Full Throttle: Why trust is key between rider and crew chief

On this week’s Full Throttle podcast, Mick Shanley discusses his working relationship with Loris Baz in the Ten Kate Racing squad.

"Whenever I’ve had that gut feeling and the hunch (about bike setup) I’ve said to Loris, ‘I know this might sound weird but we need to push in this direction’. Loris has gone and tried it and it’s been positive. That builds a lot of trust between you," Shanley says.

"If Loris ever complains to me (about something on the bike), it’s like I’ve got his ear; he doesn’t worry so much about the change I’m going to make because he’s pretty sure that it is going to be in the right direction, so we have got a good level on which we can work quickly through things, analyse them and move onto the next one which means development speed increases quite a lot.

"I love working with him. We always have a laugh but it’s serious when it needs to be. We have a really good atmosphere with all of the Ten Kate guys in the garage."

Once the podcast was recorded, Eurosport challenged Shanley to name as many riders he can remember working with. Here’s what he came up with: Baz, Laverty, Brookes, Abraham, Parkes, Harada, Ukawa, West, McGuiness, Martin, Hutchy, Ellison, Vincent, Bridewell, Lofthouse, Easton, William Dunlop, Richards, Mason, Plater, Thomas, Tommy Hill, Rutter and Haslam!

“I’m getting old!” Shanley adds with a somewhat pained expression.