Talking with Peter Goddard - January 2001
| We spoke with Peter Goddard
today at his Wollongong home about the 3-cylinder Benelli and other
things. Rather than print all the natter that went on between us
we have condensed this into a format which pretty much informs you of
what was said.
Peter - I have signed a letter of intent with Benelli while we sort out the finer details of the contract. I had requested a particular few guys that I have worked with before to become part of the team and they have been sorting that out. We have a couple of 2-day tests early in February so hopefully we can find some direction with the bike there and develop things further. The bike handles reasonably well already but we need more power, unless you have more than 160 horsepower at the rear wheel in World SuperBike then it really isn't worth turning up. It is a very pretty bike to look at, better looking than the Ducati or the Aprilia. MCNEWS.COM.AU - What tyres will you be running this year and when is the Benelli likely to make it's debut? Peter - Around June is where we are aiming at the moment, probably at Misano. When I last tested the bike we were running Michelins but it is not decided whether we will go Michelin or Dunlop as yet. Dunlop is onboard with lots of teams this year and that can be a good thing or maybe a bad thing. As it stands at the moment I like them both. MCNEWS.COM.AU - After developing the Aprilia into a sweet chassis you must have felt a little peeved when Troy Corser got the ride for the next year when Aprilia had squeezed the more power out of the bike that you had been needing the year before. And now they have signed Laconi to ride with him, how do you figure that? Peter - For sure I didn't feel great about it but these things happen. Laconi got the ride because he is French and Aprilia want a bigger slice of the French market, they are a very marketing oriented company. I suppose they didn't see too much benefit in having two Australian in their team. I do like Aprilia and the people there and they are a smart company, I am sure they are only going to grow bigger. MCNEWS.COM.AU - So do you ride on the road at all Peter? Peter - Yeah for sure, but I can't ride a sportsbike on the street as to feel comfortable on it I would be doing speeds that would see me locked up so I prefer a big trailie to play on. I have a Pegaso 650 in the garage. A whole group of us rode down to the GP last year and I took the Pegaso on that complete with panniers etc. A few mates on Sportsbikes along with my dad and my two brothers so it was a bit of a family trip. When we got to the really tight stuff the guys on the sportsbikes didn't see which way I went, trailies like the Pegaso are a bit of a weapon in the really tight stuff. I am going out on a BMW Funduro this weekend so it will be interesting to see how that compares to the Pegaso. I went on a KTM Tours Australia 2-day trek a while ago with some fast boys of all ages. I was on a KTM 250 E/XC, the tour organiser said it was definitely the fastest tour he had run. MCNEWS.COM.AU - Thanks for your time Pete and best of luck with getting the Benelli sorted and racing in the series. |