ambassadors
Randy Krummenacher won the Wold SSP Championship in 2019, an ambition that was a quarter of a century in the making. However, he has no intention of resting on his laurels. This year the 30-year-old Swiss rider joined the Motul-backed MV Agusta Reparto Corse team with big plans to revive MV Agusta’s race-winning mojo. We caught up with him after the first round of the World SSP at Phillip Island.
Last year was a big year, Randy. You won the world championship. Has it sunk in yet?
When I was five, I started to race MotoCross and soon had big desire to be world champion. Since then I’ve been focussing on that goal. I have had many ups and downs, but this ambition has kept me going. After 24 years, I achieved it. That felt amazing and I still have moments now where I think “I’m a world champion”. It’s something that makes my life really complete, next to my family. But I want something more now.
You’ve just joined MV Agusta. How’s it going so far?
I love this project. The bike has never won but I know that it has everything it needs to do so. And I want to be the guy to win with MV Agusta.
Is it a big shock changing teams?
Sure, it’s a big change, but I was lucky that my crew chief, electronic guy and mechanic followed me to MV Agusta. So, it wasn’t all completely new. Of course, the bike is totally different but, like I said, it has great potential. We just need time now to discover it and to get the maximum out of it. We’re doing great work so far and have found tremendous speed already. But we can do better.
What sort of effort and sacrifices need to be made to become world champion?
A lot. My father drove me around Europe to attend races. I’d finish school on a Friday and immediately drive hours and hours to the racetrack. Then I’d race on Sunday and drive back again, ready for school the next day. It was a hard time. I was lucky to meet the right people, to grow, to get into the right teams. But the higher the class you ride in the more expensive it becomes. Getting sponsorship is difficult in Switzerland. The country isn’t really into motorsport. But my strong goal of being a world champion helped me so much. I had hundreds of reasons to stop. We never gave up and always found a solution to go ahead, to ride.
What’s next for you? Any desire to get back to superbikes?
I’m really happy to be in SuperSport. I like the 600 bikes and what MV Agusta is doing. I’ve found a very nice challenge in joining MV and trying to make that bike win. I would like to be world champion with MV. We work so hard.
Are you hands-on back in the pit lane?
I like to develop bikes. I’ve a great feeling for them. I give good feedback about how the bike can improve. I like to bring my experience and my feelings into making the bike better. So far, I’m really enjoying it.
How was your first round at Phillip Island?
Until the race everything was great. I was second in qualifying and was improving every day. But I made a mistake on the start while in a group going into the first corner. I tried to go wide and I crashed. That’s part of racing. It’s nice to have another 12 races ahead of us. I’m quite relaxed and confident about the speeds we’re going already. I have a good feeling that we are still not at our best. That is very positive. I hope we can race again soon but the next round in Qatar has been cancelled.
Can you describe the feeling of riding?
You don’t think a lot when you ride. A lot of things are running automatically. You talk and analyse a lot with the team in the garage, but then on the bike you do it by feeling. The years you gain in experience helps a lot too. You’re really going at the limit. But having done this for a big part of my life it feels very normal to me.
Ever fancied road racing?
Not at all. I raced in Germany at the IDM once. I have a lot of respect for the road riders. They are really fast motorcycle riders and I love to watch it. But it’s not for me.
Did you have any motorbike heroes growing up?
One of my first heroes was Mick Doohan, a rider who really impressed me with his professionalism and attitude to physical training. He was also way faster than everyone else in those years when he won the title. I think that was my first hero.
You’ve been connected with Motul for quite a while now?
I have. The Hostettler Group, who supplies my leather suit, are the lead distributors for Motul in Switzerland so I’ve always had Motul products. I’ve been using them for many years for my training bikes and I know the quality is very high. It was very encouraging to me when I knew MV Agusta was using Motul products as well.
