TMX Says: Enjoying life out of the fast lane
By Team TMX on 7th Oct 15
After putting the November issue of Dirt Bike Rider to bed I immediately unplugged myself from the off-road matrix to make sure that I couldnt be contacted by phone, post or carrier pigeon.
That meant I could then go off to Lanzarote with the missus on our honeymoon with absolutely zero chance of me getting distracted from the job in hand.
With that first weekend of our break coinciding with the MXoN there was potentially plenty going on that could have grabbed my attention.
But I held firm, kept my phone turned off and for the first time in a long time remained totally ignorant of anything that was happening outside of my immediate surroundings.
When we arrived back home a week later I also made sure that I stayed away from all social media channels and our local newsagents too so I could have the pleasure of watching the three races from Ernee without an inkling of what had happened.
So when I did sit down in front of the Sky box late on Sunday afternoon it was just like watching the original thing live on Motors TV, except I could skip through the annoying intros and dull as dishwater startline interviews – y'know, the ones in which no real questions are ever asked or answered.
By flicking through all the guff I must have totally missed out on the fact that Max Anstie had crashed out on Saturday afternoon and spent the first portion of the first race frantically searching for a glimpse of him on screen or in the by-now-not-so-live ‘live results' feed.
It soon became apparent that he wasn't in the running but even by the end of race one I'd received no clarification if he'd just crashed out in turn one, had or was a non-starter for whatever reason.
It wasn't until Dean Wilson ran up front in moto two that I learned of Max's demise and finally understood that Team GB's chances of a podium were absolutely zero.
It also made me wonder if Max had been fit enough to race at FatCat for the Maxxis finale or if he'd had to sit that one out as well and forfeit the championship title to Steven Lenoir.
Somehow I resisted the urge to check out the results from FatCat on the internet and stuck with the week old – but to me still totally fresh – MXoN coverage to witness a thrilling scrap between the locals and the American interlopers unfold.
Obviously Team France got the better of that one and took a stunning home victory to pick up the Chamberlain trophy.
Meanwhile, as the MXoN action went off on my telly box it was indeed the case that Max Anstie was a non-starter in Doncaster having broken his shoulder blade and T3 in the Ernee crash.
This left the door open for Dyer & Butler KTM's Steven Lenoir to take the MX2 British title although I didn't actually find that out for certain until this morning when I turned up to work and could ask someone who was actually there.
As a person who is normally so well connected to the off-road world I thought I might have been a wee bit twitchy about being so disconnected but the truth is I really quite enjoyed the break.
That said, it's bloody great to be back where I belong at TMX Towers...
