Crocked!
By TMX Archives on 6th Jun 03
Hawkstone was going to be a pain - deep sand requires a totally different riding style to the hardpack conditions of the German GP.As far as the day went, three wins were more than I could have hoped for - but believe me I was in a I KNEW Hawkstone was going to be a pain - deep sand requires a totally different riding style to the hardpack conditions of the German GP.As far as the day went, three wins were more than I could have hoped for - but believe me I was in a world of pain. To be honest, after the first moto I thought 'how the hell am I going to cope with two more races'. It felt far worse than in Germany with the bike moving around in the sand and my arms being stretched as I hung off the back of the bike. My shoulder was throbbing as the torn ligaments were strung out to breaking point.My fastest laps were towards the end of each moto - I just tried to keep upright and out of trouble, then I'd push a little harder at the 10-minute mark. I had a slight coming together with Mark Hucklebridge in the last race which resulted in him crashing. From my point of view it was just a racing accident (Huck felt the same way - Sutty). I have a job to do and my bars were in front so I had right of way. I need to win races if I'm to get this British title back so I'll always race to win.Sore as I was, I was pleased to have closed some points on Coops and I was looking forward to the next race at Culham. I thought the Culham track was way too fast and as I walked the circuit on Saturday evening I knew then that there were going to be guys getting hurt - I never thought one would be me though!Apart from the flat-out straight with a tight chicane in the middle, there was no knee high plastic tape, the stuff you can ride through just before you smash yourself into the hard posts or chestnut fencing. One of the reasons why I rode into a post and broke my finger was because the post wasn't painted! Yes, I closed the gap on Coops down to 24 points but hitting that post has cost me dearly.After a private consultation with a hand specialist I knew my fate - in truth I knew before the consultation but I'm not good at listening to people telling me that I can't go racing because it's what I love to do. The doc told me that I could have the obligatory cortisone injection but that I ran the risk of damaging the finger further and slowing the natural healing process. I appreciate their expert opinion but I was hoping against all hope that I'd get a good start and somehow just be carried along with the adrenaline. I can deal with pain but broken bones need a little more working on.Against my better judgement I packed my bags, put on my new factory finger splint and flew off to the Italian GP. I'd been looking forward to this GP - the track would have suited my style and, as it turned out, didn't suit Pichon and his two-stroke. In practice I struggled on the slippery surface, taking off and landing from jumps was less than fun and I knew racing was going to be an impossible task. I qualified 22nd and got a ***t start in the race but there's not much more to say. I couldn't hold on so it was a DNF for me.When will I be back? When my body can keep up with my ambitions. There's no point in me racing until I'm race fit. Bulgaria is definitely out and if I feel that I can win in Austria I'll go and give it 100 per cent. If not then I'll stay at home. I'm a contender and I'm not going to ride around there like a *****r.My goal was for a top three world ranking this year and at the moment that's looking like it's not going to happen - so I guess that my new focus will be to race for the win where possible. For the next couple of weeks all I can do is try and keep as physically fit as possible until I can start to go riding again, hopefully in the near future.Speak to you all next month...Gordy