Since the last race at Magny-Cours it’s been a busy couple of months. I say busy because it has been, but more with thought processes and decisions to make about a number of things, rather than actual things to do!

My mind has been ticking over non stop as to what to do for next season. I had a few options, each with pluses and minuses and in the end, I was having trouble sleeping at night! But I knew FPR was the best opportunity and so I took the decision to put my heart and sole into this project. I’m not the type of guy to have a manager so Sandra and I made the decision together, taking into account what was best for me as a rider and also best for us as a couple.

This is the first time I’ve ever been a part of a top factory team. Everything is so organised and professional, with tremendous technical and racing experience and knowledge in the team. I’m also really looking forward to being instrumental in the next stage of development of the FP1.

For me, looking from the outside until now, this project has been a huge achievement. it's also good for me that if the team decides or I ask for something to be changed on the bike, then we can actually change it, compared to other teams I’ve ridden for where their only option really is to bolt on a part rather than customise the bike around me. This last season I had five podiums and three superpoles, so I’m hungry to keep up this type of pace which I think we can with the further developments I know we have coming.

I’m also looking forward to having Garry as a team mate – with two Aussie’s in the team we’re both going to want to beat each other so that’ll be good for healthy competition both for us and the team. I don’t know Garry very well but what I have seen of him he’s a great guy – one minute you can be smashing fairings together on the track but when we get off we have a respect for each other’s riding ability and can talk about things sensibly - which is not always the case with every rider! But of course, I’d prefer for him to finish behind me!!!!!!!!!

We’ve been at home in Italy since the last race. I realised I haven’t taken Sandra anywhere other than a race track this year, so thought I’d better come up with something quick smart! I saw some flights to Portugal and I know someone who has a place there so that was that. My friend, Miguel, said he’d put us up and I thought it would just be a room in his house or something. I wasn’t wrong to some extent, but what we didn’t realise was that he actually has this beautiful mansion and we had use of all its facilities. We had a really great week there and I think it was the only place in Europe that wasn’t raining at the time.

Miguel is a bit of a football freak and plays indoor five a side three or four times a week. They were a man down one night so I said I’d fill in – not having played football for about twenty years I'd like to add!

The biggest problem I had was that I didn’t know who was on what side as they weren’t wearing different coloured kits or bibs, but just all knew each other, so I was passing the ball to the other team! Needless to say language was a barrier here! When they figured out I didn’t know who I was kicking it to, one of the teams took their shirts off but they didn’t tell me that was the reason, I just thought they were getting hot, so, I was none the wiser and was still kicking the ball to the wrong guys!

After two or three days we drove up to the north as we had to buy Sandra’s old man a bottle of port from Porto. So we set off in the morning and went on a winery tour, pretending to know the difference between the tastes, but I really didn’t have a clue!

This is the first time I’ve changed team in four years, so I had a lot of stuff at the old team’s workshop that I had to try and figure out what to do with. I need to do a good clear out of some of it before the start of next season and take the rest either back to Australia or Italy. This is certainly a task I’m not looking forward to!

Sandra’s had enough of travelling around in the motorhome, and I’ve had enough of driving it, as we’ve been doing it for four years now so it doesn’t feel like a holiday anymore! So next year, we’ve decided to stay in hotels with the team, and drive to all the mainland European races by car, so we’ll see how that works out. But that means however, that I’ve had to buy a car – something I’ve managed to do without for a long while!

I’ve also been doing a lot of dreaming. I’m not the type of guy who wants Ferrari’s and things like that…my taste is less extravagant and I’m in to old trials bikes. The problem is, I buy and restore all these old bikes and dream about riding them, but they’re then either too good to ride once done up, or they break down! But I do want to buy a few more when we go back to Australia at the end of the month.

It’ll be really good to be back in Australia and see all our family and friends as we haven’t been back for ages. We’ve got a dog as well, Misha, which Sandra’s sister looks after and I hope he remembers us! She’s an Alaskan Malamute, which looks a bit like a wolf, and she’s stubborn like you wouldn’t believe.

Sandra’s already gone back and I’m going to join her after the test in Valencia. She’s asked me to buy her some perfume, something different than she normally wears, but I really don’t have a clue when it comes to stuff like that. And perfume never smells the same on those paper stick things as it does on a person does it!?

Christmas and New Year with our families will be great, but it’ll also be a busy time as we’ve decided to rent out our house in Melbourne, so we need to sort all that out. The biggest problem though is that it’ll leave me without a shed or garage to potter around in – and what will I do with all my old trials bikes?

I hope you all have a really great Christmas break and I'll keep you posted with my latest news in my next website column in January.

Cheers

Steve