Jay Foreman is known one of the most knowledgeable technicians in the sport domestically after spending a staggering 19 years as team manager at factory Suzuki before moving out of the role ahead of the 2016 season. Spending just one season out of a team manager seat, Foreman has now returned to his preferred role for 2017 with the Crankt Protein Honda Racing squad looking after team riders Todd Waters and Luke Clout in the premier class. With an all-new Honda CRF450R released for the new year, Foreman has his work cut out for him as he prepares for the upcoming Motul MX Nationals season. In this latest edition of Industry Insight, MotoOnline.com.au decided to check in with the Newcastle-based team manager to see just how the process is coming along.

Image: Simon Makker (Makkreative).

It’s an all-new role for you in 2017 with the Crankt Protein Honda Racing team, it must be an exciting time for you?

For sure, it’s good, it’s new and it’s a fresh start. We’ve got a new bike, which is good, of course there’s a lot of learning involved with a new bike and I’ve been really busy, but it’s good so far. It’s hard with a new model because it has been quite a while since I’ve worked with a new model, but going back to those days when we did and just how hard it was getting product, the availability of stuff and waiting on parts. It’s similar to that, but it’s good, it’s really good, I love learning new bikes and learning what makes them work and that’s what we’ve been working on.

After 19 years as team manager with Suzuki, and to then spend the 2016 season out of that regular role, how does it feel to return to a familiar and preferred role this season?

Yeah it’s good, and I also really like the role I’ve got with Motologic. It allows me to concentrate on the things I like doing, which are developing the bike and working with the riders. I don’t have to worry about doing what I don’t like also, which is booking flights, booking accommodation and all of the logistical side of things which takes up time and takes you away from what I like doing. With this role I just concentrate on the bike and the team and leave the other business side of it to them.

Following such a long-standing relationship with Suzuki and working closely with their models for all of these years, how has it been making the switch to Honda?

It’s been what I expected, I knew it wouldn’t be easy with a new model and a different manufacturer learning the ins and outs of that bike and what makes it work or which direction to go to get the result we’re looking for. We’ve done a bit of backwards and forwards, swapping and changing to get to the position we’re at now and each week we’re getting better. I knew it would be like this because I’ve been in this position before with a new model – I knew what we were up against.

Image: Simon Makker (Makkreative).

The 2017 Honda CRF450R is obviously an all-new model, and the team has been using pre-season events such as the New Zealand Motocross Championship to ensure you’re ready for the Motul MX Nationals. How long exactly have you been developing the bike and how is the process coming along to date?

The bikes came around a week before the official launch on 14 December last year, and we just ran them in and we had a rough feel of the bike then – we basically knew what areas we wanted to work on to make it a race bike for Todd and Luke. Todd’s been the main focus right now, Luke’s learning the 450 and he’s quite happy to just go out and ride to get himself ready for a 450. So I’ve spent a lot of time with Todd because he knows the feel he’s looking for, he knows the type of power he’s looking for, so that’s what we’ve just been mainly focused on now. As we work our way through things we filter that down to Luke and he’s happy just doing what he’s doing right now. I’d say after this weekend we’ll be spending a lot more time with Luke, he’ll be settled and a lot more used to the 450. Every time we’ve gone to New Zealand we’ve ran a different set up. Between rounds we’ve come home and worked on some stuff and then taken it back. Over the weekend at round two, it was really good, we’ve gone another step. The track wasn’t ideal with the mud, but we had a feeling that we had been looking for. This weekend we’ll go to Wonthaggi and we’ll do some setup for the sand and then the next race in New Zealand is also a sand race, which is similar to Wonthaggi, so what we come up with this weekend, we will take there and race and see where we’re at there. It’s been a lot of work going backwards and forwards, then the testing during the week, but it’s the perfect scenario for us to come up with some settings and take it there and race on it. You can’t beat racing on it, especially against competition like Dean [Ferris] and Cody [Cooper].

You’ve worked alongside Waters in the past and achieved strong results, and now you’re also teamed up with Clout who’s a rookie in the premier class. What’s the dynamic like between yourself and the riders this year?

So far it’s all good, and like I said, Luke’s just been happy doing his thing until now. We’ve just got to learn the bike, filter the info down to Luke and go from there. Todd was a big part in me doing this, for me to come back into a role like this I wanted to be competitive and have the right guys around me to do that. So we all worked together to make sure we got that. We had a really successful season in 2012 with Todd, we finished second in that year behind Josh Coppins and I know what Todd likes, I know the feel he likes. It’s been good and it’s been what I expected in terms of what we would have to go after for him with this bike.

Finally, with an experienced MX1 racer in Waters, and a former MX2 champion and newcomer to the premier class in Clout, what are your expectations for both riders this season?

We expect Todd to be winning races, and Luke we need to just see where he’s at and then I know he’ll get faster throughout the year. I’m hoping by the mid-point that he can be running with the front guys. The field is pretty deep this year and there are a lot of good riders, Luke just has to be a bit patient and look at where he is. This weekend will be a good test because it will be the first time he’s on the track with fast guys at Wonthaggi, it will be the first time he’s actually been with those guys and he can see where he’s at. He can see where he needs to work on things or even if he needs to work on things at all.