OTOR grabbed the input of Yamaha MotoGP team Press Officer Gavin Matheson to explain a little about why he is the buffer and facilitator for the world’s media in gaining access to 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and team-mate Ben Spies.

Here is an excerpt. Click here to see the full story.

Your job title is fairly explanatory but what are the key duties you perform for the team/brand/riders?

GM: In a nutshell I’m the key contact between the media and the team and riders. Any queries regarding team activities and any requests for interviews from print, online and TV media come through me and are assessed before being approved or turned down. If approved then it’s my responsibility to oversee the interviews. During a race weekend I’ll also draw up and manage all the riders activities off the track. Attending media events and promotional activities. These can be anything from trout fishing in Phillip Island with Ben, Casey and Colin Edwards. I’m not saying the Aussies are biased but Casey got special bait! If either rider has to attend an event as an ambassador for Yamaha then I may be the one to trail with them as well, for example I went with Ben and Jorge to a huge one-day Yamaha event in Bangkok at Christmas last year, over ten thousand people were there to see them!

How is it dealing with Jorge? It must be complicated looking after the demands surrounding a world champion…

GM: Actually it’s not at all. Jorge has a personal PR manager, Hector, who is rarely away from Jorge’s side and ensures he is on time for everything and doesn’t miss any appointments. Working closely with him is easy, Jorge is pretty happy to do most activities so it’s just a case of filtering the media requests to ensure we cover the most important and relevant first.

Do you have to be selective about who speaks to whom? Can a hack just grab a rider around the paddock or is it more regimented than that?

GM: We do have to be selective. It would be impossible to meet all media requests so a decision has to be made on the relevance. In different territories we try to ensure local and national media have a chance to get one-on-one with the riders but we also have to ensure that the media that travel around the world to follow MotoGP get what they need. Approaching riders in the paddock directly is a no-go.