A few months ago, I had a meeting with some fine folks at Alpinestars. During that experience I had the pleasure of meeting PJ Rashidi, Auto Racing Development Manager. PJ’s got an interesting background as well as a job that I suspect readers of this site would love. He also has one of the best beards in the business.
How did you get started with motorcycles – how did you learn, and what was your first bike?
I grew up in Iran and Austria, but in my culture and family riding was a big no-no. I started quite late, in my mid-twenties. With no real instruction or experience and only a 2-day MSF course and no respect for the ‘art of riding’, I thought I was ready for the real world.
It was a baptism by fire and within a few months I had a massive crash, colliding with a car and ending up underneath another, on my first bike, a Yamaha FZR 600.
From; http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery%20%20A/Yamaha%20FZR600%2089.%20%201.jpg
Seven surgeries and a year of rehab later, I started work at Alpinestars, managing their Auto Racing division while still limping.
Ironically working for Alpinestars and living in Italy all those years, I never rode, just wasn’t ready for it, until a few years ago while in Charlotte, NC. I became friends with Aaron Stevenson of Cornerspin/Cornerspeed fame and moto journalist Neale Bayly. I read books, surrounded myself with knowledgeable riders, picked their brains and trained with them. Three years ago I started riding again, this time on a Ducati Hypermotard 796.
Needless to say, now I (like many of your readers I suppose) spend a lot of time with young, inexperienced riders in hopes that they can avoid my learning experience.
What bikes do you currently own?
1992 Ducati 851, 2001 Ducati 996S, 2006 Ducati 999S, 2003 Aprilia RS250 Cup (still in crate) and a 2003 Suzuki SV650S track and learner bike.
PJ’s 851 – I’ll sprinkle in shots of his other bikes through the rest of the interview…
Assume for a moment that money is no object, and importation laws aren’t a problem. What’s the next bike you’d buy, and what would you do with it?
I would probably look for bikes to track, with plenty of spares. First project would be to shoehorn a 500cc engine in my RS250, which I know is doable and evil, but also expensive.
As for a bike, would probably be a Ducati Desmosedici, Foggy Petronas FP1, but preferably any ex-factory race bike, regardless of WSBK or MotoGP lineage. After all it doesn’t matter how many R’s and S’s you add to a street bike’s name, it will never be a thoroughbred race bike.
From: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/285891/images/fp1-1.jpg
We have some good friends at Red Bull and I know for a fact there is an ex-John Hopkins, 2002 Red Bull Yamaha YZR 500cc in their hangar.
What’s the most memorable motorcycle trip you’ve ever taken?
Only took around 1min 30sec, but it was highly memorable. On the Ducati Desmosedici 2-seater around Laguna Seca with good friend Randy Mamola, courtesy of Alpinestars of course.
Not actually PJ, but here’s an example:
I don’t have many weekends off, but when I do, we try and get a run up Angeles Crest Hwy 2 or nearby canyons. They are all memorable and you learn something on every ride, which is what it’s all about.
Do you listen to music while riding? If no, why not? If yes, what are some of your favorite tunes when you’re on your bike?
As much as I love music, I couldn’t imagine riding with it. No offense to riders that do, they are probably far more talented than I am and have keener senses, but I would never mix the two.
I feel there is too much happening in an urban environment and a potential for random incidents. Surely eyesight suffices most of the time, but why take hearing out of the equation. I prefer to keep that advantage and perhaps get out of a sticky situation or be in better synergy with the bike.
May be different in a Touring or Off-Road environment, but generally I reckon people listen to music that has some impact on them, recalls some experience or feeling, and that by default could be distracting or numbing a rider’s instincts I feel.
Having said that…I love Akrapovic, Termignoni and Arrow too much.
I ask this of everyone – and even though you might be biased, what’s your favorite piece of gear?
The Alpinestars perforated ‘Celer’ leather jacket and my back protector – would feel naked without it. Beyond Alpinestars, I would say the Arai ‘Corsair V’ helmet.
From: http://www.alpinestars.com/celer-leather-jacket#.VCXPK_ldVyx
You spent some time with Alpinestars, then went on to NASCAR, and are now back with Alpinestars. What brought you back?
Yes, I took a hiatus after nearly ten years at Alpinestars Italy to move back to the US, and when the NASCAR opportunity presented itself I jumped at it. NASCAR is a way of life, a culture and a sport with a distinct tradition, deeply rooted in the South, which always fascinated me.
I learned a lot at NASCAR and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. It is by far the most complex form of motorsport, with a number of stakeholders, from teams to tracks, broadcast partners to manufacturers and Fortune 100 companies. Needless to say I met some of the most intelligent and talented individuals there, which you need when you’re competing against the NFL, NBA and MLB.
Ultimately, Alpinestars is family and it just felt natural to return. It all comes down to ‘people’ and ‘products’ and a common goal and vision we all share. I missed the workflow and process between designers, engineers, developers, patternmakers and craftsmen, some who have been working with the company since before I was born.
We are a group of perfectionists who don’t compromise and that trait is something athletes and consumers alike feel every time they use our products.
Tell us a little bit about what Racing Development entails, and how your job affects the gear that regular consumers get from Alpinestars.
We are racers through and through, whether it’s in F1, Dakar, Supercross or MotoGP. On any given weekend we have staff around the world attending races and working with professionals in various disciplines. That interaction and feedback with athletes gets back to our R&D directly, and is evaluated without any filters. We are very lucky to have an amazingly personal interaction and access to our pro athletes.
Furthermore all racing divisions have direct counterparts on the production side and there is that transparency, even crossing over disciplines. It’s not uncommon for a development in Auto to be adopted by Moto and vice versa. Could be anything from heat, impact, abrasion resistance, lacing systems, buckles among other technologies.
We have an internal laboratory, which streamlines the process even more. All in all makes it a rather seamless transition from tracks to dealers.
What do you expect from the future of motorcycling, good or bad?
I’m lucky enough to witness firsthand the rapid developments in terms of safety and technology and an overall trend in rider and motorcycle integration, so that’s really exciting and good for everyone involved.
Also excited to see motorcycles become more mainstream and a prominent mode of transportation, especially considering urbanization and population growth.
Not sure how I feel about an electric future, but happy to have witnessed the two and four stroke, fossil fuel burning era.