Leon Haslam has had a difficult year so far in the Superbike World Championship, his second in a row with the Pata Honda Team. The 31 year old Briton has yet to step on the podium onboard the team’s CBR1000RR Fireblade and, after 10 rounds, he is currently sitting in tenth place in the Championship standings. WorldSBK.com spoke to Leon Haslam about his 2014 season and the future ahead of his.

You had a hard time in qualifying this year and even in most of the races, it seemed like you just could not keep a competitive pace for the whole distance.
“The main problem this year is that we’ve been fighting with the electronics. It’s a hundred times better than what it was last year but it’s all about making the right settings. We have just had a lot of bad luck with things not working, sensors breaking and so on. It hasn’t stopped me from racing but it has hindered my race performance and also lap times. Sometimes at the start of the race it can be OK, then in the middle part be bad and then again in the last part be good again. It is surely very sensitive to changes in conditions and small adjustments. So if I have a weekend with not too major problems like in Jerez things are not too bad, even though it’s a circuit where me and Jonathan struggled a bit. It’s maybe one of those tracks that really didn’t suit the Honda but as far as the weekend went it wasn’t a disaster like in previous races.”

Back in 2009 you look quite comfortable on the Stiggy Honda machine. What is the problem with the current bike?
“I don’t think it’s the bike that doesn’t suit me, I got on really well on the Stiggy Honda back in 2009. I think it’s the way the championship has gone is very much around the team and the electronics and everything working together. I’ve had a tough two years and not got the bike working the way I wanted or got the settings that I want. The Fireblade in standard trim like the one I ride at my dad’s race school or at Suzuka is different than the bike I ride in WSBK. I like riding the Honda I just haven’t been able to find the setting to allow me to ride as I want in the 2 years that I have been with Ten Kate. For me the bike is still good and competitive, I like to ride it but it’s just very, very sensitive.”

Surely you are looking forward to end the season the best way but at the same around looking around for other possibilities. Is there any solid opportunity already for you? Where would you like to see yourself racing and with what team and manufacturer?
“I want to be in World Superbike. I’ve had two very bad seasons as far as results go, one because of my injury and this season has been nothing like I know it can be. For sure I’m looking elsewhere because things are not working like I want to, which is I shame because I wanted to be with Honda my entire career. At the same time I have to look for my future, to get back to winning in World Superbike. At the moment I’m happy because I have 3-4 good options within World Superbike and hopefully very soon I will have a clearer idea about my future for next season.”

Speaking again about the current season, what is your view on the next round?
“I’m looking forward to race at Magny-Cours. It’s always one of those races at that time of the year when the weather can be a big factor. In the wet for sure I can win. In the two races Jonathan has won on wet conditions, I was a lot faster than him but I was coming from way back.”