{"id":5367,"date":"2013-02-05T17:09:48","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T17:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/?p=5367"},"modified":"2019-09-17T15:48:21","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T14:48:21","slug":"we-talk-exclusively-to-irish-superbike-racer-jack-kennedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/2013\/02\/we-talk-exclusively-to-irish-superbike-racer-jack-kennedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Superbike racer Jack Kennedy Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Speedy Reg<\/a> recently caught up with Dublin born Superbike champion Jack Kennedy<\/a> about his career, what makes him tick and of course his choice of personalised number plate.<\/p>\n

SR: So Jack the first question would have to be what made you want to become a professional racer?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: I kinda grew up on a bike; I was always in a paddock with my Dad when he raced so it just seemed natural that I would follow in his footsteps. Once I started I knew it was the career I wanted and put all my effort into making the dream a reality. All riders know the risks involved in racing but it’s what we know and do best. I never let setbacks get to me, I try to stay positive and focussed on what I want to achieve in the sport I love.<\/p>\n

SR: What was your first race and what age were you?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: I started on mini-motos when I was 12, winning both 4.2 and 6.2 championships. At 14 I competed in ‘The 145 Aprillia Challenge’ on the Irish circuits and finished runner-up in that championship.<\/p>\n

SR: Where was your first win?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: Probably Aghadowney on the 125’s and on a supersport bike, I think it was Bishopscourt back in 2005. I went onto win the Clubmans SS Championship that year and followed it with the National SS Championship in 2006. I was the youngest rider to win them and the only rider to win both championships back to back.<\/p>\n

SR: What have been your most definitive wins to date?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: There’s been a few but the real defining win was my first British Supersport race in Brands Hatch, season finale 2011. I was racing for ‘Appleyard Macadam Racing’ and it was great to return after a serious back injury mid season and get the win for both myself and the team. I also think the double win at Snetterton last year was pretty special. In the main race it was a five man scrap from start to finish with positions changing every corner. In the last corner McConnell made a pass on Richards and I got a better drive out of the corner so I pulled out of their slipstream and won the drag to the line. I knew I had it in the bag before I even crossed the line so couldn’t help a cheeky celebration fist, 50 yards from the chequered flag!<\/p>\n

SR: What other interests do you have besides racing?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: Eating, sleeping and training. I train pretty much every day; it keeps me physically and mentally tough. I vary it between running, cycling, swimming, weights, yoga, boxing and circuit training. I also like hanging out with friends to switch off from racing sometimes, because it keeps you sane.<\/p>\n

SR: Would you ever consider getting a personalised registration for your Bike in GB?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: Yeah I have often thought about getting a personalised reg for my own bike, possibly something with my initials and the year of my first win in ’05. Perhaps you guys could sort me out with something.<\/p>\n

SR: Where do you see yourself in five years time?<\/em><\/p>\n

JK: On top of the world as ‘World Champion’! That’s my goal and what I’m focussed on achieving. I’m learning all the time and have a constant desire to improve in every aspect of the sport I love. It started with a dream, an aspiration and now I want to achieve everything I have set my mind to and ‘World Champion’ has a nice ring to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speedy Reg recently caught up with Dublin born Superbike champion Jack Kennedy about his career, what makes him tick and of course his choice of personalised number plate. SR: So Jack the first question would have to be what made you want to become a professional racer? JK: I kinda grew up on a bike; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[139],"tags":[338],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5367"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13579,"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367\/revisions\/13579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.speedyreg.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}