Tuesday Conversation: Geoff May
April 25, 2006
By Laurel C. Allen
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M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May generally wears an unsmiling race-face during event weekends, but a few minutes’ worth of conversation with the Georgia rider makes it clear that May is far more cheerful and relaxed than you might otherwise think. After reaching the Superstock podium twice during the 2005 season while routinely finishing inside the Supersport top 10, May began this year with a strong (though ultimately disappointing) showing at Daytona, followed by his first-ever Supersport podium finish (he took third at Barber behind Jamie Hacking and Roger Lee Hayden). And to hear May tell it, this may be just the beginning of his most exciting season yet.

Geoff May left round 2, Barber, with a third-place Supersport finish and a fourth in the highly competitive Superstock class. Andrew Northcott photo

Road Racer X: Let’s start with Daytona.... You competed in three different classes, which must have been exhausting, and it probably didn’t feel good to have to give up the lead in the Superstock race when it looked like you had it in the bag. Can you talk about how that event went for you, and how you felt walking away?
Geoff May: Well, it all started when we showed up the weekend before for the CCS event, and we ran seven races that weekend to get setup time. We pretty much won everything we entered, and we knew coming out of there that we had a pretty good race setup for the Superstock race and that we’d be a major contender for it. After the practices, I figured we had the tire to do it and the setup to do it, and everything was right. I actually talked to Vincent Haskovec about a half-hour before the race to get advice on race strategy and how he won it the year before.... Just chatted with him, you know, said, “Hey, man, give me some help here [laughs]!”

So what was your plan going into that race?
The plan was to just try to run away with it; we figured that was the only chance we had, to get away from the Yamaha guys. So I went out there and put my head down, but it just kind of fell apart on us halfway through; the temperatures got a lot hotter than we thought they would, and I was on the hardest tire we had, but we just didn’t have it—didn’t have the setup, and the tire had some major issues after about the halfway point, which is why I fell backward. I actually got pretty scared there toward the end; I wanted to pull in, but I was still on the podium, so what could I do [laughs]? I couldn’t pull in. The thing was vibrating so bad, but the Pirelli guys had assured me that the way their tires are made, they can’t have a tire failure, they can’t lose air. The tires exploding, that’s what I was afraid of during the race, but I just kept telling myself, “They can’t explode; they won’t—it’s physically not possible. They’ll hold air, no matter what.” So I tried to bring it home, but yeah, it was a little bit disappointing. The main thing was not getting on the podium, with Aaron [Yates] getting me there at the line.... That was a major bummer; I just felt bad getting fourth.

And the Supersport race?
We felt like we had a good bike for that as well, but after practice that morning, I came back in and told the guys the bike was off; it just wasn’t right. I couldn’t even hang in the draft with anybody. We just kept falling backward, and I came out of that one in seventh, which was pretty disappointing after qualifying on the front row. We found out later that we had some issues with the fuel pump getting clogged; I guess the tanks got painted and somehow the paint got in the fuel pump or something, so the thing just wasn’t fast on the banking. So, it was pretty disappointing after a long two weeks of being there and a lot of racing.

May says much of his 2005 season was impacted by constant tire testing; with most of those issues settled, he predicts better results in 2006. Andrew Northcott photo

How do you feel about Daytona itself?
I like it; I generally do well there. It’s kind of a nostalgia thing for me because it was one of the first places I ever raced; it was actually my second race ever as a novice when I first started racing. I just remember going in there and saying, “Wow, look at this place—this is a real racetrack.”

So after Daytona, Barber must have made you feel a little bit better, right?
Yeah, Alabama made me feel a little bit better because it’s such a hard track; it’s so technical, and in the past I really haven’t felt like I found a good setup there. I’ve never really felt like, “Yeah, this is my track,” you know? I’m never really confident there. I mean, we did well at the test there so I knew we’d probably do well in the races. I figured we could probably run up front in Superstock, but the big surprise for me was Supersport, and being able to run well in that all week. I feel like I’ve kind of turned a corner with my riding and stepped it up to the next level, and I really feel like anywhere we go, we’re going to be up front.

Is there something specific you attribute that to? Something you did in the off-season with training or other kinds of preparations?
Yeah, there’s a lot I attribute it to, actually. At the end of last year I bought a house when I re-signed my contract, and I’ve been doing a lot of training. I trained the whole off-season and I learned a lot from Vincent last year—I give a lot of credit to him, because when he was my teammate, he really showed me how serious you have to be to run up front. I learned a lot from him about nutrition and training, just watching everything he did; he’s nice and he always helped me out. So in the off-season, I just put my head down and trained really hard, and used what I’d learned about nutrition. Plus, now I’ve got a house, so I’m motivated. I don’t want to lose my house, and those house payments hit hard every month [laughs]. It’s a good motivator—you’ve just got to go out there and get it done.

Yamaha's Jamie Hacking is one of May's toughest competitors in the Superstock and Supersport classes. Andrew Northcott photo

With Roger Hayden possibly missing a round or two due to his recent injury, does that change the way you think about the Supersport championship?
Yeah, definitely. I think we’ve got a definite shot at the championship now. As long as we come out of Fontana with a halfway decent finish, that should put us in second. Hacking’s in front of us, but it’s racing—anything could happen.

What differences do you see so far between your 2005 and 2006 seasons?
Well, last year, even though I’d been running AMA for a few years, it was a big learning year. It was my first time on a team, Pirelli signed on with the team and sent technicians over from Europe, and we did all the development on 17-inch tires for Pirelli here in America, so we were always riding on different stuff; even on race weekends we were trying to do tire development, and it hurt us a lot of the time. But it’s paying off this year because the tires are much better, and the same thing with the bike—the Suzuki [GSX-R] 1000 was a new bike last year, so we had to figure that out.... There were just a lot of things to figure out. I feel like this year is a continuation of last year, and everything is much better: I’m in much better shape, I’m mentally a lot stronger, the tires are way better, the bikes are better, I’ve got the same guys I worked with last year and they’re all motivated and happy and want to be there, and they’re really excited about the season. We’ve got the total package this year.

What’s the M4 EMGO team like?
Everybody works really well together and wants to be there, and there’s not too much stress. People have a lot of different opinions about [Roadracing World editor and team owner] John Ulrich, but he’s probably the best boss I’ve ever had at any job I’ve ever worked. He stays out of it, puts his two cents in where it’s needed, and pretty much sits back and lets the team run itself. If there’s a problem, he comes in and fixes it, but other than that, he let’s the team run itself and everybody’s happy. If I have a problem, I go to him and he fixes it right away. If I need anything, I say “Hey, John, I really need this part to go fast. Can you help me out?” And he makes sure I get what I need.

Though he's focusing simply on winning races for now, May knows consistent finishes could put a championship within reach by the end of the season. Andrew Northcott photo

How would you describe this year’s Superstock series?
Well, I think it’s probably one of the most competitive classes right now. On any given weekend you’ve got past winners and current winners up front, and there’s a big variety of bikes: You’ve got Honda with Josh [Hayes]; Suzuki with Yates and myself; you’ve got three major Yamaha factory riders out there; then there’s Attack Kawasaki with Ben Attard.... On any given day, anybody could really win the race; it’s a very tough field.

What are your goals for 2006?
My goal right now is just to win races and get on the box as much as possible, and when it gets later in the season, I’ll look at hopefully winning a championship, in either class. But at this point, I’m not really thinking about that; we’re close, but there’s a lot of luck that’s involved in that, so I’m just going to kind of wait ‘til the end of the year and see where we’re at.

Does this feel like a pivotal year for you, in terms of what your capable of?
Yeah, definitely. A lot of opportunities are already opening up, and like I said, I feel like I’ve really stepped it up to the next level in terms of my riding ability. Myself, I’m really not quite there yet as far as where I want to be, but when I finally get this racing thing figured out [laughs], a lot of guys are going to be in trouble.