Well a lot has certainly been happening since my last column back in June just before the Brno test where I tried a new engine configuration, which I subsequently used in the three rounds since (with the exception of Brands when I had to use the old style for the race). The new engine has a little more top end speed but it doesn’t help our main problem which is acceleration.

When I think about the last three rounds (Misano, Brno and Brands Hatch) I can’t even begin to explain how difficult they have been - but then considering that we are racing a five year old 900cc triple against the 1000cc Japanese factories – it’s pretty obvious that it was never going to be easy!

When I think about it, it is pretty unbelievable that at Misano I managed my third front row starts of the year and was sitting comfortably in the top ten in ninth position with only a few laps to go when I had to retire. Reliability has meant that this year I haven’t finished a lot of the races, out of the last six races only one has been without a mechanical/electrical issue and three of the six races I was actually in a points scoring position.

Regardless of the obstacles and the limitation of time which we are now facing, I know after Brands the boys were in the workshop looking for more acceleration with some parts that we had in the pipeline but unfortunately no gains were found and with no more time to develop and implement anything else we will be racing what we know for the remainder of the season.

One of the other highlights of the last few months was our trip through the Alps, it was a matter of now or never given the fact that Sandi was six months pregnant and not even the Multistrada which we stole from the Ducati factory in Bologna has the capacity to seat three! Alpinestars kitted us out and we spent a week doing some amazing passes with a couple of the guys from the team.

In August we decided to take it a bit easier and have mainly been catching up with people that we hardly ever get time to see. Thanks to the security guard at Brands who let them into the pits without tickets, I met up with an old friend I grew up with and who I hadn’t seen in probably over 15 years. (I sorted tickets for them afterwards).

We stayed a couple of days in the UK after Brands and managed to make ourselves at home in true Aussie style, we were staying the night at a friends house and I found out that another mate that I hadn’t seen in just as long was over in the UK and staying not far away. I ended up inviting him over for a barbie and I am sure that our friend’s husband when he arrived home that day had thought that he had arrived in the wrong country!

We had another short trip down to see some family and to visit my local UK pub before flying out the day before the all the terror hold-up, we have been caught in two BA strikes, so luck was on our side this time. That weekend when we got back to our apartment it was the main holiday time for the Italians so we thought that it was best to celebrate Ferro Augusto with our Italian friends who we hadn’t seen for sometime, needless to say more barbies, or I should perhaps say “grills”.

The last week I we have been back at home and getting back into the normal routine of training, trials riding and eating healthily as regardless of the obstacles I am determined to continue to push as hard as ever because I know that given an opportunity with competitive equipment and a good team behind me I can be a force to be reckoned with and that I am as hungry as ever to get results and show what I am capable of in 2007.