Will Aaron Slight be re-signed for the 2001 season? Some feel he won't, but Tuxworth won't give a nod either way. "The decision has not been made yet," he said. "To be honest there will be a meeting next week between HRC and Honda Europe and they will decide then what the plan will be as for riders. As of now it has not been decided what to do regarding riders."

There is small talk in the GP paddock that Colin Edwards II might be poached to ride for a Honda GP team if he wins the World Superbike championship. Tuxworth says his opinion is that won't happen. "No actually, I don't think that it will. I rather think that Honda is going to cut back their GP team and ... Colin's not really interested to be honest. I guess if the GP rules changed to four stroke then perhaps he'd have more interest but if there are only going to be two-stroke GP bikes for a few more years, what's the sense in going now? The general feeling is that GP isn't as strong as it used to be so I don't think it has the draw to most riders that it used to. He's happy in the Superbike paddock, Colin is."

Honda obviously want to sign Colin Edwards to their team next year. He's young, fast and may be the world champion. But who would be a candidate to be the second rider if the slot opens up?

"Anybody can be a candidate, really," Tuxworth says. "With the situation we have at the present we'll have to see what works best. It may be an issue with Honda or an issue with one of the sponsors. I know that when John Kocinski won the world title in 1997, Castrol were mad that he left (the next year) and they could not capitalize on his number one plate because they had just started a big push in America.

"I can say that it probably won't be two Australians or two English riders, it just doesn't work for us sponsor-wise to have two riders of the same nationality."

Ducati have yet to comment officially but it is said they are planning on bringing the World Superbike team to Daytona next March to race the Daytona 200. And it is rumored that one World Superbike team has been in contact with Scott Russell about racing their bike at Daytona next year. Will this draw Castrol Honda into the fray?

"It'd be stupid to say no, wouldn't it? I guess we did Daytona once with Doug Polen and we did that mostly because Doug wanted to do it. Now, I'd say that the matter might depend upon how strongly Colin (Edwards) feels about it. And the American Honda team ... it's almost their job to try and win Daytona. I'm not sure they'd want us there.

"The schedule too is a problem," Tuxworth states. "It's a whole week down there plus testing and that plays havoc with our schedule in the first part of the World Superbike season. That's the thing: does Daytona fit practically in our schedule?"

When asked to asses the season had by Ben Bostrom, Tuxworth says, "I'd say he had a disappointing start and that was because of all the pressure they put on the guy. That was a mistake to do that so early in his season. But it was a good move for them to put him on a different team and just let him work there. I'm sure the bikes aren't that different there it's just that there's less pressure."

It has been stated here that the RC51 is not a short track motorcycle, that it does not like slower corner racetracks like Brands Hatch and others. Tuxworth does not agree. "Donington was short and we did well there, Kyalami was short and we did well there, so I don’t think that it’s a short course problem per se."

But at Brands the RC51 was definitely not happy. "You’re right," Tuxworth says, "at least as far as the races are concerned. I guess we went into it knowing that Colin had won three of the last four races at Brands and honestly, we were looking for a win. We expected to win. Not a sixth and a tenth. Colin qualified second and that crash really shook him up and … honestly the clutch packed it in after the start of the second race. Colin got a decent start in the first race and wanted to get a better start in the second leg and when he tries that, it always goes to hell. He gets his best starts when he lets the clutch out without a lot of rpm, like a street rider. When the bike gets revved hard from the start it’s not good. The clutch was roasted and he had a bad race. That and the clutch were the biggest factors I think, and … he just wasn’t right. He was depressed after the first leg and just not in a good state.

Not right how? "To be honest, that’s because of the eight hour. Colin tested for the eight hour three times and then did the race, and he was just knackered all weekend at Brands. That’s my opinion. Colin might disagree. 

"We gained six points in the championship on Corser and Haga and I guess that can’t be considered bad. If someone would have told us going in that we were going to finish sixth and tenth and still gain six points, well, we wouldn’t have believed them."

Tuxworth has been a friend of the Fogarty family for decades and has known Carl Fogarty since he was a boy. What does he think of the chances of Foggy making a comeback after his disastrous crash at Phillip Island? "I think it’s going to be difficult for him," Tuxworth says. "I know he doesn’t want to go out this way but I know Carl and I know the arm is bad, in my opinion. Perhaps he could have done more to get it better but … you know, if might be a mistake for Carl to get back on a bike at 35. He’s got a year or two left in him without the injury but if he has to take a year to get back up to speed, what’s the point, really? Carl doesn’t need the money at this point. And that’s nice, but what I think Carl is worried about more than anything is getting away from racing and being bored. He has no interest in being a team manager or anything … and I think he’s just worried about the boredom. 

"I think he should do a private test with Ducati and then make a decision. And if it doesn’t look good, he should bow out gracefully. Carl doesn’t want to come back and finish in the back, he wants to come back and win, or finish in the front. With him taking a year off, that’s going to be difficult."

ENDS