Bring it on!
By TMX Archives on 12th Oct 04
Ballykelly's done and dusted, the MXdN's over for another year and the SX season is heading our way. Gordy can't wait... SO THE Ballykelly GP was almost destroyed by weather, although it was great to see the spectators turn out in force despite the rain and wind. This was encouraging as it made me wonder how big the crowd would have been on a glorious summer day. Roll on 2005! Personally, I didn't enjoy Ballykelly because I struggled with a back injury which I've gained since returning to racing this year. Basically, my right leg is not as strong as my left and this causes me to use the strong leg more than the other - when this happens my back gets twisted and the muscles knot. I had planned on going to the South African GP but realised my body's condition was in need of a rest. So I took one week off to rest my knee and back - during this time I had a weekend on an island off the coast of Donaghadee. We went out on boats and stayed at a friend's house - one of seven on the island, it was the most modern and had no electricity or running water. It was great, like travelling back in time and living in the old days. I spent the next two weeks practising for many hours in deep sand to prepare for the MXdN in Holland. I love practising in sand as you can push very hard - to your maximum - and not have fear of injury when you crash. The des Nations went well. The team travelled early and practised on Wednesday at Lommel in Belgium. There were many top GP riders there also training in the sand. Everts crashed and injured his cheekbone - he turned up at Lierop looking like he'd been decked! TNV invited me to a go-kart event in Eindhoven on Thursday night - it was good craic and the circuit was mega. It had two levels and was over 40 seconds per lap. Saturday I was fourth in my heat and with Tommy and Richard's results we qualified 13th. In the first race I got an awesome start and ended up eighth but the second race start was not as good as the first. I was mid-pack and moved up to 10th only to stall and lose five positions so I had to work hard to get back up to 11th. The Irish team had tremendous support from fans who also made the journey out. One bunch of Dublin lads bought leprechaun costumes. They were hilarious and got a lot of attention so I'm sure they'll make it into one of the mags across the world. My next race is the supercross in Dublin - perhaps I'll wear one of these costumes at the race for a laugh, you better make sure you're there to see it... I'm looking forward to visiting Glasgow as I've never been there before. It's good that it's a new venue for the supercross tour as it can only expand the sport. This year's supercross in Belfast is going to be massive - a lot of international grand prix riders and also US AMA riders are signed for this race. This is a brilliant facelift for the event and I can't wait to nail those whoops! Bye for now... Crockardez