Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Hello MXP readers! I gave the GDR Honda Team Manager/Owner, Derek Schuster, a call this week as he was doing some work from his office and getting ready for the 2015 racing season. With the GDR riders now into their final month of preparation at GPF for the upcoming Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, things are beginning to get very busy for everyone involved.
MXP: Hey Derek, what have you been up to lately? Have you been down south to GPF to see the boys ride yet?
Derek Schuster: No, I actually haven’t been down there, I have just been working in the office and in the shop on the race bikes. I keep in touch with the guys a lot. I chat with them on the phone pretty much daily, and they keep me in the loop with what’s going on and what parts they need. We have boxes going back and forth with different parts that need to be tested out all the time, and shipping different suspensions and engines back and forth, that kind of stuff. I will probably make it down there, I don’t know, maybe in the next week or so just to check in on them. In the meantime, I’m just basically working on getting these race bikes built for them.
Over the past few years Derek Schuster has transformed himself into a savvy businessman and one of the leading forces in Canadian motocross. photo by James Lissimore
MXP: I bet there is a lot for you to do in the pre-season right now anyway, which brings me to another question – do you have official testing days set where you and all four of the riders are at a track, testing the new parts or fine tuning the suspension or engine settings?
DS: Yep, we do. I don’t really set things up necessarily for all four guys at once. Colton and Jeremy are on a bit of a different program than Kyle and Weston so we spend I little bit more time testing with them (Colton and Jeremy). I take a bunch of the testing information that we use from those guys and implement it into what we are doing with Kyle and Weston, but yes, I’ll set up different times. For example, in the fall Colton and I spent quite a bit of time, just the two of us going out and doing suspension testing. We set up dates and figure out ahead of time what we will be testing that day, how many sets of suspension we will be going through, that kind of stuff. We do the same thing with engines and all kinds of different pieces. Right now while they are down south I can send parts as well, maybe smaller things on the bike whether it be different clutch actuators, foot pegs, shifters, or whatever it is, and have them test it out on their own to figure out if they like it. When it comes to bigger things like engines or fuel maps, we make sure that is set up ahead of time.
MXP: Cool. This year you have expanded to a four man team. Can you explain the set up you will have for Kyle and Weston?
DS: For sure, I look at it as two separate teams rather than one four man team. Basically, Jeremy and Colton are on our factory team so they will be our Honda Canada GDR team representing us, and they will be pitting out of the transport truck that we have. Kyle and Weston are on our Red Rider’s support program so they are actually going to be travelling across the country staying on the road. Kyle has a fun mover that he is going to be taking, and they will be going to the races in that and just pitting out of that on weekends, riding different tracks in the area between nationals during the week and just doing that kind of thing.
MXP: Very cool, it’s good that you guys have been able to do that for them too.
DS: Ya, it’s pretty exciting, it’s just kind of something we have wanted to expand on with Honda making a big push with the Red Rider’s support program for amateur racers. So this is a good way to promote and represent that as well.
MXP: It seemed last year Honda stepped back into things with the direct support for you guys, and after winning the MX1 championship you can see it has really rejuvenated them this year. You can see they’re putting more back into the sport.
DS: For sure, they were really excited about winning that championship, and they have some people working there that are really passionate about the sport, which is really good to see. Obviously, if you are involved with the sport you want to see that the people you are working with are passionate about it as well.
MXP: So were Weston Wrozyna and Colton Facciotti signed to a two-year deal last year?
DS: No, Colton was signed to a two-year deal but Weston is year by year. Jeremy is on a two-year deal now as well.
MXP: So your official title is team manager and team owner. How many other staff do you have on the team as far as drivers and mechanics?
DS: During the summer we have our two riders (Colton and Jeremy), we consider them staff because they are employees of the team, and then we have a mechanic for each one of them, a truck driver and myself. I have a pretty good support crew around me that are helping all the time. Matt Bannon helps me with the team quite a bit with some PR stuff and setting things up behind the scenes that people don’t really notice. Also, Derek Farthing at TLD Canada is always helping me with stuff. People probably just think he is helping me with gear but he is definitely a lot more involved outside of that. Even the people at Honda Canada. I am dealing with people there on a daily basis. Then there’s our suspension guy, Joe Skidd. We definitely have a lot of support helping us get through everything.
Thanks to Derek’s hard work and their valuable sponsors, the Honda Canada GDR Team bikes are some of the best looking machines in the pits. photo by James Lissimore.
MXP: That is very important to have. Are Frank and Barb ready for another season this year?
DS: Yes, they are busy getting things ready to go. I know Frank has been out working trying to get rid of some areas that have been water logged from snow melting. Hopefully it’s not too long before we open, but there needs to be a lot of drying before we can open.
MXP: Well Derek, thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me.
DS: No problem, thanks for having me do it.
Derek would like to thank all of his valuable sponsors:
Honda Canada, Troy Lee Designs, Hitcase, Oakley, Adidas, Alpinestars, Marin, Yoshimura, Atlas Brace, Dunlop, Pro Honda Oils & Lubricants, Proven Moto, Superior Suspension Settings, Mechanix Wear, The Humberview Group, Parts Canada, Hinson, Dyco Tool, Pro CRF Technology, 2UNDR, Dissent, Wiseco, Macnab Transit, 1.7, Twin Air, Matrix Concepts, Evans Coolant, Renthal, Xtrig, Toronto Digital Imaging, Works Connection, Back in Motion, ARC Levers, LimeNine, Motoseat, CMT, Cycra, D.I.D, Galfer, HSL Holeshot Link, Hammerhead, Next, Snap On, New Era
