Mat Mladin at Laguna Seca yesterday. image by brian nelson

Well I have definitely had better starts to the race season.

I have always regarded Daytona as a place that I like to get in and out of unscathed. This year was no different. Qualifying went pretty well although we missed the pole by half a tenth. Race tire laps were very good all through practice and I was quietly confident that we had a bike good enough to race at the front. Actually I was confident that we could get away if I got a decent start.

The start was as good as it has been for me for a long time. I wasn't languishing in fifteenth place after the first lap so I was happy about that. Eric grabbed the hole shot and put a bit of time on me during the first lap or so. After that things started to get up to temperature and I felt comfortable to push. Spies drafted me down the front straight and carved me up pretty good as he dropped in front of me. After I re-passed him a few seconds later I set off after Eric.

Once past Eric I put my head down and started to make a push. Going around the banking half a lap before I crashed I felt something hit my glove. At first I didn't think anything of it until I felt a small vibration on the run to and through the tri oval. There were issues with the front tires all week and I got a little nervous but thought it was not possible this early in the race for something to occur.

I pushed on and didn't think about it until I was going down the back straight after I had crashed. It was at that point that I knew it was a piece of rubber from my front tire that hit my glove. Exiting the chicane and building up speed around the banking the vibration ramped up again. Lap after lap it got worse until three laps to go I could hardly ride the bike.

The last three laps were especially scary on the banking. The whole left side of the tire was essentially gone and I just wanted to hold onto seventh which is where I had managed to work back up to.

In the end I nursed it home for tenth.

Disappointed, most definitely. We had heaps of speed for the race and the new GSXR 1000 was working awesome. With every negative there are positives. It could have turned out much worse so we will move on from that and head to Barber in a few weeks for round two.

As I was leaving the track I got a call from Emily. "Dad, why did you tip over in the corner"? Now I could have told her the whole story but she really didn't care. When I told her because I am a silly bugger she cracked up and repeated to me that I am a silly bugger. Three and a half years old and I'm the one being questioned.

We recently tested at Barber and the times were promising. The new GSXR really is awesome. Pretty amazing how Suzuki just keep delivering great motorbikes, year in and year out.

I also noticed at the test that Honda has wheelie control. Is that legal?

Laguna and Infineon testing is this week. Looking at the long range weather forecast we could be in for a treat. Possibly no rain for three days. I'm not sure that has ever happened before when testing at these two places.

Big balls! I was driving home the other day when a couple of young lads pulled up beside me and looked over and snarled. I thought that was weird so I wound down the window and asked what was up. The ensuing conversation went like this.

BB-(Big Balls not Ben Bostrom, not to say Ben Bostrom doesn't have big ones but you know what I mean): I've got an $8000 bike that will beat that pile of sh*t.

Talk about a cranky young fellow. Most people that had a set of balls as big as he was trying to make me believe his were, would wake up every morning with a smile plastered on their dial.

It seems like people have been waiting for training advice that makes sense. Since launching the coaching business a couple of weeks ago, we have been contacted from all corners of the globe with cries for help. Ok, not cries for help but a very positive response from many racers asking for assistance. Interestingly, we have spoken to some top level car racers also. I truly believe that in the not too distant future the teams/manufacturers will make it mandatory for there riders to be as prepared as possible, and trying to do that without the right knowledge is impossible. The human system is a very complicated machine and without knowing how it works, makes it impossible to continually improve and if there is any racer out there that believes they are fit enough then they need a reality check. I've won 11 National Championships dating back to 1981 and I believe I can improve a lot.

Anyone who is interested in understanding more about what it takes to be prepared for race day, from breakfast through dinner everyday, race weekend preparation and recovery you can contact us here.

That's about all for now.

Ride smart and stay safe
Mat