden the bike yet.

” We don’t have a full race kit for the bike, so it’s really up to me and the team to develop the bike. I understand how bike set-up works and I’m sure that I’ll be able to relay that to the mechanics. I also understand that there is still some work to be done on the engine and that’s out of my hands, but I’m here to win races. I’ll be disappointed if I’m not at the sharp end of the championship. I’d hope that by the third or fourth race we can be right up there and running at the front. ”

Can the R1 cut it against the Ducatis and Suzuki’s GSX-R1000? ” Absolutely. It’ll take a little time to get any of the 1000s sorted, because the 750s are well developed packages, but there’s no substitute for capacity. We’ll be up there after a couple of races. ”

Was it crucial that the team run Dunlops? ” Definitely. ”

Would you have signed if they ran Michelins? ” No. ”

Why not? ” I rode crap on Michelins. I blame myself for that, but I guess my style just isn’t suited to them. They give a completely different feeling to Dunlops. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but the Dunlop is strong where I need it to be. Both companies worked closely with me and I really did try as hard as I could, but Michelins just weren’t for me. ”

What do you know about your new team-mate Steve Plater? ” I don’t know him to be honest. I hear that he’s a really nice guy though and that’s really important. I’m here to enjoy my racing and it makes it heaps easier if you get on with your team-mate. ”

People say you are a ” nice guy. ” Can you remain a nice guy and win the title? ” For sure. That’s why I’m such a Rossi fan. He’s just a normal bloke who doesn’t love himself. A lot of riders don’t care about anyone but themselves, especially the guys that are working behind the scenes. ”