High Fives with John May
April 01, 2008
Little Johnny May small in statue but with a heart of a lion a very big lion with massive gonads, John's been around forever - pretty much racing on Suzuki's in both the MX1 and MX2 class.
Our man on the inside Stuart Cawse managed to catch up with the man from Bristol for a gert big HIGH FIVE interview.
MOTO: How did last year go for you?
JM: Not too bad, at the beginning of the season though I struggled a lot because at the end of the 2006 season I stopped riding for six months and it took me a while to get back into it. But towards the end of 2007 I felt I was riding how I know I could ride and I ended up winning the Remedies Bar Championship.
I would have liked Andrew Gillett and Dave Yelland to have completed the season and battle for the championship but unfortunately they got injured.
MOTO: How do you find the Remedies Bar Championship series?
JM: It’s a very good championship and I feel it’s very competitive because I can name at least five guys who can win races in my class. The tracks are good to even though there’s some I don’t like but that’s the same for everyone.
MOTO: You’ve ridden Suzuki’s now for six years, starting back when you rode for Rob Hooper and now Nigel Meredith - Do you feel the bikes suit you’re riding style and how did these rides come about?
JM: Well it all started six years ago when Rob offered me a real good deal to ride for him on Suzuki so I took the opportunity and he kept me on for four years. Then Nigel Meredith who is based in Bristol and is a Suzuki dealer offered me a ride so again I took it and I’m currently still riding for him. I found the 2006 model and the 2007 bike to be the same but the new 08 machine is a new bike and I feel it really suits my riding style.
MOTO: During the winter you trained with Mark Hucklebridge, how did you find it?
JM: I found it helped me a great deal, it started in November and it consisted of running, gym and swimming, because myself and some of the other riders taking part had jobs, we would either train before we had work or afterwards. I have gained a lot from it and I feel it’s resulted in me being the fittest I have ever been before.
MOTO: You’re currently injured, can you explain what happened and when do you plan to return?
JM: It happened at Frome the day after the Maxxis round at Canada Heights.
I can remember jumping off the downhill and seeing this rock, next thing I knew I was in a tank slap and tried to hold on but couldn’t. I then tried to get back on the bike but I couldn’t move my arm, it didn’t hurt. At this moment I knew something was wrong and I found out I had dislocated my shoulder. The next day I went to see a sports clinic in Bath to see if they could do anything to enable me to ride at the weekend at Remedies but unfortunately they couldn’t and was advised to rest for 4-6 weeks. Luckily Remedies was cancelled so I plan to rest for a couple of weeks now to be as fit as possible for the next round of the Remedies Bar championship so I can score some points at least because I really want to defend my title.
MOTO: Thanks John and hope to see you on the start line at the next Remedies.
Interview and images by Stuart Cawse
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