Comeback Crock!
By TMX Archives on 17th Jul 06
Seventh at Matterley, fourth in Sweden, Dash for Cash winner at Rhayader - things are really starting to look up for Gordy...
Hi everyone, what's the craic? I've been racing a lot last month. Seven events in total in June - that's almost the same amount as I've done in the last two years. Bulgaria GP, Italy GP, Rhayader evening MX, British GP, Desertmartin British championship, Tandragee evening SX and yesterday the Swedish GP.
Bulgaria was fun for me and I had good times in practice and qualifying which helped for gate position in the race. I made a top 10 start but didn't capitalise on it enough and ended up finishing 11th after suffering arm-pump 10 minutes in. The second moto was a total washout. Initially I was making some good passes after a dodgy first turn and probably was setting myself up for a decent finish but I had to throw off my goggles and really struggled after that and I even fell off. I finished 17th or something.
I was out training on my road bicycle before the Italian GP and when I left the camper the sun was splitting the skies and the temperature was high. So I got fully kitted up in the summer gear and headed off for a few hours only for a thunderstorm to break out. When that started I was an hour-and-a-half from the camper - obviously I had no choice other than to get back ASAP as the weather looked set for the day and I was freezing and soaking wet. I was pushing hard and learned that there's not so much grip on certain wet Tarmac. I crashed on a bend and was lucky not to get run over. Feeling a touch sore down one side and looking like a total idiot in my summer gear with it pouring down you can imagine what I thought of myself.
The Italian GP went pretty good. I made a hash of qualifying though which turned out to really affect my whole weekend. I went the wrong direction a little with my set up on the track so a poor time left me in gate 26 and not much chance of the holeshot. I came from almost last to 12th and the second moto was going good until I collided with Big Ken and could only recover to 20th.
I got back to the UK and went practising over at Tom's Farm in Wales. Daryll Bolter was riding there that day, getting in shape for the Welsh Two-Day Enduro which was the next week. I'd like to do that event some day as it sounds like a lot of fun and very social. Roger Harvey rode the event this year and badly broke his leg. Get well soon big man.
I raced Rhayader that night and won myself a few quid yet again. I rode my practice bike and didn't realise how much the clutch was slipping until the first race. I just managed to hold on for second place and then went on a F1 pit stop mission to get the bike sorted for the rest of the night. Mark Jones kindly lent me a new clutch and I made it through the night and won the Dash for Cash at the end of the evening's fun.
The next day I got myself transported down to Winchester for the GP that weekend. My former bosses Steve Dixon and Martin Mansbridge were hosting the event and I knew that they would put 100 per cent effort into it. If you were there you'll have your own opinion but I thought it was very good. Any errors which were made will be put right for the MXdN in September and I'm already excited about going back there to race again.
I got ninth in qualifying and felt strong for the race again. In the first heat I was mid-pack off the start and pushed up to seventh at the finish. I fell twice in the race trying to pass guys as I was anxious to get through and get a bit of clear track in front of me. I also had the second fastest lap of the race which really gave me a positive boost for the second moto. My start wasn't great and it got a whole lot worse when Bas Ver Hoven got bogged in a dusty berm and I half ran into him and went down. This was at the end of the whoops on the first lap and the China Man (Marvin Van Daele) landed right on my back. I was wrecked! I made my way to the medic centre to get checked out - nothing broken but huge bruising and a haematoma along with quite deep tyre track cuts in my back. No more racing for me that day and not too much sleep for a few nights either I was that sore.
I raced at Desertmartin the next Saturday but struggled due to my back. I got sixth and fourth which was really frustrating at my home round. But I've still the Desertmartin GP to hopefully impress my home fans. The venue up there is amazing so don't miss the GP on August 26/27.
I coached 20 young riders at Tandragee as part of the Red Bull MX Academy and the future for Irish MX is very bright. They all showed huge heart and great talent and I was pleased to see such passion in their riding. I raced that night in the SX at Tandragee and had a second, two wins and a DNF in the Dash for Cash. I rode a 250F borrowed from Russells Motorcycles of Carryduff and loved riding the smaller engined bike. They're awesome fun.
Next day it was over to Sweden for the GP and the weather was fantastic. The last GP I won was there and it felt good to see the place again. I was 11th in qualifying, seventh in the first race and fourth in the second moto for fifth overall. I was really pleased with getting fourth as it's been a while since I've run at the front end of the pack at GP level. This also moved me high enough in the championship to receive travel assistance money from Youthstream to go to South Africa for the next round.
Thanks for reading and supporting me at the British GP. See ya trackside!