Leaps and bounds!
Published: 10th August 2007
Author: Stephen Sword Photo by Sutty
After a year on sticks Swordy’s comeback is gathering momentum and almost gets him a podium in Czecho
Is everyone enjoying the summer here in the UK? Like me you’re probably not although I must say I feel quite lucky as I’ve not been flooded out of my house yet!
Things are progressing well with racing and each week I feel more comfortable and confident. Whitby was a new track for me as I was racing the Dutch championship in ’05 and I was out injured last year. I really enjoyed riding it – the jump sections were cool and the conditions were perfect. Well almost perfect – the second MX1 race wasn’t so good as it hammered down with rain.
The day showed improvement for me as I qualified fifth, had 10th in race one and seventh in race two. It was good to get into some battles with other riders and be closer to the front than I was at Desertmartin.
Italy was the following week. I worked a lot on my speed in practice that week as I felt that was where I was lacking the most. Jodie and I left the rain at home and flew straight in to 36 degree heat. It was obviously hot out on the bike so staying hydrated was very important. I started taking a lot of fluid in on the Thursday before the race as on the day is not enough. Little and often is best and I’m lucky to be sponsored by Science In Sport as those guys hook me up with all the energy drinks, powerbars and gels I need.
Saturday was a tough day. I went down in the second corner in my heat race and came from last to 13th but only the top 12 qualify so I went to the LCQ. In this I qualified third and was happy to be racing in my first GP since my accident.
I set myself the goal to get some points but after going down again on the first lap of moto one I set myself the target of getting back into the points! I stayed strong and had good lap times towards the end and finished 17th so I was happy with that.
In the second race I got around the first lap and was in 14th with about 15 minutes left to go until I slipped off in a corner and hurt my thumb – which I tweaked in Saturday’s heat race – making it difficult for me to continue so I pulled in. I was disappointed not to score in both races but had to be happy that I got some points.
On the Saturday night it was Hot Tub’s birthday so the team organised a surprise get together. Other mechanics and riders came to join in and we had a good laugh for an hour or two.
The next week I had decided to do the British Masters at Foxhill but on the Friday they had to cancel because of the rain. My dad was down building a wall in my garden so we just cracked on with that and got it finished.
I managed to get some good practice in during the following week even though the weather wasn’t that great leading up to the Czech Grand Prix. The GP itself went well for me. Finishing sixth in my qualifying heat meant I didn’t have to go into the LCQ, which was nice. I set myself a goal of finishing in the top 15 twice and with a 10th in race one followed by a fifth and fourth overall I definitely achieved that! The result was great but I was especially happy with my riding as I’ve done a lot of work to get where I am now so it was nice to be rewarded.
I’m really looking forward to the upcoming races and especially the British GP at Donington as it’s always good to have the home fans cheering you on all the way around the track. Also the next British round at Brampton should be good – it used to be my local track when I lived in Scotland.
That’s all for this month guys – take care and I’ll catch you all next month!