Jim, 2006 has passed, did you have any opportunities to compete?.  ……….Yes I got a few opportunities to ride bikes, but it was only for one or two races. I got offered to stand in for Chris Burns and I got offered to do the last round at Brands, but it was only for one or two rounds and with me not racing for a couple of seasons it would need a proper pre season to get back to speed. As much as I wanted to do it, there was no point in going out and embarrassing myself, letting the team down and possibly hurting myself. So that wasn't possible and my plan was to get a pre season deal the same as everyone else. I've had a couple of opportunities for the 2007 Superstock season but they've turned to nothing. I've still been training, I've not been training quite as hard as I normally do, but I've been training nonetheless. As it stands at the moment, there's nothing happening, it doesn't look like anything's happening and I've stopped chasing things.

At the moment I'm extremely busy with other interests. That said if the opportunity came along I would drop as much as I would need to concentrate properly on racing. The way things are just now, if there's nothing else in racing, I've got enough to keep me going. It's not what I want, I'm disappointed and I know I can still do a good job, but if it's not happening, it's not happening.

So you obviously feel after pre season testing you can be fully competitive?…….Of course, absolutely. I mean, this year people like Glen (Richards) and a few others came up and you're still able to go out and be a strong as you've ever been with any of them. There's no doubt in my mind, in fact, nothings changed. My legs better now than the last five years and I'm out on the Moto cross bike, something I couldn't do for a few years. I'm out on the Quad and mountain biking regularly. If you still desperately want to do it and you're as fit and as sharp as you've been for years, the only thing I need is the bike. I mean, obviously I'm getting older but I don't feel I'm getting older. It sounds quite weird as everybody talks about getting older and you loose your reactions, you loose this, that and the next thing. I still feel okay and I know it's there. No doubt it will happen eventually, but I know and feel it's there.

So what is it you would be looking for in a team………Well, I've always said I wouldn't look at Superstock, but I've been looking at Superstock. I would just like a good competitive package within the BSB. I've always prided myself for holding out for a value that I felt I'm worth, but recently I've prepared myself that I would ride bikes for free if the package was right just to get riding again. These days it's went from people riding for free to what people's prepared to bring into a team and after 13 or 14 years as a professional, 10 years riding factory bikes, I'm prepared to ride for free. Because at the end of the day it's what I still love doing, but that's the bottom line.

Do you think you can still bring a lot to a team with a good package?……… I think anybody who wins races brings a lot to a team.

That was a stupid question wasn't it?…………..Irrespective of who you are, if you win, you bring a lot to a team. When I was with Triumph, we had no real short circuit success, but I still brought a lot to that team. I put them in the right direction; it was a real tough year for me personally. It was the first season for about 15 years that I hadn't actually won a race during a season. That aside, the bike went from being very poor, not because it was a bad bike, but it was very underdeveloped, to being reasonably competitive by the end of the season. The best team in the world still have to go on information given to them. I had a brilliant team but they still need to be given the right information to go in the right direction. I spent half that season trying to put them in the right direction and I never felt I raced that bike until Mondello.           

         
You've shown interest in the TT again, but that seems to have fizzled out?……….Yes, During filming of the past 2006 TT the people at Men and Motors came up with a plan. I was a very lucrative and exciting opportunity, not only to get back into the racing scene, but for a TV crew to do a fly on the wall type programme. I spoke with Yamaha and they were 100% on doing a full factory effort and it was to film the whole process from beginning to the end. It would including starting pre season, doing pre season, doing short circuit, whether it be Superstock or Supersport and leading up to the finale, the TT itself.

Obviously I had to act quite quickly because of the six signatures licence thing, so I spoke to Paul Phillips briefly at the TT and again via e-mail. Shortly after the TT Men and Motors were actually up at my house to try and finalise the situation and I needed to get commitment from all parties involved. I had commitment from Men and Motors, I had commitment from Yamaha and I needed commitment from the tourist board, but I never heard anymore. I can go no further, I've basically ran out of time to get the six meetings in.

Did you have a plan for the six meetings……yes, my road bikes in good track day spec. I could have done six Superstock meetings, six club meetings anywhere. You've only got to do six meetings, it doesn't say what quality it has to be. Before I was going to do club meetings I needed to know there was commitment from everyone involved. I wasn't going to do six meeting just for the sake of doing six meetings. End.