“When I joined the official Kawasaki team in 1999, it was only my second year in the World Superbike Championship so it was a huge step for me. My rookie season was with a privateer team and then I was suddenly racing for one of the most famous motorcycle brands in the world. The first thing that struck me was how professional they were, and learning to understand the Japanese culture was a great experience for me.

We did struggle a little with our 750cc machine against the big V twins, and at that time it was also the big tyre war in the Championship. Despite the difficulties we had a great few years and even stepped onto the podium a few times, so I look back fondly on those years.

After leaving Kawasaki, I stayed in World Superbikes for a few years before moving to the British Superbike Championship, which I had a lot of success in. I moved back to WSB where I finished my riding career before joining Dorna and becoming the Sporting Director for World Superbikes.

My day to day job is to ensure a fluent chain of communication between every team and manufacturer, understanding what situation they’re in. I also ensure the grid is filled with enough bikes and supervise the sporting and technical rules of the series. This means I recruit the people who are responsible for technical controls and who work in race control. We also supervise the paddock layout and facilities…so we’re always busy!

Occasionally I visit new tracks that want to host a round of Superbikes, so I look at the facilities there and advise on improvements or visit existing tracks to supervise modifications. In the longer view, we try to analyse our classes and see if there could be any amendments.

On race weekends, I supervise the track and facilities on Thursday before talking to the riders in the safety commission and carrying out briefings where necessary. I also deal with the tyre suppliers or racetrack management in any special circumstances. I’m also the Dorna representative for race direction, judging all the practices and races.

Outside of the racing, I have two little kids so don’t get much time to relax! I love to still ride my Enduro bike though and I try to go fishing as often as I can.