James Rispoli - Q&A

By Neil Morrison

James Rispoli has been a busy man in 2013. Along with battling an armada of R6s in the USA's highly competitive Daytona SportBike championship on a lone Suzuki the 21-year old rode as a wild-card in the Moto2 World Championship and experienced Endurance racing first hand at Le Mans.

Now the highly-rated Rispoli is UK-bound and eager to make his mark on the BSB paddock.

After an impressive one off ride in the Superstock 600 class at Brands Hatch in 2012 he is returning to the Kent circuit to contest the final round of the year with The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint's Traction Control Superstock team.

Crash.net spoke to Rispoli ahead of his 1000cc race debut about his eventful season, the current crop of talented American riders and his plans for 2014...

Crash.net:
So James, where in the United States are you from?

James Rispoli:
I'm originally from Londonderry, New Hampshire. I grew up there then moved to Attica, New York for five years. After that I moved to Florida, where I live now. I get to work in the sun and I'm able to train all year round. There's only a week when we can't go outside and we're not riding.

Crash.net:
How did you initially get into racing? Was it a sport your family always followed?

James Rispoli:
I'm a first generation rider. My dad rode dirt bikes and his friend wanted him to go out and do some racing at the weekend and I got tagged along. I started on dirt tracks and was a dirt tracker until 2009. I just went on a Suzuki JR-50 and absolutely fell in love with the sport and dirt tracking. Every single day I'd ride on the pavement or the driveway after school. We didn't have any land in Londonderry so we'd travel on the weekends and just go somewhere, ride and get the skill level up.

Crash.net:
When did you make the change over to road racing?

James Rispoli:
I started dabbling in 2007 when I bought an old race bike but I only did a year, had some difficulties in 2008 and then came back in 2009 for AMA pro racing. Of course it was a challenge, you have to be a lot more precise but the dirt track experience definitely helped me.

Crash.net:
Was it always your intention to become a road-racer when you were racing on the dirt?

James Rispoli:
Well I always took it step by step. It's a national progression for dirt trackers to end up road racing, there are a lot of guys that have done it. It definitely got harder as I was growing up with the economy and stuff like that. I was a late mover, usually people go earlier than I did but we made the transition and it was better for my career for sure. Every track I've ever been to I've just been going faster and faster and the learning curve has been great.

Crash.net:
You won the National Supersport title in 2011 then signed for the Celtic Racing Team for 2012 and have been riding Suzukis with them ever since. The team obviously has a great reputation for developing riders. How do you find working with them?

James Rispoli:
Yeah, I definitely enjoy it. Barry [Gilsenen] has been a great team owner and he's known for all the riders he brought through the paddock. He does whatever it takes, he wants to win and be there, he doesn't let you down. He's full of knowledge and helps you in any way he can and he's an awesome guy to ride for and I've had an awful lot of success in the past couple of years riding for him. This year we've had a few struggles but he's there with you 100 percent and he stays behind his riders. I really value his integrity and whatever he says, he does. It's cool for a rider to know you have someone like that behind you.

Crash.net:
After winning the National Supersport title for the second time in 2012 you stepped up to the Daytona SportBike Championship for 2013. Can you briefly explain the differences between Supersport and SportBike racing in America?

James Rispoli:
I guess you can say the SportBike class is like Supersport racing in the UK. It's full electronics and you can do a lot more stuff with the bike. It has all the little gadgets available and the budgets are bigger, the teams too. The competition is where it's at. You're racing against factory Yamahas and the best 600 riders in America. In Supersport you've got a more stock motorcycle but with some allowances so it's not a totally stock spec bike.

Crash.net:
You finished seventh in the championship after a consistent year, never placing below eighth with the exception of the final race. Were you happy with how the season went?

James Rispoli:
I can't complain. I would have liked to do better and I definitely felt I could do better in the series. Nobody could have predicted that Cameron [Beaubier, eventual winner of the DSB Championship] was going to be breaking lap records by over a second or 1.2 seconds every week. Going into this year we thought we'd be a little closer to the front but for pretty much the entire year we were the first non-Yamaha. That's what we tried to do, we stayed consistent and we didn't crash out of one race. We were in the points at every race except the last when we had a mechanical. We kept improving, everyone gave 100 percent and it just wasn't on the cards this year. Overall it was a good rookie year, we were battling with Jake Lewis for rookie of the year until the end but luck didn't go our way [Rispoli finished 26 points behind Rookie of the year Lewis].

Crash.net:
It's rare to see Suzuki at the front of a Supersport class at the moment. Do you feel you were facing an uphill struggle against the R6s?

James Rispoli:
Definitely. But I can't complain, Suzuki gave me two championships and a lot of success. It's a very good bike but this year the Yamahas had an edge over us.

Crash.net:
Cameron Beaubier had an exceptional year, winning every race bar one on his way to the title but there seems to be a real depth of talent in the DSB field. Did anyone else stand out as particularly impressive?

James Rispoli:
America has a very good crop, it's a shame the world doesn't get to see us a lot and we get held into America the way we do. I think 110 percent that the top five guys in our series are more than capable of going to Europe and being very successful. After getting a little bit of Moto 2 experience there's light at the end of the tunnel. From what I saw we can make something happen. It's just very tough for us to get out of America on a good package with a good team and not be in a third tier package shooting ourselves in the foot. But we definitely have a wealth of talent in that field.

Crash.net:
Considering what you've said it must be encouraging to see newly crowned American Superbike Champion Josh Herrin getting signed up to race in Moto2 for 2014.

James Rispoli:
I really wish Josh the best of luck. Everyone knows he's representing the US riders, like I did when I rode Moto 2 [at Indy.] I hope that whoever goes over there does a good job. We all want to get to the world stage and it could be the start to a path over there, yes.

We're just trying to earn the respect of the world stage and there's definitely a bunch of riders that have what it takes. We struggle to get across the pond and logistically it's a nightmare for Americans to do it. But with PJ [Jacobsen] and Tommy [Aquino] they're doing us proud. The more Americans we see there means the better we're doing and I do hope we can make a bridge across the pond.

Crash.net:
You rode at the Indianapolis MotoGP round as a wild-card in Moto2 in August for the GP Tech squad. How did the ride come about?

James Rispoli:
We weren't going to do something this year but things fell in place with GP Tech and Herve [Poncharal] at Tech 3 really made it possible as we ran his chassis. Dorna and IRTA made sure we got all the bits to do the wild-card and expedited the process.

We were on the Tech 3 Mistral chassis and the whole experience was amazing. We didn't do bad, we finished really close to the other Tech 3 riders. The whole game plan was to see how close we could get to them. We got close and that was all we could have asked for.

The whole Tech 3 team were heavily involved with helping us in any way they could over the weekend. I can't thank them enough for all the help. Danny Kent helped with going over the data and some stuff to come up to speed as soon as possible. We never felt left out, we were always involved and there wasn't a question they didn't answer.

Crash.net:
And you finished just one place behind Louis Rossi, their full time ride. Were you happy considering it was your first ride in GPs?

James Rispoli:
I was 25th, Rossi was 24th and Danny Kent was 23rd. I was only two seconds off Louis at the end and that was really good in my first race. Lap time wise I wasn't too far away from the leaders and for my first experience it was good, I'd love to do another one.

Crash.net:
How different was the Moto2 machine to the Sportsbike you normally ride?

James Rispoli:
It was a totally different machine. The biggest thing was the weight. It was just so nimble and that totally made up for the power difference. The suspension was unreal, the tyres were so good as was the rigidness of the frame. It was a proper race bike.

Crash.net:
Are you usually very involved with the mechanical side of things or do you let the mechanics get on with it?

James Rispoli:
I try to put the right people around me so I don't need to worry about anything mechanical and I let them do their job. I like to be more involved in the after session debriefs and talking about the game plan for the next session but I don't try to make decisions on things I don't know. I don't try and 'crew chief' my own bike but I like to be in the process to learn why we make the changes.

Crash.net:
Ex-AMA Superbike rider Jason Pridmore has been acting as a mentor for you for over four years now. How did he come to be involved with your riding?

James Rispoli:
I remember the day in Mid-Ohio, 2009. I was on a Suzuki then all by myself and doing it out of a truck and trailer, not knowing a thing. A really good friend of mine said, 'You should let Jason help you with some lines.'

I was struggling so bad, it's a difficult track with a lot of change in elevation, a couple of blind corners and you have to piece it all together. He was really friendly and told me all the secret spots, what kerbs to be on. I think I dropped a second from my times the next session. Then it was on. Every single time I was asking questions, texting him twenty-four seven.

I remember coming to my very first Star School [Pridmore runs a riding school in the USA]. I sat through all his classes, started showing more potential and we became good friends. He's helped me through a lot.

I remember the last race of 2010 in New Jersey. It was my first time qualifying on the front row and in morning warm-up we went from around sixth to second, around one second faster than qualifying. I remember him telling me 'this is your time, this is the weekend to do it. Just remember to be smart out there.' We ended up winning the race.

Crash.net:
Did things really snowball from there?

James Rispoli:
Yeah, that changed everything. That winter I went out to every Star School and put in as much work as I could. That's the thing about Jason, he's not going to do it for you. He's a guy that, if you show you're going to work hard, will help you.

If he says we're jumping off a bridge, it'll get you two seconds, dude, we're jumping off the bridge! If we got to do ten jumping jacks before we go out, we're going to do it! That's the trust I have.

Crash.net:
A lot of people in AMA have commented on your work ethic off the bike. Do you see your fitness regime as vital preparation for your racing?

James Rispoli:
Anyone that I race against I want to work harder than and know that I didn't leave anything on the table. I train every day. I've been fortunate enough to have put all the pieces together and be able to race motorcycles twenty-four seven and I really value that. I've come from racing out of a van with one mechanic to be running out of a semi now.

I remember driving over three thousand miles to a race, not sleeping and doing that every race. Going from having to work on my own bikes to having a full crew behind me. It's a thing I'm very thankful for and I don't want it to slip away. It makes it easy for me to go the extra five miles on a bike or do the extra rep in the gym.

I lost my mum when I was 17 and nothing's as hard as losing a family member. You know after that nothing can break you down, times can't be that tough.

Crash.net:
Next on your calendar is Brands Hatch for the final British Superstock round of the year. You rode there last year in the STK 600 race for Swan Yamaha. What were your first impressions of BSB?

James Rispoli:
Brands Hatch is one of the craziest tracks I've ever ridden. Turn one's like falling off a cliff, turn two's like hitting a triple. They're the first two turns and they're the most exciting, crazy parts. The whole track is just amazing. I had a great time over there, Shaun [Muir] and at the time Swan Yamaha team was awesome. Monster made everything happen and the hospitality was great.

BSB has a lot of vicious crashes and there are a lot of fighters in that series and it was a good experience to mix it up with those boys. We rode Superstock 600 and started pretty far back on the grid [25th] but we worked really hard to finish tenth, while battling for eighth. We couldn't have asked for anymore, we improved every single lap to the last when I set my fastest lap of the race.

Crash.net:
This year you'll be racing in Keith Flint's Traction Control team. Was it always your intention to come back and race in the UK?

James Rispoli:
I was working really hard to get back over there but things weren't coming alive until the Le Mans 24 Hour race. I was the reserve rider for the Penz BMW team and I ended up meeting Keith Flint, the team manager and things went our way. We decided we wanted to do something over there and as both of us are with Monster it fell into place. The 1000cc experience is going to be great and I'm so excited to run at Brands. Now that I know the track it's going to be awesome.

Crash.net:
Will this be your first time racing a 1000cc bike?

James Rispoli:
Yes, it'll be the first time racing one so we'll just see how it goes.

Crash.net:
After being part of the BSB paddock what would you say the differences are between the two series?

James Rispoli:
Both sides have their pluses. I don't want to say anything other than good things about both. BSB definitely has a huge fan base and backing through the country. We're hurting here in America a little bit but they're trying very hard to get to the next level.

Crash.net:
I read that you were one of the lucky riders asked to attend Colin Edwards' 'Bootcamp' this year. How was it?

James Rispoli:
It was fantastic, the most fun I've had in a while. Me and Bradley Smith ended up going at the same time and me and him never stopped riding. Aside from lunch and dinner we never stopped.

We rode anything on any track, banging bars and crashing, going for Superpole laps. Every day there was so much competition. We were throwing down bets and shooting guns, it was rad. Colin himself is so down to earth and humble. He sits and tells stories and you never have to leave, there's always someone to hang out with.

Crash.net:
Who are the people you look up to in racing?

James Rispoli:
In dirt track Ricky Graham and Chris Carr. I never got to race Chris professionally, I did a few local races and got to go on track with him one time at a couple of test tracks and that was awesome. He's the staple of dirt track and Ricky was always my favourite.

On the road racing side, Valentino Rossi. Ever since he was racing 125s I was a fan. Everything he does with the fans and off the bike I try to mimic and put my own spin on. He is always fun. You never see him in a bad mood, he's just always loving life.

Crash.net:
Do you have anything in place for 2014?

James Rispoli:
Nothing to talk about. All I can say is I want to be on a competitive, winning package for 2014. That's where I want to be; I want to win so that's what we're looking for.

Crash.net:
In the US or are you looking beyond?

James Rispoli:
Wherever we need to be. We need to keep all our options open and see how it plays out. I just want to be on a competitive bike.

James would like thank you Keith Flint, Team Traction Control, Monster Energy, Suzuki and everyone else that has helped and given him the opportunity to race at Brands Hatch on the 20th October.