MotoGP Interview: Alex Briggs – Part 1

What does it take to be Valentino Rossi’s mechanic?  What is it like to be Valentino Rossi’s mechanic?  Alex Briggs has some of the answers, and more, including how he came to be one of the biggest sensations in motorbike racing on Twitter.

The #1 question we get is “How do I get that job?”  W hat it takes to get a job at your level and what is the process to achieve it? Could you also give all the mechanics out there some tips on how to one day be in a garage at the Grand Prix level?

Alex Briggs: Most people get a job in the paddock through word of mouth. My story goes like this: I raced motocross in Australia and was OK but not great. To support my motocross habit and my future I had become an Apprentice mechanic for a government bus company in Australia’s capital city Canberra.

I was a decent rider but afraid I was not going to reach my schoolboy dream of being a motocross champion. I had become friends with many good riders and begun to travel with them to races. I would drive to Sydney and drop my van at their house and put my bike in their van or vice versa then we would split the cost as we raced around Australia. Sometimes I would work on their bikes for them including suspension and engine rebuilds and when they were successful people would ask them who had worked on their bikes.  So eventually I was sitting at home with a broken tail bone(from a Motocross crash) and the phone rang. It was the manager of the Australian Yamaha motocross team asking if I would like to work for them.

I said yes – it was a big decision for me because I had to come to the reality that I was never going to be fast enough to make a living from racing motocross. The dream had ended. Little did I realise that a new one had just began.

So I took a pay cut of over half and went to Sydney and did that for a few years. I ended up working for one of Australia’s top riders, Craig Dack who now owns the best motocross team in Australia.

During the time there I met Peter Luczkowski who was a mechanic for Mick Doohan. He previously had worked for Jeff Leisk  who rode for HRC in the European Motocross championship.  I also met Gary Benn who was running Yamaha’s motocross team in Europe (both Australians). I told them both that I wanted to work in Europe as a motocross mechanic. Towards  the end of 1992 Gary offered me a job in Europe for the 93 motocross season and whilst at the motocross des nations in Perth Australia I shook hands with Gary and the deal was done.

I drove the truck to Brisbane (bloody long way, funny story about that for another time); when I arrived in Brisbane I had a message to ring some guy called Jerry Burgess. I rang JB and he offered me a job in road racing for Darrel Beattie and Rothmans Honda.

So then I spoke to Gary and told him as we had shaken on it I would be working for him. Gary said to me “Go road racing its cleaner” so I must thank Gary for that.

I rang JB back and he said OK you have the job.  I said just like that and JB said “don’t worry I can sack you at any time”.

So to answer the question its seems to be word of mouth.  But the word of mouth is recommendations and you will get that if you are trustworthy and are able to get on with a wide variety of people and can cope with being away from home and various other small things that some people can’t handle. Don’t get me wrong,  the mechanical skill side is very important but many people have that ability and to be honest probably greater than me but that alone is not what makes a racing mechanic.

Could you explain what is behind taking fuel samples at the end of a race?

Alex Briggs: Fuel is a bit like blood for a human. If you pump some steroids into it you can have wonderful improvements so they check the fuel to make sure it’s not rocket fuel!!  After every race the top three must undergo a few checks. The bikes are weighed also the exhaust sound is measured and the fuel is sampled to make sure all of those things are within the regulations. The bikes are kept there an hour in case of a protest by another team.  They only need a tiny amount of fuel as the tests are not really run on that fuel. This has been done much earlier buy the fuel supplier and what we are checked for is just like DNA to see if it’s from the tested batch. They call it a finger print.

Based on your experience,  what is the key to have a better set up on the new 800s? And the differences from the 990 era? What are your thoughts on going back to the 1000cc engines?

Alex Briggs: It seems to me the bigger the capacity the less critical the setup. As we have gone down in capacity the adjustments have become smaller and more sensitive. But that’s not really the truth. The longer the configuration remains in the rule book the harder the competition gets over time. Whatever works ends up on all bikes and then to improve one over the other the setup becomes more and more critical  – what was once 5mm movements is now .5 and so on.

My personal thoughts on going 1000cc racing is if we go there with what we have learned in the last few years they will be unbelievably fast.  My guess is to go to that capacity we will end up with heavy controls and restrictions. I think they should give some thought to a four speed gearbox to reduce speed and promote good engine design.

I believe in more of an open competition model; I think that breeds far better bikes for all. I believe there should be competition from sparkplugs to tires.

I also believe with regards to reducing expenses there are many very simple things that for whatever reason have or will not be implemented.

But hey what would I know I’m just a bus mechanic.

You surely have one of the most interesting view and knowledge of some of the greatest riders in the GPs. What do you think people like Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi have in common while they are in the garage?

Alex Briggs: When they are in the garage for both of them it becomes a sanctuary. It’s where they can be themselves and relax. This is why they are here. To race and they know we are the same so it’s easy for them.

Mick often rode well using aggression where Valentino rides well if he is happy. But both of them have what all the best racers have, they see things in slow motion, you and I can hardly keep up with what they see. The slower they see it the faster they go. They ride to their limit, which is far beyond yours or mine.

What is the coolest or strangest scene you can recall dealing with Valentino?

Alexx Briggs: Having worked for him now for 11 years there are so many cool and strange things it is impossible to tell you just one.  You just need to know that he has a fantastic sense of humour and we spend most of our conversations laughing. He is a fantastic story teller.

We have had great fun in discos, rental cars, parties in his home town, restaurants and special functions.

Watching the public’s reaction to him is always funny. Girls flashing him, crying. It’s endless the things that happen. Sometimes they stand at the back of the garage all day with a pen in their hand waiting for a signature and when the rider finally walks out and they come face to face with him, he will say “ciao how are you” and smile, the girl will freeze and say nothing as he walks away -  they stand still and cry, pen still in hand.

A funny story you will like happened at Laguna Seca during a pit lane walk, a girl yells out “Valentino you are the shit” the rider turned to me and said  “I am a shit.????” I explained “No no you are THE SHIT” and that it was a good thing.   From that day on we still use that term sometimes between us.

More to come in Part 2 on Saturday!