Between the Races: Rockstar/Makita Suzuki Manager Don Sakakura

Don Sakakura is the man behind one of the most dominant factory teams AMA history has yet seen. We checked in with the venerable Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team manager following the third round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Series, where American Superbike class leader Mat Mladin swept the weekend and gave himself a 45-point buffer over teammate Tommy Hayden. The team’s third and youngest rider, Blake Young, currently holds fourth in the championship as the series heads for Barber Motorsports Park this weekend.

RRX: What were your expectations heading into this season?
Don Sakakura: Well, as you know our situation was that we had to change motorcycles at the very last minute, and honestly, we didn’t know what to expect as far as the new season went in terms of the change in plans on what model we’d be using and with the new regulations. Regulation-wise, we really just did not know, and then with the later preparation of our equipment, we didn’t have much time before Daytona for anything other than last-minute prep, discussing which vendors to use, that sort of thing. It was really just kind of a last-minute, thrown-together effort, so we were honestly really surprised by the competitiveness of the equipment at Daytona with the production-based rules, swingarm, basically a production-based engine … stuff we obviously weren’t all that involved with in previous years with the open modifications allowed.

Do you think the new rules are doing what they were intended to do?
Financially, yes, it makes things more manageable from that standpoint. But the point I like to bring up is really about the development of product; that’s something I have a little bit of concern about for future development since we’re basically racing very production-based motorcycles now, and it’s the same with tire development. It becomes difficult to develop future product for our aftermarket line as well as production components, and that’s true for all the OEM manufacturers, I believe.

As far as the racing, I think [Suzuki’s] domination is still pretty obvious. Now, a good majority of that is coming from the rider sitting on top of that motorcycle, who obviously has a very high talent for riding quickly regardless of the specifications of the motorcycle, and I think [Mat Mladin’s] proven that. The differential we’re seeing from him this year, it’s very similar to what we saw last year. I don’t know, honestly. I don’t think it really has that much of an effect on the tightness of the racing.

Have the more production-based rules changed your job description at all?
Not necessarily. I think the job description for team manager is the same as it’s always been; I think it comes down to commitment, and of course to your staff. I’ve been very fortunate over the years to have a very motivated and experienced staff surrounding our three riders who contributed to a lot of our success. They’ve put big efforts in, and the results have shown.

You’ve always been such a tech-focused team…. Is the vibe different under the tent this year?
For us as race technicians, I think everybody with our team is motivated for reasons not only of winning races but for the development of product, too, whether it’s an exhaust system or an engine spec, and when your hands are tied in certain areas you lose a little of that edge, I feel, and I hope it’s not going to affect the level of our participation. Production-based racing I think is important, but again, when you bring that back to the future development of product, it becomes a little difficult. I think that’s what our business is about—trying to find that edge or advantage over your competitor. That’s something I really enjoy doing, finding that special component that’s going to give you the advantage. I think we’re losing a lot of that now with the new rules package. It was intended for that reason, of course, but with the technology, I’d prefer to use more of an open format for rules.

Is there a danger you’ll get to a place where there simply isn’t any more to learn?
I think there’s always room for improvement. What I’m finding now is that the production motorcycle compared with where we were a few years back actually performs very well. I have to say it’s becoming difficult to sometimes improve some of the production components, but it’s a learning experience for all of us really to find how we can benefit from the new regulations. It’s more of a Supersport application where you have to be a little more creative and try to find ways to advance differently, but there will always be areas that we will focus on improving, whether it’s a suspension component or an engine component, there’s always something. I think when we’ve reached the point where we’ve run out of ideas or plans to improve, then it’s time to stop racing.

You’ve been in the paddock for a long time. Do things really feel different to you this year?
Sparse, I would say. At Daytona it wasn’t so noticeable, but I certainly noticed at Road Atlanta where quite honestly, a lot of the paddock—a lot of the good contacts and people we’ve known for many years—are no longer around. And it’s quite frightening. I hope it’s not the direction of the future, because I truly enjoy being part of the racing and have for many years now, and when I showed up at Atlanta the paddock seemed virtually empty. The semis weren’t around, the guys I’ve associated with for twenty-plus years aren’t around any longer…. I don’t know. I hope it’s temporary and going to change in the next few years for us.

You’ll have 2009 machines for Barber. What do you expect from them?
Very similar results to what we’ve seen already from the 2008, if not an even stronger result with some of the new production technology.