Jed Metcher talks WSBK wildcard and 2015 – By Russell Colvin
MCNews.com.au sat down with Jed Metcher yesterday at Broadford to find out how the twenty-four year old’s WSBK wildcard preparations were coming along, and how 2015 is shaping up.
MCNews.com.au: With just two months until the opening round of the World Superbikes at Phillip Island, how are the preparations coming along for yourself in order to compete as a wildcard in February?
Jed: “The time is actually moving incredibly fast. I’m obviously doing a lot of fitness training, motocross and flat track training to ensure I’m 100 per cent ready. With all my training at the moment I would say I’m around 85 per cent fit. On the twenty-second of this month I get my three plates and nine screws taken out of my foot from that crash I had earlier in the year at Broadford. Once that is that done, I will need to rest and recoup again!”
MCNews.com.au: Two weeks ago yourself and the Race Center team put in the application to compete as a wildcard rider at Phillip Island. I’m guessing you must be pretty confident that you will get granted a wildcard ride?
Jed: “Yeah we are pretty confident that we will get the wildcard ride, because we fall under all the requirements of getting the wildcard. So we should be able to get it. All our preparations coming up to the event should show that we are committed to it.”
MCNews.com.au: For the WSBK round next year, Darren Sciberras and the Race Center team are well underway building an engine, gearbox, suspension, and other stuff solely to do just that one event at the ‘island’. How confident are you and the team in making a competitive package to get out there and say finish, looking through a crystal ball… are you confident on a top ten finish?
Jed: “It depends on the funding. If we get the right amount of funding then we can be in the top ten. If everything runs smoothly we can be in the top eight. It’s not going to be easy – there are a lot of variables in motorsport, so you can’t just say, “yeah I am going to win the race…” But we are pretty confident if we have the right funding and the right testing time, we can do a good job.”
MCNews.com.au: MCNews.com.au of course broke the news about you taking on the BSB full time next year with the PR Racing Kawasaki team. You’re currently using the Race Center front end in your Superbike that you’re going to race at the WSBK, and your plans are to run the same settings in the PR Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R over in the UK. With a whole bunch of new tracks for you to learn next year, just how much of an advantage will it be for you to turn up already feeling somewhat comfortable with a front end that you know quite well. Least you won’t have to learn a track as well as learn a complete different new setup…
Jed: “That’s correct, we are using our Aussie summer to find a comfortable setting on our superbike here, while the other teams overseas are shivering in their cold winter.”
MCNews.com.au: Away from the race side of things, you are now an important figure at Race Center with helping and guiding young riders through the ranks. Explain that to us?
Jed: “Well the idea at Race Center is we want to help and develop younger riders. We want to create a ‘stepping stone’ for young Aussie riders to get on good machinery and not have to struggle all the way to the top. So we will be selecting a few riders. At the moment for 2015 it looks like we will help one to two riders in Supersport, also one rider in the Superbike class. As long as everything comes together as planned, that will be a big venture for the Race Center team when I head over to compete in the BSB next year. I will be developing the bike as much as I can now to produce a competitive package ready for the new rider in 2015 season, here in Australia.”
MCNews.com.au: Talking about young riders, you have been working quite closely with sixteen year old Callum Alderson. With what Callum has done so far in such a short amount of time on a Supersport bike, it’s been pretty dam impressive. What’s your view on the young man from Cockatoo in Victoria?
Jed: “Yeah Callum is awesome! As you said, he’s sixteen, he is young, he is already going fast on the Yamaha R6. He is learning quickly and is not scared to ask for more help. And it shows, the more you ask then apply it, the faster you will end up going. Callum has also bounced back really well from a few crashes as he knows what and why they happened which is important to understand. I believe Callum will be one of the future stars here in Australian motorcycle racing.”
MCNews.com.au: Jed, thanks very much for your time, look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Jed: “No worries, we are putting together a few corporate packages for our World Superbike wild card, which will give people three day tickets to world superbike week end and corporate hospitality, a personalised experienced of the Race Center teams workings, debriefs and many more give aways. These packages will help our efforts in getting an Aussie project at the pointy end in the World superbike class. Thanks to MCNews.com.au for helping our media efforts.”
