Danish blue!
By TMX Archives on 12th Apr 05
Brian Jorgensen is well known to UK fans from his spells with Rob Hooper's Suzuki team, CAT Honda and Dixon Yamaha but for 2005 the 30-year-old Dane moves into another league - team-mate to Stefan Everts in Michele Rinaldi's factory Yamaha Brian Jorgensen is well known to UK fans from his spells with Rob Hooper's Suzuki team, CAT Honda and Dixon Yamaha but for 2005 the 30-year-old Dane moves into another league - team-mate to Stefan Everts in Michele Rinaldi's factory Yamaha team!dbr: How has it been since you decided towards the end of last season to finally get knee surgery?Yogi: "I had the cruciate ligament operation on my right knee in Belgium on September 29 and then we started some long hard months of training with the physio for the knee. The first month was really intense. I went to my trainer Willy Linden in Belgium to train with him. It was a very frustrating time but after one month I could start cycling and putting some weight on the knee in the gym so I've been able to do very strong training for two months before the first race this year."I had the operation done by the same doctor who did Stefan's knee and he was also back on the bike very quickly considering the amount of damage. In Denmark they reckon six to 12 months off for this operation before you even think about getting back on the bike. But what many normal doctors don't understand is that a sportsman can take more pain than the normal guy. I put five to six hours into the training every day and that reduces the recuperation time. It's all down to determination to get back racing again as soon as possible."dbr: So are you sorted now?Yogi: "The problem with the knee is that you have to be careful for a long time. I have to tape my knee every day because the cruciate ligament doesn't reattach to the bone for six months - it's a process which you can't accelerate but I can make sure all of the muscles are stronger so that the knee is stabilised."At the moment I am still consciously thinking not to put the knee out but that has been in the back of my mind for the five years since I first damaged the knee and I know that I will be able to go 100 per cent when the world championship starts."dbr: Where have you spent the first part of the year?Yogi: "I stayed in Italy because I had a new bike, a new team and I didn't know what the weather would be like. If it had been bad I would have had to use every available day anyway but we only had a couple of days with a little bit of snow when we couldn't ride. It was important for me to ride as much as possible because I've had to get used to the riding position of the Yamaha and the suspension."I couldn't sit at home while other people are racing and I was back on a bike exactly one month to the day before Mantova. Every time I got on the bike the lap times got better and 10 days before Mantova I decided I could race."It was important to start racing again because it doesn't come easy when you've been off the bike for nearly six months and I needed to get ready for the stress of racing. When you are practising you just take your own speed and lines."dbr: How different is the Yamaha to the Honda you raced the last two years?Yogi: "The riding position on the Yamaha is not so much different to the Honda, it's more the way the engine reacts out of the corners. The power is a lot more mellow and useable and with the stiffness of the frame on the Honda, this bike gives more flex and a more stable feeling. When you go hard into a rut it feels like the bike is going with you and you are not fighting it. The Honda just stays there - the frame is solid."And the factory engine is just awesome. Last year I had to do a lot of testing for Pichon but this year I can focus more on my training. The Rinaldi team is so professional that the bike is nearly perfect the first time you get on it."Ever since I got on a four-stroke a couple of years back I have tried to be more smooth and I am lucky that Stefan's style is very smooth and he also likes very useable power. We have made some changes which make the bike easier for me to turn and I am already more comfortable on the YZ than I was on the Honda."