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INTERVIEW: LEON HASLAM

19 aprile 2012 | News | Gary Inman

by Gary Inman

Leon Haslam

The British-born World Superbike star, and son of GP racer Ron, has grown up on the world’s race paddocks. We caught up with Leon to fire a few questions at him.

LEON HASLAM

Date of Birth
31 May 1983

Team
BMW Motorrad Motorsport SBK

Married
Yes, to Oli, since December 2010.

Children
Yes, one daughter, Ava May, born the 12th, December, 2011.

If you weren’t racing, what would you be doing?
I couldn’t imagine not racing, or being in some competitive sport. I travelled the world with my dad since I was six weeks old, and racing paddocks is all I’ve know, so I’d be involved in some way or other, definitely involved in something competitive.

What’s your favourite corner?
Probably turn three at Phillip Island, the fast downhill left before Honda. You just click fifth gear as you’re tipping in, you’re sideways, hitting big bumps, then you’re getting on the gas really, really hard. You’re completely sideways, then you’ve got to get it all stopped for a first gear hairpin. It’s such a high-speed, ballsy corner.

What’s the best thing about being a professional racer?
Not many people get to do what they truly love for a living, and racing for me is everything, it’s my life. If I couldn’t be a racer I don’t know what my purpose on Earth would be. I feel very lucky that I get to do what I love to do: race motorbikes in different places around the world.

The worst?
The lows are the injuries. The lows can sometimes take the fun out of racing. There are tragedies, like what happened to Simoncelli, but these things happen in lots of areas of life. The point of racing is that it’s fun, so that’s what you’ve got to concentrate on. What you’ve got to do is learn from the lows and progress.

Finish this sentence: Winning is…
Everything.

Pain is…
Weakness leaving the body.

If you could race in any era, when would it be?
I grew up in the Freddie Spencer and Wayne Gardner era. I also saw the Schwantz side of things and I was good mates with Alex Barros when he was team-mates with my dad, and you know, all that era was nice, because everyone got on, and went playing football together after the racing was over. They flew model helicopters together and all that sort of thing. It was less corporate and a more chilled way to go racing. That’s the way I live my life. The era of Fogarty, Slight and Corser and all their battles in World Superbike was a really good era, too.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
At the moment, the power to heal. I’ve bashed myself up these last few weeks. Injuries can get you down. You train all winter and you pick up a little injury early in the year and it knocks you back a bit.

Do you have a motto you live your life by?
The motto would be ‘Enjoy it’. That’s sometimes hard in racing, but a happy rider is a fast rider. Having the right people around me is key to trying to stay happy.

Finally, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
My dad made me realise I wanted to be a racer. He made me realise I wanted racing more than life. That was the best advice, because it doesn’t matter how hard things are getting I know I’m doing what I love the most. So, I suppose, the advice was ‘analyse yourself’, discover what’s important to you.

Leon is arguably the most experienced British rider still racing at the highest level. He has competed in 125, 250 and 500cc GPs, plus British Superbike and World Superbike. In 2001, he was the youngest ever rider to compete in 500cc Grands Prix.
The son of GP star Ron Haslam, Leon was always destined to be a racer and cut his teeth racing Piaggio automatics before progressing through the ranks. He has raced Honda, Suzuki and Ducati in the World Superbike championship and is team-mates with Marco Melandri in the official BMW Motorrad squad for 2012. He also works as a riding tutor at his parents’ race school in the UK.

http://www.leonhaslam.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/realleonhaslam
http://www.worldsbk.com
http://www.haslamraceschool.com/

by Gary Inman

Leon Haslam

The British-born World Superbike star, and son of GP racer Ron, has grown up on the world’s race paddocks. We caught up with Leon to fire a few questions at him.

LEON HASLAM

Date of Birth
31 May 1983

Team
BMW Motorrad Motorsport SBK

Married
Yes, to Oli, since December 2010.

Children
Yes, one daughter, Ava May, born the 12th, December, 2011.

If you weren’t racing, what would you be doing?
I couldn’t imagine not racing, or being in some competitive sport. I travelled the world with my dad since I was six weeks old, and racing paddocks is all I’ve know, so I’d be involved in some way or other, definitely involved in something competitive.

What’s your favourite corner?
Probably turn three at Phillip Island, the fast downhill left before Honda. You just click fifth gear as you’re tipping in, you’re sideways, hitting big bumps, then you’re getting on the gas really, really hard. You’re completely sideways, then you’ve got to get it all stopped for a first gear hairpin. It’s such a high-speed, ballsy corner.

What’s the best thing about being a professional racer?
Not many people get to do what they truly love for a living, and racing for me is everything, it’s my life. If I couldn’t be a racer I don’t know what my purpose on Earth would be. I feel very lucky that I get to do what I love to do: race motorbikes in different places around the world.

The worst?
The lows are the injuries. The lows can sometimes take the fun out of racing. There are tragedies, like what happened to Simoncelli, but these things happen in lots of areas of life. The point of racing is that it’s fun, so that’s what you’ve got to concentrate on. What you’ve got to do is learn from the lows and progress.

Finish this sentence: Winning is…
Everything.

Pain is…
Weakness leaving the body.

If you could race in any era, when would it be?
I grew up in the Freddie Spencer and Wayne Gardner era. I also saw the Schwantz side of things and I was good mates with Alex Barros when he was team-mates with my dad, and you know, all that era was nice, because everyone got on, and went playing football together after the racing was over. They flew model helicopters together and all that sort of thing. It was less corporate and a more chilled way to go racing. That’s the way I live my life. The era of Fogarty, Slight and Corser and all their battles in World Superbike was a really good era, too.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
At the moment, the power to heal. I’ve bashed myself up these last few weeks. Injuries can get you down. You train all winter and you pick up a little injury early in the year and it knocks you back a bit.

Do you have a motto you live your life by?
The motto would be ‘Enjoy it’. That’s sometimes hard in racing, but a happy rider is a fast rider. Having the right people around me is key to trying to stay happy.

Finally, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
My dad made me realise I wanted to be a racer. He made me realise I wanted racing more than life. That was the best advice, because it doesn’t matter how hard things are getting I know I’m doing what I love the most. So, I suppose, the advice was ‘analyse yourself’, discover what’s important to you.

Leon is arguably the most experienced British rider still racing at the highest level. He has competed in 125, 250 and 500cc GPs, plus British Superbike and World Superbike. In 2001, he was the youngest ever rider to compete in 500cc Grands Prix.
The son of GP star Ron Haslam, Leon was always destined to be a racer and cut his teeth racing Piaggio automatics before progressing through the ranks. He has raced Honda, Suzuki and Ducati in the World Superbike championship and is team-mates with Marco Melandri in the official BMW Motorrad squad for 2012. He also works as a riding tutor at his parents’ race school in the UK.

http://www.leonhaslam.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/realleonhaslam
http://www.worldsbk.com
http://www.haslamraceschool.com/