John Haner is perhaps one of the hungriest competitors in the AMA paddock; talk to him for five minutes, and he’ll make it clear that he’s serious about reaching his potential as a road racer. Last season was Haner’s best to date; as a member of the Lion Racing squad, he finished inside the Superstock top 10 in seven of the 10 rounds and ended up fifth in the overall championship behind Roger Hayden. Haner’s results and particularly his drive to succeed have been noticed by some top names in the industry, and he’s currently working to secure support for the 2006 AMA season.
By Laurel C. Allen

Road Racer X: Hi, John. What have you been up to during the past few months?
John Haner: Riding bicycles a lot…. Mostly just that, in fact [laughs]. And then I did Macau [in China], too.

That must have been an amazing experience.
It was, man; it was totally crazy. Walls—eight, nine-feet high—all the way around…. It was mind-blowing. It was an experience everyone should probably have at least once.

What were you thinking on that first sighting lap?
I was thinking, What did I get myself into? There are so many turns, and everything is completely blind; you basically just have to go off memorization, and you’ve only got about 20 or 30 minutes once a day, and that’s it. You’re only on the track four times total, so it’s pretty hard to remember the layout. There’s absolutely no room for mistakes over there, that’s for sure.

What were you riding, and how’d you do?
I was on Jeremy Toye’s Hotbodies bike. The clutch went out on the warm-up lap, and we got that fixed but I was two laps down by the time I went back out. I passed like 20-something people, and then the motor blew up on lap 10 [laughs]. It just wasn’t mean to be, you know? But China was really cool; I really like that place. It’s amazing to see how many people are in that one area, and the big buildings they live in are totally crazy. And Macau seems like Vegas in the ‘70s, or maybe earlier, because of all these casinos that are being built…. They’re just going up everywhere.

You’re home in Texas right now?
Yeah, in Austin, which is a cool city, and Texas just won the [college football] national championship, so the whole place is completely excited.

Besides Macau, have you done any riding since Road Atlanta?
I’ve been riding quite a bit at a new racetrack in Houston—Motorsports Ranch in Houston. It’s a two-and-half-mile racetrack with a big carousel turn, like Road America. It’s a pretty nice track—it’s got about 17 turns—so I’ve been getting a lot of riding in on it. Other than that, I’ve been riding motocross a lot at a track around here, getting back into that, and then mostly just riding bicycles with Kevin Schwantz and some other friends.

You also did the Toyota 200 at Willow Springs right after Atlanta, right?
Yeah, that was a really cool experience. It was unexpected—I got a phone call the Monday before the event from Attack Kawasaki, asking if I could ride, and I said yes. So I flew out there on Thursday, saw the track for the first time Friday, rode, qualified third, did pretty good. We had a few sprint races on Saturday that I did okay in—got beat by some local guys and Josh [Hayes]—but for the 200, man, the crew was just unbelievable. They were getting pit stops done in 11 to 14 seconds, and that’s with no quick-change, which is pretty amazing.

I had a good race…. Attack put in two great motorcycles and they needed to finish first and second, and that’s what was able to happen for them. [Ed note: Haner took second behind then-Attack Kawasaki rider Hayes.] It was cool, to actually ride on a superbike and hang out with [Attack Team Owner] Richard Stamboli and start to learn data—because I’ve never been around that before—to help me learn the track. I could see where I wasn’t picking the throttle up as fast as Josh in some places, and then we would talk about it, and then I’d pick the throttle up there the next time. The data is basically a lie detector, which is pretty cool.

Is it frustrating to see how helpful some of the technology that factory guys have access to really is?
It’s cool. I just look forward to being able to get on to that stuff, and that will happen. I mean, it obviously makes a difference, because I was able to run a second or something off Josh’s fast lap for the weekend even though I’d never been there before and was on a bike I’ve never seen, on tires I haven’t ridden, things of that nature. To be able to do times like that on that stuff…. The data is definitely helpful; it can teach you everything you’re doing wrong.

You’re built more like a football player than like some of these smaller bike riders, and I think you heard some chatter about that last year. Have you changed your training program at all?
I just do so much cardio that I don’t get tired in races. I guess it’s harder for me to change my body than it is for other people, but I’m working on it every year and over the past few years it’s really made a difference and things are starting to shape up correctly…. It’s just a longer process for me than for some people, but that just makes me want to stay around longer.

You finished fifth last year in 2005 Superstock points…. Were you happy with that result, or had you been hoping for even more?
Well, I guess I was happy with the overall points, but Jamie got hurt in the middle of the year and that obviously moved us all up in points, and then Tommy got hurt, and that helped the rest of us, points-wise. It was okay, but I really want to get on the podium and last year we were lacking a few things. The bikes were unbelievable, everything was great, just sometimes we had inconsistencies with little things on the bike. Something might break, or the tires might go off…. Something of that nature. We started getting a handle on it from Laguna on and had some pretty good moments, but it’s tough because you’re halfway there halfway though the season, whereas the factory guys are there from race one because they’ve done testing throughout the off-season. It’s just tough to make up that disadvantage.

How would you describe your overall frame of mind at the end of last season?
It was really good, you know? It was my best season yet, hands down. I’m riding better than I’ve ever ridden, and I can see where I could be better than almost anybody, in my own opinion. I think if I just keep working hard, I’ll be able to be up front with just about anybody—whoever it is, that year, that day. I just have to keep working hard and achieve those goals.

Do you have any solid plans for 2006?
No, not yet. We’re working on a few things; we’ve got a couple of different ideas, but there’s something out there that I’m trying really hard to get right now that would put us on some unbelievable equipment, and that’s what I’m hoping and praying for right now.

When you sit down and ask yourself what you’re capable of in the long term, how do you gauge your own potential?
Well, I look at myself differently, I guess, that some people do. I believe in my abilities, and my dad instilled in me that a good work ethic and a strong mind can overcome most anything. I don’t know—I feel like I can beat most anyone. I see what Ben Spies has done; I see what Nicky [Hayden] has done in MotoGP; Tommy [Hayden] has won back-to-back national championships now; Roger [Hayden] is well on his way; [Jason] DiSalvo is having success. All these guys I raced with and grew up with and beat and got beaten by, they’re all champions, so of course I can be one.

Everyone is so close when it comes to riding. There are some people like Mat [Mladin] who are obviously just on a different level than everyone else, and who can just open the throttle up and get down the straightaway. Everyone’s going to brake in the same areas, everyone’s got basically the same speed, so it just comes down to who’s going to get the throttle open the fastest. Everyone’s pretty close, and it comes down to equipment at the end of the day. You look at the people who qualify, and there are 20 people within a second of each other. It’s not like some people can’t ride, it just depends on their mindset and the equipment they have to get the job done. As soon as I have that, I’ll get the job done.

Do you remember the moment you knew you wanted to be a professional road racer?
Yes. I was 20 year old, in college, and I just wasn’t having any of it. I’d raced motocross and I’d done road racing for two years off and on, just trying different stuff as a novice, but that was the year I told my dad I wanted to do it professionally. Everyone looks at the young kids, but well, shit—I don’t know how old Mat is or Miguel [Duhamel] are, but they’re the ones getting the job done, not the young kids. Everybody wants the next Nicky, but there’s only one in a million of those.

Do you have any road racing heroes?
I have a lot of motocross heroes, but in road racing, Colin Edwards, for sure. And Nicky, for what he’s done and what he’s come from—I mean, he’s the main man at Honda; he’s what everyone in our sport wants to be—plus Ben Spies, Roger, Tommy, all those guys…. Those are my heroes. Those are the guys who make me want to continue doing what I do and believe in myself.

So one way or another, we’re going to see you in the AMA paddock this year?
Absolutely. There’s no doubt. I’ll definitely have something going and I’ve got some really, really good opportunities, which makes me feel really fortunate because there aren’t a lot of people who have that, so I’m totally blessed. So, we’ll see. It’s either going to be something great, or something great. Either way, it’s gonna be good.