Jason DiSalvo | BE1 Triumph World Supersport Team | Miller Motorsports Park
Moderator: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Miller Motorsports Park’s second teleconference with riders of the World Supersport and World Superbike championships. This week we have Jason DiSalvo, who rides for the BE1 Triumph Factory Team in World Supersport Championship.
Jason has been a fixture in American racing for a number of years. He raced in AMA from 1999 through 2009. Made his way up from Superstock and Supersport up to the Superbike class, where he raced from 2005 to 2009. He started racing when he was 4. He has spent some years in Europe doing 125GP racing. He was the youngest rider ever to race in an FIM-sanctioned 125GP race. And we’re glad to have him here. So, hello, Jason.
Jason DiSalvo: Hey, how’s it going?
Moderator: Good. Thank you for doing this with us. It’s nice to have you here. We, I guess, would like to know how the deal with Triumph came down?
Jason DiSalvo: It all happened in a hurry, really. You know, it was just a call out of the blue, pretty much, on a Wednesday or Thursday, and they had to have the decision by Friday and I had to be on a plane to go to Portugal Monday or Tuesday of the next week. So, like I said, it all happened very quickly.
Moderator: Was this something that you had any expectation of or was it just completely out of the blue?
Jason DiSalvo: Completely out of the blue, 100%. You know, the way everything happened, it was just a phone call that came in. You know, I’m glad that my dad answered the phone.
Moderator: Good thing he was home.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes, definitely.
Moderator: So you got on a plane. You went to Portugal straight into the test at Portimao. Tell us how that went.
Jason DiSalvo: The test was really good. It was kind of tough, because we had a little bit of rain. And it was just kind of hit or miss. The first day was dry, so that was good. We got some good laps to kind of learn the track, and that was really a big hurdle for me, learning the track. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve had to learn a lot of new tracks all in the same season. We had maybe a couple over here in America, maybe one a year, new circuits.
Portimao was the most difficult track I’ve ever had to learn. You know, the most technical. Just so much elevation and little technical things in each of the corners that made it pretty difficult.
Moderator: So how was the bike? Had you ever ridden a Triumph before? And how did it compare to the Yamahas and Suzukis that you’d ridden in the past?
Jason DiSalvo: You know, I had never ridden any Triumph motorcycle at all before the test. And I was, honestly, blown away by the performance of the bike; mostly the power, you know. The power that the 675 puts out is more akin to a 750 Supersport bike here in America, really. It’s just unbelievable, the power and the torque. And it’s funny; it kind of relates both to a twin and a 4-cylinder in that it’s got the torque of a twin but doesn’t fall off on top. It continues to make power up to some pretty high RPMs on the top end as well. So it’s definitely a lot of fun to ride.
Moderator: And before I go any further I should say happy birthday because today is your birthday.
Jason DiSalvo: Thank you very much.
Moderator: And you’re, what, 26 now?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes. Yes.
Moderator: Any gray hair yet?
Jason DiSalvo: No. No, not yet. I–
Moderator: It’ll come.
Jason DiSalvo: I looked a couple days ago. I couldn’t even find one, so I’m pretty happy about that.
Moderator: Yes, well, that makes one of us. I understand that your teammate’s birthday is like tomorrow or the next day as well.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes, Chaz’s birthday is tomorrow. I read that on my Facebook page today. So that’s pretty cool. Happy birthday to Chaz, too. I’ll probably send him a message on there and wish him that tomorrow. So, yes, that’s pretty neat.
Moderator: Well, speaking of Chaz, tell me what you thought about the whole team and the guys and him and how everybody’s going to get along. What was your impression?
Jason DiSalvo: It’s fantastic. The team’s really good, really professional. We had a lot of meetings, a lot of feedback for the bike and trying to make changes. Originally there was a little bit of a language barrier, being that the team is mostly Italian, but, we kind of figured it out; them more so than me, because their English is much better than my Italian. But we kind of figured out a vocabulary that worked for both of us.
That was another sort of ongoing process throughout the three days of the test. The first and second day was a little bit rocky on the communication, but the third day we really kind of got things nailed down and rolling on that.
And then Chaz is going to be, I think, a great teammate for the year. Having ridden the bike before, he was able to offer some pretty helpful insight on certain things. And having ridden the track before, he was able to offer some insight into certain areas of the track. So it was really good. We actually spent a lot of time together there at the test, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Moderator: Where in Italy is the team based?
Jason DiSalvo: I haven’t been to the shop, but they’re based near Milan. So I haven’t actually been to Italy yet since I signed the contract. So, I’m excited to go and see the shop and kind of check out where all the magic happens in between the races. That’ll be a neat experience.
Moderator: So what’s your plan for your living arrangements? Will you fly back and forth? Will you move over there and get a place for the season or what?
Jason DiSalvo: We’re still sorting that out right now. We have a house that we can use. It’s actually one of my relatives who lives in Italy. The house is actually in France, but it’s quite close to Milan. So that’ll be kind of a home base for us there if we choose to go that route. The calendar is pretty spread out this year for all the races, so we’re looking at times when maybe we’ll stay there in between some of the races, and maybe we’ll fly back to America between some of the races. So we’re still getting it all sorted.
Moderator: That gives you a good option.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes. Maybe between a couple races we’ll stay, and then between a couple races we’ll come back here. It just kind of depends.
Moderator: So you’ll be here at Miller Motorsports Park over Memorial Day weekend for the Utah USA round.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes.
Moderator: You’ve raced here three times, in 2006, ’07 and ’08, in Formula Xtreme and Superstock and Superbikes. Tell us what your feelings are about Miller Motorsports Park and what you expect this year.
Jason DiSalvo: I’m really excited. I feel like in past years racing there maybe I’ve kind of missed the mark a little bit on the bike setup. But that being said, I feel as the Triumph is going to be very suited to the racetrack at Miller. So I’m definitely excited to come and race in my home country, kind of representing my home country. So that’s definitely going to be a high point in the season for me, I think. And I really want to work really hard during that weekend and try to get a good result.
Moderator: You’ve been to a lot of racetracks. You’ve raced in Europe. You’re getting ready to go all over the world. Tell me how Miller Motorsports Park stacks up as a facility, both nationally and internationally?
Jason DiSalvo: Really well, actually. The facilities at Miller Motorsports Park, the setup with the garages and everything, it’s very European. And for a rider, going there during the AMA series was kind of a special treat because you get to roll down the pit lane and tuck right into the garages, like you see on TV for World Superbike and Supersport and stuff like that. And so it’s kind of a neat experience, you know, being there during an AMA race.
I’m really excited to go and race World Supersport there now just because, like I was saying, it’s on one of the best tracks in the nation. And then, on my home soil representing my country. So I’m really excited about that. Plus being the only American rider in the World Supersport series will be definitely an added bonus and an added incentive to try to get on the box there, for sure.
Moderator: Well, we’re looking forward to having you and your whole family here. You guys have been kind of regulars here since the place opened and kind of part of the family, so we’re looking forward to having you back. And I think, with that, we’ll open it up to questions.
Operator: Our first question comes from Mathew Miles.
Mathew Miles: Hi, Jason. This is Mathew Miles at Cycle World Magazine. You sound quite impressed with the Triumph three-cylinder engine. Did you like the chassis as well?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes. The handling of the bike as a whole was also really good. The bike feels very, very light, which is incredible considering the power that it makes. Typically you get a big-horsepower bike, and having so much horsepower kind of takes away from the handling side of things sometimes. But the Triumph chassis seems to handle the power very well. And side to side, it flicks really quick.
As far as the front, we’re still kind of working to find a good setting. I feel like the base geometry is there. We’re just working right now on general stuff; spring rates, compression damping, stuff like that. Just get the bike feeling comfortable for me as a rider.
But the handling, as well, is unbelievable. Like I said originally, it just blew me away, the level of performance that is really in that bike. There’s been times in the past in my career when I may have done some stuff as a privateer, like, man, I wish I would have got on that bike and had a go on that, because I think there’s a lot of potential there.
Mathew Miles: Given the rule differences between AMA and World Supersport, is there any room for you to make any additional changes to the bike that maybe you couldn’t last year, or is it the opposite?
Jason DiSalvo: It seems like the rules are a bit more open, especially for the electronics. The detail and level of the electronics package that the Triumph team uses is pretty advanced, really. Working with the crew and with the data guy on the team is more reminiscent of working on the Superbike in ’07 and ’08 than kind of on any other Supersport platform that I’ve ridden in the past.
Operator: Our next question comes from Dean Adams of Superbike Planet.
Dean Adams: Hey, Jason. I’ve got a question about training.
Jason DiSalvo: Okay.
Dean Adams: You know, in both World Superbike, MotoGP and in the U.S. paddocks, you really can’t swing a dead cat without finding a rider that trains by riding or racing bicycles, but I’ve never seen you on one. Do you use a bicycle, or what’s your training regimen like?
Jason DiSalvo: I do. I kind of go in spurts with the bicycle. It’s kind of tough to be in the Northeast. I thought about trying to stud up some bicycle tires and go ride, do some long rides out here, but it’s just sort of tough in the wintery weather to kind of get on a bicycle and ride safely for a large distance.
So when I’m up here I switch more to like running, and do some other stuff; I play some racquetball. But more than anything, I just try to ride dirt bikes and stuff as much as I can.
Dean Adams: And being in the Northeast riding dirt bikes can be challenging in January or February, but you’ve been doing it. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes. I took some tires and got them studded up. I fund that one of the local guys up here is kind of the master of doing ice studs on tires. He set me up with some awesome ice tires, and I’ve just been going out every day riding two to three hours a day on the ice and just having a blast, man. It’s really unbelievable. I hadn’t ridden on the ice in about a decade, and coming back and kind of checking it out, definitely the performance of the tires has increased greatly. We’re throwing some serious lean angle on those tires, and they were sticking really well.
Dean Adams: And for the West Coast audience, what was the outside temp when you were riding on the ice?
Jason DiSalvo: The first day we went out it was pretty sunny. It was actually the warmest day we had had in a while. It was about 28 Fahrenheit. And then today is kind of chilly. I’m getting ready to go out again just after we get off this call, but it’s about 18 today, so I’ll probably put on an extra layer, for sure.
Dean Adams: And you were leaning, I think, far enough over to drag foot pegs, et cetera. Did you ever drag elbow or anything like that or drag the levers?
Jason DiSalvo: I was messing around a little bit, doing some different styles. And through some of the corners I could get my knee on the snow on the inside of the track. But whenever I try to go more and get my knee on the ground going full road-race style, it usually ended badly. So there’s definitely a large amount of grip, but it has its limits.
Operator: Our next question comes from Chris Jonnum of Road Racer X.
Chris Jonnum: Hi, Jason. I wanted to get your impressions on the class, how it compares with what you’ve been doing, both in terms of depth and outright speed.
Jason DiSalvo: From the test at Portimao I kind of got a pretty good idea for the level of competition, and that was definitely one of the things that I had my eye on when I first went over there. Just to see how deep I got myself into this whole thing. And I was pleasantly surprised, really. I mean, it seems like maybe the fastest guys are at a similar level to what I had been used to racing against.
But, as you said, the depth is really where I think I’m going to see the biggest changes. In America we had four guys that were that fast, that you’d have to battle with in a race, and maybe one of them would have a problem or fall down, and then there’s only three other guys. Over there it seemed like everyone was on such a high pace and capable of doing such quick lap times that, yes, I think the competition is going to be really, really fierce.
Going into this first race at Philip Island, I was looking at some of the news that’s rolled out across the last week or so and noticed that in one of them they were saying there was a group of six guys or so in the Supersport class last year that crossed the line within about a second of each other. I’ve always enjoyed close racing, and being a dirt tracker, coming from a dirt-track background, it’s typically wheel to wheel, bar to bar in the corners, and it seems like that’s going to be definitely more of the same for this year.
Chris Jonnum: Cool. And have you gotten a feel yet for who the main competition is going to be?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes. Like I said, it’s going to be so many guys I feel are going to have a chance to run up front and be strong. Definitely I feel like Laverty will be up there. My teammate Chaz was really, really strong at the test. And then the Ten Kate guys are always fast. So I’ve kind of got a feel for it.
I really wish that I would have gotten another couple of dry sessions at Portimao, just so I could kind of get a feel better for how quickly I could go. I kind of feel like that last session, it was getting down to the last five to 10 minutes of the session, and I was finally starting to pick up the track and do some respectable times. So I’m definitely looking forward to getting out on Philip Island, a little bit more fast and flowing track with less turns, less kind of technical sections, and trying to pick the track up quick and get up to speed a little bit faster.
Operator: Our next question comes from Mathew Miles.
Mathew Miles: Jason, how many of the overseas tracks on this year’s schedule are you familiar with?
Jason DiSalvo: I believe I’ve counted six. I’m not sure if I can get the whole list right now, but let me try to rattle them off and hopefully I’ll get them all. It should be, for sure, Miller. And then Assen; Valencia; Brno; and Silverstone I’ve been on an abbreviated version of the course we’ll be riding on. I’m pretty excited to get back to those places too because, I feel like I’m definitely going to have to learn the tracks again, but just having that sort of baseline knowledge in my head of just where the track goes and what corner to expect next, it’ll increase the learning curve quite a bit.
Mathew Miles: Have you had any communication, direct communication with the Triumph factory?
Jason DiSalvo: More with Triumph USA. They seem to be really excited about having an American racing over there in the World Supersport Championship. So I’ve been talking to those guys, and actually I’d like to get down and check out their headquarters in Atlanta here pretty soon. And an opportunity to go tour the factory in England would be fantastic, and that’s something I definitely want to do this year at some point, whenever I get the free time to go down and do that.
The brand as a whole just seems like such a kind of tight-knit, close group of racing enthusiasts, so I’m pretty excited about everything really. Working with these guys, it seems like it’s going to be a really, really exciting year.
Mathew Miles: Were you surprised that the team was Italian-based, for a British brand?
Jason DiSalvo: A little bit. I had known about the Triumph before. I had seen the results last year improve greatly throughout the season. But, to be honest, I really didn’t know the team was based out of Italy until after the initial call. I started doing some research on them and then found out.
But their motto that they have on their website is very fitting. It goes something like, "English heart, Italian style." So definitely it’s a cool sort of combination, and it shows greatly in being over there and working with the guys.
Operator: Our next question comes from Chris Jonnum.
Chris Jonnum: I wanted to get your take on how the team is set up in terms of your teammates I think David Salom is officially your teammate, but then there’s also Chaz and then Sebastien Charpentier. How is the relationship between you guys all? Are you all working out of the same garage, or is it actually divided up? And have you been able to get much feedback from them?
Jason DiSalvo: At the test we were all kind of working together, definitely out of the same garage. And it seems like there was very clear and open channels for data to flow between the riders. So, being one of the new guys on the team, and really one of the new guys for everything with the tires and the tracks and the bike, that was really helpful to me to have that data available.
It was a very common occurrence to have Chaz’s crew chief come over and speak with me some and kind of talk with my guys and just make sure everyone was on the same page all the time. So it was a really good environment to work in, and I think it’s going to help produce some good results for the team as a whole, as far as all of us being on the same page all around and running up front. I think it’s going to be definitely beneficial for that as the season progresses.
Operator: Our next question comes from Dean Adams.
Dean Adams: Jason, are you guys doing the Phillip Island test?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes. I’m actually going to be leaving on the 16th of February, and that will put me in there on the 18th. And then we’ll be testing that 21st and 22nd, and then taking four days off before the race weekend. So I’m pretty happy that we get to go do that and get on the track before first practice rolls around. I think that’s going to be helpful.
Dean Adams: Phillip Island is obviously a hugely impressive and daunting track for a rider. You’ve never ridden there before. What kind of frame of mind are you going there with?
Jason DiSalvo: I’ve been looking at the track and just trying to figure out what I’m up against and the speed of some of the corners. Some of the corners are just fast, fast turns. And that’s one of the things that I’m just trying to mentally prepare for, to get there and get up to speed in those fast sections early, because I think those are going to be the most crucial parts of the track to get dialed in quick with myself, with the settings of the bike.
One of the things that I’m kind of pumped about is it’s really a left-hand-based track, and I always seem to go a little bit better in the left-hand corners than the right. The way I’m looking at it, it’s kind of a much, much, much bigger and faster version of Pikes Peak.
Dean Adams: You’ve long been an enthusiast of motorcycle racing. Can you talk a little bit about your earliest racing memories? I think you all made us all feel quite old in the pressroom once when you said you went all the way back to the first Duhamel victory at Daytona or something along those lines, inferring that it was, you know, several centuries ago.
Jason DiSalvo: The earliest racing memory for me is probably my only experience with motocross racing, and being at the top of this massive downhill section on a little 50cc dirt bike and kind of starting to creep down the face; you know, the top of the crest and then grabbing a handful of front brake and going end over end all the way to the bottom and then saying, "I really don’t want to do this anymore. It’s maybe not my cup of tea." But then the flat-track stuff came around, and that was a lot better. I got to keep both wheels on the ground.
And, yes, the Miguel Duhamel first encounter. I had to be maybe 5 years old. I think it was my first time at Daytona, and Miguel had won. And I remember telling my dad that was like the only thing I wanted to do, was go get to meet Miguel Duhamel. But when we went over the autograph line for, I think it was the Camel Honda team at the time, it had closed, so I had to get Tom Kipp’s autograph instead. And then I remember I was so pumped that I got to race against Tom Kipp later on in my career when I was 18 and came back to America. That was definitely a highlight for me, because up until that point I still had his autograph on my wall in my bedroom.
Racing has kind of always been a part of my life and in my family. It’s just what I want to do, man. I love it.
Dean Adams: How about the U.S. situation? Now that you’ve got a ride overseas, are you just glad to be leaving and not paying any attention to the state of the sport here, or how do you look at it?
Jason DiSalvo: To me it’s just really tough. I just wish everybody here in the States the best. I want the series to succeed and racing in America to thrive because I never know when the tides of fate are going to turn, and I’ll be back there needing a job and having to rely on the series and the sport in this country to make my way in life. But I hope that everyone has the wisdom to make the right decisions that need to be made and do the right things to kind of help regenerate some of the interest and some of the financial support for the sport in this economy.
Operator: Our next question comes from Mathew Miles.
Mathew Miles: Jason, did you have any previous experience with Pirellis?
Jason DiSalvo: No, and that’s another big thing that I’m looking forward to, working with the Pirelli technicians and kind of learning the tires, learning the brand, just getting that figured out. That was one thing at Portimao that I really didn’t have too much involvement with, and I kind of walked away from the test feeling like I should have done more in that area; the technical side of things, working with the different compounds, testing some different tires.
But, to be quite honest, with the rain and some of the limited track time that we got, it was tough to focus on all the aspects. I’m working with the data guy on the power delivery and some of the other stuff with the electronics, and with the chassis guy trying to get that figured out. It just seemed at the time like a little too much to kind of throw in; you know, let’s try these different tires into the mix as well.
So that’s something that I feel I’ve really got to get a good handle on when we go and test at Phillip Island; the available compounds that we have and then which of those I really click with and which of those are going to go race distance. So that’s high on my priority list for this next test, for sure.
Mathew Miles: What was your take on the tires that you did use?
Jason DiSalvo: They were really good, actually. I was very impressed with the level of grip. That was one of the things, too; that they had so much grip that I felt that I really didn’t reach the limits of them. I kind of have a little bit better feel of the wets really than I did the dry, slick tires or the DOT tires that we run on. So I really want to get out quick at Phillip Island, get up to speed and try to learn the limits of the tires and the limits of the traction, so I can kind of get out there and start learning how to steer the bike with the rear a little bit and figure out what these tires really have to offer.
Operator: Our next question comes from Chris Jonnum.
Chris Jonnum: You and Roger Hayden are going to be the sole American representation in World Superbike and World Supersport this year. I know you guys had a bit of friction in your past. Do you feel like, with you guys being the only two over there, are you going to be able to kind of put some of that behind you and maybe just help each other out with off-the-track stuff, or do you expect to just pretty much both be kind of doing your own thing?
Jason DiSalvo: I think that Rog and I are really going to strengthen our relationship this year as far as just kind of being fellow countrymen and also as friends. I went over and spoke to him a bit at the test after things were done. It was kind of tough during the test. I know there was a couple times I wanted to get over and sort of chat with him, but our schedules always conflicted because he would be out in Superbike and then I would be out in Supersport. And whenever one of us was on the bike the other was off kind of working with the team.
So we got to chat a little bit right at the end on the third day. And he also lent me a shield on the second day in the wet. The Pedercini team was only two garages down, so I had to kind of bust up in the middle of one of his meetings and ask for a clear shield because I had just realized that I didn’t have any with me, and I knew that he also wore Arai helmets. So I kind of poked my head in and, like, "Hey, do you have a shield?" So I think I still owe him some rent on it.
Chris Jonnum: Aas far as the future goes, I know it’s not all within your control, but what would you like to see yourself doing? Would you like to stick around in that series for a couple of years? And if so, which class?
Jason DiSalvo: I don’t know. Right now I’m just kind of playing it by ear. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity with Triumph, and very grateful to them for giving it to me and giving me a chance to go and ride over there. It’s always been one of my dreams to race again in Europe.
So I’m just kind of playing it by ear. I want to see what kind of results I can get this year. and then see if that turns any heads. If the results are any good; I hope they are. I feel like I have the equipment to do it. Just trying to work really hard and make sure that I’m prepared to go and do what I have to do to get results, and hopefully that’ll spark some more interest and we can keep doing our thing over there.
I mean, always the goal is to kind of progress and move through the classes. So definitely that’s a goal of mine, to take the next step eventually. But my relationship with Triumph I feel is definitely going to be a really good one, and it’s definitely a brand that I would like to associate myself with maybe for more than one year. But at the same time, I just want to try and get results. That’s really all I’m focused on right now.
Chris Jonnum: Have you gotten much feedback from friends and fans as far as going over and doing this series? Has there been much excitement?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes; actually a tremendous amount of feedback and excitement. It’s really been cool. I feel like I have a lot of support behind me. Going over across the pond to Europe, it helps to have that support and being able to log on Facebook or whatever and see that 20 people are pumped that you’re over there kind of doing your thing.
My friends here in New York are all really excited for me, and my family has been tremendously supportives as well; my mom and dad and my wife Bethany. So, it’s really cool. I’m really excited to have such great friends and family that stepped up this year and have shown a lot of support. So that means a lot.
Operator: Our next question comes from David Emmett of MotoMatters.com.
David Emmett: You’re from an Italian family, as it were. You have family in Italy, do you?
Jason DiSalvo: Yes.
David Emmett: You said you have Italian family.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes.
David Emmett: How good is your Italian?
Jason DiSalvo: Oh, very, very poor.
David Emmett: You can understand it or not at all?
Jason DiSalvo: I can pick out a word here or there. That’s one of my goals this year, is to become more familiar with the language and things like that. In high school I studied Latin, so it kind of gives me a little bit of a basic vocabulary, but it’s more day-to-day stuff. When I go over there, I really don’t know what the Italian word for fork spring is, you know? I can maybe ask for a glass of water and point at someone and say, "Hey, you," but I don’t know the correct terminology for clutch adjustments.
David Emmett: Right. And so then your first order of business is to learn technical Italian, as it were.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes, yes. It’s difficult.
David Emmett: You’re in the factory-backed team; if I understand it correctly, it’s a private team which is backed by the factory. It’s run out of Italy. How much support are you getting from Triumph, do you know?
Jason DiSalvo: It’s difficult for me to say, as far as the team structure. I’m not 100 percent familiarized with it yet. But everything seems to be quite well run, as far as the technical side of things. It seems like the parts and the technology and the knowledge is all very readily available, and it feels at the same level for sure of any other factory or factory-backed team that I’ve ridden with in the past.
David Emmett: How much more development do you expect to have to do on the Triumph, or is it too early to say yet?
Jason DiSalvo: A little bit early to say. But I really don’t think it’s going to be so much development of the bike as much as development of myself on the bike. I feel like right now the package that we have is really, really strong and very capable.
What I’m working on more at the moment is just trying to tailor that package to myself and my style, as well as learning how to work with the team and how we can face the different challenges that are going to come up during the season and be able to have a problem come up and then just work through it.
In the past it’s sort of felt like the seasons where we’ve had really good seasons have always been the times when we were able to go out and get a top five when the bike wasn’t 100%, and just go and make the best of it when things weren’t quite going our way. I think a lot of that’s going to come from just getting a good base setting, and that’s something that I’m really working hard towards right now.
David Emmett: Obviously, the first track you rode was Portimao, and that’s quite a remarkable track. And then you’re off to Phillip Island, and Phillip Island is a very special track. How difficult is it going to be finding a base setting on such unusual tracks? I mean, they’re not the normal Grand Prix track — the normal Superbike tracks.
Jason DiSalvo: Yes, it’s going to be a big challenge, but I feel like the bike is pretty versatile. It seemed to handle the different sections at Portimao really well. And the unique thing for Portimao that I noticed of the track was the way that certain sections of the track seemed like sections from two completely different tracks. You might have a really fast and flowing section with a bit of elevation thrown in and then have another turn that’s very flat and sort of stop-and-go like an American-style track.
Even though maybe our setting isn’t quite 100% where it needs to be yet, I found that it seemed to handle both types of turns, both types of situations, very well. So in that respect it’s a very versatile motorcycle.
David Emmett: Of the tracks you haven’t ridden yet, which one is the one that you’re most looking forward to?
Jason DiSalvo: Well, outside of Miller Motorsports Park just because it’s kind of home soil, it’s tough to say. I’m so focused right now on Philip Island that I cannot wait to get there. I’ve been doing everything I can to try to familiarize myself with the track and the layout. And right now I’m so focused on those big, fast, sweeping turns, that, to be honest, I’m most excited to go there, but it might just be because it’s the next place we’re going.
It’s tough to say. There’s just so many amazing tracks that I haven’t had a chance to experience yet in my career. So, I’m excited for all of them, really. But definitely Philip Island is near the top of the list.
David Emmett: You said you were stoked because you get all that support on Facebook and all the rest of it. Your teammate, Chaz Davies, is a big fan of Twitter. Are we going to be seeing you on Twitter soon?
Jason DiSalvo: I don’t know. I kind of got into it a little bit following some stuff in American racing at the moment, because it’s kind of just handy for keeping up on things, keeping up on current events. So maybe. I mean, that could definitely be a possibility for the future as just kind of a way to stay in touch with everybody back in the States. So, yes, I’d keep an eye on that. You never know. You might see me on there sooner than later.
Moderator: I think that’s going to do it for today. Thanks, Jason, for spending the time with us, and we look forward to seeing you here at Miller Motorsports Park over Memorial Day Weekend. We do have a new website set up for our event, at www.SBKUSA.com, and we’ll be keeping everyone posted with news as well as ticket and event information. Speaking of which, we’re going to have a big announcement this week about all the entertainment and other features that will be happening over the weekend, so keep an eye out for that. We’ll be back with another teleconference next month, following the first race of the year in Philip Island, and we hope you’ll all join us for that.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation.
