Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

“I Like Doubt”

Interview by Bob Dragich

Jimmy Filice has had one of the most durable careers in all of AMA Pro Racing. Starting on a 250cc GP bike in 1980, Filice also raced Superbike and came back to riding a 250cc machine in 2001, winning the Championship, the third of his career.

In 2002, 39-year-old Filice is making one of the most radical moves of his career. He’s going from the 250cc GP class in which he has been so successful to the highly-competitive 600cc Supersport class. Filice talked with Roadracing World about his reasons for the change, and what he wants to accomplish with his new team.

RW: Why are you going to the 600cc class now?
Filice: What I’m trying to do is develop a team and stay involved in racing. The sponsor, Mike Corbin (saw) the exposure in the 600cc (class) is much, much more. What my plan is, is to develop the bike, get the team developed and maybe put somebody (else) on next year. This year I still feel like I can do the job. I understand riding very well from Kenny Roberts giving me the opportunity to work with a lot of top riders. It’s a deal (right now) where I feel I have to adapt.

RW: Are you having any problems right now?
Filice: What we’ve come up against is that everyone else has done a lot of testing. The program got put together late and we just didn’t have the testing time that we needed. And I’m still trying to ride my bike a little bit like my 250. With the engine braking (on the 600), I’m going too slow through the center of the corner, because I’m not entering the corner fast enough. That’s just going to take a little time mentally to work that out and to get more comfortable with this kind of machine. Where we’re at and where we came from, starting-wise, we’re doing OK, I believe.

RW: What are your strengths on the 600?
Filice: My strength is my size. (It’s an advantage in) acceleration, tire wear and top speed. My bike is more than capable of running up front. It’s the rider right now that’s not capable. (Rather,) it’s not that I’m not capable, it’s that the computer chip in my mind is programmed for a 250cc, and we just haven’t been on the bike enough to change that right now. That takes time to adjust. What I’m lacking is entrance speed, because where I brake and shut the throttle off and release the brake, my 250 will coast. This bike (the 600) stops because of engine braking. In my Superbike days, we had a slipper clutch in it where it had less drag that a standard clutch. So what I need to work on is that, and it just takes time. Here, at a race, it’s a very bad time to try to adapt to this. Me working with other riders out there and having them tow me around would be a lot better and easier for me to get up to speed. But we’re trying to adjust the bike and build speed into me and the bike together, and it’s taking some time, and we’re out of time. So tomorrow (during the race) we’re going to do the best we can with what we have. My team has prepared everything great, but it’s something we’re going to have to change mentally to adjust to this class. The future is here (in the 600 class), with the television, the exposure, the sport. This is what it is.

RW: How long will you personally compete in the 600cc class?
Filice: I’m not looking to do this for the next five years; I’m 39 years old. I’m looking to start a racing effort and have a good backing, which is Corbin right now, that’s really supporting the team, to be able to allow me to find young talent, to bring them up and to do the job. Right now, my main goal is to do the best we can, to get as much exposure as possible, and to develop the team.

RW: Why did you pick the Kawasaki?
Filice: I had some avenues to go, through Europe, and in some other areas to get some help, the bike’s a good bike, and I’ve never ridden for Kawasaki. I’ve ridden for the other three manufacturers at one point in my career. So, why not?

RW: What lead you to engine builder Dennis Zickrick?
Filice: Dennis’ experience is so broad and in this sport he’s worked with Honda through the years and been involved in building motors. His racing knowledge is very big and that helps me. We have another guy, Steven Scott, who gets the bikes set up. It’s his first year in professional racing as a mechanic. Dennis is a good teacher and he’s trying give some knowledge to Steven. James Siddall is a great guy and really worked well with me last year. He gave me a lot of information and gave me confidence, setting the bike up for me.

RW: What about your first qualifying session?
Filice: My team has so much confidence in me, and right now I’m a little disappointed in the qualifying, but there’s no excuse. The team is prepared to do well, we just lack testing. When you’ve got these guys (the factory teams) who come here for three days in December, and get everything dialed in, they come to the race prepared. And we come to the race hoping we’re close, it’s a lot more difficult. If I had two more days, I think I could adjust, but we don’t have it. I can’t fire myself. I’m here to get as much exposure for my team as possible. If we can run up front, we’re going to. If we can run in the pack, we will. My main goal is to finish, make progress, and go on, just like I did last year. We came here last year with a lot of doubt from a lot of people, saying, “Jimmy’s coming back to ride 250s, what does he think he’s doing?” It’s something where I proved it. I won again. I won the Championship. I might have won by one point, I won a few races, but I did what I did. I like doubt, so if they doubt me on this, we’ll see. There’s a lot of races left.