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Camier disappointed by Fixi Crescent exit
Camier disappointed by Fixi Crescent exit

Leon Camier has been left disappointed by his release from Fixi Crescent Suzuki this week after believing a deal for 2014 was done.Leon Camier43

Just last week he was testing with Alex Lowes for the team at Jerez as he thought they were ironing out a deal to stay with the team that he has ridden for since 2011.

Speaking exclusively Kent Sports News Leon said: “The biggest problem has been that until after the test that we did in Jerez everything was going ahead.

“I let down other teams that were interested because things were moving ahead, I said that I wouldn’t do the test in Jerez unless we had an agreement. There was no point me riding it and developing the bike otherwise.

“We verbally came to a ball park agreement, we got to the test and we were thinning out the details and we had a really good test and it went really well. We tried out some new electronic stuff and it was a big positive of what the team needed to do for the future.

“The day after they decided to sign Eugene Laverty and I was quite annoyed to be honest with you and that hurt.”Leon Camier51

Leon went to the team two years ago and helped them develop the bike to the position it is now and he feels let down that he wasn’t given the chance to take that development on to the next stage.

He added: “Where the team lacked last year massively was on electronics and this year they have got a full time electronics guy in and he is an ex Yamaha factory mechanic so he knows exactly what he is doing.

“He was only at the test for a day but had already made some real big steps and it was all looking really positive. The rule changes meant that the rules were coming back towards Suzuki, so everything was looking nothing but positive for next year.”Leon Camier36

It was tough to take the phone call for Leon from team boss Paul Denning to inform him that he wouldn’t be retained for next year.

“Paul Denning rang me up and was full of apologies and that he was had to be like this, I think there are some commercial reasons why it is better to have Laverty on board. He got second in the championship and it is hard times for everybody with the money and it is commercially better for him to have Laverty on board which swayed the decision really.

“There is one thing that I have noticed in racing there is no such thing as loyalty, I have had a few sponsors over the years who have been loyal in all fairness but generally speaking it is business. People don’t generally care that it is your career and the amount of effort that you put into it they just take what they want from it.”Leon Camier34

Camier is staying positive and he is looking to secure himself a ride in 2014 whether that it is in the World Superbikes or elsewhere.

He said: “To be honest Aprilia are keen to have me back on an Aprilia in the World Championship and there is a team that are really keen to have me as well. Everything is waiting on them at the minute.

“There are a few opportunities, at the same time I don’t want to go racing again if it isn’t on the best equipment. That will be a bit of a loss and psychologically it will be hard, as I have only ever been at the front of whatever I have done and I have managed to win the championship of whatever I have done.

“To not be at the front all of a sudden would be mentally hard. There are some opportunities to return to British Superbikes but I am considering all my options at the minute.”Leon Camier50

If he was to stay in the World Superbikes it wouldn’t be on a factory bike as the line-ups are all decided it would be on a satellite team, and he would be looking for assurance on competitiveness.

“The factory team is decided with Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli so it would be on a team with a satellite bike.

“I would have to make sure the satellite bike is compared to the factory bike and what level the team is going to be at as to whether I decide go for that or look to go back to England or even possibly America.

“British Superbikes would be a lure but then there is also the fact that you have been there and done it and I want to move forward in my career. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to move forward again, and the likes of Neil Hodgson have done exactly that.

“A lot of people have gone back to the BSB’s and then moved forward again including Guintoli so it is not necessarily that bad an idea. The BSB is growing as a championship where everything is struggling, they do a good job with the BSB.

“You could never go back to the BSB and think that you are going to finish in the top three, it is that competitive. I think Shakey on the right bike could be fighting for the World Championships, I really rate him as a rider. There are so many good riders in it, such as Hopper and Josh Brookes, so it isn’t just a case of going back in it, it is a case of getting everything right and the situation has got to be right for me to go back.”Leon Camier41

Looking back at the season that has just ended it was quite a frustrating one for Leon as he had a couple of big injuries which meant he missed a fair chunk of the season.

He added: “It was just one of those things really, the problem we had at Suzuki was that the track had to be right for the bike. At tracks like Monza that has massive straights you can’t be competitive on it.

“It was impossible to be strong on certain tracks on that bike and there were certain tracks that would suit the bike as it was and they were coming up towards the end of the season. Unfortunately, that is when I managed to break my foot and you just had to keep building the confidence.

“I always thought that I had to be riding better than everyone else just to be riding with them, it was possible to be competitive with them but at the right place. I had to be riding better than everyone else just to be involved in it, they are the best riders in the world they aren’t idiots.

“It was a bit frustrating but it is what it is and you can’t dwell on it, everyone gets injuries and has problems and it is what it is. The biggest one was probably when Jonny Rea and I hit the oil in Germany, he broke his femur and I came out of it really badly beaten up.

“It is a normal thing for these things to happen in racing, to be honest that was one of the other things that I have thought about you know, whether to take a year off and wait for a good opportunity to come along. It is never good to be ambulance chancing but all the time you are not on the right kit you can’t show what you can do. You need to be on a bike that is capable of getting you come results. I am sure once I have got over the anger of it all and the injuries have cleared up I will have that desperation to be out riding again.”

 

 

 

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