We had a great weekend. I think I was happier about Saturday's second place finish than Sundays win. When an Englishmen (Neil) says that it is the worst conditions he has ever seen, then you know it must have been bad. England gets more than there fair share of rain and the English riders spend a fair bit of time splashing around on wet racetracks. The last two laps of Saturday's race were terrible. The rain came down so hard that the racetrack literally disappeared. Ron Barrick made a good call to stop the race when he did.

I must admit that I enjoy sitting in the press conferences when Neil is there. It's refreshing to hear somebody tell it as it is from a racer's view. You don't hear the whine about back markers ruining the race; you don't hear that he didn't win because his brakes were fading or because his tire went away. I'm afraid Neil is going to be banished as a popular guy because he's truthful and won't fit the mold of a lot of the excuse-makers that we race against. To reiterate, I read an interview with one ex-AMA racer who is trying his hand at the World Series this year. Essentially the back markers got the blame for changing the outcome of the AMA championship in 2004. He must have been the only front-runner to have to deal with them. We hear a lot of the same complaints every weekend. Before you start the race you know that certain situations can arise. You have to be prepared for it. If you don't like it, get another job.

I would have much preferred a dry race on Saturday as the new GSX-R was working awesome. When it rains there are a lot of different decisions to make, especially if you are leading a championship. At a place like Road America you have a few different types of surface to deal with, many times all in the one corner. To give you the gist of what I'm talking about, imagine driving your car around a bend in the road in the middle of winter and you hit some light ice that has formed, then you get back to the normal conditions again. Many of the turns at Road America are like this. You rush in there with good grip then the grip goes away then it comes back. I've always seen riding in the rain at Road America as a risk/reward situation. If you are willing to hang it out, there is time to be made but the consequences can far out weigh the rewards when trying to win a championship. There are riders who seem to hope it rains, but I think the same as Neil on that one: They are usually the guys who are crap in the dry.

Sundays result was a good way to start the second half of the championship. The lap times weren't indicative of what the new bike was capable of doing in the dry conditions though. We have been trying to sort out a few gremlins all year. In Sunday's race they really showed up and certainly took a bit of reorganizing during the race to keep it together.

I love this time of the year. The training kicks into top gear and the double headers start stacking up. The weather gets hot the tires get greasy and concentration is at a premium.

After Road America we headed straight to Mid Ohio for a test. We didn't have a lot to do except some testing for Dunlop with some more new tires. The test went well and by the end of the first day we were under last years lap record. Horsepower, an amazing thing isn't it. I remember a few years ago in the 750 versus the twin 1000 era, one of my competitors complaining that my bike handles so well and even though he can blow past me on the straight he would prefer to have a bike that handled as good as mine. When it comes time to race, there is no substitute for horsepower. If you get in front down the straight then all you have to do is make it wide in the turns. Some people get used to having a horsepower advantage and when they don't have it, suddenly it's not fair. Now I have a bike that handles and hauls butt. Don't you love it?

The just completed VIR test went really well for us. We worked through some new Dunlop tires again and a few small things we had to test on the bike. It took us just three flying laps of the first day to go quicker than we went last year on race tires over the whole race weekend. That is testament to how good the new GSX-R 1000 is and also shows how hard Dunlop have been working to produce the best tires. Straight after lunch on the first day we went as quick as we qualified on the pole for last years race. Pretty amazing considering last year we had qualifying tires.

A couple of months ago I started to see some problems with my braking technique, subsequently my corner entry was suffering because of it. At the Road America race I realized that it was costing me some time, so at the Mid Ohio and the VIR test I started trying to teach an old dog new tricks. I certainly got some of it ironed out but it will be hard to trust it when racing with such limited time. My goal is to show up to the first race next year with the old habits tucked away for good.

Well, it has been eleven years since the American public has seen the GP bikes and it is now just around the corner. I'm looking forward to watching Rossi and how he goes about his business over the course of the weekend. I'm sure the American riders will be putting in the big ones, looking for the top step of the podium but I'm afraid the doctor will probably be around doing his best to spoil the party. Watching the last few races has been an eye opener. He plays until the end and then kicks it up a gear. The fact that he is so confident in his ability to do that is the most impressive thing to me. When I say play, I don't mean play. He is working hard—very hard—but he has that bit extra when it is needed.

I have to say that I get a laugh out of the press releases that come out of Europe after the races: Billy made a perfectly timed pass on the last lap to move up to eighth. Billy deserved better and would have been in the top ten. Billy was having his best race of the season and was staring down ninth position. The new parts on Billy's bike are working great but until he untangles his skirt from around his eyes he will always be finishing where he does.

Last but not least: the F1 GP at Indy: Whilst it was sad to see the debacle, and sad to see that the fans didn't get to see all the drivers and cars they had come to see, let alone their monies worth, the result of the race was pretty normal. No, I don't mean the guy who won; I mean the type of racing that F1 provides. Whilst the cars are a technological masterpiece, the racing is a joke at best. The commentators do a great job of making it seem exciting. It only takes one car to be within 30 car lengths of another and they call it close racing and make it sound like a pass is on the cards. More passing happens in the pit lane and whilst going around the back markers than ever happens near the front of the race. I turn it on to watch the start of the race, as the multi-gazillion dollar drivers normally manage to bang into each other in the first corner and send a few into the kitty litter. I thought that the best drivers in the world could navigate the first turn without any incident and let the race take shape. That's where the first turn problem lies. Most of them know that where they exit the first turn is likely where they will finish the race. Sounds like an exciting spectacle to me.

To all the ex fans of F1 racing: if you want to see some great racing and be able to get the autographs of the competitors for your kids, you need to come to an AMA national. You be greeted to a full day of racing, not just two hours. Oh yes, I almost forgot, the riders walk around the pits like normal people, well, sort of normal. Okay, maybe just a bit tweaked, but are generally around to sign posters and stuff except when getting ready to practice, qualify or race.

Ride smart and stay safe

Cheers

Mat