~ Auto Buzz ~: CYCLE WORLD INTERVIEW: Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen This young American is currently second in the FIM Supersport World Championship.

Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen is the only American rider competing in the FIM Supersport World Championship. He was one of the talented kids selected by the MotoGP Academy back in 2006, but his path to becoming a professional rider at the international level hasn’t been easy. Last year, the 21-year-old made his rookie season in Supersport, finishing sixth overall. Currently second in Supersport, Jacobsen is regularly fighting for podiums. We chatted with Jacobsen at Imola, fifth round of the 2015 season. Cycle World: How do you feel being the only American rider in the Superbike paddock? PJ: It’s pretty cool being the only American, but I look at myself as just another rider. The only thing that kind of disappointed me is not racing at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with the 600 class. I wish we could race in the States. I feel I could have an advantage at my home race and it would be great to race in front of the American fans. Regarding the paddock, it is a familiar place and I have many friends. For example, I was at my mechanic’s house before heading to Imola for the Italian round. I am speaking a bit of Italian, I can order in Spanish, but I don’t speak Czech. My team is from the Czech Republic, but we speak English in the garage and my crew chief Andrew Pitt, is a two-time World Supersport champion. CW: How was your path to becoming a professional rider? PJ: It was a pretty long and difficult, and it is still difficult. I started in America when I was 11 years old, riding a 125cc and from there I went over to Spain in the MotoGP Academy in 2006. I was racing with [Jonas] Folger, [Taka] Nakagami, [Marcel] Schrotter, riders that made their path to the world GPs, as the project intended. It was an experience, but it didn’t go too well for me. At that time, I didn’t know what to make of it. I was in school and I had many friends and I found myself alone in a hotel room, far from my family and my schoolmates. I was feeling alone and homesick all the time. I didn’t want to ride and be there. I had some bad races and I went home after that. It sounds terrible, but actually I learned a lot. It helped me to grow up really fast. Now I see things differently. I wish I had another head at the time. Maybe if I took that opportunity differently, I could have been gone through the MotoGP path racing in world GPs. Anyway, I made it in a different way and it’s great to be here. Now I don’t mind being alone in a hotel room or eating at a restaurant by myself! I love traveling the world and to be a professional rider is a dream come true. At 12 years old, you don’t understand it. Now I want to keep this as a job. I don’t mind moving and going back and forth from America.

CW: Where do you live now? PJ: I live in New York and I go back to the States every three races. The rest of the time I’m traveling. I rent an apartment in Lucca, Tuscany [Italy) where Andrew [Pitt] lives. I have friends in Northern Ireland and I often visit them. I like traveling the world and racing in places like Malaysia. This year, I was very excited about racing in Thailand and it was pretty cool. It’s great to visit new places and get in touch with different cultures. CW: You adapted very quickly to the series. Has it always been this way in your career? PJ: I think once I get comfortable with my surroundings, like the riders you’re racing, people in the paddock, it all just eventually clicks, and you just don’t have those weird feelings anymore, because you know you belong there. Basically, last year, I had to learn almost all of the tracks during the first free practice session. It was kind of hard because I always felt like the guys that know the tracks so well are always a session ahead of me. CW: You scored two podium finishes in your rookie year and you repeated that this season. Do you think this is the year to show your potential? PJ: Knowing the tracks, it is a lot easier for me this year. I took a lot of experience from last season, I put it all together and things are going pretty well for me. I’m focusing on winning and beating Kenan Sofuoglu and Jules Cluzel. CW: What is your strong point? PJ: I’m very focused and I aim at being consistent. Every session I work on the race pace, rather than looking for a spectacular lap. My target is to beat Kenan and win some races. It’s not an easy task. He is set to win another title. He has a lot of experience and he is a good 600cc rider, but I think he is beatable. Also, Cluzel is strong. His MV Agusta is fast but it hasn’t been reliable so far. Anyway, I feel comfortable on my Kawasaki ZX-6R.

CW: What are your expectations? PJ: My goal right now is to focus on the championship. I am second in the standings and my target is to win races, also in the perspective of moving up to the Superbike class. It would be great. Superbike teams like Kawasaki, Ducati or Honda are looking for someone who wins races, so this is the target so far. CW: Looking at the Superbike class, how do you see the fight for the Superbike title? PJ: I see Johnny Rea on the Kawasaki being unstoppable. He is riding a fast and competitive bike. Maybe he could have won a Superbike title earlier in his career. He is a hard worker. Like Marc Marquez in MotoGP, he is the man to beat. I think the only rider who can challenge Johnny is Chaz Davies on the Ducati Panigale. CW: What about the 2013 Superbike champion Tom Sykes? PJ: Maybe he is suffering from having a strong teammate. CW: How do you see the Superbike championship? PJ: The atmosphere is really good. It’s a familiar place and the paddock is open to the fans who theoretically could buy our bikes. Due to the economic situation, some teams are struggling, so I hope that it picks up a bit. I hope that Dorna is improving the series as they have done with MotoGP. They have done a great job there. MotoGP is the premier class and some Superbike racers like Johnny Rea should be in MotoGP. He is definitely good enough.