Pole position

By TMX Archives on 17th Mar 03

Motocross

Paul follows his win in Italy with victory at the Breckland watch out world, Fluff's on form! FINALLY THE season is under way and I've started off pretty damn well, winning the 125cc class at the first round of the Italian championship and winning day one at the Breckland Enduro. The Italian championship is always a competitive one and a good series to gauge yourself against some stiff opposition. I flew into the UFO HQ at Pisa and tested the bike before we all left for the long journey south. It was time to start the serious stuff and see if all my pre-season training had been worthwhile. Arriving in the south we found a training track on the beach next door to the hotel. Mega! What could be better than letting rip on a beach and using it as a test track. As usual, it wasn't long before all the teams under the sun found it and turned it into a whooped out MX track. Even though it was only a test track we were all going round like idiots seeing who was the fastest. After riding for a couple of hours the mechanics arrived and it was game over. "That's enough boys!" said my mechanic. Before we knew it, the bikes were retrieved and prepped up ready for the event. With three completely different styles of test it was difficult to find the best overall bike setting but I was more than happy with the little Yamaha. After winning all of the tests on day one, other than a balls-out cross country test, I was sitting pretty at the top of the class - first 125cc and sixth overall wasn't a bad start. Day two was even better for me and I pulled more time on the other 125cc machines and won by nearly 30 seconds. I also finished in fourth overall. The reason for my interest in the overall result is that foreign riders can't score class points - you need an Italian passport to do that - only an overall position. So it was a great start for me and a great start for team UFO who won four out of five classes. With the job done I headed back to Pisa to catch the plane and get ready for the Breckland. I wasn't that bothered about riding the Breckland as I was very happy with my riding and the result in Italy. But persuasion from a certain few people and the fact that Knighter was going to be riding were enough good reasons to give it a whirl. So Smooth prepped up my practice bike - my race bikes are in Italy - and off we went. The Breckland is a great event and the Diss club do a great job of preparing the test and making it feel like a world championship round. Why? Well the start area, the test and the checks are all in one place (enough said). With the first event of the year comes all the hype about who's going to beat who and what gear so and so's got. All the machines come with more stickers on than Rowan Jones' bike, sorry, nearly as many - you get the gist. It was time to show that I've still got what it takes and a steady first test followed by a fired-up Fast Eddy for tests two and three saw me win day one by five seconds. It made me feel really pumped and that's not just because I beat David - I feel ready for the world championship which is far more important than anything else. I want to win and now I honestly feel that it's the other riders who have the pressure on them, not me. As for day two, well, I went home! Let's face it, I did what I had to do and needed the time to get loaded up and travel to Portugal for round one of the WEC. When the world championships finish I'll have more time to race in the UK. I won't be returning until April, just in time to organise the Fast Eddy race at Trentham Gardens. For the Fast Eddy rounds and other stuff I plan on riding a YZ250 with a smooth motor prepared by the smooth meister himself, Julian Stevens. So the Knighter boy won't be having it all his own way at the Fast Eddys either. Until then, enjoy your racing. I am! Fast Eddy

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