Foreign Language!

Published: 29th September 2006

Author: Words by Gordon Crockard

'Just go quack hey!' 'Give her big licks sur!' 'Howld her at it!' - all words of encouragement to an Irishman in an Irish GP

First off can I say hi and thank you to anyone and everyone who supported me, cheered me on, blew air horns down my ear, waved a programme or was just generally behind me at the Desertmartin Grand Prix. Also I must say thanks to all my fellow competitors - that's the ones behind me in the results of course.
    I was enjoying listening to some of the advice a few people had the decency to give me, most of it went in one ear and out the other but I guess it showed they all wanted to see me up front.
Common encouragement and advice from Northern Ireland often makes me laugh... 'Just go quack hey!' 'Give her big licks sur!' 'Howld her at it!' 'Send her the message!' 'Keep her lit ye boy ye!' 'Get her on the poipe!' I'm sure you're getting my drift by now and hearing such things on race day really puts the fun back into it - it is a sport after all and sometimes it does no harm to be reminded.
    In Namur I was riding pretty good and showed good times in qualifying, ending up seventh in the end. I started moto one in around 10th and managed to finish the race sixth and I figured I'd be able to get a place or two higher in the second moto. Again I started 10th but this time I wanted to progress forward much faster than previously and went for a hard pass on James Noble. This turned out to be disastrous and I crashed off into the fencing after a bit of contact with James' bike. Way at the back and feeling sorry for myself I eventually finished 16th.
    On the Tuesday after that the new 10-time world champion Stefan Everts and I flew from Belgium to Belfast for the press launch of the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland. We were picked up in a stretch Hummer limo and taken to the Parliament buildings for an excellently covered event. We had some bikes to ride and we pulled some skids and wheelies for the TV cameras who were filming for a local news report that evening.
    We hadn't eaten since 5.30 that morning so we had a quick bite of lunch then headed back to Belgium on the plane. We had a connection flight from Heathrow and were greeted with a three-hour delay for the final part of the journey so I didn't get back to Amy and the camper until two in the morning.
    The next day I went practising with Joel Smets which was something I'd arranged previously. I still felt tired from all the travelling but I met him at his house then we went to check out a couple of tracks for a look to see which one was roughest.
    Joel is pretty hardcore and trains hard even now he's not doing GPs. I happened to notice a picture of him riding a bicycle backwards and instead of a seat he had wingmirrors on the seat post. Looking closer I could see he had racing numbers and all the requirements needed for racing bicycles. I asked him what the story was and he told me it was a race for charity having to ride a full mountain stage of the Tour De France - that's 3 hours 27 minutes up a mountain backwards! See what I mean about Joel being pretty hardcore? He's not wise - I thought it was the Irish who were supposed to be stupid!
    Our next stop was Wakes Colne for a British championship round and I was looking forward to a revised track. I've always had difficult days in the past at this track as my riding technique doesn't seem to work well on Halstead dirt. I was disappointed when it rained as I felt the club had put quite an investment into the event. I had two thirds on the day for third overall - I'll have to pull out all the stops at Hawkstone if I want to win a championship round this year.
    After Wakes I had planned to race a Belgian international in Mol but I woke up the morning after the Maxxis round with a throat infection so I knew I wouldn't be racing and I ended up spending almost a week-and-a-half in bed. My training stopped and all sand practice was thrown out of the window as firstly I was feeling rotten and secondly my home GP was fast approaching.
    I was sixth in qualifying but felt awful and low on energy. I got out of the gate in the first race really well and was fifth after 10 minutes and honestly thinking I could get Kevin Strijbos who was just ahead of me. I got proper out of shape in the big whoops and was lucky not to crash but I tweaked my ankle and was in agony for the rest of the race but still got fifth at the flag.
    Second moto I had another good start but it didn't last long as I touched Barragan on the take off to a jump, landed off-line in a series of bumps which resulted in me taking a heavy fall. The radiator was flattened and the clutch lever pointed up so I headed straight into the pits to get it straightened out.
    I got going 50 seconds behind the last man but my ankle was hurting a lot. I'd used duct tape to fix it solid and riding was difficult so when I realised I wouldn't be scoring points at about three-quarters distance I pulled out having to accept my fifth place in moto one was all I could give.
    After some MRI scans and x-rays the diagnosis of my ankle is ligament damage and severe bruising to the bones. It hurts and aches like hell but I'll continue to complete the year regardless.
    I rode at the Dutch GP in Lierop but that was a big mistake looking back now. I was unprepared for the extreme sand due to the throat infection and ankle injury. I felt with my current form it was worth trying but I underestimated how badly prepared and injured I was.
    There are three important races left this season and I'm eager to perform well at them all - Hawkstone British championship, the French GP at Ernee and, of course, the MXdN. My training programme has been altered to protect my ankle and practising is on hold to preserve it from further damage but I still reckon I can do myself and country proud at these remaining events. Wish me luck!