Paul Bird Motorsport Rider Michael Laverty Chats Exclusively To Freestylextreme About His Dreams For His First Ever MotoGP Season!

PIC: www.speedweek.de

Michael Laverty has been a FreestyleXtreme sponsored athlete for many years so we may be a little bit biased. Even so, we couldn’t be more excited to see the Northern Irishman racing on the world stage alongside the likes of Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo. Michael very kindly took some time out before the first race at Qatar to talk to us about his hopes for the new season.

How is life in the MotoGP treating you, Michael?

Its been good, although Im not sure you get the full MotoGP experience from the Malaysia tests as the paddock is on quite a reduced scale without the Moto 2/3 teams and none of the GP infrastructure. However life inside my team and on track has been really positive. The travel and climate/cultural changes are something that I quite enjoy rather than seeing them as a pain like some do. Ive been away from home a lot already, so I miss Jodi and our dog but its all good, Im answering these questions with a sea view and sun on my back, no complaints here!

There is a huge amount of fan support behind you this year. We particularly like the ‘open letter’ article to you from SofaRacer. Have you noticed a difference in reaction from them since you started in MotoGP?

Its been quite interesting, Im not one to read fan forums but from what Ive been told by those close to me who do, there has been a major shift from the detractors originally to a lot of support. It has been surprising, BSB [British Superbike Championship] is a top national series but just the fact that you race MotoGP (albeit on a CRT machine) really seems to incite a lot of interest. I shall enjoy the support and like SofaRacer stated, enjoy every minute of being a MotoGP rider!

PIC: www.michaellaverty.com

Your testing in Sepang earlier in the year couldn’t have gone much better. Your confidence must be high after that performance?

Its nice, I wont lie - it feels good. Of course I felt that was roughly where I should be in theory but with no prior experience in GP there was a bit of guess work involved. With experience you learn to gauge things, like your level, the competition, their strengths and weaknesses although there can be things you havent accounted for. I like to analyse everything, I feel Im a realist so it wasnt a big surprise to me however it did seem to shock a lot of people.

Is it satisfying to prove to your detractors that you deserve to be on the world stage?

For sure, although I dont really get hung up on other people opinions, positive or negative, I dont really allow myself to take it on board unless it comes from a source whom I respect, you know? Arm chair critics cant ever have a true grasp of what is going on, but if I get praise or criticism from say my brothers my parents or my peers for example, thats a different story. It keeps your feet on the ground when you’re doing well and your chin off the floor when things get tough!

PIC: www.motogp.com

You must be getting on pretty well with your new bike then? What sort of things are you noticing as you spend more time with your CRT Aprilia?

Unfortunately Ive had a grand total of 30 laps on the bike I will race this season, and it was a very unrefined version with no electronics, etc. Sepang 1 I rode the ART bike that James Ellision rode last year, it was good as everything worked so it allowed me to just get on and ride it, learn all the nuances of MotoGP like the circuit, carbon brakes, Bridgestone tyres, electronics etc.

By the final day I was right on the pace with the top CRT [Claiming Rule Team] guys and finished up 2nd, I was really happy with the ART and felt comfortable on it.

We arrived at Sepang 2 with the new PBM [Paul Bird Motorsport] bike, it was a three day test and I didnt get to ride it until after lunch on the final day. It definitely was a test of patience, I felt I needed more track time to continue my learning process but it was important to get some data for the PBM bike, so rather than using the spare ART [Aprilia Racing Technologies] I let my team get on with finishing the new bike. All credit to them they worked harder and longer than any other team on pit lane to get it running and in the end it was very satisfying for them to put a brand new bike on circuit and get damn close to the necessary lap times with minimal track time.

PIC: www.michaellaverty.com

With the whole season ahead of you, what do you think you are looking forward to the most?

Not one thing in particular but the whole experience, riding on the best circuits in the world against the best riders on the best bikes in front of thousands of fans. It is the pinnacle of Motorcycle racing and I plan to enjoy being part of the show.

What are your hopes for Qatar? Have you or the team set any targets?

I have yes, but it may be a little bit unrealistic at the moment, I should know better what our level is after the final Jerez test this weekend. I want to be battling to win the CRT race, if I was on the ART bike I would say it confidently but as we still have a lot of work to do with the PBM bike just to reach the level of the ART bike in performance I am a little bit reluctant.

We also read recently that Paul Bird Motorsport landed a sponsorship with an adult movie subscription channel. Not a bad perk of the job, we assume?

Ha ha, yes there has been mixed reviews from fans on that one but I imagine the male fans wont mind a slightly different look from the promo girls! And no I havent been given a free subscription before you ask, lol.

FMX Star Andre Villa Hits Up FreestyleXtreme For His UK Arenacross Kit

FMX hero and GQ Magazines Sexiest Man in Norway Andre Villa is a star of numerous Red Bull X-Fighter, FIM World Championship and Night of the Jump events events.

While he has performed his Freestyle tricks most frequently in America and mainland Europe, he hasnt had quite so many appearances over in the UK. Until now!

Villa has been drafted in to take part in the FMX section of the new UK Arenacross series and the Norwegian Fox Racing and Monster Energy athlete needed a customised kit to wear for the remainder of the shows. So, without his US pals to hand, he turned to FreestyleXtreme to personalise his new Fox kit for him. Check it out!

Based on the Fox 360 Vibron MX kit, you can see the special badges weve added that only any proper sponsored athlete has access to.

If you want to see Andre Villa in action, there is still time to catch him in the UK Arenacross FMX show on 2nd February at the LG Arena in Birmingham and Echo Arena in Liverpool on 10th February.

Travis Pastrana Up To His Old Tricks

Theres nothing quite like a dude leaping from space to shift the limelight away from you. But that hasnt stopped Travis Pastrana from getting up to his old tricks.

Earlier in the month, Travis was hosting at the Plymouth Nitrocross event and felt that the ramp set-up was the perfect place to attempt a move he is calling the American Roll. 

Inspired by Australian BMX rider Ash Murphy and his attempt at the Aussie Roll, Pastrana very nearly nails the double backflip with a full twist.

When asked by redbullusa.com about the jump Pastrana answered, like a boss: "The timing couldnt have been better, since I had shoulder surgery scheduled for tomorrow anyway."

Not sure about it can fix your busted nad though, Travis...

 

RECOIL Ballistic BJ Baldwin in his Monster Truck

We love the internet. The days of boring commercials are long gone, and have been replaced by incredible infomercials such as this one, released yesterday from Monster Energy. In essence, its a dude driving through the desert (and into Las Vegas) in a trophy truck. Really quite quickly.

Starting out in his garage, BJ Baldwin heads out to a casino in Vegas. While doing so, he happens to stumble across a rather attractive young lady, who appears to have broken down in her Nissan GT-R. Nightmare. As the gentleman that he is, he stopped to pick her up and take her to the casino. To make sure they get to said casino in time, he jumps, drifts and occasionally flies through the desert in spectacular fashion.

Thats pretty much the size of it! Now for our opinion.. Overall, its a pretty darn cool. They are trying a little hard in places (notably the girl who gets covered in dirt), but its worth spending the 5 minutes to have a watch.

GNARLY BRO!

Travis Pastrana Unveils His Wild New NASCAR Paint Job

What the hell is going at the moment? First Ken Block reveals his Miami Vice and Hair Metal-inspired Hoonigan Fiesta. Now Travis Pastrana has gone full-on 1980s with his 2013 NASCAR Mustang.

“I said, ‘I want it bright, I want it bold, and I want it ’80s.’ It’s a little pinker than I had originally planned. I think that was the guys just thinking they were going to try to get me beat up at a NASCAR race,” said Pastrana.

Last year, Pastrana had a disjointed NASCAR program with a Boost Mobile Toyota Camry that was disrupted by injury and commitments to the Global Rally Cross Championship. For 2013, as a driver for Roush Fenway Racing, Pastrana has signed up for a full NASCAR series.

To show his dedication to NASCAR (and satisfy his sponsors Red Bull and DC, who have invested heavily in Pastrana), Travis wont be doing any NASCAR/GRC double shifts and has been warned off from motorbikes. So, anyone expecting to see TP attempting an American Roll this year is going to be disappointed.

“Everyone is like, ‘When are you coming back to motorcycles?’” Pastrana said. “For me to say I’m not, a lot of people are like, ‘What the hell, you’re leaving us?’ 

“I’m like, ‘No, it’s a new challenge.’ I appreciate the fans that stuck with me and hopefully by the end of the season we’ll be in the hunt for some wins. I know we need to win to get the fan base over here.” 

With a colour scheme like that, we certainly wont be able to miss him. Time to get that 99 sticker sorted out though, Travis!

More information at Sporting News

World Superbike Star Chaz Davies Talks About His Double Win At Aragon

Last weekend was a momentous moment for Welsh World SBK rider (and FreestyleXtreme sponsored athlete) Chaz Davies. After just his second race for the factory BMW GoldBet Motorrad Team, he managed a double race win at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain. Chaz takes a few moments out to talk to us... 

Hi Chaz. What a weekend! Your first victory with BMW, fastest lap record and a double podium! How does it feel?

It feels pretty darn good to be honest! It was a great weekend from start to finish but to cap it off with a double win is something special and quite unexpected. I knew on Saturday that we had the pace to fight at the front and thankfully on Sunday everything clicked into place and my BMW was working great.

Aragon has now been the location for several great achievements in your racing career. Surely it must be your favourite circuit now?

I really like Aragon but we go to a lot of great circuits so I don’t really have a favourite. In terms of results it’s always been kind to me so it’s definitely up there in the top 3!

The rest of the BMW GoldBet Motorrad team must be thrilled. How did you celebrate?

It was all pretty calm. I went back for seconds on the podium champagne and shared it amongst my crew and then just had some good food in the team hospitality that evening followed by a 3 hour drive to Barcelona airport. Pretty rock n roll, huh!?

What sort of reaction have you got from your fans?

My Facebook page and twitter has been flat out with compliments. I appreciate all the feedback and I’m glad that I could provide the entertainment on Sunday afternoon!

We know that is still early in the season, but your performance at Aragon has propelled you into second place in the championship. You’re in contention for the title now…

To be honest I’m not thinking about the championship at this stage. I said at the start of the season that top 5 is the goal and I’ll stand by that. There’s a long way to go and WSBK can always throw up surprises so for now I’ll just keep my head down and worry about the points at a later date. 

Having achieved so much you set out to do so quickly, what new targets have you set yourself for the rest of the year?

I love to win races so that’s a big enough target for the mean time. I just want to keep up the hard work and establish myself at the front of WSBK races every weekend.

How are you going to approach the next race at Assen?

Just like any other, head down! I’m really enjoying working with all my crew and directly with BMW so I can’t wait to get back in that environment and try to repeat the Aragon performance.