One man who made great strides on the roads in 2016 was Nottingham’s Dan Hegarty who not only won this year’s TT Privateer’s Championship but also recorded a whole host of top results at the Southern 100, Ulster Grand Prix, North West 200 and Scarborough road races.
With his debut at the Macau Grand Prix just a few weeks away, the 30 year old has fought back from a near career-ending crash at Thruxton that left him with an elbow broken in 23 (yes, 23!) places and is now firmly aiming at breaking into the top 10 in 2017. We caught up with Hegarty, who runs his own business, RTR Motorcycles in Bingham, Nottingham, him to get the lowdown.
2016 was clearly an excellent season at the International road races – what was your own personal highlight?
My aim going into this year’s TT was to get a top ten finish and whilst a couple of things prevented that, namely breaking down in the 600 race and then stalling the bike at the pitstop in the Superstock race when I was only four seconds behind Steve Mercer, winning the TT Privateer’s Championship more than made up for that and was a definite highlight.
I made my debut at the North West 200 and Ulster GP and both were brilliant experiences. You get so well looked after and I love the Irish people, they’re so welcoming and friendly. I loved the Dundrod circuit whilst the Southern is the best organised meeting I’ve ever been to.
I was simply happy at being able to race at all of the meetings. I wanted to debut everywhere I could in 2016 and learn the circuits so that when I go back in 2017, I can get stuck in and race properly.
What do you put your improvements down to?
I’ve been racing for 12 years and after 12 years of hard work, it all came to fruition this year. Everything I’ve learned over the years, the decisions I’ve made and my experience on and off the track all came together. After breaking my elbow in 2010, I was having at least one operation a year up until 2014 where they stopped. It was stronger in 2015 and stronger again in 2016 so that’s allowed me to ride more like how I’ve wanted. I worked hard on my bike preparation this year and put in some strong lap times everywhere I went – the results subsequently came.
How difficult has it been to fight back from the broken elbow sustained at Thruxton in 2010?
I was good progress in the Superstock 1000 Championship with some good results but when I broke my elbow it set me back massively. I ran into the back of a slower rider coming into the chicane and my elbow was broken in 23 places – it was literally like someone had smashed it with a sledgehammer.
I’ve had 11 operations on it and nearly had to have it amputated in 2014 when I got an infection. I only have 45 degrees of movement but I haven’t had an operation now for two years so have been able to concentrate on building the strength back up.
Why did you switch from the short circuits to the roads?
I’d always wanted to do the TT and had planned on doing it in 2010 until my broken elbow scuppered that plan. With all the problems with the elbow, it’s not really possible to ride in the British Championships at the level you need to be at. I’m not able to find those last few tenths that you need. You know what you want to do through a chicane, for example, but the arm won’t allow me to do it.
I went to the TT in 2011 under the radar and spent the first few years learning the circuit and found that the roads didn’t affect my arm as much. The roads aren’t as physical as the short circuits and ever since I did the TT for the first time, it’s all I’ve really wanted to do.
Having achieved so much in 2016, what are your aims for 2017?
I’m talking to a few teams at the moment but nothing’s sorted yet. What I do know though is that I need to be on a Superbike and with a good team with good people so that I’m not giving away any kind of advantage to the other riders. All my results have so far come on Superstock bikes and to get to that next level and challenge for top ten, or top five, finishes, I need to be on a well sorted Superbike.
I’ve also worked on all my bikes every year so it would be nice to get with a well sorted team where they take care of that side of things. It takes up a lot of time preparing your own bikes but now I need to concentrate on my riding and fitness instead. I want to be with a team where we can build a relationship and be together for a good few years. I want to be with a team that wants results as much as I do.