Ian Harrison Interview
January 26, 2024
Firstly, let's talk about the offseason. It seems like the theme in the pre-season press conference was that there's not really any offseason. So what are your expectations for your riders with taking time off and how do you approach that as a manager?
Yeah, I think it's really important to get off the bike and get away. And unfortunately, sometimes it seems like when they have an injury is really the only time they really get away. But, Chase was lucky enough to take off after the SMX series, he really took a month off, but he did get terribly ill when he came to Europe, so that kind of clashed with his time off. And then with Aaron, he took a few weeks off. He went up to Tennessee, which is important. And then Julian, he also had a couple weeks off. Tom was the only one that's been pretty much on the go because he went to Europe and he raced the Motocross of Nations of course. And then he raced in the Paris Supercross. So it concerns me, it's a lot of riding, so that's why we thought, okay, we'll stick him on the east coast to try and give him a little bit of a break. But what they're talking about on the offseason on the teams is, you know, when you finish racing, then you test a few parts, and then those riders want those parts on their bike right away. So then you're chasing down those suppliers to get you a few parts so you can get them going, and then now you're already into late November. And then you're wanting to build race bikes and you're trying to get them to send the parts for the race bikes that's coming late December. It's pretty much for a mechanic a full-time job. And when you get somebody that's new and is a champion like Chase, you can't leave any stone unturned. You gotta check everything and triple check it and double check it. So we've had our plate full.I was gonna ask you about how you make the decision east versus west, and do you feel like Julian's ready, he’s super young?
I feel like we we're really, really lucky. You know, he didn't get grabbed by somebody else. He's a great kid; looks like an awesome family. We just spent some time with him now in this offseason; he's a big sponge. He's always listening and watching and doing what the other guys are doing, and his riding ability is second to none. He's a really talented rider, so speed wise, I think he's there. Is he gonna crash? Of course. But, if he has the speed and he does his best, that's all I can ask for. And I think that's what we're gonna see. So I'm excited to see how he goes. We've made a lot of progress on the 250 in the offseason; a really nice step. So I'm excited to see how that goes too.His story is really interesting and cool too, how he came into Anaheim last year on his own. And then you picked him up.
Yeah. I honestly didn’t really know too much about him. And then last year, we are like, “ooh, who is that guy”? But, yeah we were lucky.I have to ask you about Chase. Obviously it means a lot to have the defending champion join the team. How do those conversations start happening? When were you talking to him last year? Did you have your eyes on him specifically?
Yeah, every factory team out there, when there's someone that's winning, everyone's interested; there's no question. We all know exactly when someone's contract's gonna end. And then of course, the contracts also stipulate when you can start negotiating. So when that date comes up, when the clock strikes 12, you put a call in. I was lucky that he had a great relationship with a lot of people on my team. Some of the mechanics, some team coordinators, and we had a lot of success also the last few years. So that helps you, you know? I think I was also maybe lucky that Jett and his brother were coming up and he didn't want to be alongside them. I don't know. All these things were factors and yeah, we started talking and, and then the tough part comes in about negotiating the deal and everything. We worked on that all actually before he had won his Supercross title, so once that was all in place and he won his Supercross title, then we had to renegotiate a little bit more because things change. And then you just get excited waiting for them to come! So yeah, we had our eye on him for sure.Is it difficult that he's not at Alden's?
No. I’m a strong supporter of Alden. I've seen what's happened there over the years. I see the facility, I see how he runs things, and it's the best of the best really. And I would love him to go there, but at the same time, I have to respect that he's a champion and he won. So I can't just wipe that slate away, you know? So we will see, you never know how things are gonna go, but at the moment he's doing his work and he's ready; he's on time and he rides his bike and I'm happy. So we'll see.Last question. You mentioned at the press conference he had some things in the Honda that he didn't like, and he had some things in the KTM that he likes. Are you able to talk more about what the differences are between the two bikes and how Chase is adapting specifically?
It's a little tough because you never compare them back to back, so it's the memory thing. I think on on the Honda, there were areas that he felt maybe a little bit of plush feeling, so we needed to work on that on the KTM. But it's challenging; anything you change affects the other side. If you make the shock stiffer, it affects the forks. If you make the forks stiffer, you affect the shock. It's always riding on those two wheels. And if you change the chassis, then you affect both. So it's some navigating. And then also learning how they explain something and understanding their comments. That all takes time to learn because they're all young kids and they all have a different way of saying something we would interpret differently. It took a while, but I think in the end we found what he was looking for, and I think we've made a good compromise because you can never get everything right. It's not gonna be a hover craft; it’s still got wheels on the ground. You're still gonna feel if you case something; it's gonna hurt your feet.
