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“ Strange , because dad had a big profile in Northern Ireland . I fed off that when I was a kid . I thought it was brilliant . My dad was my hero . But I ’ ve done one race in Northern Ireland . I went straight to England . So he was almost unknown , if you like . My dad didn ’ t have a high profile there . Pretty famous back home , but when we went to England I sort of made my own way , really .” Another paddock kid , but a far more widely travelled one at a much earlier age , was Leon Haslam , son of the British legend that is ‘ Rocket ’ Ron Haslam . Bizarrely to most people , maybe , he actually got closer to his father in some regards when Ron ’ s career slowed down and Leon ’ s started to take off . “ As a kid , going round the paddocks and travelling , you kind of take it all for granted ,” said Leon . “ There was never really a massive amount of one-on-one time with my dad in that period because he was racing . But the life , the travelling , doing things as a family 24 / 7 - I have a lot of good memories of it from when I was a kid . But from my point of view my dad and I became a lot closer when he stopped racing , and also when I started . In the early days it was a fight , because you always think you know best ! But then you get to the point where he is there to help me and only wants the best for me . It has never been a father-son relationship , it has been more of a best friends who have exactly the same interest kind of relationship . Thats ’ s what it has always been and I wouldn ’ t change it for the world . It has been amazing . There are pros and cons of that , of course , because I have the best person in my corner to help me but sometimes you need to have someone who you can forget racing with for an hour or two and switch off . That is sometimes difficult because that is all we have ever had . But what he has done and helped me with has been a massive benefit to my career .” From Ron ’ s perspective , and especially after losing two brothers to racing accidents , he was understandably keen to see Leon NOT become a racer . Allowing Leon his hobby in motocross was one thing , but encouraging him to become a short circuit racer was off the cards until Leon showed he would not be stopped . “ It was very different when Leon started ,” said Ron about his son when he was young . “ He started on motocross which none of my brothers or me did . He started at eight years old . It was good fun , just normal , small championship stuff . I didn ’ t think he would ever come out of motocross because he loved the jumps , all that kind of stuff . To be fair , what changed it was a scooter championship in the UK , quite high profile , for 13 year olds upwards . He jumped in that and won every round . Then he got a wildcard on a CB500 one make class at the Donington GP and he won that . From there on he went straight into road racing .” Ron did try to put Leon off again , him and his wife Anne both . “ We did not want him to do it just because I did it . I made it really difficult for him , even in motocross , not really supporting him that much , going only at certain times . Thinking he would just give up , not bother with it . But he proved that to me so many times , even breaking legs and still wanting to do it . It showed me that he was not doing it for me . From that moment on I was 100 % behind him , every way I could be . He proved that he wanted it himself .” There would be one thing that would stop Ron ’ s practical and moral support for Leon immediately . “ If he said he wanted to go to the roads , I would not support him .” So , even for an old roads expert and TT winner like Ron Haslam , there are limits when it comes to the next generation . Michael van der Mark is another active WorldSBK rider with a famous dad Henk , who some know best as an Endurance rider , but who also raced 18
MotoGP™ races in the mid- ‘ 80s . ( 500cc GPs races in those times ). A well respected person inside Dutch racing circles , Henk helped his son when he showed an interest . But to Michael ’ s wider benefit - negating any thoughts of jealousy or privilege - he also helped other ambitious Dutch riders . “ I think my dad is so quiet they never spoke like that ,” said Michael . “ Also when I was young my dad was helping all the kids . Sometimes he was doing a session on track , teaching us lines , but not just me , everyone . If someone wants some advice , he will always give it .” And having an example to aim for Michael wanted to not just reach it but clear it , “ I always wanted to be better than my dad ,” said Michael . “ I think that helped me . In the beginning I knew my dad was a good racer but then I wanted to be better . It was driving me forward . He helped me but he never said anything like that ( about pushing him forward ). He went to races with me but he just let me do my thing , helped me in any way he could . Not so much talking , just there when I needed him . Still ! He still does . When he can see something clearly on track he will ask me . Sometimes I am going to ask him stuff , but we do not talk that much about racing .”
“ As a kid , going round the paddocks and travelling , you kind of take it all for granted ,”
And even off track , when Michael was making the decision to leave Yamaha to join BMW for the 2021 season , their discussions were supportive , of course , but not deep or exhaustive . “ I explained the whole situation to him and he said ‘ you have to do whatever feels good .’” Sage advice , however brief . Question is , does Michael want his new-born son to be a racer , like his father and grandfather . “ No !” He said , firmly . “ But he has to do what he wants to do . My neighbour is a professional golfer and he gave him a nice golf set . It is safer , and if you make it , you can make some money ! But it is the only right attitude as a Dad , to let him do what he wants to do . I was only 12 when I started racing , but because I wanted it , not because my dad was a racer .” Reversing things a little , we spoke to Philipp Oettl ’ s father , Peter first . A threetime 80cc GP winner and twice 125cc GP race winner , Peter was actually into Supermoto during Philipp ’ s formative years . “ He was born in 1996 , more or less two weeks before I won my last GP - in Mugello ,” explained Peter . “ So he did not follow my career - because he was too young . But racing to him came very natural because he saw the bikes at home , the pictures , the trophies , and I was involved in racing still after my racing career . We would watch races at home . He had a scooter and a bicycle , anything with wheels , two or four , whatever had wheels he would try to move as fast as possible . It looks like he had a talent , because other people would ride their bicycles normally but he would do sliding , wheelies , stoppies . If he did
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