From Phillip Island to Portimao

My first season in the World Superbike Championship has definitely been a learning year that’s for sure.

When I first signed with the Pedercini Team I really had no idea what to expect from myself, the bike and the team. I was a complete rookie to a superbike and pretty nervous about trying to break through for the results I wanted on a private bike. It did take some time for me to become comfortable with the whole thing, especially since I didn’t race so much in the previous season.

If I look back now to Phillip Island where we began, I can easily see how my style has changed on the bike and realise that I am at much more ease racing in this company and my Italian has improved out of sight!! The relationship with my personal crew is really good, as we pretty much are always finding something to laugh about, which helps keep the atmosphere light in the pitbox. Some saturday evenings the main concern is which grid girl we will employ for race day!!

As a team we have hit a few pretty good targets throughout the year and personally I have aimed for the top 10, which we achieved in some races. These were great but even more satisfying for me is seeing how ecstatic my team is after a solid race or qualifying result and realising that they can compete with the factory squads. As a racer you always are looking for the next step and I believe in our case it’s consistency of the performance.

So this weekend we head to Portimao (an awesome fast and flowing circuit located at the bottom of Portugal) for the final round and even with the some lagging ankle and tailbone injuries I sustained in Magny Cours I want to put our hard work into practice and make it count.

Follow me then, for the last race of this amazing WSBK season this weekend!