TWELVE months ago Broc Parkes was looking at having to find a real job, after being forced back to Australia without a ride, yet now he finds himself in the premier class of motorcycle racing, MotoGP, living out his childhood dream.
It’s been a wild ride from the motocross tracks of the Hunter to the glitz and glamour of MotoGP, and it certainly hasn’t been easy for the Cessnock product.
He’s spent 13 years in Europe, bouncing from contract to contract, bike to bike, hoping to keep the dream alive.
Parkes was forced back to Australia in 2013 after failing to find a ride that would finance staying in Europe. He came back to the Hunter for Christmas with no offers, and faced the real prospect of giving the sport away.
His career was on the ropes after he had been so long a contender in the World Superbike and World Supersport championships.
Eventually, Yamaha offered him a spot in the factory team for the Australian FX Superbike Championships.
By season’s end Parkes would hold that trophy aloft .
That success brought further opportunities in the World Endurance championship and a wildcard into a World Superbikes race, which helped put Parkes back on the map and firmly in the shop window.
Then he received the call he never expected.
It came from friend and current team owner Paul Bird, offering Parkes a ride in MotoGP for season 2014, helping fulfil a childhood dream in the most unlikely circumstances and capping off a crazy year for the 32-year-old.
“Last year I was in the mind of maybe never having another ride again. A lot of things went through my mind during that time, because I was home for so long with nothing, and there wasn’t really anything on offer. There were times when I was thinking that maybe I’d have to go back to a normal job in Australia.
“When I got the call-up from Paul Bird it was a really big surprise. He’s a friend of mine, I’ve ridden for him before and he believes in me as a rider, and luckily enough he took me on.’’
But things haven’t necessarily become any easier for Parkes, despite making the jump to the premier class.
Parkes’s team, Paul Bird Motorsport, is the smallest in the field and the only one without factory support. When he signed with the team, they were meant to be riding factory supported Aprilia bikes, only for those plans to quickly fade. Instead, the team’s bikes are built in-house at Paul Bird with Aprilia engines.
It’s part of the reason that the team won’t be returning to the MotoGP field next season. Simply fielding an entry in the class costs upwards of €8-10million, money that is not easy to find.
Parkes’s first season in the top class has been a steep learning curve. He’s had to learn new tracks, a new bike and learn how to ride on the new Bridgestone tyres, something that takes most riders in the field 12 months to master.
The limited financing and lack of factory support also ensures challenges in developing the bike. Parkes’s team have struggled early on race weekends, with the rider regularly qualifying at the back of the field, but showing improvement in races.
“Because we only had the bike for a year, it wasn’t developed at all. This year every track we go to, we are always around two seconds faster than last year on that bike.
“All the other teams roll up to the track with a base setup and they don’t really go that much faster from the first session to the race, whilst we’re making up something like 1-1.5 seconds every time we go out on track. We’re a lot smaller than every other team, so it takes a little bit longer to catch up.”
But in true fashion, Parkes continues to punch above his weight. At the time of writing he sits in 20th place in the Championship on seven points and has the distinction of scoring a World Championship point in his first MotoGP race.
The team scored just three points for all of the 2013 season between two riders.
Many see the glitz and glamour that exists on the MotoGP circuit and assume Parkes would be riding all the way to the bank, but that is not the case. While Valentino Rossi earns a salary of $17million a season, the money drops away significantly at the back of the field, but the financial side of things doesn’t faze Parkes. “I’m happy to just be in MotoGP and maybe have the opportunity to have something for next year. It’s been a lifelong dream for me and, money-wise, for sure it’s not big money. I just want to be here and I’m lucky enough to have some personal sponsors in Newcastle, such as SRO Group, that have got behind me. They understand racing and it’s really nice to have their support.”
The financial game plays an important part in helping riders secure positions in teams, and it makes life difficult for those like Parkes, who don’t have a lot of money behind them.
“That’s how it is, for Australians it’s quite difficult to have a lot of money behind us, because Australia is not really as big into motorcycle racing as compared to Spain or Italy.
‘‘Dorna, who own MotoGP, are Spanish, so they push their riders hard and a lot of guys come in with a lot of money behind them, and it doesn’t matter who you are, they’re going to take the money over talent, as they then have the money to run the season.”
With the dream of MotoGP ticked off the bucket list this season, Parkes will complete another when he represents his country at Phillip Island when the circus comes to town for the Australian MotoGP from October 17-19.
“I can’t wait for that; I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s going to be difficult because I’m used to going to the Island and going for the win. I don’t want to disappoint, I want to go there and do the best I can. It’s nice to have all of Australia behind me, and if we score points it’s a big thing.
“Hopefully we can be on the pace. I know the track really well and had good results there in the past. It’s just a question of whether the bike is going to work there for us, and hopefully make everyone happy and they can get behind me for next year.” Again without a ride for 2015, Parkes’s future is uncertain. But unlike previously, there are opportunities. He’s in discussions with Yamaha about a testing role for next season and offers are continuing.
“At the moment I thought I’d have maybe one more year in MotoGP. If I can’t be in MotoGP, I’d like to be in World Superbikes. If I can’t be in World Superbikes, I’d like to go to the British Superbikes, which is a good championship and the biggest domestic championship in the world. Paul Bird’s offered me a ride there next year, which is really nice; it gives me a fall-back plan.”
But regardless of what happens in the future, Parkes is just happy living out his childhood dream that was forged in the Hunter and fuelled by 13 years of hard work and determination.
“It’s a dream of mine to be in MotoGP and to be here this year and do what we’ve done I’m pretty happy with it.
‘‘My other dream is to be a world champion. That could happen, but time is ticking, I’ll keep trying my best and see what happens. I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve got out of my career”.
It’s been a wild ride from the motocross tracks of the Hunter to the glitz and glamour of MotoGP, and it certainly hasn’t been easy for the Cessnock product.
He’s spent 13 years in Europe, bouncing from contract to contract, bike to bike, hoping to keep the dream alive.
Parkes was forced back to Australia in 2013 after failing to find a ride that would finance staying in Europe. He came back to the Hunter for Christmas with no offers, and faced the real prospect of giving the sport away.
His career was on the ropes after he had been so long a contender in the World Superbike and World Supersport championships.
Eventually, Yamaha offered him a spot in the factory team for the Australian FX Superbike Championships.
By season’s end Parkes would hold that trophy aloft .
That success brought further opportunities in the World Endurance championship and a wildcard into a World Superbikes race, which helped put Parkes back on the map and firmly in the shop window.
Then he received the call he never expected.
It came from friend and current team owner Paul Bird, offering Parkes a ride in MotoGP for season 2014, helping fulfil a childhood dream in the most unlikely circumstances and capping off a crazy year for the 32-year-old.
“Last year I was in the mind of maybe never having another ride again. A lot of things went through my mind during that time, because I was home for so long with nothing, and there wasn’t really anything on offer. There were times when I was thinking that maybe I’d have to go back to a normal job in Australia.
“When I got the call-up from Paul Bird it was a really big surprise. He’s a friend of mine, I’ve ridden for him before and he believes in me as a rider, and luckily enough he took me on.’’
But things haven’t necessarily become any easier for Parkes, despite making the jump to the premier class.
Parkes’s team, Paul Bird Motorsport, is the smallest in the field and the only one without factory support. When he signed with the team, they were meant to be riding factory supported Aprilia bikes, only for those plans to quickly fade. Instead, the team’s bikes are built in-house at Paul Bird with Aprilia engines.
It’s part of the reason that the team won’t be returning to the MotoGP field next season. Simply fielding an entry in the class costs upwards of €8-10million, money that is not easy to find.
Parkes’s first season in the top class has been a steep learning curve. He’s had to learn new tracks, a new bike and learn how to ride on the new Bridgestone tyres, something that takes most riders in the field 12 months to master.
The limited financing and lack of factory support also ensures challenges in developing the bike. Parkes’s team have struggled early on race weekends, with the rider regularly qualifying at the back of the field, but showing improvement in races.
“Because we only had the bike for a year, it wasn’t developed at all. This year every track we go to, we are always around two seconds faster than last year on that bike.
“All the other teams roll up to the track with a base setup and they don’t really go that much faster from the first session to the race, whilst we’re making up something like 1-1.5 seconds every time we go out on track. We’re a lot smaller than every other team, so it takes a little bit longer to catch up.”
But in true fashion, Parkes continues to punch above his weight. At the time of writing he sits in 20th place in the Championship on seven points and has the distinction of scoring a World Championship point in his first MotoGP race.
The team scored just three points for all of the 2013 season between two riders.
Many see the glitz and glamour that exists on the MotoGP circuit and assume Parkes would be riding all the way to the bank, but that is not the case. While Valentino Rossi earns a salary of $17million a season, the money drops away significantly at the back of the field, but the financial side of things doesn’t faze Parkes. “I’m happy to just be in MotoGP and maybe have the opportunity to have something for next year. It’s been a lifelong dream for me and, money-wise, for sure it’s not big money. I just want to be here and I’m lucky enough to have some personal sponsors in Newcastle, such as SRO Group, that have got behind me. They understand racing and it’s really nice to have their support.”
The financial game plays an important part in helping riders secure positions in teams, and it makes life difficult for those like Parkes, who don’t have a lot of money behind them.
“That’s how it is, for Australians it’s quite difficult to have a lot of money behind us, because Australia is not really as big into motorcycle racing as compared to Spain or Italy.
‘‘Dorna, who own MotoGP, are Spanish, so they push their riders hard and a lot of guys come in with a lot of money behind them, and it doesn’t matter who you are, they’re going to take the money over talent, as they then have the money to run the season.”
With the dream of MotoGP ticked off the bucket list this season, Parkes will complete another when he represents his country at Phillip Island when the circus comes to town for the Australian MotoGP from October 17-19.
“I can’t wait for that; I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s going to be difficult because I’m used to going to the Island and going for the win. I don’t want to disappoint, I want to go there and do the best I can. It’s nice to have all of Australia behind me, and if we score points it’s a big thing.
“Hopefully we can be on the pace. I know the track really well and had good results there in the past. It’s just a question of whether the bike is going to work there for us, and hopefully make everyone happy and they can get behind me for next year.” Again without a ride for 2015, Parkes’s future is uncertain. But unlike previously, there are opportunities. He’s in discussions with Yamaha about a testing role for next season and offers are continuing.
“At the moment I thought I’d have maybe one more year in MotoGP. If I can’t be in MotoGP, I’d like to be in World Superbikes. If I can’t be in World Superbikes, I’d like to go to the British Superbikes, which is a good championship and the biggest domestic championship in the world. Paul Bird’s offered me a ride there next year, which is really nice; it gives me a fall-back plan.”
But regardless of what happens in the future, Parkes is just happy living out his childhood dream that was forged in the Hunter and fuelled by 13 years of hard work and determination.
“It’s a dream of mine to be in MotoGP and to be here this year and do what we’ve done I’m pretty happy with it.
‘‘My other dream is to be a world champion. That could happen, but time is ticking, I’ll keep trying my best and see what happens. I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve got out of my career”.
*Article originally appeared in the Newcastle Herald
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