Testing, testing 1…2…3!
Hey everyone and welcome to my first blog for enduro.ie. This year is probably set to be my biggest season to date so when the guys on this site came to me and asked if I’d be interested in doing a little blogging, I decided to jump at the chance. I know what you’re thinking and although it’s not a dedicated motocross site, it’s grown into probably one of the biggest off-road websites for our sport in Ireland (both motocross and enduro combined). Anyway, Ireland’s kind of a small island so it’s hard to split both sports really.
Right, I better get telling you what I’ve been up to before I get lost rambling…
So as most people know by now 2012 is a completely new season for me. A new bike, new team, new number – almost everything is changed. Many people asked me why I’ve left TM, but that’s not really the way I see it. Everyone at TM has been a big part of my life since I was a child and in truth, they’ve helped me to move on. They’ve got me to where I am now in my racing career and for that I can’t thank them enough. If it weren’t for the support I’ve got from Mike, Nick, Gav and everyone else then this move wouldn’t be possible. So before I go any further I want to thank them for that.
As I mentioned, I’ve also got a new number for everyone to learn. This year I’ve switched to #9. It’s different and I’m beginning to like it. At first I wasn’t sure but if you think about it 1+6+2=9, so it’s all good! Oh, and it’s a single number digit, which I’ve always wanted to run.
After my winter’s training I started turning a wheel again in January. I try to stay away from riding bikes during Christmas to make it more exciting and motivating for when I start riding again. I’ve been working closely with my good friend and mechanic, Phil McLaughlin in both testing and training. With Phil being a former world class rider and top notch mechanic, he’s got this stuff dialled in and I already feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, though he keeps telling me I’m still not as good as him!
With the winter motos well and truly pounded in, it was time to go racing and two weeks ago we headed across in the full TYCO by TAS Suzuki colours to the Hawkstone International motocross. I was a bit nervous leading into it but also excited just to kick off the racing season. The main focus of the weekend was to get some testing done and I’ve come away happy with the setup of my wee Suzuki. We’re on the right track with her and she’s running sweet – the races went good too.
I was aiming for some top tens and I did just that in the first race with ninth. I crashed on the first lap of the second race and had to work back to 11th. But in hindsight that was good for me – my legs didn’t cave in and I was pushing all the way through the race. The following weekend we packed the truck again and headed across to the Scottish championship in Luchers. Everything went really good and I was thrilled to come away with second overall in MX2.
I feel like everything is truckin’ along nicely and I’m getting excited for the first round of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship this weekend at Fat Cats. I want a top five result there; I feel I’m capable of that at least so hopefully things will come together there for me. It’s the first true test of the new season and if I can get a result like that then it will help me build on everything that’s left to come.
So that’s about it for this first instalment. I’ll check back in again in a few weeks to fill everyone in about how thing’s are going. Until then enjoy the races and follow me on twitter!
Stuart #9
Twitter: @162ey