One of the coolest parts of the late off-season is seeing the riders who’ve switched team in their new colors. One such rider is Aaron Gobert, the 2003 AMA Superstock Champion, who is moving over to Erion Honda after several years with Yamaha. We caught up with the Aussie this morning as he was leaving his Murrieta, California, house to run a few errands.
By CJ

RRX: Hey, Aaron. How long have you been back in the States?
I got back on January 5. I didn’t do a lot—bit of watercraft pleasure and stuff on the river. That’s all really—just hung out. We only went back to Australia for three weeks, so just got up with everybody and that’s it. It’s kind of strange—we spend so much time here, it becomes home. It’s still good to go home and see everyone, though.

How’s the family? Are both your brothers good?
Yep. Anthony’s going to race the Australian Superbikes again, and Alex is loving doing the journalist thing. He’s already been to Qatar and Spain, so he’s loving doing that. Mel’s good. She’s been with me the whole time.

How are you liking the new team?
It’s good, actually. The first time I rode the new bike, I was really impressed. We’ve tested a few times, and it’s everything you need on a motorbike to win. It’s a really super Honda. I’m looking forward to it—it’s going to be a good season. I’m doing Formula Xtreme and Superstock.

I know Erion has some additional support from Honda.
Yeah, we’re going to pretty much be the factory Formula Xtreme team for Honda, just like Graves has been [for Yamaha] on Superstock. It’s not a step back at all [for Honda’s FX effort]—it’s actually a step forward.

Do you feel like you’re at a good point in testing?
Yeah, we haven’t had any problems that we’ve been concerned about, so it’s been really good. [The bikes] changed a little bit, because the way they used to like to ride the bikes and the way I like to ride the bikes is a little bit different. But it’s pretty good to hop on something and have a baseline at every track we go to. That’s been good.

How do you like having Josh Hayes as a teammate?
He’s good. We both ride the bike exactly the same, so whatever he’s testing and has success with, I can test and have success with too, so that’s been a good thing.

Are you excited about getting to ride the Daytona 200?
[Hesitates] Yeah. It’s another race, I guess. It’s definitely going to be fun doing pit stops and all the rest. I’ve never ridden the Daytona 200.

Have you been doing much testing specifically for the Daytona 200?
We haven’t really done too much pit-stop testing. The boys at the shop have been doing pit-stop testing every day, but as for myself, I did a few practice runs at Daytona, and that was just to work out what’s going on at Daytona itself. But we’re going to do some more of that at the next test at California Speedway and have it nailed before we get there. I think the other teams are going to Laguna this week, but we don’t really need anymore track time. The bike’s good.

You had a bad crash at Daytona in Supersport a few years ago. What are your thoughts about the race?
Well, I think that riding 600s for 200 miles is a lot safer than riding 1000s for 200 miles. The whole world’s trying to slow all motorcycle racing down. To tell you the truth, I haven’t even thought for one second that it’s dangerous, and the fact that I’ve crashed there before, that’s just racing; that’s what happens. I’m not really worried about anything like that. It’s pretty safe on 600s, and that’s why it’s a 600 race.

What do you think about Formula Xtreme? Do you think it’s a good class?
Well, yeah, I think it means well. It’s just going to take a while for everyone to catch on to it. It definitely means well with what they’re trying to achieve by slowing things down a bit. I’m pretty happy with it, and I would have been doing the same classes with Yamaha anyway, so the fact is, everyone’s slowly moving on to it. Riding the motorcycle, it definitely has a lot of things to change and a lot of ways to find the right setup. The very first day I rode the Formula Xtreme bike, I couldn’t believe it. I left pit lane, and I was amazed. I couldn’t believe the way it shifted gears and everything. It was awesome. It’s definitely good to be in there. It’s fun to ride. It’s actually enjoyable. I’m sick of racing Supersport bikes, and it’s good to finally get on a bike that does what you want it to do.

What do you think about that new Buell XBRR that may be coming into Formula Xtreme?
Buell does? I haven’t even heard anything about it. I don’t really pay much attention to what’s going on other than the bike I’m riding.

What are your goals for this season?
Just to win. That’s all I care about, and I feel like I’ve got the equipment to do it, too. That definitely helps training, because it makes you excited to be riding the bike again.

You have a two-year contract, right?
Yeah, I have a two-year deal, and it’s actually a really good contract. It’s got a lot of incentives in it, and that’s what I’m really excited about, to tell you the truth. It’s got a lot of promised futures in writing, so that’s good.