It's been a fun month for the Frenchman. No pressure, no spoilt brat behavior, just having fun and racing for pleasure, not results.

Q: So you have had three round and a chance to look at the competition. What about the competition now. Has it improved, got worse?

Pichon: I think everyone is closer now, but it is hard to see after just three rounds, plus many riders are injured, but I don’t feel like the speed is as quick as when I raced against guys like Smets and Everts. Now you need a good start, because there are many fast riders, but at the moment many guys are injured and many guys crashed also at Mallory. It isn’t nice to be racing when so many riders are getting hurt.

Q: Could you push like you might have wanted to because of your race condition?

Pichon: I cannot push too hard, it is difficult to push hard, because if I push too hard then I won't last the whole race that is why I push maybe 80% of my speed to save my energy. I have to also say that my condition is now much better than when I raced, but my race condition obviously isn't there. In the winter I did a test on my iron and my iron was not good, I have too much iron in my blood and for many years I was always tired, without doing anything. I would get heavy legs, or out of breath, even in the last two years I raced Grand Prix. Finally I found out the problem, and I feel better for that now.

Q: How did it feel in England? You hadn't raced for a long time, at least not at this level. Were you nervous?

Pichon: I didn't think I would have pressure, but I had a lot of pressure. I had been racing in French Championships to prepare and I ride a lot, not like before, but maybe once a week. I felt comfortable on the Honda bike that is a reason why I am here. Since I went back to Honda I feel so easy on the bike. Of course when I walked the track for the first time in Mallory I was a little scared, because there were many jumps and many big jumps and for the last few years I don't do a many jumps, I was mainly racing enduro and we don't have jumps there.

Q: You looked great on the flat areas, but on some jumps you looked a little hesitant, what makes the jumps so scary now?

Pichon: Yes, I was also surprised how big the jumps are, the jumps are much bigger, but we only had tracks like this maybe once a year, like in South Africa or something like that. It is also because I haven't raced Motocross for so long and also I am getting older, and as you get older the jumps get scarier. When you go for 35 minutes it is tough, because when your condition isn't good you sometimes have to push harder to maintain your position on the track, I am very competitive and still don't want riders passing me. I can race hard for maybe 20 minutes, but not for the complete race.

Q: A week after England how did France go for you?

Pichon: I am happy with how things went and more importantly the rhythm and speed I could make. The bike worked really well and we fixed a small engine issue on Saturday to help improve some traction and it was great for the races. The support of the fans for sure was incredible to hear. The track itself was not easy for passing and I kept using the double jump to take some ground. Someone touched me on the inside of the second moto and that made the crash, but the grand prix overall was a good experience.”

Q: How did Germany go for you?

Pichon: The track was tough. I had some arm-pump in the first moto after four or five laps so I had to slow down as I was making big mistakes. Towards the end I felt a bit better and made my best lap, which wasn’t far from the top guys. In the second race I missed my start a little bit but came back. I tried to push hard and I am happy because although I was not in the top positions I stayed close to the fast guys like Philippaerts, Coppins, Desalle and Leok.

Q: So it's all over for the time being?

Pichon: Overall six motos and no DNFs, between 25-30 points every weekend; of course it could be better but after not so much training it is OK. The bike is great and I had a good time with everybody in the team. I gave the best I could in each session and had a lot of fun.”