I can’t believe it’s been a month since my last web column!

Starting where we left off with my news from last time, the test at Valencia in mid March went well with working through fine tuning adjustments to my bike set up and testing a whole heap of new developments. But enough about that as you can read the press releases from the test on this website and you’re probably more interested in hearing my personal tales.

That test weekend though I had a bit of a ‘van’ experience. When we got to the airport we couldn’t find the car hire desk and after asking and looking around for a bit, we were directed to the back of this dodgy van where we had to pick up the keys. So we drove to the circuit where I was understandably expecting to see the race truck, but instead just saw this big empty space in front of the garage where it should have been parked (we didn’t need the truck as all the equipment had been freighted to Valencia straight from Qatar!). I usually get changed in the office in the front of the truck and although the team offered to set up an area for me in the garage, the PETRONAS engine developments team’s van seemed just as ideal so I camped out in that van all weekend. Team’s don’t take their hospitality units to tests and so we all have to prepare lunch in the garages or the trucks normally, but with garage space at a premium and no truck, the girls did a great job preparing sandwiches for lunch, but in the back of another van which we than went and helped ourselves from! I was totally ‘vanned out’ by the end of the weekend!

We had to get up at 4am on the Monday morning to catch the plane for our horror trip back to Australia. From Valencia we went to Milan, had a two hour wait, then to Rome where we had a five hour wait, then to Dubai with a further seven hour stop and finally, destination Melbourne! It took us forty hours in total and has to be the worst flight I have ever done. The guy behind us was also coughing and spluttering all the way on the last leg from Dubai to Melbourne and I swear it’s that which gave me really bad flu which lasted for about 10 days – right up to our test at Phillip Island. I felt really crook and you know I was really ill as I even missed going trials riding on the Sunday – and that is unheard of.

Luckily I was beginning to feel better for our test at Phillip Island over the Easter weekend. The test was quite exciting for me as we tried even more development bits and also the next stage of engine development which was really good on a fast and flowing track like PI.

The race weekend was just incredible in some respects but then also a disaster in others. I was really on the pace and finishing within the top few in the timesheets in all of the sessions. Then superpole blew me away as that was without doubt one of the best laps I have ever done in my entire life. Second on the grid at your ‘home’ round is a great feeling but to be just six hundredths of a second off pole does your head in!

Unfortunately our strong performances didn’t continue into the races and I had an engine problem in race one and then in race two, had a huge high side going into turn one. So many riders went down in that race and with a mixture of wet weather and conditions and also a tyre that wasn’t working as well as it could, I had a massive high side at about 200km an hour. I went over the handlebars head down and as the bike flicked on its right side it landed over me. Both the bike and I were sliding along the track and I could see the front wheel spinning above me and grinding my head into the ground. It felt like forever until we came to a standstill.

One thing I will say after that is that I’ve always wondered how a helmet could possibly come off in a crash, but having seen the damage to my helmet and my chin, I would just really advise everyone to do their helmet up as tight as possible. As the bike and I skidded along I could feel my helmet trying to work its way off my head in a way I’ve never experienced before. But to come out of that crash with the relatively minor injuries I had, it’s a great testament to the Alpinestars gear and Suomy helmet I use.

On the Wednesday after the race we flew up to my Mum’s in Adelaide and basically just sat around recuperating and being looked after in a way that only Mums can look after their sons!

Our flight back to Europe was a breeze with only one stop and before going to Valencia for the race we had a few days in the south of England around the Wimbourne area with Sandra’s relatives.

Near to where Sandra’s uncle lives there’s a local English pub where we’re used to going and have got to know a few of the people that drink in there. We’d only just arrived in the UK and Sandra gave me her purse with some money in to go to the pub. I asked her how much was in there and she said she thought there was definitely enough. So her uncle and I headed down to the pub where I got chatting to a few of the guys and said I’d get a round in. I ordered a load of drinks and then when I came to pay realised I only had three pounds. So that, combined with having a woman’s coin purse with me, I lost a fair bit of credibility that day and no doubt will be jibed for it for ever more when I go to that pub!

Now we’re back to Europe and it’ll be good to get back to our apartment in Italy and get back into a routine. In Australia there is always so much to do and people to see but back here in Europe we can relax a bit more and have a much steadier pace of life. Firstly though, we need to see if we can find our car at the airport in Italy where we left it over 5 weeks ago when we headed back out to Oz.

I’ve also bought yet another bike, or future restoration project, but I’ll tell you more about that next time……….

Cheers

Steve