Ciao everyone ,

I hope the New Year holidays went well and now you are all ready for some more racing! We are only a few weeks away from starting the world championship at Faenza and I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone since we were last there and enjoying a big celebration.

It has been a busy time over the winter and as most of you probably already know it is an important period for all riders to do their base training and a lot of hard physical work for the season ahead.

In December I went with Alice and my brother Deny to Cogna, a mountain setting in the north for a high altitude and cross-country skiing programme. It was hard work! Not to mention very cold; normally it was around minus 10-12 degrees each day.

I quite like the snow though, so the setting was OK for me and I had done a similar training plan at the end of 2007. The only difference this time was that I chose a location a little closer to my home in Borgosesia, just so I could get back if there were any problems.

We were working everyday up the mountain and only left to spend Christmas day with Alice’s family. We saw the New Year also in the snow but one minute after 12 we were straight in the bed! We stayed in a self-catering apartment in Cogna.

Last year we hired a house but it became quite messy and took time to look after it so this time the apartment was part of a complex and we only had to worry about coming and going. Each day we woke at 7.30 and started training by 9.30.

At 12.00 I stopped to eat and then from 1 until 4 we were doing ski-cross. We used the spa and sauna facilities afterwards and usually had a play on the Nintendo Wii before going to bed at 9 and starting all over again. It is very easy to sleep well after a day like that!

On the 10th January I came back home for a week and I spent time getting the camper and bike ready for the trip to Sardenga and three weeks of riding and nothing else. The first four days I did not leave the bike; we played, did laps, not fast not slow, just getting back into the saddle as it had been two months since I had last ridden seriously.

I was again with my brother but there were some more people with us like Davide Guarneri, and his new team-mate Loic Larrieu came out for the first week. Manu, our mechanic from the team was helping out, and my friend Giuseppe was working with Deny.

Alice and I stayed in the camper. We were in the area of Alghero and we had two great tracks, one sandy and another hard-pack, within ten minutes of each other. The owner of both was a friendly guy and very enthusiastic.

He would always maintain the ground and enjoy making new sections for us. On the first day one track had a best lap-time of 1minute 52 seconds but after three or four days I got him to make some more double jumps, some long corners and get the earth more bumpy; the lap-time went up!

It was a good experience there and I felt really positive. By the second week I had started my 40 minute motos and really got to work. We did a little bit of tourism when we took a break and I really like Sardenga, even if the cities are a bit chaotic; like Milan!

The people are really friendly and I enjoyed some of the fish dishes they have there. I am normally strict about my diet and I have to watch what I eat; we only went to the pizzeria twice in Sardenga. The best part about being on the island was the weather.

It was minus 9 in Milan but always more than 10 where we were riding. We arrived home one week before Mantova and there was just enough time to get unpacked and organised before we did some tests and we headed to our first race.

We use the Starcross very much as a testing session and it was a difficult day this time. I had used the new clutch for three weeks in Sardenga but race conditions are normally different and we had a small problem which meant I had to stop.

In the second moto I used the 2008 unit and I crashed just because I was a little unfamiliar with the bike.

The final race was good and I was second behind Strijbos, who was surprisingly fast. Perhaps it wasn’t the result that the fans wanted but I think most people understand that for the first race of the season and for the purposes that we use Mantova, it wasn’t a disaster.

One week later and I won the first round of the Italian Championship in Montevarchi. I followed Josh in the first moto and was taking my time and looking at the lines when he stopped with a problem. I had a nightmare start in the second race and fought back – in typical Philippaerts way it seems – to take third.

I will not be doing the Italian Championship again this year simply because I find it hard to divide my priorities between the series and doing my best at the Grand Prix.

I think my fans realise that it is more important to have an Italian fighting for the world championship.

So Faenza is close and I am feeling a little nervous. I think I will be a rider that many others will want to beat.

I think it will be emotional in Faenza and I reckon there will be a good crowd. I feel that my condition is at a similar level to 2008, maybe a bit better but I am fully conscious that instead of it being the closing chapter this time there are 14 races still to go.

We will be doing a qualification moto on Saturdays in 2009 instead of timed practice and I prefer this although there are advantages and disadvantages. If you have a problem then you will be last in the gate but I admit that racing for qualification does sound more interesting.

Life as world champion has seen some nice changes. I get recognised a bit more in the street, especially near my home, and I have been able to buy a few things, like my new Mercedes Viano.

Despite the status I will not be using the number ‘1’ on the bike. I think people tend to remember the rider not for the face but for the number. It is something important for me and I certainly don’t want to invite some bad luck!

Ciao for now!  

DP19

Told to Adam Wheeler

www.yamaha-racing.com