10-02-2006, 02:35 AM
I haven't sat down and edited this yet but here you go.
G: Ok Josh, could you tell us how the ride with Erion Honda came about?
Josh: Well, I came and rode for Kevin my second year of pro racing here at Erion and we've always kept a pretty decent relationship. But we went on and went our separate ways and [did] separate things. Its been a couple of years, I spent three years over there with Attack, and opportunities came around to get me back on a Honda over here at Erion Racing.
And he approached me pretty early in the season, I was pretty excited about that because it really showed me that he wanted to have me on the team and I was excited to come back.
G: So Formula Xtreme was kind of ridiculed a bit for being boring class, Honda was dominating last year so Were you a little bit apprehensive about getting into it this year? What were your thoughts coming into this season?
Josh: Well, it's all how you look at it. We're racers, we like to win, I knew I was coming on equipment that was capable of winning races and that was really exciting. You know, yeah everybody has called it the Honda class for a long time which isn't so much the case anymore. This year has proven to be probably the most exciting class out there. We've got three guys within four points with 3 races to go. It's [been] a pretty exciting year, I'm just trying to put on a good show and fly the flag well for Honda.
G: Was it a big adjustment coming from the superbike down to the 600, did you have to change your riding style a little bit? Do you have to ride around some inherent shortcomings or differences in the bikes?
Josh: Yeah for sure, there was a big difference. I had been riding 1000's only for the past 3 years or whatever, I think I rode 750's the year before that. I hadn't been on 600's since 02 so that was a pretty big adjustment. But...you know, I had always loved riding 600's before that so I was excited for the challenge and then when I first jumped on there at Honda the bike was already sorted so well, it was so easy to ride that it was a lot of fun. It's really been fun to ride at a certain level [but] it's been tough to get extra.
You know Miguel and Jake did such a great job developing these motorcycles that to go faster than they went last year is really something. They had already brought the bike along so far and rode it to the best they could, and they're excellent riders so to get anything extra out of it has been such hard work
G: So yeah that takes me into my next question, it was obviously an excellent bike last year how is the bike now as compared to last year? Have you made some big changes on it, have you continued the development of it? You were saying it's kinda hard to get more performance out of it, is it because it's towards the end of its development cycle?
Josh: Yeah, the guys went back to the shop and really worked hard on engine development and came up with some very, very small things that... the significance I really don't know. They tell us it's a only little bit faster than last year.
So every little bit helps though. But other than that it's been more of a factor of just developing the bike into my own and getting a platform that was comfortable for me to extend beyond what Miguel and Jake were able to do with it, or even to that in a lot of races. Some tracks they set times that I couldn't get near. At most tracks I've been able to go faster than [when] they raced last year which is quite an accomplishment I think. Its been hard to do, you've got Miguel who's...everybody knows Miguel's record and Jake, is a superbike guy and can definitely get it done also.
Yeeeahh, I mean it's been tough to get a little bit extra out of the bike but we keep putting our head down and we have our goals and our focus and it's going well right now.
G: What are some of the strong points of the bike[600RR] compared to the R6's and what are some their strengths compared to you?
Josh: For sure everybody's been talking about the speed of the Honda. The bike is definitely fast. We also have a very stable bike. The tracks that we seem to be able to put together well are a lot of the flowing tracks. When we get stop and go tracks we tend to struggle a little bit. That's one big thing.
Our bike stops fairly well, we have good brakes and we have excellent suspension. It could use a little help in a couple of areas. We're constantly trying to make the bike actually turn a little bit better. Turn-in is ok and corner exit is really good, we have good grip and a bike that gets off a corner really well and has good speed so that's what we try to
focus on.
G: Have you guys started to experiment with traction control yet now that it's fully legal?
Josh: Um *laughs* This weekend by the grace of Rockwall Honda being very giving with some of his crew we are testing, I'll say electronics, on the motorcycle with some success.
I think there's a big misconception with people that traction control makes a motorcycle faster, it's not necessarily the case. I think lap time for lap time I can probably do, anybody can probably do the same lap time with and without traction control. What traction control does do is over the course of a race as a tire goes off it takes some of the work out of throttle control and lets you just put the thing on the stop and let the computer do the work for you.
So yeah I think there's been a big misconception about traction control and it making bikes go faster. Cause that's not the case, traction control doesn't take a bad tire and make it into a good tire. All it does is get the best to get the most out of the tire that you're using.
We have experimented with it. [Experimented] with some things like it. I don't know what they call it, "engine management" or whatever
G: "Acceleration management"
Josh: Yeah, we've been toying with it a little bit. It looks like something that could be good in the future.
G: So what's your favorite part of VIR, what's your favorite section here?
Josh: Front straight, I'm on a Honda! *laughs* Ah, it's got so much to offer, there's a lot of really neat sections at this racetrack...it's just trying to put a whole lap together that's the hard part so I've gotta like all the sections.
G: What's the trickiest section? I saw a couple of people, especially on the Superstock bikes kinda get out of shape coming out of turn 17 because there's kind of a ripple there...
Josh: Yeah there's some big dips and waves coming onto the front straightaway. For me I think going off in the back section under the bridge, you've got the right hander going up the hill, I'm not sure what turn number it is...
G: Seven I believe.
Josh: Yeah leading into the whole rollercoaster section across the back, that's probably the most challenging part of the racetrack for me, the one that I need the most work on.
G: Yeah I uh almost crashed there at a trackday on turn 7 so I know what you mean.
Josh: *laughs*
G: Cool, so one final question, who's your favorite up and comer in the class? If you had to choose one of the privateer guys who's on the upswing to be on your team next year who would you pick?
Josh: You know there's quite a few guys that I think stand out. Of course Josh Herrin has shown that he's got a lot of speed. I've always been a big fan of Danny Eslick. Danny Eslick's riding is almost inspiring, I really like watching him ride and race. Ryan Andrews over here on Rockwall Honda has been doing a good job this year and I think he's probably been a little bit underrated. He's been doing a really good job.
And then I think probably ones who reminds me the most of myself, which [gives] me a little favor in there, is Michael Beck. I think Michael's learning curve has been really high and he's some done some pretty big things, but in the shadow of other things happening. He rode such a strong race at Miller and worked his way up to 5th, ran down the lead group and the only thing that put it in the shadow was the fact that Josh Herrin, who got a great start and ran at the front the whole time, got on the podium. Michael had such a great ride behind but it just got overshadowed. He's done that at several races, he got 5th at Fontana. You know, he's been there. He's riding well, he's a quiet, good kid from a good family as far as I can tell and he's just quietly doing his job and I like that kid.
G: Well hopefully see some new factory [rider] announcements next year and we'll see how it goes. Welp, thanks again and good luck today and tomorrow and thanks for the interview.
G: Ok Josh, could you tell us how the ride with Erion Honda came about?
Josh: Well, I came and rode for Kevin my second year of pro racing here at Erion and we've always kept a pretty decent relationship. But we went on and went our separate ways and [did] separate things. Its been a couple of years, I spent three years over there with Attack, and opportunities came around to get me back on a Honda over here at Erion Racing.
And he approached me pretty early in the season, I was pretty excited about that because it really showed me that he wanted to have me on the team and I was excited to come back.
G: So Formula Xtreme was kind of ridiculed a bit for being boring class, Honda was dominating last year so Were you a little bit apprehensive about getting into it this year? What were your thoughts coming into this season?
Josh: Well, it's all how you look at it. We're racers, we like to win, I knew I was coming on equipment that was capable of winning races and that was really exciting. You know, yeah everybody has called it the Honda class for a long time which isn't so much the case anymore. This year has proven to be probably the most exciting class out there. We've got three guys within four points with 3 races to go. It's [been] a pretty exciting year, I'm just trying to put on a good show and fly the flag well for Honda.
G: Was it a big adjustment coming from the superbike down to the 600, did you have to change your riding style a little bit? Do you have to ride around some inherent shortcomings or differences in the bikes?
Josh: Yeah for sure, there was a big difference. I had been riding 1000's only for the past 3 years or whatever, I think I rode 750's the year before that. I hadn't been on 600's since 02 so that was a pretty big adjustment. But...you know, I had always loved riding 600's before that so I was excited for the challenge and then when I first jumped on there at Honda the bike was already sorted so well, it was so easy to ride that it was a lot of fun. It's really been fun to ride at a certain level [but] it's been tough to get extra.
You know Miguel and Jake did such a great job developing these motorcycles that to go faster than they went last year is really something. They had already brought the bike along so far and rode it to the best they could, and they're excellent riders so to get anything extra out of it has been such hard work
G: So yeah that takes me into my next question, it was obviously an excellent bike last year how is the bike now as compared to last year? Have you made some big changes on it, have you continued the development of it? You were saying it's kinda hard to get more performance out of it, is it because it's towards the end of its development cycle?
Josh: Yeah, the guys went back to the shop and really worked hard on engine development and came up with some very, very small things that... the significance I really don't know. They tell us it's a only little bit faster than last year.
So every little bit helps though. But other than that it's been more of a factor of just developing the bike into my own and getting a platform that was comfortable for me to extend beyond what Miguel and Jake were able to do with it, or even to that in a lot of races. Some tracks they set times that I couldn't get near. At most tracks I've been able to go faster than [when] they raced last year which is quite an accomplishment I think. Its been hard to do, you've got Miguel who's...everybody knows Miguel's record and Jake, is a superbike guy and can definitely get it done also.
Yeeeahh, I mean it's been tough to get a little bit extra out of the bike but we keep putting our head down and we have our goals and our focus and it's going well right now.
G: What are some of the strong points of the bike[600RR] compared to the R6's and what are some their strengths compared to you?
Josh: For sure everybody's been talking about the speed of the Honda. The bike is definitely fast. We also have a very stable bike. The tracks that we seem to be able to put together well are a lot of the flowing tracks. When we get stop and go tracks we tend to struggle a little bit. That's one big thing.
Our bike stops fairly well, we have good brakes and we have excellent suspension. It could use a little help in a couple of areas. We're constantly trying to make the bike actually turn a little bit better. Turn-in is ok and corner exit is really good, we have good grip and a bike that gets off a corner really well and has good speed so that's what we try to
focus on.
G: Have you guys started to experiment with traction control yet now that it's fully legal?
Josh: Um *laughs* This weekend by the grace of Rockwall Honda being very giving with some of his crew we are testing, I'll say electronics, on the motorcycle with some success.
I think there's a big misconception with people that traction control makes a motorcycle faster, it's not necessarily the case. I think lap time for lap time I can probably do, anybody can probably do the same lap time with and without traction control. What traction control does do is over the course of a race as a tire goes off it takes some of the work out of throttle control and lets you just put the thing on the stop and let the computer do the work for you.
So yeah I think there's been a big misconception about traction control and it making bikes go faster. Cause that's not the case, traction control doesn't take a bad tire and make it into a good tire. All it does is get the best to get the most out of the tire that you're using.
We have experimented with it. [Experimented] with some things like it. I don't know what they call it, "engine management" or whatever
G: "Acceleration management"
Josh: Yeah, we've been toying with it a little bit. It looks like something that could be good in the future.
G: So what's your favorite part of VIR, what's your favorite section here?
Josh: Front straight, I'm on a Honda! *laughs* Ah, it's got so much to offer, there's a lot of really neat sections at this racetrack...it's just trying to put a whole lap together that's the hard part so I've gotta like all the sections.
G: What's the trickiest section? I saw a couple of people, especially on the Superstock bikes kinda get out of shape coming out of turn 17 because there's kind of a ripple there...
Josh: Yeah there's some big dips and waves coming onto the front straightaway. For me I think going off in the back section under the bridge, you've got the right hander going up the hill, I'm not sure what turn number it is...
G: Seven I believe.
Josh: Yeah leading into the whole rollercoaster section across the back, that's probably the most challenging part of the racetrack for me, the one that I need the most work on.
G: Yeah I uh almost crashed there at a trackday on turn 7 so I know what you mean.
Josh: *laughs*
G: Cool, so one final question, who's your favorite up and comer in the class? If you had to choose one of the privateer guys who's on the upswing to be on your team next year who would you pick?
Josh: You know there's quite a few guys that I think stand out. Of course Josh Herrin has shown that he's got a lot of speed. I've always been a big fan of Danny Eslick. Danny Eslick's riding is almost inspiring, I really like watching him ride and race. Ryan Andrews over here on Rockwall Honda has been doing a good job this year and I think he's probably been a little bit underrated. He's been doing a really good job.
And then I think probably ones who reminds me the most of myself, which [gives] me a little favor in there, is Michael Beck. I think Michael's learning curve has been really high and he's some done some pretty big things, but in the shadow of other things happening. He rode such a strong race at Miller and worked his way up to 5th, ran down the lead group and the only thing that put it in the shadow was the fact that Josh Herrin, who got a great start and ran at the front the whole time, got on the podium. Michael had such a great ride behind but it just got overshadowed. He's done that at several races, he got 5th at Fontana. You know, he's been there. He's riding well, he's a quiet, good kid from a good family as far as I can tell and he's just quietly doing his job and I like that kid.
G: Well hopefully see some new factory [rider] announcements next year and we'll see how it goes. Welp, thanks again and good luck today and tomorrow and thanks for the interview.
2018 Ducati Panigale V4
Past: 2018 Honda Civic Type-R, 2015 Yamaha R1, 2009 BMW M3, 2013 Aprilia RSV4R, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2006 Porsche Cayman S, 2012 Ducati 1199, 2009 Subaru WRX, 2008 CBR1000RR, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2000 Toyota Tundra, 2005 Honda CBR600RR, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1997 Honda Civic EX
http://www.aclr8.com
Past: 2018 Honda Civic Type-R, 2015 Yamaha R1, 2009 BMW M3, 2013 Aprilia RSV4R, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2006 Porsche Cayman S, 2012 Ducati 1199, 2009 Subaru WRX, 2008 CBR1000RR, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2000 Toyota Tundra, 2005 Honda CBR600RR, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1997 Honda Civic EX
http://www.aclr8.com