Paul Coates: This season's been special
By TMX Archives on 11th May 16
My name is Paul Coates - if you dont know me Im a British motocross racer who like many of you just enjoys riding my motorbike and, luckily, Ive been able to turn it into a job.
I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to write about my experiences and share them with you guys to keep anyone who's interested up to date.
I've been given a good opportunity to reflect on the past supercross season that ended on Saturday in Las Vegas as I'm still stuck here due to one cancelled international flight followed by several delays with the replacement plane. After almost 30 flights so far since January 1 I've learned that I should only worry about things I can control and when it comes to airports and airlines that isn't very much.
I'm glad to have made it through my first full AMA SX season and other than the three unlucky mechanical problems in the Main Events at Atlanta, Daytona and New York it's been a good one.
I was happy to get three top 10 finishes and put in a few other strong rides from bad starts but beyond that it's great to learn the ropes of being under the lights week-in, week-out and it's something I've been taking in and analysing.
Thanks to the great Ti-Lube Honda team who are behind me I was able to have no extra stress on Saturdays and just focus on the task in hand and I think that's a crucial part of racing. For instance, I'm able to fly in and out of the race every weekend which makes it possible to train during the week and when I do get to the stadium I'm able to have a good bike that is ready to race.
With the indoor season over I recently made a deal with the Italian JK Racing Yamaha team to race some world championship rounds and I'm excited about that - the first one will be this weekend at the GP of Trentino.
I have no doubt that it won't be easy, especially coming directly from riding supercross on a Honda but I'm confident that I can come to terms with the bike quickly and have some fun in Italy.
Right now the team and I are not sure which rounds I will race on the circuit or how long I will stay - there is a possibility I could race a home GP in Matterley Basin and that would be an incredible experience but we will play it by ear for now.
A lot of times the races I compete in are well outside the UK and it's a shame but I still follow the MX scene over there and any time a good opportunity arises I will get involved in some racing back home.
I especially like how the arenacross series is developing and I think it's good for the sport on both ends of the scale.
It's good for British riders to be able to sharpen their indoor skills and make extra money and it's also great for the fans to come to a city centre and see the sport for the first time.
Maybe next winter I can do that series alongside my usual off-season programme which is spending time racing in Germany with the Monster Energy Kawasaki Pfeil team. It sure would be nice to get a-little more interaction with some British fans.
