By now I guess you already know that JT will be my new team mate in 06! This is pretty cool news and his defiantly not shy to spring for a drink every now and then! (Sorry Chris) J

Since we've been back in Zurich for the last four weeks it's been really busy. Our place has been a lot more like a B&B than anything else, with all the guests we've had lately. My Brother in law Nigel was the first to call in, he was only here for the weekend and with a full week of R&R under my belt it was time to get out. He was on a bit of a health kick so we set off into the forest on our mountain bikes, and we zipped around the exert rail for a couple of hours. The next day Isabelle and me took him on cruisy ride around the neighbouring towns to show him the area a bit. I wasn't wearing any clip in shoes, just some trainers and I bloody slipped of slamming my foot down on the ground. It was typically my broken foot, which didn't give me too much grief until two days later. So I decided to go get it x-rayed and to no surprise it was rebroken! Dumb ass, was all that flew through my mind! The Doctor first wanted to put it in plaster cast but he then decided to send me somewhere to get a special removable one which moulds to your foot. Typically I ignored his advice and went home and decided it was a tad early to get back into training.

Four days later some friends of ours from Australia were coming to stay for almost a wee, which gave me a few days to get back on my feet (phew)

This was Craig and Mel's first visit to Switzerland, so we really wanted to show them a real Swiss time. So the first night they arrived it was a table Bar-B-Q with all the local trimmings. On Saturday night we were off to a really cool Cheese Fondue restaurant which is in an old barn, restored of course. Our table was in the wash house which doesn't sound that great, but there are only two tables so it's pretty private and relaxed. So after yet another evening of food and wine abuse, we took them to the ice skating up on the hill behind Zürich. We were all off to a pretty shaky start except Isabelle of course, so I decided some "Jaeger Teas" and "Gluhwein" would help. Being alcoholic beverages, it turned our already wobbly boots into wobble wobble crash boots. It must have been something to do with the fresh air. I guess ..?!

By the time their week with us was up we were all pretty buggered but still with a smile on our dials, and yet another happy customers!

The day before they were due to leave, Richo also another Aussie dropped in, and made use of the couch for the night. He's gluten for punishment I gotta say. He also reckoned on this visit he was not gonna leave empty handed! The weekend was close so the tension was mounting and I was beginning to sense the pressure from him with a distant glare upon his face.

Friday night was here, and by 6pm we'd already sproosed ourselves up and were on our way into the City. I'd never been out in Zurich before so we were at a bit of a loose end to begin with. So I called a friend of mine to find out where we should go? He fully hooked us up, taking us to one of the most famous clubs in town, by passing a gigantic line and even taking us up to the VIP lounge. The VIP lounge should be renamed the high maintenance lounge, because anything worth talking to definitely wasn't worth talking to! I wasn't much of a wing man for him that night, I was more like a mobile drink stand which was pretty lame on my behalf but I was pretty low on energy and the Red Bull just didn't quite cut it. Needless to say Richo was somewhat productive netting himself a handful of numbers and a place to start from for future reference. He did however come home empty handed, and Isabelle and me were able to have a peaceful nights sleep unlike he'd previously promised.

The next day he was all smiles and on his way back to Milan, which meant we finally had our place to ourselves and some time to really relax.

Sunday arvo I was off to Valencia for a two day Pirelli test. It seems to be very typical these days', that Valencia just isn't the winter test play ground of sunny skies and moderate temperature. Well for us anyway! Day one, was completely rained out, not just a drop either, it pissed it down all day. It wasn't until about 4 pm the rain finally paused and it was actually worth going for a spin. James went out but I opted to take a spectators roll and watch from the pit lane.

The next day was completely different, blue skies, a bit fresh but still looking good. The track didn't really dry up until 11/11.30 am which meant we really had to get the wheels turning. We had a whole lot of different tyres to test, some good some not so good. We also had some brake parts to test and engine parts, all very positive. Eighty odd laps later the day was done and it was time to go home.

This weekend I'm off to the Shark Extreme, and then we're off to Australia till late January. I also have a 3 day test in Qatar and then the New Fireblade launch there as well for the following 6 days. So by the time we touch base again I'll should have a nice tan and a shit loud of frequent flyer miles.

Later Karl