Hey Guys, it's been
an interesting month since we last touched base. So I guess
I'll start at the top!
We set off to Imola
on the Monday before the race; it's about 600 km's. So about
7 hrs should cover it, accept if we took any detours which
is always on the cards. So not to far from the track we
called into a little town on the outskirts of Parma which is
obviously famous for their Parma ham and of course Parmesan
cheese. So we just had to call in and sample some, and just
by chance it was dinner time. How fortunate! By the time we
munched down some grub and got back on the road, we didn't
arrive at the track until about midnight. It's not like we
had too much to do the next day anyway.
Few days later on
Thursday night SBK had organized a little athletics comp.
between Riders, Teams, Pirelli, and Press etc. It was all
pretty relaxed at first but by the time the first gun went
off for the 100 meters heat everyone began to take a new
look of seriousness. I'd have to say the funniest moment of
the night was when the first runner (Giorgio) of the Pirelli
relay team completely took out the second runner by
completely steam rolling him and not giving up the batten!
And relieving him from most of the skin on his arms. The
second funniest thing was the pissed off look on Vermeulen's
face when we came second in the overall standings of the
night. He even called in the judges to make sure! I think
Gee Bee has photo graphic evidence as well.
The next day we were
out on track and I got my first taste of Imola on the
Superbike. Definitely a handful. By race day I was really
starting to find some speed and getting comfortable on the
bike. Unfortunately one lap into the first race my clutch
began to slip and my race was done, so I thought if I hit
the tank really hard it might help. It didn't, so I was
forced to return to the pits. Shit..!
The second leg was
rained out and it was time to pack our bags and head over to
Magny Cours for the next race.
Half way to Mangy Cours, we were just passing
Torino and it was coming up on dinner time again so we
decided to take a little detour and discovered this town
called Asti. So we rolled in the bus as far as we could go,
parked up and headed in the rest of the way on foot looking
for a restaurant. The food was perfect and we also realized
that this area is famous for their desert wines. Which just
so happens to be Isabelle's favourite! Bit strange it was
her idea to take this exit, hey. So after a small sampling I
managed to escape with only one box on my shoulder and
retreat back to the bus and get back on the road. The next
day we rolled in to Magny Cours set up and broke out the
cleaning equipment.
Friday Morning first
free practice was bloody freezing, it was barely 10°C and we
weren't even the first ones on the track. The last time I
was this cold on a motor cycle was with Jim Moodie on MX
bikes up at the Windmills in the snow in Scotland back in
1998. Brrrrr! The Pirellis didn't seem to mind the
cold so it was all good, but I did exchanged my fan in the
box for a heater, which was perfect for the hands and toes.
Oh and Isabelle!
By the time Sunday
morning warm had rolled by we'd finalized which bike I was
going to ride and make any last minute changes. I'd
qualified 4th and feeling pretty happy with the
package we had. Race one was probably the best ride Ive had
all year, I had a huge ding dong battle with Toseland the
whole race but on the final lap I made a small mistake and I
was delegated back to 4th mmmm! The second race I
didn't even make it past turn one! I was torpedoed by a
rouge Yamaha, and on his way past I got sucked into his rear
wheel. The next thing I knew I was in the gravel laying on
my back!
Both my fore fingers
hurt so much I thought they'd gone missing but after a quick
check I realized they were still there, the next most
painful thing was the family jewels. Wholly shit, I've never
been smashed in the balls so hard in all my life; it
literally took my breath away. I then tried to exit the
scene but I was told to lie still as they tried to remove my
helmet, and were desperate to inspect the back of my head. I
then realized that whole area was a tad numb. I then agreed
to lay still and cover the area with my hand; I didn't want
anything to fall out!
J
It turned out that
I had copped a footpeg in the back of my helmet and it also
made it though into my head. It basically tried to scalp me!
Pretty lucky in the end, few internal stiches and half a doz
outside. Oh yer, a cracked rib and a broken foot...
I needed that like a
hole in the head..!
So this was the way
my season was to end. It's been a battle all the way, but
things are really starting to make sense and I'm starting to
gel with the bike. From here it's time to head back to
Zurich, lick my wounds and get ready for the test in
Valencia mid November. I'll be back again on the Winston
Superbike in 2006, but I'm not quite sure about my team mate
yet! Maybe it's my sparing partner from Magny Cours!!!! Who
knows! C ya.
