Woohoo!
Published: 08th May 2008
Author: Words by Stephen Sword Photo by Ray Archer
A podium in Spain, major points in Portugal, the overall at Torrington – Swordy’s getting back to his winning ways
Woohoo! what a month! It’s been a good one on the racing front and a busy one too with all the travelling involved. Valkenswaard was the first stop. It was finally here, the one that I’d been training for so long for, the opening GP of the season…
I drove out on Friday morning - I had to be there for 2pm as Kawasaki had their launch of all the GP teams at the track. It was a big set-up and the teams had to make sure all the bikes were there and the riders had to prepare a one-minute speech. I didn’t manage to prepare anything so I had to do it off the cuff - luckily, it came out well. Lots of press were there along with the big chiefs from Japan and Youthstream president Giuseppe Luongo.
Weather and track conditions were not good after heavy rain Friday night - very rutty, boggy and only one good line. My heat race was tough as I went down three times on the first lap but I had good speed and was able to get back into the top 10 to qualify and was feeling good for Sunday. Race one was almost a repeat of Saturday. I got caught up in a first lap pile-up then crashed again big while coming through. End of race and no points - not the start I was looking for. Race two was better with a seventh place and 14 points but still a little less than I was hoping for.
The next weekend was Torrington, round three of the British. Again, conditions were wet but the result was good. I took my first British championship win of the season and my first for over two years. It felt great and was a good boost for my confidence. I also kept the red plate and extended my lead in the championship - something I don’t plan on giving up. The drive home that night was that little bit sweeter than normal, a great feeling.
Spain was the next stop at a track that I really like. On Saturday track conditions were perfect - nice and tacky. I had another hard heat race and came from the back to qualify but felt positive about Sunday. Rain, rain and more rain was all that we had on Sunday. I cannot explain how bad the conditions were - the track was flooded with massive pools of water worse than I’ve ever seen before. I got a top 15 start in race one but crashed on the second lap, it was difficult just to get round never mind trying to race. My goggles were off from lap one so that was a problem as well. I just focused on staying consistent each lap and pulled my way through to fourth at the finish.
Between races I spent most of the time rinsing my eyes out as they were full of mud. The conditions for race two were much worse. I led the race briefly but crashed and again the goggles were off on lap one. I crashed a couple more times but was one of the few that were consistently getting round. They red-flagged the race two laps early and when I got round to the finish I was directed to the podium. What a feeling again! My first GP podium since 2005! I couldn’t see anything but who cares - I was on the box and third overall!
It was good to give the team something back as they have been working flat-out for the past few weeks and with the weather conditions the way they’ve been it’s not easy for my mechanic, especially in between motos when there’s not a great deal of time to get everything ready.
I flew home Sunday night ready for a good week’s riding and training before Portugal and to clean up all that dirty kit. I spent all morning power washing it down before whacking it in the washer. I left Thursday night for Portugal as the flight on Friday morning was excessively early. It’s another good track for me - I took my first race win there back in 2004. Weather conditions were a lot different - 35 degrees was just a little bit warmer than we’ve been used to this year. The track was in shape, my heat race went good and I finished fourth.
The weather would play a factor as it was pretty hot but I seem to do well in these conditions. On the Saturday evening there was a small get-together for Jean Jacque, the Michelin man. He is retiring from his job so it was farewell to him. Sorry to see him go and I wish him all the best for the future. I was aiming for another podium but just missed out with fourth overall. It was a good day for the points but I want to get closer to the leaders so I can challenge for race wins. I will work hard to achieve this…
Until next time hang loose and wide open. Braaaaaaaap!