| Always outspoken and always ready for a battle, Davide Tardozzi now runs the factory WSBK team. image by stephen scharf-town |
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Xerox Ducati Superbike Team Manager Davide Tardozzi lives in interesting times. He’s head of Ducati’s Superbike effort as both the Superbike platform and the Superbike series enter a renaissance period, but at the same time he’s counting down the days to when his star Superbike rider and Ducati’s hero, Troy Bayliss, will hang up his leathers for good. Who will replace the man some feel is irreplacable? Tardozzi, a former Superbike rider himself, nearly won the title in the series’ first season and knows how fate can play such a huge role in racing. A door is closing and at the same time opening. Is it opening for Max Biaggi?
Q Welcome to America.
A Thank you. Troy really would like to come back. He was appreciating more, for sure, Laguna, because he failed to be very fast in Laguna. But after having a lap here, he’s enjoying this racetrack, too. We’ll see. This championship needs to be in America. And. And, at least two races. I think that we should have one East and one West Coast, considering this west coast, in a way. Even for us, for Ducati, now it starts to be the most important country as sales. It’s obviously very important. Being this championship so related to the road bikes, it’s very important to come.
Q Coming back to America is another sign that World Superbike is back. Where do you think World Superbike is now, compared to 2001, 2002?
A Sure it’s growing, growing. And I see the factories are looking more and more to this championship, considering always that the Japanese has a strange approach to this championship for what it was in the past. Something that I think should be cancelled, because everybody must look at this championship as a good promotion. I think that what had happened in the past, the, what I want to say, the bad relationship that there was between Japanese factories and the organizer, should be overtake by interest of the championship and of sales. And I think that this is the championship to promote it.
Q There hasn’t been a top American rider in World Superbike for a while now. Do you think that’s an important thing?
A We would like to have it. I think that America needs an American rider. This championship needs an American top rider. So far, the only one I consider is, for a lot of reasons, is Ben Spies. But we’ll see.
Q Have you talked to him?
A No.
Q Do you need to start thinking about who’s going to replace Troy when that time comes?
A That’s our headache every day. Since when he confirmed, and re-confirmed, and re-confirmed that he’s going to quit. Because first time, we said it’s not true. Second time, we said maybe it’s true but we try to convince him. Third time, at the third, no, we unluckily decide that it’s true.
Q You think it’s true. You think he will quit?
A Yes. Yes. Yes, I mean, it is a family decision, it is a man decision. Because no one that is thinking to business that is not a man will do what he is doing. Because being in this situation where you can be a top rider next year, to maybe, maybe if he will win the championship with more money, I think nobody will quit. He is the only one, I guess, that if, if will win the championship and quit, is the only man that do that in the history of motorcycles. I don’t remember anyone else that did something like that.
Q A lot of our friends that were in World Superbike in 2000 and 2002, Livio (Suppo, manager of the Ducati MotoGP team) and other people from the factory, they’ve all gone to MotoGP. You are here because, I believe, Superbike is in your heart.
A Absolutely. In some ways, Ducati, I am the man of Superbike. Since the beginning. I am in Ducati as a rider before, and then as a manager since the end of ’89. Is really a long wedding between me and Superbike. I’m happy about that.
Q What draws you to the championship, other than you were a rider and you raced for the championship here? Just that you like World Superbike more than MotoGP?
A No, no. I am not the one that says I like more Superbike than MotoGP. Superbike is my world. But I like Italian championship, MotoGP, pocket bike – the minibikes – I like everything that is motorcycle and that is race. And what I don’t like is this competition between MotoGP people and Superbike people. That’s something that I still don’t understand since years, because I think that if they work together, I think that both championships can grow, and I think that everybody can have something back. Having work. You always have some things.
Q It’s been several years that you’ve had controlled tires now. In America, we’re moving to controlled tires next year. Do you think it’s a good thing for us to do?
A I think we got a benefit in our championship. I think that it should be something that can be done in America too. While I think that it is good to run like they are in MotoGP. Because is competition in everything. But yes. I think that for AMA, it could be good.
Q What was it like in the early days of moving to the Pirelli controlled tire? What was it like from Ducati’s perspective?
A Obviously, when we moved to this situation, we lost something, because obviously we had a kind of advantage, having at this time very, very good Michelin tires, being one of the two – us and Honda – the two teams that has Michelin. I think honestly that we had an advantage on the overall championship, because sometimes Dunlop was better than us, but in the overall championship, maybe we had this advantage. And I think that, having said that, we accept – because we thought that was better for the championship, and we manage to try to win anyway. Sometimes you have not to have a look in your own field, but to increase the field, you must look over everything.
Q It’s still fairly early days of the 1200. How is that working out, with the rules?
A So far, after all the bad discussion that we had in the beginning of the championship, because we had the big advantage, and Troy was winning without problem, and so and so and so, it’s obvious that our bike is less performing than four-cylinder, and is obvious that we are in this situation because they was not performing well in the beginning. Because Haga make some faults in the beginning, he crashed, and Honda was in delay. Suzuki won already two races with riders that are good, but I think that Troy is better than. I think that who knows about this championship, who knows about motorcycles, who knows about what is happening, perfectly understand that four-cylinder are no more competitive than our bike. Our bike is completely a road bike. We have only pistons. That’s it.
Q So, the advantage is Troy, really.
A Yes. We think that the advantage is Troy, and in some racetrack, the overall package means that the rideability of the bike is very, very good, because everybody’s is there. Because who has a Ducati is there. Is not the last. We think that we brought the bike that can have the opportunity, even with a private team, to win races. Like, okay, luckily, but Lanzi did. And because of mistake, I want to say, Biaggi didn’t do it in Australia, because when he crash, he was really coming up on Troy, and he had really an opportunity to win then. I think that as usual, as Ducati did in the past, we provide a bike that can win races and championship to the customers.
Q It shows what a giant hole is going to be left after Bayliss leaves Ducati. It’s very concerning.
A That’s the task we have for next year. It’s something that we are thinking about, but so far, we are still at the window. We’re still looking what’s going on. We have some consideration between us. But so far, absolutely no decision taken.
Q What do you think of the progress of Fabrizio? Do you think he can be a No. 1?
A We would like to have, as we did in the past, two top riders. But in the last couple of years, having Troy, we try and thinking that one time he can stop, we try to have young riders. Then we’ll see. Michel, I think, did two very good races in the beginning. He show us something very good the first two overseas races. Then he had, I think you know that he had an operation of the arm, because he had very big problems of the arm. From this race to Misano, I think he has to show that he has the potential. That doesn’t mean that he has to win races, but he needs to be behind the ass of the top rider.
Q Utah is a lot different than California. What do you think about coming here?
A I was so, so well impressed. Because this town, it seems quite safe, relaxed. I don’t know how is living here, but the first impression and the first to race is really a safe, clean, very, very, very good impression. Is not New York. [Laughing]
Q Last year at Donington they had a lot of the old Superbike riders from your era. What was that like?
A I was so, so happy to see Fred Merkel. Very, very, very happy to see him. I was – it was really a pleasure to see him. Because we had good times, and I respect what he did. He was really a tough rider. As I said there, I repeat, he deserved the championship he won, because the best rider won the championship. I was very happy.
Q Did you talk about old times with him, or anyone else? Rob Phillis, or anyone?
A I speak with Rob every year in Australia, and still every year is a bit worse. [Laughing]
Q Have you been able to stop thinking like a rider? You know how riders are.
A Yeah, yeah. I think so. Honestly, my advice to managers like Mario that is a young manager that is growing very, very well, is that most important and difficult thing to do for an ex-rider managing other riders, is step back from the bike. Jump down from the bike. Mentally. You have an advantage, because you know what the riders think, but please don’t think like him to help him. Your advantage is that you know what he’s thinking, but to help the rider sometimes, you have not to do what he wants.
Q Have you talked to Carl lately?
A Carl? Two, two and a half months ago. Two months ago. Carl already quit with his work. I hope that he will come to Brands or to Donington, but he quit with his work. Unluckily, because Carl’s still a hero for a lot of people.
Q From my perspective, I thought it would be the hardest for Carl to stop being a rider. What do you think?
A That for him was – is good that he quit with his job, because for him it was impossible to do what I was saying, to switch from rider to manager. Rider is – has competition inside, in a rider’s way, and he can’t switch in a different way. I don’t think he can be a manager.
Q Carl will always be a rider, you think?
A Yeah. Yeah.
Q Some think that Max Biaggi will be on the Ducati Superbike team next year.
A It’s obvious that we must put his name on the list. Obvious. That doesn’t mean that will happen. We will take a decision, I don’t think before July.
Q How is your relationship with Max?
A Good. I keep him away. [Laughing] I’m joking! Joking. No, is good, obviously, because Max really would like to come. He show us that … he is trying to hard to come to us, and that’s something that is a pleasure for us. But we still think it is a good thing or not. We will see. We will have a few more races and we will take a decision, like I said. I don’t think that that decision will come before July or August, something like that. Even because riders on the list are not too many, because to replace Troy is so, so difficult. We’ll see.
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