Second place is still up for grabs |
With all the travelling I do, I get kinda freaked out by what time zone I'm in or what the hell I'm doing - sleeping, riding, eating, farting, etc. Things aren't helped by doing a column for TWO. No, don't worry, I like telling you all what I'm up to, but I get even more confused when I'm told that this appears in the December issue out in October. How stupid is that?
Why isn't it the November issue?
Anyway, as I write it's early October and I'm heading out to Phillip Island and one of the last MotoGP races of the year. I love racing at Phillip Island, and since my dad is Australian I figure this - along with the UK - is my second home. I got a fourth there last year on the Honda, and I'm hoping for better this year on the M1. I also had two seconds and a third there in World Superbike so I know the place well. A little luck could help, because my team-mate Valentino has won the last four MotoGP races there as well as two 250 races. I'll quit talking about Phillip Island now, because you'll already know what's gone down by the time the magazine is in your hands.
I like and know Valencia real well and Turkey's going to be new to all of us. I like that - it's a level playing field for everyone. So I'm hanging out for a win at one of these damn places so I can take second in the title.
I've got to get myself together for these races because it would be perfect for Yamaha in its 50th year. We've won the series with Valentino, got the team championship too and now we're gunning for second with me as well as the manufacturers' championship (which Yamaha wants really bad). Getting my first win is important. Once you do it, you know you can do it again. It's a mental thing.
It's nice to know that my consistency has helped the team to the championship, maybe the manufacturers' award too - but Qatar was still a bit of a disappointment.
I wanted to be up there at the end of the race to make a play for the top spot, especially after taking second there last season. During the whole weekend I was looking for more rear grip again - and, once more, we decided to take a chance on race day by opting for a different rear tyre. Thing was, this meant my bike was set-up around the other tyre and it was much harder to turn. I know, I know, I'm complaining about fourth place, but I want to win.
Tyres proved to be a problem at Malaysia, too. Tenth place sucks, but we couldn't get the front end to stick and I was losing it pretty much everywhere. We tried changing every damn thing, but to no avail. We hung in there for 10th but it wasn't pretty, meanwhile Valentino was second behind Loris Capirossi, enough to take the title.
Consistency we have when it comes to me bringing the bike home - I've known for years that you don't win by crashing - but we need to work on the set-up and tyre combinations now, especially after feeling that we had the weight distribution sorted. I'm confident that sticking with the team in 2006 will help me sort these problems out.
I'm up against Biaggi, Melandri, Hayden and Capirossi for runner-up in the championship. Anything could happen - hell, Loris has won races so we'll see how well the Bridgestones go at some of these tracks.
Biaggi's results have been up and down all year so who knows what he'll do, while Marco has been on it since the start of the season and will figure strong. Nicky's been a little up and down, but he's learning consistency and has figured well since Laguna. As to poor old Sete Gibernau, I don't know what's happened to him. He should be fighting for second but he's way down thanks to crashes and DNFs. It's scary to see how things can change in a year.
Testing starts pretty much straight after the last race at Valencia. If any of you are down there come November 6, come and cheer me on. It really makes a difference.
denotes 
