-
 Full Name -
Alexander Mark Gobert
- Age - 18
- Born -
Sydney, 12th August 1983
- Lives
- Bringelly, NSW
- Family - Run a
panel beating business in Hurstville, NSW
- Started riding
- On a PW50 at 7 years of age and was then
taught how to ride it by my brothers Anthony and Aaron
- How long did you ride before you went
racing - Pretty much straight off
- Started racing
- Age 7
- Racing history -
From 1992 to 1998 I raced Motocross with my first
geared bike being a KX 60. I progressed through slightly larger
bikes until my last year of Motocross in 1998 aboard both a KX80 and
KX125. Also in 1998 I received a Moriwaki MH 80 and won the
Australian Championship aboard it that year. I was 14 years old
and this was about when I decided that what I wanted to be was a
professional motorcycle racer. Heaps of guys I raced against back
then on the Moriwaki I still race against now like Damian Cudlin, Josh
Brookes, Craig Coxhell, Wayne Maxwell and a heap more that still race
here and some that have already headed overseas. In early 1999 I
continued to race the Moriwaki but decided to get an Aprilia RS 250 to
race in 250 Production when I reached 16. I ended up going to the
US and racing in a few of their Aprilia Challenge rounds. At Road
Atlanta I placed 5th, Laguna Seca 2nd and finally at Sears Point where I
took my first win on the bigger bike. When I turned 16 I started
racing in Australia but as this was August there was not too many races
remaining. I completed 4 races and in the process won the NSW 250
Production Championship from guys like Broc Parkes and Jamie Stauffer.
Aprilia then organised a GP test for me in Italy which was really
enjoyable and I went quite well. November of that year (1998) I
did the Stars of Tomorrow race aboard the Mobil Honda CBR 600. I
won that event which felt really good as my older brother Anthony won it
back in 1992 and this was also my first time on a 4-stroke. I then
signed a contract with Honda Australia to compete in both the Australian
SuperBike and SuperSport Championships. This was great experience
and I learnt a lot from my team-mate Adam Fergusson (now in World
SuperSport) on how to ride the bike and the Mobil Honda Team taught me
how to set up the bike. This was a learning year and I finished
7th in SuperSport and 8th in SuperBike after missing two rounds due to
injury. This year I am riding for Honda once again but this
time under Castrol colours. I finished 5th overall in the Formula
Xtreme Series with one round win (QLD) and one pole (EC). We have
the final round of the 2001 Australian SuperBike Championship at the end
of this month at Oran Park and I am feeling fairly confident after some
good results in the rounds we have gone to this year. Early this
year I stood in for Adam Fergusson during the Valencia round of the
World SuperSport Championship when Adam was sidelined with injury.
- Does anybody else in your family race
now, or in the past - Yes. Anthony races in
American SuperBike and SuperSport while Aaron rides in American Formula
Xtreme and SuperSport. I have learnt a lot from their experience.
- Hobbies - Riding my
CR250, a bit of BMX, jet-ski and video games. I also have an XR 50
and XR 100 that I ride quite a lot when out with friends.
- Other sports
you participated or trained in - Just motorsport
really but I do a lot of cycling
- Height and
weight - 162cm, 60 kilograms
- Favourite food and drink
- Italian food like pizza and pasta. Lift would
be my favourite drink but water when racing
- Favourite circuit -
Winton and Laguna Seca
- Most memorable racing moment
- Winning! I can remember just about every time
I have won when road racing as it is such a hard thing to achieve.
Riding at the Valencia World SuperSport round was pretty special
- What do you rank as your biggest
achievement - Winning the Stars of Tomorrow in 1999
and also taking out the Queensland round of the Formula Xtreme series
this year. Getting pole at Eastern Creek was pretty good too
- Currently ride in -
Australian SuperBike, Australian Formula Xtreme for Redwing HRC
- Favourite way of training
- Riding Motocross and also cycling on a hot day
- What would you like to do in 2002
- Go to the US and race in the AMA series. The
competition is really good over there at the moment and both my brothers
are also over there. It would be a great stepping stone to the
international level of racing
- Do you ever ride on the road (If yes,
what bike) - No I don't ride on the road. But
it is always good to see a Fireblade or SP1 out on the street, I still
always get excited when I see a bike
- What Trev says -
Alex has put some great performances together in the latter parts of
this year after struggling in early 2000 with getting the Fireblade on
the pace. As Alex rode in a one man team this year it was
especially hard as all the set-up and development of the bike was a
responsibility on his shoulders. The Queensland Formula Xtreme win
was great but the pole position at Eastern Creek when quite violently
ill with the flu showed some true grit and determination. Will
race in America during 2002 for Honda.
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