With the SXs done and dusted, Steve turns his attention to the real job in hand – winning the Maxxis MX1 British title…
The month started with the Future West supercross – it was the first one I’d done for a few years and I was really looking forward to the racing. The O2 Arena is impressive – it’s so big with every restaurant you could imagine and lots of shopping opportunities to keep that special lady in your life happy.
I went down on the Friday morning as we were all hoping to have a go on the track before the Saturday. However, it was still being built so we only managed to ride a small part of it. I drove home that night as it’s not too far for me. In the morning when I arrived the track was complete and looked good. The evening did not go as planned and in the finals I had a crash when Shaun Simpson landed on me. I wasn’t able to ride properly after that as I’d bruised my ribs. So I went away from the night disappointed. It was a shame but what a great turn-out of fans – it’s good to see the amount of support we get as riders.
The next supercross was at Liverpool Arena. Once again the place was cool and I stayed up on the Thursday and Friday nights. On the Friday we managed to get a few practices in on the track. I felt strong from the start and with each heat race on the Saturday I could feel my riding improving and becoming faster. I was determined to make this a good night and once again was really looking forward to racing.
I led the British final from start to finish so that was a great confidence boost, especially as I hadn’t been practising on any SX tracks beforehand. It was a great night for the team as Tom won the championship. In the Pro SX1 I came second as I messed up on a jump. Overall I was really pleased and glad that the team had us both on the podium that night.
I recently went to a charity ball where they were raising money for a children’s hospice. We raised a lot of money with a sponsored cycle and that night even more was raised with a raffle and auction. It’s so hard to understand what the couple who organised the fund-raiser must have gone through after losing their son. And to then want to help other people in their situation… I must say it was an amazing night and I feel very lucky to be able to help and be a part of raising money for such a great cause. It really makes you realise how lucky you are.
The family are doing well. Ayrton is looking forward to coming this season as he’s obsessed with bikes. He’s grown up so fast and for me it’s great as we’re more like buddies – he thinks I’m super-cool so I’m making the most of that! And the pregnancy is going well – I saw the scan and it’s mega so racing and family life are good. I just need lots of wins this year and it will be perfect.
I was invited to the rugby last week by Bath and England international Matt Banahan. He’s a keen motocross fan and was at a couple of the British rounds last year watching. I got to know him through TC. As Matt lives around the Marshfield area he’s pretty good mates with the MX boys up there. TC picked me up en-route to Twickenham and we arrived early to grab some food and soak up the atmosphere. We hooked up with Matt’s brother Paul who was sinking a few pre-match beers. It was cool having Paul around as he was giving us a match run down on the French team and the rest of the time telling us how good Johnny Wilkinson really is.
The game was awesome, it was my first time at a rugby match and what a game to watch live. I could not believe how big and tall those guys are – I would rather case a triple than have one of them put me down! We stayed around after the match and had tea and sandwiches in the player’s lounge. Matt popped in for a chat which was cool and then once the traffic died down TC and I headed home. Awesome day!
Well the British is now about to start and I cannot wait. I’ve felt strong on my bike over the last month and I’m 100 per cent confident I can win. Little Silver is the first on the calendar so bring it on!
