Across the pond? Or in it!!!

So, I am in England at the moment, just back in from the GP in Bulgaria. Got a deal worked out with Steve Dixon here with Monster Energy Yamaha to do two GP’s. Been a hell of a week. Literally. “laughs”… Last Monday, after pondering the thought of coming back to the GP’s I decided to give it a shot, and pack my bags. Things in the states were getting harder and harder, and honestly driving to Washington and Seattle, was just too expensive. I feel I learned a lot this year in Supercross. I came home from the last two years in Europe, and put something together with a few people that believed in me enough to help me go racing with the best equipment we could get our hands on. We succeeded. Of course, we always want more… although I believe there will be plenty more in the future. So for the moment, I believe coming out here to ride a factory bike, is the right choice. Not to mention, being a little more prepared for the outdoors can not be a bad thing. So, last Tuesday I jumped on a plane from LA, and did something I never thought I would do again to be honest. I came back to do a couple GP’s. The bittersweet taste I have from the past two years is something I want to change.

Little did I know, I would pretty much be a zombie before Saturday morning… LOL. Oops. Landed here in England Wednesday night, watched the rain fall Thursday, got on a plane in London at 6am Friday, drove 3 hours to the track, and added another 2 hours onto my previous 7 hour time change from Wednesday. I don’t recommend doing that. LOL. We had planned to ride the bike Thursday, but things did not work out due to rain. First time I swung a leg over the bike or even sat on it for that matter… Saturday was a tough one for me. I struggled getting used to the bike in the first free practice. I have never rode a Yamaha before, and by all means not in a bad way, it just wasn’t what I expected. It was better. The problem was we had no clue where I would want to go with the handling of the bike and the changes we needed to make. For the timed practice we got things a bit better off, and I was able to post the 7th best time, running the fastest time in section out of the mx2 class. I was 1.6 seconds of the lead pace, and for just jumping on the new bike…  I was pleased with that. The speed was there, and the next question was, where was my fitness?  Something I feared about coming over here, was not being in “GP” shape, witch, I am far from! LOL. I had gotten 3 outdoor training days for the GP’s before jumping on a plane. Everything my trainer Randy Lawrence and I were training for, was Seattle supercross. Sprints, sprints, and a 12-minute race. For anyone who follows the GP’s, there is no doubt you can understand what I mean. Before the qualification race Saturday evening, it rained. Finally, I had gotten a decent feeling for what the bike is like, and bam!  A new element to try and adapt to. I got a pretty good start well into the top 5, and in the first turn a rider went down directly in front of me. I had gotten knocked back in the pack, and only managed to get back to 15th.

Sunday morning was a nightmare. Jet lag found me, I was already sore, and I had 2×40 minute races ahead of me. Funny enough in practice Sunday morning, I posted fastest time. I haven’t ever done that before, so that was kind of cool. At least I won practice right? LOL. Gate dropped in moto 1, and I had a bad start making my day only harder. I ended up coming from 27th-10th. I had good speed, just took me to long to find it. Second moto, I had nothing left in the tank, and honestly just kind of salvaged an 11th. I was not pleased with the weekend, but considering the circumstances… I guess it isn’t all that bad.

So next on the list, is the Italian GP of Fermo. Even better, the weather is supposed to be really nice. Pretty stoked for that. As for now, It does not seem like we will be riding this week, due to rain. So, I guess I can catch up on some sleep, and get prepared for a big push through this coming weekend before heading back home the following day. Happy to be enjoying myself this time around… Cheers!