Note: Many Canadian race fans are unfamiliar with Dan Kruger, as he’s not a CSBK racer. However, the Canadian ex-pat has been racing overseas for years, and this year he’s taking on the Isle of Man and the Northwest 200, two of the UK’s most famous road races.
We asked Dan a few quick questions last week about this year’s exploits with the Penz13.com race team. Here’s what he had to say.
CMG: Can you give a quick background on who you are, what you do, where you race, and how you ended up there?
DK: I have been a racer for many years and the last 5 years, mainly racing in China in the Superbike series. I also raced in the FIM Phillip Island 8 Hour Endurance race a few years back and finished Top 10 overall and 3rd in our class. I race for Kawasaki in China and BMW in Europe. I also will be racing a one-off event in July for Yamaha in Japan – Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance Race. I know a lot of people in the racing community around the world and have had a lot of opportunities to ride different bikes at different circuits. My racing in 2014 is taking the majority of my time and we will see how it ends up. That will determine what events we decide to participate in for 2015. I also will be racing in the Superbike support class at the MotoGP round this October in Australia – Phillip Island.
CMG: I know you’ve been racing over in Asia for a while. What’s that scene like? How does it differ from the scene here in Canada?
DK: I have been racing in Asia for 5 years. It is totally different than Canada. 30,000 fans come to the races, the grids are full, they mix in high level car racing during the same weekend and the entire event has a lot of energy. It is televised live in almost every Chinese home. (That is a lot of homes!)
CMG: How long has the IOMTT been a goal?
DK: Not that long to be honest. Like most of my racing opportunities, it simply surfaced as an opportunity earlier this year as a result of the Macau GP that I was discussing with my agent. I have always been a short circuit racer and not even a street rider so Road Racing is a bit of a stretch for me. We will see how it goes starting next week at the Northwest 200 in Northern Ireland.
CMG: What did you have to do to get yourself entered this year?
DK: I was hired by a very large team with factory support so they took care of all the details but from what I understand, it was quite a big job and I would have never been able to get the entry on my own as a privateer. The TT has become larger than life and the barrier to entry is high. They are looking for big names, international entries and factory involvement. I am not a big name but I do bring a lot of foreign press along with me and I am riding for a BMW Factory Supported team out of Germany.
CMG: What will you be riding?
DK: I will be riding BMW 1000cc Racebikes for Penz13.com with Factory support from BMW Motorrad in Germany
CMG: What are your goals at this year’s race?
DK: I want to qualify and finish, not looking for more than that. The competition is fierce this year with only 9 newcomers including riders like Danny Web from Moto3.
For more details on Dan Kruger and his racing efforts, visit his web site. This week, he’s busy testing for and racing the Northwest 200.
[…] Kruger’s had quite a season. He appeared at the Isle of Man TT, he raced Macau, he took second overall in the Pan Delta roadracing series, and he ended everything […]