Geoff May scored his first AMA Pro American Superbike podium finish this past March at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. I last spoke at length with the Jordan Motorsports rider at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah, during the combined AMA/World Superbike weekend held there last June. At the time, May was openly critical of the direction in which new management was taking AMA Pro Racing. With two race weekends—Daytona and Fontana—now in the 2009 record books, I thought it time for another visit. Following Saturday’s podium press conference, I asked the 29-year-old Georgia native for an interview.
At Daytona, you were 10th in American Superbike. Your teammate, Aaron Yates, finished seventh in the same class. Here, at Auto Club Speedway, you both qualified and raced up front. What’s changed since Daytona?
“We had the opportunity this season to go to gas-cartridge forks. We tested at JenningsGP, a 2-mile track in northern Florida, and everything indicated that the forks were good for a half a second per lap. Then we went to Daytona and struggled. Aaron and I couldn’t get the feel out of the front end that we like. We were just shaking our heads.
“Also, something happened to my shock; let’s just say I was racing on a broken shock. Every time I tried to push the bike, it tried to spit me off. We’ve since found out why, so that has helped my confidence.
“The team dynoed the fork to find out where it was in the setting range compared to what I was using before. Last year at Infineon, where I got on the Superstock podium, we came up with a really good setting. After that, I won at Miller and was consistently up front. Since our new Superbike is really close to last year’s Superstock bike, we replicated my settings from last year and, here at Fontana, Aaron and I were fast right off the bat.”
Jordan Motorsports, M4 Suzuki and Yoshimura Suzuki are currently running 2008 GSX-R1000s. Have you tested the ’09 model?
“I’ve ridden a pre-production 2009 GSX-R1000—Yoshimura and M4 each have one, as well. We tested that at Jennings, too, and it is a bad-ass bike. Everything about it is better than the ’08 GSX-R. We’ve seen how fast the ’09 model is in World Superbike; it’s the fastest bike out there. That counts. I believe all of the Suzuki teams will be on the ’09 at the same time, probably at Barber, the fourth round.”
What is your view of the changes made to Superbike?
“I like the rules. Our team likes the rules. These are Superbikes, not Superstock bikes. We have magnesium wheels, Brembo monoblocs, remote brake adjusters, gas forks—they’re trick. But it’s an equal playing field.
“Now, it’s down to the best riders and the best mechanics. Yoshimura has the best riders and mechanics. We’re trying to close that gap. We’re going to have the same bikes and the same parts. There is nothing that they have that we can’t buy. In theory, you could build the same bike. That’s good for the sport.”
Do you have any issues with management at AMA Pro Racing?
“The series needs to listen to its riders. Mat Mladin has more racing experience than everyone in AMA Pro Racing combined. I don’t think they understand what is and isn’t safe. They haven’t ridden Superbikes; if they have, it was 10 or 20 years ago, which makes their opinions irrelevant.
“I feel very strongly about safety, having been a part of what happened to my former teammate, Vincent Haskovec. He shouldn’t be in a wheelchair. The riders’ meeting is the only time we have to communicate with them what we feel is dangerous. We’re racing motorcycles; it’s never going to be completely safe. But there are precautions that can be taken to minimize the obvious risks. I think the other bugs and kinks will get worked out.
“One thing I saw this weekend is that the flaggers were good. I don’t know where they got them, but they were on the ball. Every rider I came upon knew to move out of the way. That was because of the flaggers. I’ve never seen that in our sport. I think in the future you won’t see incidents that spoil races.”
Roger Edmondson has said that the fans will decide whether American Superbike or Daytona SportBike becomes AMA Pro Racing’s premier class. Why has Jordan Suzuki chosen to compete exclusively in American Superbike?
“We thought about entering the Daytona 200. The biggest problem was building two completely different sets of Superbikes–2008 and 2009 models—two each for me and Aaron in two different colors. We didn’t have the manpower to do it. There was also talk of adding a third rider, but because of the economy, some people had to pull back. Maybe next year.
“American Superbike needs to be the premier class. It’s backward to think that you can make 600s the premier class. Take Grand-Am Sports Cars: What is the premier class? Daytona Prototype—the biggest, baddest, fastest, push-the-limit vehicles. Not production cars.
“There’s a big difference between racing a 1000 and a 600. A 600 is easy. A 1000 tries to throw you off every corner. With the bikes moving around and us wrestling them, it’s exciting for the fans. The 600s just buzz along.”
