By Steve Matthes 

Steve Matthes catches up with Hooters/Moto XXX/Tamer Honda's Alan Brown ... fellow Canadian and the man in charge of Eric Sorby and Antonio Balbi this season.  

RXC: So how's the season going for you so far?
Alan Brown: Well, we’ve had better [laughs].  The whole Hooters/Moto XXX/Tamer Honda Team has been working hard, all the mechanics and the truck driver have been great. We’re just not getting it done on the track so far in 2008. We’re halfway through, and, hopefully, things will pick up for us.

What do you need to do to get your team back to where it was when it was always one of top privateer teams out there?
Well, we’ve been behind the eight ball since first putting this team together; we need to be able to make plans in advance next year. Everything is so much easier when you can secure riders and sponsors earlier, we’ll need a commitment earlier from really everybody. You know, we’re usually behind everybody else when it comes to getting sponsors but this year we were even later than usual! This is the latest that I’ve ever put a team together since I’ve been here at Moto XXX.

You’ve got Eric Sorby and Antonio Balbi in the Supercross class and most times, at least one of them are in the main. What does each guy need to do to get better?
Antonio works super hard and gives it 110 percent every time he’s on the track. If he can get a good start, he’ll do everything he can to remain in qualifying position. Unfortunately, his forte is motocross, not supercross.  I think that it just takes so much focus and concentration from him to remain in that qualifying spot that he doesn’t notice things going on around him and he gets block passed easily. If there’s an accident in front of him and a guy goes down, he’ll just plow into him. He needs to be more aware on the track. He tries very, very hard.

Eric is inconsistent on the starts; he needs to get a little better on those. He’s very talented and should be in the main event each and every week. He has the ability to throw down the fastest lap of any privateer. He also needs to focus on just racing and not the things that are going on around him.

Ryan Grantom is our Lites rider and he got the Asterisk Medic Card at A1 and then  went out at Phoenix and broke his collarbone. He came back at Houston and got the card again! He’s riding well and I think he’ll be in the main at the next west rounds. Vernon McKiddie on the East should be a main event/bubble guy I think, he’ll get better as the series goes on.

Obviously, you know the fuss that happened at Atlanta with Eric and Travis Preston. What’s your take on that?
I had to watch both Balbi and Eric at the same time so I might have missed some things that went on. I haven’t seen any videos or the TV show so I’m just going off what I saw. What’s real unfortunate is that both riders were in qualifying position at the time. The track was tight and super technical and you had to be aggressive to make a pass. I think Sorby put on a good fight, which he always does, and Preston had to make some aggressive moves to get by which upset Eric. Then he went back with an aggressive move and that’s when it all went down. In the LCQ, TP retaliated with an intentional T-bone at the finish line. That was unfortunate, for sure, as it crossed that line from good aggressive racing to just dirty riding. It was ridiculous. Both riders were given a written warning from the AMA. If it continues, they will both face further fines. Both riders were judged to be equally at fault.

What do you think of Eric threatening my life by slapping me?
I totally missed that actually! [laughs] That would’ve been funny though. Let's face it, you called him out on something and he didn’t like it. You’ve written some things that have gotten other guys upset in the past as well. No big deal; I’m sure you guys will get over it. That slapping must be something they do in France, we Canadians just use hockey sticks!

So with Moto XXX and Tamer Racing merging, do you find that your job is easier then in the past? How’s the coming together of the teams affected you?
That end of it has been good; Kevin Maret of Tamer Motorsports have partnered up and Kevin is the acting manager. He coordinates with the riders, the travel, at the race track stuff. I handle the technical side with the bikes and the transporter. It’s been good, really. We work well together. It’s been easier for me, I have more time to develop Moto XXX performance which offers our knowledge of Honda’s to the amateur racer. The Moto XXX clothing line is doing okay. Times are tough across the board with distribution and moving product but we’re doing okay. People can check out motoxxx.com or call 1-888-moto-xxx for more info on our motor packages.

How are the Manfriend shirt sales coming along? When do I get some commission?
Don’t look for that anytime soon, they are okay. We had a real big order for a ton of them but it turned out to be a fraudulent credit card! [laughs]  So I’ll let you know on that check.

What do you think of Live Nation changing the top privateer award to the top non-factory award?
That troubles me; it’s frustrating but I think that we’ve forgotten what the award is about. The word privateer is extinct and the definition needs to be changed.  We’ve got to come up with a new way to distribute the money.  I don’t think a team like Joe Gibbs Racing should be considered privateers--they have factory suspension on their bikes. We at our team cannot purchase those parts so maybe that’s what needs to be the deciding factor. Can everybody buy the parts on your bike? Because I know that if I told a rider that I can provide the exact same suspension components as Grant Langston, my job signing riders would be a lot easier. I think we’re getting away from the roots of the award, which is the C.E Altman Award and I wonder what C.E. would think of these “semi” factory guys getting the money.

What do you guys have planned for the outdoor season?
We still want to do the outdoors; we have no problems with them like some teams in the pits. We at Moto XXX have been behind them from day one and we’re still behind them. It’s the real thing y’know? We’re keeping Balbi for MX; Sorby has some international races planned so he’s going to do that. We’re real excited to bring on Cody Cooper from New Zealand for the outdoors. We’re looking at doing a Lites program outdoors as well, we’ll have to choose a rider from our guys, with Mitch Doughty being on the team for sure.

What about an opinion on the Nationals: what would make it better as a team owner?
As a Moto XXX team owner, we would love to be able to recoup our expenses for going to the Nationals. And I don’t mean that the promoters or the NPG should pay us for going, but I’d love the chance to sell Moto XXX clothing and  give the fans what they want. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked at the Nationals if we have Moto XXX shirts for sale. Make our business readily available at the track and reward us for being there. I know a lot of other teams feel the same way and I think you’d get more teams doing the Nationals if this were the case. I’d also keep the pits open longer but I understand that policy. The amenities are getting better however, the NPG is working on things. I remember that if it rained on a Friday the trucks would have a hard time getting into the track, also having water available for the teams is better. I remember not being able to get water after you ran out at a mud race.

Thanks Alan, and I hope your season gets better.
Thanks.