I hope every one is well and ready to tackle the New Year after the break. I know I am looking forward to the new season with the FPR team. It has been a while since I have been on a race bike but I have been keeping busy nevertheless riding my KTM 450 and my little trials Bike - a Beta Rev3. It’s driving Sandra crazy because I’m never home. I must say I’m hooked on the trials thing at the moment - those guys are amazing what they do. I normally go to the club at about 6pm and ride until dark a couple of nights a week.

I was feeling pretty good about the way I’ve been riding so I entered a trial called the Three Bridges for a bit of fun last Saturday. I got Sandra there and gave her instructions to get some video of me riding something really gnarly and horrible. But she seemed to be around taking the shots at the worst moments, like when I was riding a section with a steep embankment and a log at the top and I had to be caught by the guys I was riding around with because I forgot to turn the fuel on! The worst part was I couldn’t blame my pit crew. The other important lesson I learnt that day was don’t park your car next to the biggest mud puddle in the paddock.

My 450 KTM is absolutely flying as well. I go to the local track with my mate who works at KTM Richmond. He’s a bloody fast rider and we always have a ball but with a month to go before my first race I tend to slow down a bit and take it a bit easy.

When Sandra and me come back to Victoria, Australia, for a holiday we normally factor into the cost about three speeding or parking tickets a year as here they have some pretty Draconian laws here. They can book you for doing 3km/hr over the limit … and that is not a typo I really meant three as in 103km/hr in a 100km zone.

I am a bit worried at the moment because we just clocked up our third. Sandra got busted for riding her scooter with the number plate obscured by the rego label. I am surprised that the copper caught her, really, because she doesn’t hang around when she’s on it - she really flies. I think that explains the obscured number plate. She’s a bit of a rebel that girl. Talk about flying, I just heard Chris walker got busted with a 60 day suspension for doing 130 mph in a 70 zone. He’s lucky it didn’t happen here in Oz because he would have a boyfriend and a cosy spell in the lock up!

Sandra has roped me in to be a chauffer for one of her girlfriends who is getting married in a couple of weeks so I went and spoke with my personal sponsor Bilia Volvo to see what they could come up with for the day. Bilia also are the Aston Martin dealer for Victoria so I thought that wouldn’t be too bad a car to get taken to church in. After it was all organised I mentioned as a joke I could take her there on the back of my bike. She loved the idea but I ended up talking her out of it due to helmet head and the problem of a white nylon dress catching on fire from my underseat exhaust pipes. She didn’t seem to worry as most of the people attending the wedding will be the doctors and nurses from the local hospital.


I am really happy to have signed a deal with Alpinestars for the year. I will be using their boots, gloves and suits. The quality is awesome and to be honest that was the reason I went with them. I have used a few suits in my day but my elbows are running out of skin so I am happy to get into the best gear on the market. When you speak with the guys in the factory they live and breathe safety gear. Typical Italian passion and it shows in the equipment.