Jamie sat down with Madison Saracen’s loose cannon, the Redcar Rocket himself, Danny Hart for a chat at the recent Saracen experience day at Revolution Bike Park.
Jamie headed to the Saracen experience day at Revolution Bike Park and caught up with Danny Hart. Saracen booked the place out, put on some uplifts and Danny, Matt and the team came along to do some riding with some of the Saracen customers and fans.
Photos by Szymon Nieborak and Saracen.
Thanks to Saracen Bikes for making this interview possible.
So Danny, how’s your day been?
Yeah, it’s been really good. It’s nice to come out and see all these people. Happy to be here and for folk to come to see what it’s like for us, a little experience day to see what goes on on a race weekend. It’s been really good. The weather’s been cold but it’s been nice and the trails are really good so just been going round and round doing runs, it’s been mega.
So it feels like winter’s starting, the trees are all changing colour, you’re probably stuck into the off season now…
How does that all feel after a busy year racing?
Well we start training next week, me and Matt and Alex probably as well but it’s funny like I haven’t really stopped I’ve just been doing my own stuff. Riding my riding my motocross bike here, there and everywhere, it’s been really good. Looking forward to getting back into doing some training.
So we’ll start at the beginning of the year because I haven’t properly spoken to you since last year when you were on a different team.
So you had some big changes at the start of the year, moved on to a new team, new bike, new setup, new people, mostly.
Can you talk about what made you feel like it was time to change and move on to a new team?
I felt it was time to change. I’d been where I was for 3 years and I think it had run its course. Me and the team had sort of grown apart a little bit… to say the least.
Will’s always been in my corner. Will Longden, the team manager here, from back when I was a little kid I used to ride for him so it was good to have interest from them and they put a good deal together and we signed on the dotted line and it’s been really good. Like I said, Will’s always been in my corner if I’ve ever needed him so to be on his team is really easy.
Obviously you said you’d been with the old team for 3 years and you had a totally different bike.
Was it a big process from moving from one thing to the other?
It was quite easy for me. I find I’m quite versatile and can adapt to change quite well and we were with the same suspension, the same running gear and only had a different frame underneath me. I’m back with my mechanic that I worked with previously as well, Dave Garland, we knew what we had to do and we got it done. We had a bit of a steady start to the season but the season went in the right direction so we ended the season well.
So was it an easy job gelling with the bike? Nothing too difficult?
Well it was funny because the day the team got released was, I think it was January the 6th or something, and we flew out to Portugal on that day and on the 7th I fell off and smashed my hand to pieces and then couldn’t ride the bike that I’d been waiting to ride in public.
I couldn’t ride for a couple of months so that put me on the back foot, sort of put us behind the 8 ball a little bit, but like I said I’m quite versatile so we figured it out and got going.
When I interviewed you back at a British national back in 2017, you said that you went into that season, 2017, with the intention to try and win everything but then you found the season quite tough going…
The season started on a funny foot in Lourdes and then I had a puncture.
I had a snapped chain and then we had Fort William. The woods section there that year was a nightmare so…
You also had a few wheel changes that season and jumped from big wheels to little wheels?
Yeah. We just had a lot of things to figure out and it was a tough season.
Then at the start of this year 2018, did you go into the season with that same mentality to just try and win everything?
I guess you try and think like that but last winter actually went really well, like I went to America and won a national over there and we were doing good and then when it got to the nitty gritty of the World Cups.
It didn’t really start so well but we sort of had to reevaluate what we had to do.
So there’s a few obviously bike changes and kit changes for this year.
Did you make any personal changes on how you approached things coming into the season to previous years?
No not really no, everything had gone alright. I changed trainer and stuff like that. I changed to work with Phil Dickson, who works with the team and I had a good relationship with him so that was all easy and that was it really, that’s all that changed.
And was there anything different in terms of the actual training you did?
We did some different stuff, well it was a lot different to what I’d previously been doing so yeah it was good to train in a group again. I trained in a group a few years ago and it was good and then last year due to some other different things I had to train on my own…
How’s life outside of racing, away from bikes? Whats new, whats going on?
Not a lot really, there’s not a lot that happens. I moved house which was cool.
Sophia was shouting at us last time we interviewed that you guys still lived in a little house!
Yeah we moved house, we’ve got a really nice place now, still in Redcar but it’s a very different a house which is taking a little bit of getting used to. Other than that I haven’t really changed a lot, I ride my bike and ride a bit of motocross in the winter.
New van?
Yeah new van. I got helped out by MS-RT so that was cool for them to give me a van for the season.
What horsepower’s your van?
I think it’s 170.
Decent. And what’s Danny Hart’s favourite DIY job in his new house?
Danny Hart doesn’t do DIY.
That’s the title of our article right there!
Clickbait!
So back to racing. So you said before you started the year really strong with a national win at Windrock, that was your first win then we went to Cwmcarn and you got second at Cwmcarn.
Then we went on to the World Cup at Losinj where I think you got 10th?
Yeah I had a 10th which wasn’t really very good but I’d been there previously and I quite enjoyed the track to be fair even though it was really short. The problem I had was the section down the town through the lanes at the bottom, I lost all my time there. I was doing quite well until then and then I just don’t know what happened… I was looking for parking by the looks of it.
It felt like that first weekend, it was a tough weekend for you, how did that set you into the start of the year?
It wasn’t a tough weekend it was just wasn’t the result that I wanted. But I just had to move forward with that and it came good in the end, just a bit of a slow step.
Going through looking at your results, it felt like you actually had a really strong year. How do you see the rest of your year?
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted you know, I didn’t get as many podiums as I would have liked, but I had 2 podiums and then I was just consistent I guess and then that’s what got me the 2nd in the championship.
At the last race in La Bresse I knew what I had to do and I didn’t get the best result, I think I was 7th, which obviously isn’t what I’m looking for but I knew I had to beat a certain few people, and I did that so, got me 2nd in the championship which I was made up with.
Let’s talk World Champs.
As someone who’s managed to win at that level and won World Champs a couple of times how does it feel when you cross the line and see that you haven’t won?
This year I knew I was riding well from the timed training, the run I had and that and then I had a really good run and I wouldn’t have done it different if you’d said to go and do it again.
But to lose by .3, it’s nothing, it’s really it’s so close and it’s just… I was disappointed obviously but I wasn’t like annoyed or anything because it was so close that there’s nothing I can do.
Is World Champs the most important race do you think?
For me, winning it a couple of times, it means quite a lot I guess. It would be good to get the 3rd time, like Bruni. Me and Bruni were racing for it and he just got the edge on me, no it does, it means a lot. There’s not many people have them so if you can have three sets, even better, even having 2 is awesome.
So do your World Champs wins mean more to you than say a championship overall win?
When you ask somebody who’s got one or the other they’ll say yay or no to either or.
But I would like to win the World Cup overall that would obviously mean you’ve had a very successful season when you’ve done that so, that would be good. I don’t know when that was last done. Championship and World Champs.
What do you think it takes to win a World Championship these days, what do you have to do?
You’re getting too deep for me here… I just ride my bike!
I don’t really know, it’s a lot of hard work and dedication and sacrifice, you know, you’ve gotta train hard, you’ve got to get out there and do the work, testing with the bike and a good team round you is a massive thing.
What does it take…? I’m struggling to answer that. Everything has to come together I guess. But what is everything? There’s so much stuff. It’s crazy.
What did you think of the tracks this year?
I thought all in all the tracks were good, like people hated on Croatia, the first round, but what there was of the downhill track, was really good.
Obviously the bit at the bottom was a bit rubbish in the downtown section and then La Bresse was, it was OK but it wasn’t amazing. It was really short and then like there wasn’t that much stuff in it and then it rained and you had that big flat section in the middle.
It wasn’t ideal but it’s another part of downhill I guess. And then every other track was really good.
It is what it is. You race what’s put in front of you.
Do you like the way the sport is changing and becoming more professional?
I think the way the sport has gone professional is really good. I think there’s a lot of races for these guys trying to break through to go and do, but everybody wants to say they do the World Cup and that they’re a pro elite rider when, technically to be a professional downhill racer it’s not as easy as what some people might think.
But I think you’ve got your national series, you’ve got your European IXS racing and all those races are more than good enough for these people that are struggling to qualify to go and do.
Like you don’t get this trouble in F1 where people, like the whole people parking in their vans and all this, we’re trying to be professional and it’s quite a controversial matter I think, but I like the way it’s going.
I think there is places for those guys to go and race but I think the 60 qualifying has probably cut the field down a little bit because when you’re struggling to make top 80 you’re not gonna make top 60 so I think that must have made people shy away but it doesn’t really affect me so I don’t really mind.
So I’ve gotta ask because we talked about wheel size loads when we spoke last year. Anything left to say about wheel sizes?
I’m riding a 29er now and I’m enjoying riding it but I haven’t made a final decision on what I’m going to ride.
The 29er Saracen is really good it’s a proper specific bike for the 29 inch wheels. I tried it in the past with Mondraker and it was a bit of a half-arse job, now its proper I’m really enjoying riding it. I rode for a couple of weeks in Whistler and riding here I’ve ridden it at Hamsterley and it’s going really well.
I remember when you came off the 29″ last year you said “no way, never again, I’m sticking with 27.5”.
Well it was at the time, but right now things are changing the tracks are changing, stuff like that.
Do you like that? Do you like the way the tracks are going?
I would like to see some more techy sort of things but you do get them. It’s a good mix I think.
So it’s November now pretty much. What’s the plan for the next few months? You said you’re about to start training.
Well I’ll start training on Monday. I’ll be starting training in Sheffield at the uni and that’s when were starting to turn round a little bit and figure it out for next summer.
And do you have an idea roughly of what your training is gonna look like over the next few months, without giving any secrets away?
Not really no, it’s new all the time so that’s why it’s interesting so I have an idea but things can change.
Lots of gym and lots of road bike work I suppose?
Yeah lots of gym and be on the bike in the garage a little bit, slaving away on that, but it’s all part and parcel isn’t it? People don’t see that side of it, it’s a lot of hard work. People think its fun and games.
Riding your moto?
Yeah that’ll slow down a bit I won’t be doing that as much which I’ve been doing that a lot the last few weeks so that’ll have to put that down to once a week.
And will you cut down the downhill time?
No, I’ll start riding downhill a lot more now.
And any trips planned?
Not yet no. I’ve been talking to Dave a little bit about it and trying to figure some things out.
And the other big thing in your life, the bike park. How’s that going?
Yeah, well I don’t have a lot to do with it obviously being so busy myself and we’re quiet in the summer which I think is normal, but it’s just coming round now and there’s a fancy dress hunt on Sunday for Halloween which will probably be a good ride up there.
Hopefully in the winter we’ll start getting busy and the weather starts changing and people wanna start getting back out on the bike. You can ride at our place all year round so its really good for that, but summer’s been quiet with people racing an going away on holiday but hopefully its gonna start coming round again.
And is there anything sort of new planned or any changes up there that people would be interested to hear about?
The lads have been working hard on the 4x track which isn’t really a 4x track anymore it’s more a downhill sort of trail. We’re working on a new line but we’re just up against it with the forestry, they don’t really help us out so it’s quite hard work. It could be so much more stuff if we had free reign.
Like you look here, Revolution Bike Park, they’re building stuff every week but they have the run of the land whereas we have to agree every thing with the forestry.
Yeah, so a bit too much red tape at times?
A little bit yeah.
But it’s a good thing? Glad you’ve done it?
Yeah, oh it’s good yeah. I love going up there, always have done. It’s really good. Good for families as well.
Obviously the bike park is you investing in other stuff. Do you see that as the future of what you do when racing slows down?
It can be yeah, if I need to do things like that. If I need to go out and work there today then I could go do it. Hopefully I won’t have to do that.
Are you at the stage in your career where you are starting to think about the future and what you want to do in the next couple of seasons and longer term?
No, not yet I’ve still got 2 solid seasons racing here and I don’t plan on stopping after that
Will you mix it up into any other types of events?
Nah I don’t think so, I’ll do the odd enduro here and there but not as a career path I don’t think.
How did your last enduro race go?
It was good. I won the last one actually, up in Innerleithen. I wasn’t expecting to win that one. I thought the locals would have me on their own turf. The trails up there are really good, I spend quite a bit of time up there as well at Innerleithen.
Do you enjoy riding and racing enduro?
Yeah I guess so. It’s just trail riding to me, even when you’re racing. It’s the same but when you’re fit and you’re in good shape, enduro is really good because you don’t mind climbing. But if you just drop off a little bit it’s a bit of a pain but when you’re fit and strong it’s really cool, I enjoy it.
And I’ve thrown in a random British downhill question at the end because I couldn’t talk to you without asking about british downhill events. You did Cwmcarn at the start of the season and then skipped the rest of the season’s races.
What do we all need to do to get you and guys like you back and racing british downhill events? What do we need to make British downhill supported by the elites?
Give Si Paton some more money to run the series.
I’ll tell you what, he did a great job and it’s no better now. The vibe at these races, it’s not what it was when he did it. Everyone gave him so much grief but you look at the series now and it’s not what it could be.
We don’t have the best riders and we don’t necessarily have the best tracks but that’s a bit of the problem I think. Tracks aren’t the best but we come through with the riders every year, the World Cup the top 5 can be British and so they’re there but its just… I don’t really know.
I do think Si did do a good job of the series. People had their differences with him but he’s got to make money at the end of the day. People say it’s too expensive but he has to make money. He’s not going to do it for free.
He’s been here today riding his bike!
Yeah, he’s passionate about it you know what I mean? He rides himself.
And then just a question to wrap up. Anything else you want to talk about anything you think is important to you?
No, I mean everything in my life is going fine the team is really good and I appreciate all the hard work they put in. There’s no job too small. Anything we need we have instantly pretty much and I’m just looking forward to a good season racing again next season.
I’ll hopefully get through this winter with no injuries and have a really good off season, work hard and do everything I can and hopefully work hard and hopefully come out swinging in April or whenever it is.
And any advice for the young ‘uns who’ve come along today, ridden a Saracen, saw you riding and thought “I want a fancy van like that”?
This is where it all starts you know, like my Mum and Dad used to bring me every weekend.
You just work hard, have fun with it and when you have fun you know you go fast. These guys will spot you and you never know what’s around the corner.
What you doing this evening? What’s the plan?
Not sure yet, think I’m gonna go get dinner with Matt and Alex and maybe Matt’s girlfriend in Shrewsbury. Got filming tomorrow so I’ve gotta stick around back here for more. I don’t think it’ll be as fun tomorrow as it is today!
Keep up to date with Danny’s off-season by following him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Thanks to Saracen Bikes for making this interview possible.
Credits:
Interview: Jamie Edwards
Edited: Pete Scullion
Photographer: Szymon Nieborak and Saracen Bikes
Transcription: Even Middleton
Venue: Revolution Bike Park, Llangynog, North Wales and Danny Hart’s Descend Hamsterley Bike Park