James Haydon <I><B>exclusive</I></B> interview.

It's fair to say that it's been an interesting start to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for James Haydon. Crash.net caught up with James after the announcement was made on his signing for the Rizla Suzuki squad for the rest of the year.

Crash.net:
James, you're riding for Rizla Suzuki for the rest of the year, how good is that?

James Haydon:
It's absolutely fantastic, a bit of a surprise, but absolutely brilliant news.

Crash.net:
It's fair to say it's been an interesting year so far for you, how's it been from your perspective?

James Haydon:
It's been a strange year, most of it out of my hands, but Paul Denning phoned me and said that Suzuki and Scott were going their separate ways very mutually and would I like to step in and fill the gap? So obviously I said yes I'd love to as they're a fantastic team, a fantastic bunch of people and I've enjoyed working with Suzuki in the past.

It's just wonderful to get in there and also just to have that steadiness of knowing that, that's what I'm doing now till the end of the year, so that I can just concentrate on being sharp and trying to build a feel for the bike.

Crash.net:
When did you get the call and how long did it take before you said yes?

JH:
Not half a second! Actually it was only last night [Thursday, before the announcement late on Friday] that was the first time that I spoke to Paul, there were lots of rumours flying around but the deal was done last night.

Crash.net:
How long is the deal for?

JH:
It's definitely for the rest of the season so as I say it's a bit of a dream come true.

Crash.net:
Compared with last year the Rizla Suzuki haven't been what they should, what are thoughts so far of the bike and is there quite a bit of work to do?

JH:
The results haven't quite been what they've been expecting, but it's hard to know and it's not really for me to judge whether that's been 'cause John's been injured or because Scott didn't like the bike; I'm just going to go at it with a clear head and do my own thing.

Crash.net:
Are you looking forward to having the reigning champion, John Reynoldsyou're your team-mate?

JH:
Yeah it should be great, I like John and I've got a lot of respect for John and it's great to be going there and get involved.

Crash.net:
You've done all the top motorcycle championships, what is it like changing from riding in those different championships and is it different when you're jumping from bike to bike like you have this season?

JH:
Jumping from series isn't so much of a problem as generally you have your pre-season testing and you get a chance to get a feel, but it's been very difficult this year to keep jumping from one thing to another as I haven't really had the testing. They all feel different and you're racing against guys who have had all the pre-season testing and they know their bikes so well and know the suspension settings that they need and how to ride them whereas if you keep riding with different engine configurations and number of cylinders, and just different geometry, it's just hard work.

But I'm pleased I had some good results when I was there with Suzuki - I qualified and finished as the top Suzuki at Oulton; I qualified and finished as top Yamaha at race one at Croft so I feel that I've done a good job standing in and obviously due to that this is what's enabled me to get this position right now.

Crash.net:
Knockhill is the next round on the calendar, what are your feelings heading there with the Rizla Suzuki?

JH:
Feeling good, obviously I got a win there last year and so it's a circuit that holds fond memories for me,

Crash.net:
What about the rest of the season, where do you want to be as the year progresses?

JH:
I just want to gain a good feel with the bike, and then once I've got that I want to be out there getting podiums and winning races.