HIGH FIVES - Wayne Smith
July 09, 2008
Last season’s British Four-stroke Champion Wayne Smith has been making headlines aboard his Pioneer Emberson Yamaha recently after claiming his maiden Maxxis British Championship victory at Desertmartin, 2008 also see’s him have a commanding lead in his MMX Open Class (formally Four-stroke) championship defence, so we caught up with the 26 year old Northerner for a High Five’s.
MOTO: This is your first season on a Yamaha and you seem to have settled well with the machine, how is it?
“Yeah, this year has been a bit of a learning curve because I’ve been on Honda’s for the last four years but I’ve put a lot of work in with the new bike and I’m really starting to get comfortable with the Yamaha and the new team and it’s definitely coming together now.”
MOTO: What’s it like riding for Roy Emberson because he always seems to be one of the characters of the paddock?
“Yeah, Roy’s a cracking bloke, he tells it how it is and I’m really enjoying my racing for the first time in a long time with him. There’s a real good team atmosphere, my and my mechanic Mike Forster get on really well as it makes life a lot easier.”
MOTO: The last Maxxis round went really well for you with you claiming your first Overall British Championship victory, how did that feel?
“It was incredible! We’ve been really working hard for that. Me, Mike and Roy, we’ve all put a lot of effort in to get things going good and we’ve now got a really good set-up and the bike is the best it’s been all year but we’ve got to keep working forward because I really think that we can keep getting better. That result just shows that all the hard work so far has been worthwhile.”
MOTO: You also rode well at the British GP and picked up some decent points, do you fancy having a crack at a full GP season?
“Yeah if the opportunity arises but to be honest I’m happy doing what I’m doing. I enjoy doing all the British Championships and I think the speed that we’re carrying in the MMX is really good and that showed with my result at Desertmartin, you don’t need to be doing GP’s to win at Maxxis level. If an offer came though it is definitely something that I would consider but for the time being I’m happy just racing in Britain.”
MOTO: What’s the aim for the rest of the season?
“I want to wrap up the MMX title as soon as I can and try to win some more races in the British Championship, my aim is to break into the top 3 in the Maxxis, I’m not that far away from it so hopefully I’ll keep banging in the podium finishes and get there.”
Thanks Wayne, good luck for the rest of the season.
Interview and Images Ade Threasher
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