Pinned!
By TMX Archives on 8th Jun 05
Hello again folks! It seems that last year I only thought I was missing the racing but that's nothing to how much I am missing it this year. I can't wait to get back and look forward to being part of the '05 season again. Hello again folks! It seems that last year I only thought I was missing the racing but that's nothing to how much I am missing it this year. I can't wait to get back and look forward to being part of the '05 season again.I'm sure the Bike-it Yamaha team are also looking forward to me riding out of the awning and filling the place of their MX1 entry. Thank goodness Billy Mack is doing so well and flying the flag for all the sponsors and Yamaha UK of course.Quite a lot has been happening since my last writing, some of it good, some of it bad. Not wanting to lose the physical conditioning I developed over the winter, I've capitalised on my free time away from travelling and racing and used it to my advantage by increasing the intensity of my programme to gain a higher base fitness. This is my main focus right now and it helps me daily to feel constructive towards returning to the saddle in mid July.I had surgery on May 14 and the expected time off was eight weeks. A 26mm stainless steel screw was placed into the broken bone to hold it together and my ligament was sewn back into place as well as some cartilage being removed.Usually patients with this injury and operation would have a plaster cast on for six weeks but to enable me to train and maintain a level of hygiene my consultant made me a custom removable plastic cast and it has worked very well - thank you Karen Cuddy!The main training that I have been doing has been my favoured running. I even took part in the Belfast Marathon, running two legs of the relay race for a team put forward by the local Dundonald High School. I will do more events as I find it easier to be motivated for competition as opposed to a training session on my own. I'm entered for the Lisburn half marathon so wish me luck.This year Red Bull and I are hosting a Red Bull rookies motocross academy here in the North of Ireland. It runs in conjunction with the summer supercross series that Stevie Mills organises. The first one was a couple of weeks ago during the North West 200 week, it was at Philip McCullough's track and I had 12 65cc kids to work on for the day.I had a lot of satisfaction just seeing the improvement they made in one day and I hope they have remembered some of the things they learned. The training school was in the day and the supercross was held that evening so I hung around to see how my pupils performed plus took the time to chill out with some friends.Afterwards I went with some friends to a local nightclub which is renowned for having a gathering of North West 200 road race stars. It was great to see these guys relax and mix with the general public in a week where they are the stars of the show and have some serious duties to perform in order to earn a few quid and, most importantly, keep themselves alive at one of the most dangerous sporting events I have ever witnessed.I met up with the promoter of the Irish motocross GP which is to be held at Desertmartin on September 17. A lot of people have had doubts about the certainty of the running of this race and I can assure you that it is 100 per cent on. Thankfully for me it's the final round which gives me maximum time to be ready.I'm gutted that I've missed the British Grand Prix at Matchams although I'm sure it will run again next year. Since not racing I've had a chance to watch the GPs on television and have been saddened at the condition of the tracks. They look awful on TV and make for very uninteresting racing.Japan has been the only one that has impressed me and reminded me a lot of a US National style track. My eyes were glued to the TV as the racing looked excellent and the riders looked like they were actually going fast for once.I know for sure Billy Mack was going fast as he won the overall in MX2. This was perfect timing as I'm sure you'll all agree. It was in Japan where all the manufacturers are based and also seven days before his home GP that his boss Steve Dixon is co-promoting.Speaking of that event, I'm off to pack my bags to go there - I only wish it was my race gear I was packing!See you on the wrong side of the fence at the races.Words by Gordon Crockard Photo by rayarcher.com