Ciao tutti

The last time I did this column with Yamaha was just before the Spanish Grand Prix. I had spent the week after Portugal getting treatment on my finger and also having a bit of a sit down with Michele and the team to evaluate the season so far.

When I got to Bellpuig the finger was not too bad. The guys had altered the clutch lever, made a modification to the grip and also fitted a bigger hand guard. I decided to ride easy and smooth around Bellpuig and I was pretty surprised by the result, two 3rd positions, and getting on the podium.

 It seemed like the other riders were going slower than me! I was really happy. I had not been able to train at all and it was the ideal response after the DNF and crash in Portugal.

After Spain I drove the camper back to Italy. It was my turn because Alice had to drive it across from Portugal while I went to England for treatment on my finger.

 I went to see my doctor and had a check-up and things were going well. I was able to train and had a quiet week just working. It was nice to be back at home after a lot of weeks in Belgium and we had a bit to do in the house, just clearing up, although I did get a guy to come and sort out the garden because there was too much mess!

We enjoyed being at home and we knew we would not be back for a while because there were a lot of races coming up so we made the most of relaxing there. The next Grand Prix was at Mallory Park in the UK.

We stayed in a hotel last year but this time we took the camper again because the French GP was the following week. The British GP was a breakthrough for me and my first victory of the season.

I was riding well right from the start and when Nagl made a mistake I took my chance to push and win the first moto. In the second race I knew second place was good enough for the overall GP. I liked the track there.

The British round was the first of two (the French being the other) where there were a lot of fans and a busy atmosphere. There were always people wanting an autograph or stopping you and it is really positive to see how much they like the sport, and some of us! Mallory was my second podium and I felt like the season was picking-up.

We took the ferry to France and we stayed near the beach. I did one day of riding and also went running along the sea front. It was very scenic and peaceful.

The last time we went to Ernee I was riding in the MX2 class and with my result in the final GP of the season there I finished third in the 2006 championship. I like the circuit; it is quite fun to ride there but if there is one disadvantage then Ernee has only one line and there have been many tracks this season where passing has been difficult. I don’t know why.

 I think the tracks are being changed too much. Nagl was fast in France, too fast. I was second in the first moto and then had two small silly crashes in the second.

I managed to come back from 12th to 4th and felt quite pleased with that. It meant another podium, my third in a row. I did my second Yamaha MX Masterclass in Ernee on the Monday after the race and again did not have much luck with the weather.

It was raining like it had been in Germany but I still enjoyed being there with the fans and customers. At the races I am normally serious and focussed. You can look at it one way in that I only ‘work’ one day of the week, so for that time I give everything to do my best; I am absorbed in the Grand Prix.

Monday is a different day though and I can relax and be myself and talk with the fans. The teaching part of the class was interesting and it is something I like; maybe a career in the future! With all the rain on Monday we could only really work on a corner and practice some starts.

The track was in a bad state so we couldn’t do any jumps. It was strange seeing the replicas of my bike! We packed up after lunch and drove back to Belgium but it was raining a lot in the next couple of days so we headed again to France for some training.

 I took the chance to go to Disneyland near Paris because we were only one hour away. The place is really big and many people had told me how nice it was. We had some time so we went along. I got completely wet in the morning through the rain and had to come back to where the camper was parked to get changed and wait for it to stop.

We then went back into the park; I almost had to push Alice to come on some of the rides! I did not have the photo with Mickey Mouse (I’m way too old for that) but I went on Space Mountain and also the Ghost Train.

 I can tell you that a roller-coaster is scarier than jumping on a motocross bike. I had my eyes closed the first time! We made two days of training at two tracks and then travelled to Belgium once more afterwards and I rode at Lommel, luckily with better weather. It was nearly 26 degrees and riding in that sand was hard!

The Belgian race at Kester took place on the free weekend but I chose not to take part because we already had a busy period of GP races coming. We struggled at Teutschenthal in Germany for round nine.

From the beginning on Saturday I did not have the best feeling on the bike. We tried some changes, some carburetion differences but it still wasn’t perfect for me. Teutschenthal is an old-style track but I have good memories there because I won my first MX1-GP back in 2007.

My times were not bad on Saturday and I was happy with my riding but the bumps on Sunday were hard to deal with and I took some risks. Two average starts did not help me either. Overall I was happy on Sunday afternoon with fourth. I missed the podium but was consistent and came away with a result that I thought was acceptable to me.

We return to Belgium to get the camper and go to Sweden the next weekend. Uddevalla will be the eleventh GP and I feel that the season is passing very quickly. I haven’t done any talking yet for 2010 and Alice is taking care of the deals for me.

Things are only just starting to move now. Of course I want to stay where I am but I understand that it is difficult for everyone at the moment. I think we will know more after Sweden...

Thanks for reading!

Ciao DP19