Long haul!
By TMX Archives on 8th Jun 05
When I finished off last month's column I headed straight out of the door to pick up my new camper van. When I finished off last month's column I headed straight out of the door to pick up my new camper van. I only had one day to get the camper ready and all packed up before heading to Dover to catch the boat for the Namur GP.I arrived on Friday afternoon - the riders' parking was very tight and we were all packed in like sardines. Then the heavens opened and it poured down for most of the afternoon. It rained for most of Saturday too but for race day it was sunny. The track was very rutty and bumpy with just one dry line to race on.This was my first GP on the aluminium-framed bike and it was working very well around the track. The team and I were both very happy with the second race win and second overall on the day. It felt great to win a race again and to do it on the new bike made it feel even better. I stayed in Holland that week to do some riding before the German GP.The track in Teutschenthal was in great shape but as usual it started to rain on the Saturday afternoon and didn't stop until Sunday morning. The organisers did a lot of work on the track to take the mud off and with the combination of that and the sun coming out the track dried up well.My day was very frustrating. I got my two best starts of the year but crashed in both races on the first lap. I ended the day with a fifth and a sixth but closed in on the championship lead.The next weekend was free but I had to rush back to sort my visa out for Japan. The team and I headed over a week early to do some testing with Kawasaki. The Japanese made us feel very welcome and looked after us all week and weekend.The food and the way of life out there is very different but I mostly liked the food and the people are very nice. Most day's meals consisted of rice, noodles, rice, noodles, then more rice and noodles. If I don't see rice or noodles for another year it will be too soon. I sure can't wait to get back and have a roast dinner.On the Thursday before the race we got an internal flight up to an airport near the track and checked into our hotel. We went out that night with one of the bosses from Kawasaki for more food - yes noodles!The track was a bit different from the European circuits - a bit tighter with a lot of corners. It was in great condition though and well prepared. My races were not so bad finishing fifth in race one and second in race two. I struggled to find my rhythm for most of the weekend but it did get better and I scored consistent points for the championship but now it's time I started to win some more races.On Sunday night the guys crated up the bikes so they were ready to be picked up and shipped straight to Matchams Park. We then got on a train to Tokyo where we had a flight from on Monday morning. After crossing the international dateline on the way back I arrived home at 8pm Sunday night feeling very tired.I'm really looking forward to racing Matchams - the track looks awesome and I think there'll be really good racing in both classes. I'm very focused for the race with it being my home GP but it's very easy to get side-tracked with all the fans and press wanting to talk and take photos. I enjoy all of that but my real job is to stay focused on the race.I'm off to get some sleep now as I'm still jet-lagged. I know that by the time you read this Matchams will have already happened and you'll know the results of the race. Hopefully I'll have seen you all there!See ya!Words by Stephen Sword Photo by Alex Hodgkinson