Australian Superstock rider Brendan Roberts is currently leading the BSB (British Superbike) Metzeler National Series. The 21 year old racing sensation took his fifth win of the season, broke a lap record and got pole position last weekend 21st -23rd July at Oulton Park.
LB’s Andrew was at the circuit and went to meet Brendan for a chat.
Young Brendan started his racing career in 1992 at the meagre age of seven and by 1994 he come second in the Australian MX Championships. He stayed in Motocross and worked his way through various titles until July 2003 when he purchased his first race bike, a Yamaha R6. In the remainder of 03’ Brendan took part in the Mallala Club race and in the Australian Superstock 600cc class, he finished fifth overall.
2004 saw Brendan enter the Australian Road Race Championship for the full season, in 21 races he accumulated 17 podiums, seven wins and three podium positions. At age 20 Brendan came to England to take part in the Virgin Mobile R6 Cup. After 12 races he came second in the Championship with 6 podium finishes, two race wins and no less than five lap records.
Andrew So this is your first year in the National Superstock - how are you finding the bike after the R6?
Brendan Not too bad, it’s all going really well.
Andrew Does it take some getting used to though? Going from an (old model - 05) R6 to a Gixxer thousand is a bit of a step…
Brendan Yeah, went to Spain at the start of the year which was a bit of a learning curve but we got the bike set up ok and from then on it’s been progressing slowly.
Andrew Do you still think about your R6?
Brendan Ha! No no, glad to be off it to be honest, I really struggled with it last year - me being heavier than the rest of them. I tried to ride the wheels off it, but it was really hard work to keep up with the others sometimes. (Note – Brendan is a healthy sized 21 yr old not a Pedrosa sized person).
Andrew Is it going the way of the GP series where they take the smallest kids they can find and put them on the top race bikes?
Brendan Yeah, only midgets need apply…
This bike (gently rubs the petrol tank of the Gixxer) suits my style of riding much better and yeah, it’s coming along just fine. I think I chose the right bike for this series as Suzuki’s are going alright.
Andrew So did you choose the bike yourself or was it thrust upon you?
Brendan No, Niall McKenzie (Rizla Suzuki Race Team Operations Manager and all round nice guy) put me in touch with a few guys and that’s how I end up on a Suzuki. Niall told me last year that “you’ve got to be in it to win it” for the Rizla ride.
Andrew Is that what you’re aiming for, a Rizla ride for next year?
Brendan Yeah, yeah it sort of paid off with the Rizla test I had a few weeks back at Croft but I kinda buggered that up by crashing it.
Andrew So, you’re Mr Popular at Rizla then?
Brendan Ha, well it was my own fault…
Andrew So there’ll be fewer calls from Niall now I presume ha-ha?
Brendan That whole weekend didn’t go well with the bikes getting stolen (see LB news) It was incredible, I know Croft is in the middle of nowhere and I understand the security guy only stays there until 10 at night!
It sure makes you wonder if the security didn’t know something about it
Andrew And they found them under a pile of cow s**t!
Brendan (Laughs) Not good! But it did kill my chances (of another ride) after I crashed as they didn’t have any spare bikes because of it but that’s the way it is. I’ve just got to keep on plodding along on this thing and see if I can win it and then see about next year.
Andrew Well there is some doubt as to whether James Haydon will be there next year (or even fit long enough).
Brendan Ha yeah well…
Andrew Well if he keeps binning it they could probably build you a bike out of the bits left over from his wrecks.
Brendan It is a problem for them, their budget is just going downhill and I didn’t help the cause.
Andrew Well I think your crash probably doesn’t stand out that much with the way their season has gone.
Brendan Well you’ve got to find out where the limits are, that’s what it’s about.
Andrew That’s the thing that scares me, us road-riders hear a lot about ‘the limit’ and going there, but you racers run up to it, look over the edge and jump!
Brendan But there are so many dangerous things to hit out on the road whereas the racetrack is the safest place you can get, I mean it’s still dangerous but it is as safe as it can be.
Andrew I was talking to Youngy (Superstock 675) who has binned his bike twice this weekend and he said that it doesn’t slow him down - if you aren’t prepared to ride at 100% you shouldn’t be out there.
Brendan Absolutely, you’ve got to go hard all the time. Pick yourself up and get back out there. It’s what spare bikes are for.
Andrew So this is the spare bike? (Pointing at the other Gixxer) and just you in the team then (clever lad, me)
Brendan Yeah… Just me, and with the crashes I’ve been having it’s just as well.
Andrew Well this one (the spare) looks new? I notice your no1 bike has a spot of gravel rash on it…
Brendan Ha no the tank was knackered after a crash so it’s been blown out and repainted, this one No1 bike) I haven’t got around to doing yet.
Andrew These bikes are pretty much stock, aren’t they?
Brendan Yes, just a standard 1000cc Suzuki. Plug in the Powercommander and tune the suspension but it’s a standard motor. It pumps out enough power for these tyres (control Metzeler Racetecs) you’ve just got to get a good set up on suspension to get the tyres to last and you’re half way there.
Andrew So suspension set up is about the only thing you can change on the bike?
Brendan And you can only change that so much, you can’t build these bikes into something else otherwise you’ll be going around in circles. Really you’ve just got to over-ride it and get the best out of it, that’s what this series is about.
Andrew It must be good development for you though, Brendan, as a rider? I mean if you are so limited as to what you can make the bike do (to make it better than the other Gixxers out there) you must have to learn to ride around issues and problems rather than just fall off.
Brendan Yeah, that’s what these things are, just problems - laughs
Andrew So, not so much riding ‘around’ problems, but actually riding ‘on a problem’ ha-ha…
Brendan Well you have to ride them so hard, and that way you really get to find out where the limit is I suppose. It’s a good learning curve for everyone when they step up into Supersports or Superbikes.
Andrew You’re from a motocross background aren’t you?
Brendan Yeah I did that for about 11 years.
Andrew And it was 03 or 04 when you changed over?
Brendan Middle of 03 when I moved over, I finished motocross and then went out and bought an R6 just for club days.
Andrew So what spurred that decision? You were doing pretty well in Motocross back home (Australia)
Brendan Well injuries really, just couldn’t carry on like that so that was it.
Andrew They jump off their bikes more than the riders do here!
Brendan After the last season finished I just needed a bike, so I bought an R1
Andrew To ride on the road?
Brendan Yeah, just to get about on everyday you know, and then my dad sort of convinced me that he’d buy me an R6 (to race on) if I got rid of the R1. He didn’t like me riding on the road…So I thought ‘fair enough’, did a few trackdays and stuff and it kinda went from there.
Andrew And here you are sitting in Oulton Park in the best domestic racing championship in the World?
Brendan In 04 I ran in the National Supersport Championship (600s) and won that, with Billy McConnell who is now in Superbikes (Virgin Yamaha). We went from home to here racing together.
Andrew Laughs - does he still talk to you, now he’s a Superbike rider?
Brendan Oh we’ve had our disagreements over the years - back home we were mates, then not mates then mates again
Andrew It must be nice to have a mate, I mean a real mate from before all this, in this busy and often untrustworthy business.
Brendan Yeah, and we don’t get jealous of each other as we both know the hard work that goes into what we do.
Andrew He must be under the same, if not more pressure than you?
Brendan Yeah a lot more, here there’s just me running myself - I get to do what I want when I want. He gets told what to do. And then there’s all of the off bike stuff he has to do.
Andrew So who are your sponsors?
Brendan Nah, none mate.
Andrew So the team is just you!? And presumably you have to sort the bikes yourself too?
Brendan Well just me and Glen here. We do our stuff during the week. When we have a big crash it gets a bit hectic. We have a good relationship; we’re both decent mechanics so it’s pretty quick.
Got some sponsorship from MotoDirect and a couple of others, but mainly it’s my Dad kicking in some money from back home (Aussie) as he’s still back there working. That’s pretty much how the team is funded this year.
Andrew Has your Dad been over to watch you this year?
Brendan No, not even last year. He just works. And that makes it a bit hard for me, you know?
Andrew Crikey!
So Brendan, you’re leading this series and by a comfortable margin. And it’s your first year running in it. Explain?
Brendan Yeah it’s great. At the start of the year I had no idea it would be like this, I was thinking a top ten finish - I’ve never been on a thousand (cc bike) so a top ten would be good.
Andrew But there are guys who’ve been running in the series for years, it’s not like everyone starts fresh at the beginning like the R6 cup.
Brendan Yeah you’ve got the likes of Lee Jackson running on the no1 plate (MSS Discovery Kawasaki) and he’s been on Superbikes, he’s ridden everywhere. I just try to learn off those guys and if you’re not going the fastest try to be the smartest, that’s the motto I stick to, which seems to work.
Andrew Well your rise has been meteoric I must say! I hope it continues like this!
Brendan Hopefully I carry on like this and then get into Superbikes next year and see what happens from there.
Andrew So we’ve what, five meets left now? And you guys are not running double points at the last meet like the others, as you ran at Donington didn’t you?
Brendan Yeah went ok there its great fun, all about corner speed. But this one, Oulton, is so bloody scary - one mistake and you can be in a wall
Andrew Donington does have a lot more run-off than here it’s true. So how did Donington go?
Brendan Fifth on Saturday and won on the Sunday so it was ok. First race wasn’t that great, got caught up with a few other guys and couldn’t catch the leaders, just ran out of time. Sunday I got back on though. Knockhill was good I won there again and here today I’m on pole.
Andrew So do you get decent trophies when you win or is it like the Bemsee club racing where you get a plastic beaker type thing?
Brendan Ha yeah it’s like that! We get a little glass cup and I send’em home to me Dad who puts them on a shelf.
Andrew So as we come to the tail end of the season does the idea that you are in the lead, winning the Championship play on your mind when you’re out there?
Brendan Couple of weekends ago it did as my points lead wasn’t very much, some 30 points which is only a race win, but now it’s up to 60 it means you don’t have to take the risk - finish top 5 or preferably podium.
Andrew Is it something you will consciously do out there? Back off I mean.
Brendan Well no, you still go for it but if you’re struggling a little and the other guys have got it over you I don’t have to win and that’s a good thing for me, that’s how I’m gonna play it out there. Touch wood I should win it.
Andrew What do you do during the off season then, assuming you’ve won this.
Brendan Go back home for the winter season, which will be summer there and too hot to ride so I’ll just go waterskiing that’s it! Just chill out…
Andrew Will you know what you are going to be doing for next year by then?
Brendan I’ll probably know in a few months just right on the end of the season whether I’ve got something lined up for next year.
But no offers yet, no ideas what will happen.
Andrew So, another year in Superstock perhaps?
Brendan No, I won’t be doing this again. I got some offers for the European stuff which is probably where I’ll be aiming for if nothing comes up.
Andrew Got to keep moving up I guess?
Brendan Yeah and I can’t afford to fund this again that’s pretty much what it is!
Andrew There seems to be a huge gap in the amount of funding between the have’s (Nvidia, HM Plant) and the have not’s. And you are all competing in National Championships together.
Brendan There’s a lot of guys with age on their side and it’s a case of who you know - you’ve still got to be able to ride a bike fast but you’ve also got to be in touch with the right people at the right time. There are only a few lucky people who get a chance at the big time and hopefully it’ll happen to me.
Andrew You were saying earlier that you do the mechanical stuff during the week, do you also do much testing during that time?
Brendan No not really, we’ve been out about 5 times during the year, that’s it. Other than that I just go from meeting to meeting.
Andrew So do you work during the week?
Brendan Nah, not recently. Just cruising, chilling out
Andrew So you haven’t got a ‘proper job’ -laughs
Brendan No way mate, a proper job, aahaha…
Andrew I’d have thought even stacking the shelves at Tesco’s would be worth doing for the extra cash. Every little penny helps.
Brendan Well I did a bit of work at the beginning of the year but nothing since
Andrew Suppose it’s less stress and hassle in an already busy life I guess?
Brendan Yeah and that’s good.
Andrew I read somewhere that you are a Mick Doohan fan
Brendan Doohan’s the man; I grew up watching him…
Andrew Ever met him?
Brendan Nah, but he was the bloke I idolised even before I got into racing. I’m too young to remember him starting but for the middle and end of his career that’s when I first started watching TV and getting into what he was doing.
Andrew It’s his ability to overcome injuries that impresses me the most. Have you had any bad knocks?
Brendan Not on road racing (Aussie for tarmac racing) but on MotoX yeah, that’s why I had to change over to these.
Andrew He’s a hard man, but he’s still part of the Honda MotoGP team isn’t he?
Brendan Not sure if he is this year - think they had a falling out.
Andrew True, Eurosport don’t mention him anymore. What about Rossi, what do you make of him?
Brendan Well he’s the man now, the man of the moment.
Andrew When you watch these guys do you try and learn from them, how they ride a circuit that you do?
Brendan Mostly on a track I’m riding so MotoGP is largely irrelevant. I can learn some lines and stuff but riding styles don’t really matter as their bikes are so different to mine. Theirs corner on rails where mine is like a kangaroo, bouncing all over the place. You can learn from advice if they give it, but otherwise not much.
Andrew Do use the Playstations etc to learn tracks from?
Brendan I tried to get that for a European Superstock round I did a while back but they didn’t do that track!
Andrew So, how did that come about?
Brendan I did the Gixxer 750 cup at Silverstone WSB and it came from there. They rang me and that was that.
Andrew Must have been a different experience - I presume you weren’t doing your own spannering?
Brendan No that was a full on factory type job, running out of a big truck with team shirts and stuff. It was good, and an eye opener to be there. Mixing it up with some proper fast bikes and riders who can mix it up with the best Superbike riders - some of the riders have stepped down from there and are still young enough to enter the Superstocks.
Andrew The whole atmosphere of the thing must be different, more professional perhaps? MotoGP has a very professional atmosphere, walking through the paddock everybody is busy, there’s none of this tent’s open and tools being passed around business.
Brendan They are all done to such a time scale as they need to be in and out of the place to certain times for flights/ships and stuff.
Andrew You mentioned Road Racing?
Brendan Oh, no track/circuit racing, that’s what we call it back home.
Andrew So you wouldn’t do the TT or something like it?
Brendan Nah, I don’t have enough balls for that, it’s pretty crazy!
Andrew I find it interesting that McGuiness (HM Plant Fireblade Superstocks) and Rutter (Stobart Honda Fireblade) dominate on the road racing scene, but don’t really do the same on track. Don’t know how good the package is mind.
Brendan McGuiness has the problem of running on a Honda which ain’t the best bike in Superstock and Rutter, I don’t know, perhaps it’s a bit of a second class bike - I don’t think it’s full factory - Honda seem to have gone their own way with it. They’re bloody good riders so it must be the bikes.
Andrew So definitely no chance of seeing you in the NW200 or something?
Brendan No, I’d probably end up riding too far above myself and crashing, that’s what I don’t want to do.
Andrew There’s no real protection on the those circuits, the odd straw bale perhaps, but it would hurt big time.
Brendan Everyone’s really competitive - you don’t go out there to lose and that’s what brings you down. It ends up being your downfall and you get hurt.
I like watching it on TV and would fancy going over next year. I don’t know how they learn the circuit as it’s so long.
Andrew I don’t know how you learn these circuits - I mean I’ve read the books and try and learn reference points and stuff, but after 2 sessions I can’t remember them.
Brendan Do a couple of track days - cause you’re so far behind these guys who have been here so many times before - and try and learn from others. Even the slower guys if they know the circuit they can pull you around. There’s always stuff to learn from the other riders. If you try and start too quickly you’ll end on the ground and start going backwards again.
Andrew Is there any kind of system you use? There must be so much to take in - what you’re doing, what the bike is doing etc. How do you fit it all together?
Brendan Yeah there is - you kinda know what the bike’s gonna do so you pick up on little holes or marks on the track and piece it all together then slowly pick up the pace.
Andrew Well with my goldfish-like memory it’s no wonder I’m not racing. I’d have to have it written down on the tank.
Brendan Or get a Tom-Tom - “turn left in 20 yards” etc laughs…
Andrew Ha-ha-ha a Tommy Tom Tom mounted on the tank! I’d never get through scrutineering. Or get you out of pitlane, laughs…
Are you a wheelie merchant on the last right before going under the bridge?
Brendan Oh yeah there, it gets all a bit out of shape. The rear starts sliding and the fronts in the air. Just one of those things, esp on these tyres - you try to get a bit of rear brake to keep the front down, but you are that hard on the gas that it’s difficult to counter balance it.
Andrew There must be a limit to where you can go with the soft springs.
Brendan Yeah you can only get it to go so quick and of course the tyres only hold on for so long and there’s only so much grip in them anyway. You get a good base setup and then just ride the wheels off it. That’s what it’s about.
You get good and bad conditions, on Friday the heat was so bad I was going slow. Felt like I was riding the wheels off it but I was 1.1secs down on last time.
Andrew Does it run rich in the heat?
Brendan Well you can map it with the PowerCommander and the Suzuki is pretty much spot on just jump on and ride. The Yami’s are a bit fiddlier and have to be messed with to keep the power up - they’re not as powerful as these anyway out of the box.
Then if you get too much power there is a lot of wheelspin and the tyre gives up early so it’s difficult to get a balance. Especially if the weather keeps changing!
Andrew So, you guys are out later? Have you had a session this morning?
Brendan No, no just straight out for the race at twenty past five this afternoon!
Andrew You can see where you fit in to the pecking order here! Where have we got a spare 20 mins? Oh lets fit them in there then!
Brendan Yeah maybe (wise lad not being drawn on how the organisers do things..)
Andrew The Superstock Cup Series, are their bikes more stock than yours?
Brendan No, exactly the same job! There is a kinda grading system in the series but you grade yourself - I could have gone into the Cup at the start of the year but it’s not where I want to be. They’re a slower bunch of guys (It is intended to give those who don’t feel they can compete at the top level something to fight for. Usually it is a question of budget or experience) but there are still some guys who are progressing that fast that they are doing our times. They will push themselves along through the year; learn the tracks and maybe move up next year.
Andrew So kinda like the Intermediates and Fast groups on a track day then? You’re not constantly battling through them and they don’t have you guys to watch out for all the time.
Brendan Yeah exactly…
Andrew Good idea, but there are still 30 or so bikes on your grid…
Brendan Into turn one…
Andrew Like Mallory and that daft chicane?
Brendan Exactly…
Andrew I notice you haven’t taped up your speedo!
Brendan Well it doesn’t read correct for the gearing but it helps on some of the fast corners to gauge how I’m doing
Andrew Like another reference point - at this place I can do at least ‘x’ kind of thing?
Brendan Yeah another reference point that’s it.
Andrew Ok Brendan well I think that’ll do so thanks very much for this and good luck this afternoon.
Brendan Cheers.
You can next see Brendan Roberts competing in the European Superstock Championship on track next weekend 4th – 6th August, at the WSB at Brands Hatch in Kent.
LB would like to thank Carly Rathmell from Rathmell Sports for helping us. Also, after this interview was conducted, Brendan went on to win the race after securing Pole Position, and now leads the championship with a 71 point lead at the time of writing.
Related Links www.brendan-roberts.com Related Galleries British Superbikes: Oulton Park '06
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