Tony Carter

Aprilia-Camier a good match

Mon Nov 30 10:42AM

I had a very interesting chat with Leon Camier the other day where he told me that it wasn't his wild card rides for Aprilia in the last two WSB meetings that bagged him the factory ride alongside Max Biaggi.

Apparently, so the lanky one said, while he had a brace of good showings for the Italian firm, it was the post-season test that landed the full-time ride in WSB.

Which, I think, shows a huge amount of forward thinking by the Italian factory.

Let's not pretend that they are anything but a massively excellent and generally superb racing concern, fired up in the heat of competing at the highest level.

They want a rider who can develop their bike, a man who isn't afraid to grab it by the scruff of the neck and take it in the direction he wants - irrespective of what's happening on the other side of the garage.

They also want a rider who can get on with the team, give them all the feedback they want and socialise with the mechanics, crew chief and manager. If he's presentable to the world's media and can promote the brand in an energetic way then so much the better.

Now, as far as the latter parts of that description of a rider (the socialising, getting on with and presenting the brand) goes, then Leon's one of the best around. He might have a metal stud in his tongue but he's a genuine modern master at the behind-the-scenes stuff.

Aprilia knew all this when they offered him the chance to ride their bike at both Magny Cours and Portimao.

They knew all this when he sat alongside Biaggi in the garage and wasn't in awe of the four-times world champion and it seems that it was precisely because they knew these things that they weren't too fussed about how he went in those last two rounds.

Providing he didn't do something stupid and end up wrecking the bike, of course.

But as Leon told me, come the test after the final round, two days of hard work and really getting down to business was where all eyes were on what he could do.

Camier admitted that Aprilia wanted to see real improvement in lap times from the start of the test to the end, the factory was most interested in how he changed the bike to suit his superbike style of riding (which is a long way away from the more 250-oriented style of Biaggi, Shinya Nakano and Marco Simoncelli who have all ridden the bike before) and how he settled in to the Aprilia family without the natural distraction of being at a race meeting.

Leon knew this, knew what was most important. He went out in those last two rounds of WSB and scrapped his way to sixth place without trying anything daft and ending up in the kitty litter, and he applied himself when the test came around and showed Aprilia what he could do.

Like the rider they have just employed, Aprilia aren't daft. They know good talent when they see it and now the 2010 line-up has been officially announced they can barrel ahead full-steam to reap the rewards.

Comments1 - 17 of 17

With those shades Camier looks like he is headed to NASCAR's Sprint Cup
Don't all teams know talent when they see it, or are most teams simply chancing it with their rider selections ?
From arttidesco on Mon Nov 30 11:11AM
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Cus they get paid to wear them !(glasses) and team selection is as much what the rider ( or driver ) BRINGS TO THE TEAM , okay maybe not in the factory teams but as near as dammit all the others................
From kevincooling on Mon Nov 30 11:35AM
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"He might have a metal stud in his tongue but he's a genuine modern master at the behind-the-scenes stuff."
Heh, pure Alan Partridge.
From robbie_mugabe on Mon Nov 30 12:39PM
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The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.
This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.
The Truth is mightier than the Golf Club !
From arttidesco on Mon Nov 30 01:39PM
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No better way to nobble a top motorcycle rider than putting a 'metal' stud in his tongue
From arttidesco on Mon Nov 30 03:54PM
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Have you ever thought about having a "metal " stud put through your lip ? or maybe 1 through both ?
This is a forum section about motorcycle racing not golf news or NASCAR. I'm sure there are other places you can discuss with Billy Bob and Peggy Sue how fast your NASCAR bar stool is.
PS: Could you please keep your mouth closed while you think because the sound of wind whistling over the praire is deafening over here.
From rsmith.bdr59 on Mon Nov 30 05:03PM
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Yeah artidesco, go and spurt your BS somewhere else where they might give a @#$%, this forum's for motorcycle fans not golf/nascar twitters, your find bike fans "HAVE A LIFE" now go and f*^k up a good walk and play golf, or watch those idiot "shitkickers" drive round in circles over and over again YAWN!!!!
From rrcarsofgosport on Mon Nov 30 06:45PM
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ooooh! There is some decent amongst the motorcycling masses but no opinion on the topic !
Pretty much what you would expect from emotionally challenged public school boys probably riding around on mini bikes while saving for their Gammy 125's
So back to the topic this chap who looks like a NASCAR jock good for Aprilla or just another lanky leg waver ?
From arttidesco on Mon Nov 30 08:23PM
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Steady on,if you can't give your opinion without swearing (or using @#$% etc) then don't bother.
Arttidesco, I've read some of your other post such as,how your V8 Boss Hoss is the fastest bike in the world and bettrer than a GP bike and,reading between the lines, what a super fast rider you are and you come across a typical armchair hero. So...... prove me wrong.
Have you raced ?
What's your technical/experiance grounding ?
or are you just 1 of those big mouths who boasts he could do better but never puts his money where his mouth is ?
BTW: I am not emotionally challenged,I do have a partner (who I do not have to blow up )is yours)
I did not go to Public School.
I have a Bimota 1000,Suzuki 1200,Suzuki 750,Suzuki 650,Yamaha TZ250, Honda RS125 and a couple of projects.
I have worked in GP paddock,worked personally for a GP rider,worked in, and ran race teams and raced myself (race and championship winner
I have also ridden Mike Baldwin's Works Honda RS1000 superbike and his Honda RS500 GP bike.
I await your reply.
PS: Camier ? He's good but WSB is another level,he's done well in his guest rides but time will tell over a full season...............and he's actually doing WSB while we all talk and dream
From rsmith.bdr59 on Mon Nov 30 10:24PM
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Sorry about the typos,I'm typing with the lights out to avoid waking people.
From rsmith.bdr59 on Mon Nov 30 10:35PM
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Nah! I am an amateur leg waver I didn't get onto a bike until way to late to race, I saved for two years just to get a clapped out C90 which I crashed a dozen times the first time I went to the cinema for my first date
I did spend some time cleaning the windscreen on friends Capri during an unbelievably long race at a funny little place called Snetterton, and I actually did some driving in an equally long race in Ireland in a spindly sardine can called a Citroen 2CV which looked like it had an air cooled flat 2 cylinder engine, but my lawn mower is most certainly more powerful
I just like tooling around on the Hoss Boss seems a lot more fun than Moto Chips and I am sure as a race machine it has a lot of potential to entertain with side by side racing and proper overtaking
Camier still looks like he is headed for great things in NASCAR to me quite a few bikers make the cross over even our Four Consecutive Time Sprint Cup Champion used to race on Motorcycles.
From arttidesco on Mon Nov 30 11:32PM
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You are NEVER to old to have a go at racing and EVERYBODY falls off sometimes.
Every guy or girl who lines up on a start grid,even if they end up coming last by a mile,is more of a hero than anybdy watching...........and you can be one too..
From rsmith.bdr59 on Tue Dec 01 12:17AM
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I never looked to racing as a route to being a hero I always see it as tremendous fun, having terrified myself in that Citroen 2CV going into Paddock Hill Corner in the rain and kept it on the island for the full race distance I think I can leave racing on two wheels to the Michael Schumachers of the world.
I did take the Boss Hoss to an open track day once but the bike not surprisingly failed the 115db noise test by some considerable margin
From arttidesco on Tue Dec 01 12:57PM
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Vote Alam Partridge sports personality of the year
From arttidesco on Wed Dec 02 01:31AM
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Vote arttidesco to stick to stuff he can pass an intelligent comment on.
From rsmith.bdr59 on Wed Dec 02 01:06PM
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Vote arttidesco to stick to stuff he can pass an intelligent comment on.
From rsmith.bdr59 on Wed Dec 02 01:06PM
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#15 & 16 So thats two votes to you now what ?
From arttidesco on Wed Dec 02 02:52PM
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