The quality of the pics aint the best but the gear looks pretty fresh up close. Check out the new sponsor stickers for 'tibboh'. There an internet company who provide safe filtered internet access for all ages. There's a link on the right hand side of the blog so check them out!!!

Madrid didn't go well for me. We practiced on the Friday evening and that actually went better than i was expecting. My back was stiff at the start but the more i rode the more is losened off, it pretty much stayed painfull throughout the wkend but i was knocking back ibruprofen for fun to make sure it was gonna be ok come racing. Also, during the practice before we started racing, the gate decided to fail and send myself and 6 others sprawling. Just what i needed, a slammed ankle and wrist.

The least said about TT's the better. I think i missed the majority of landings and hit most of the soft patches, all in all.......bad times! ended up 17th after run 2, so 49th overall....that wasn't in the plan.
There's nothing like a tough moto for the first race of the season either, Strombergs, Robinson, Quyleron, Andre, Dodet, Bisseling, Myself and Godet's brother. Was a bit of mixed bag really, crashes, slide outs and me not racing that well meant i was having an early bath by the time the 1/4's came around.
LP on the other hand was flying all day. He looked real impressive in his motos only to tag the gate a little in his 1/4 which sat him in 3rd only to be knocked in the 2nd turn and crash. He was definatly on for the main in my view.

Seeing as though i've ridden the track, i might aswell give my thoughts on this new 'box' jump thing and the rest of the track. The concept of the box jump is good, BUT, the box was so tall, you couldn't maintain any speed whatsoever. It just felt clumsy.
I said as soon as i saw it that it needed to be 2-3ft lower and after riding it i'd stand by that. By making it lower, it'll still give the crowd something new, but from a racing point of view it'll keep the speed going, not to mention taking away some pretty nasty crashes.
Compared to other SX track's over the last couple of years, i thought the rest of the track was fairly tame. The first jump was tiny compared to the likes of Chula Vista and the 3rd straight was pumpable. I would've thought something similar to Frejus 3rd straight could've worked there.

I'm still getting over the wkend at the minute, travel and riding whilst ill certainly takes it out of you. The good news was that it wasn't an ear infection, the bad news is that it was a perferated ear drum.....nice. Still only about 50% hearing in my left ear as of now.

I've got some pics of my new race bike and a new Fox helmet that i'm gonna throw up on another post later

Marcus

I'm out in Madrid for the 1st stop on the SuperCross calander. Preperations have been pretty crap leading into the race.
I caught a cold off Shanaze on the way back from the US which restricted what i could in terms of training, then on our last track session before we came out here i crashed pretty badly over the bars at Plattfields and took the whole impact on my back and ended up having xrays and was in A&E for 2hrs!! Add to the that an ear infection which i got on the flight over here too.......Perfect!
But.....it is what it is and i can't change any of it. All i can do is do the best i can with whatever i've got in the tank.

We went to check out the track earlier today, the arena is super impressive. Really tight and could imagine the atmosphere come race day is gonna be pretty special. Can't wait to hear my new choice of TimeTrial song being smashed out over the speakers!! Jay-Z - On To The Next One.....OR.....Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing. Gonna have to decide tomorrow but both are gonna be huge!!!

The track looks TIGHT!! They've done well to even squeeze a track on the floor plan available but it seems to work well in there. The track builders have come up with a new jump for the event, it's basically a launch up onto a table kinda thing then a drop off to a landing, the initial jump onto the top of the box is around 20ft long but 7ft high. It's definatly gonna be interesting to see how it rides. We'll see tomorrow as thats when practice kicks off, 4.30pm over here, then TT's and racing on Saturday afternoon/evening. It's gonna be nuts!!!

Check back tomorrow for an update on practice

Marcus

Been home a few days from the US. I managed to get us upgraded again to World Traveller Plus which gives you so much more leg room and also wider seats so there was loads of room to spread out.

I shot straight back to bristol when i landed as i figured i could catch up with the family whilst getting over the jet lag. I slipped back into timezones pretty well but i think i caught the tail end of Shanaze's cold that she had out in the US.

Training's been light since i got back but i've got a couple of good sessions i'm looking forward to before i fly out to Madrid for the SX on wednesday. I picked up my new white Crupi frame on thursday so i'll be building that up before i fly. Marcus

So, yesterday's trip to Starbucks with LP turned into a mini shopping trip for the both of us. LP hit up Raulph for some dollar and i ended up getting an Invicta Watch and grabbing a polo shirt from Macy's.....$200 down but still had a smile on the face.

In the evening i went go-karting with myself, LP, JB, Martijn and Massa. As per the norm, LP came out on top with Massa pretty close behind. My kart must've had something wrong with it....thats all i'm saying.

Today we all kinda slept in a bit, seeing as it was our day off. We got up around 10.30-11am then headed in to denny's, which is in the car park of the hotel. After that we headed across to the Mall for a walk around, this time Shanaze came with us.......dam she can spend money that girl!!! Anyway, ended up buying another polo and a shirt and also a pair of the cutest little Vans for my niece, Ella. She's gonna look sooo mint in them!!!!

We've got a track session tomorrow morning, hopefully the wind doesn't pick up and stays pretty calm, as it has all day today.

Marcus

The race in Phoenix wasn't the best for me personally. I knew i was gonna be a bit off the pace as it hadn't been a priority in my training but it was an eye opener to see how far off i was, not so much physically but mentally.
Being in a race for the first time in a while took its toll, although i'm glad that i've had a good winter behind closed doors. I came away from the wkend with alot to think about but this wk in Chula Vista at the OTC has been really good.

I've managed to get alot of track time in throughout the wk and have been trying some new stuff out, which so far has worked well. We've been getting up super early though to get on the track as from 11am it gets real windy until 3-4pm ish, so 7am starts have been pretty much the norm. It's been kinda rewarding getting the training done before mid morning.
There's been a few people here to ride with also, Americans, Dutch and Japanese so it's been good getting on the SX hill with 7 other guys. You've gotta be on point the whole time or your just gonna get shut off.

We popped across to the local Mall yesterday for a Starbucks after training, was a welcome addition to the day....so much so we're heading across there again in about 30mins or so. We've got a day off tomorrow so i think we're just gonna chillout in the morning then head across to the Mall in the afternoon, i've got my eye on a couple of watches that you can't get in the UK......gotta love watches!!

The flight over to the US was pretty slick. I managed to get us all upgraded to World Traveller Plus, which was a right treat. Loads of leg room and wider seats too......good times!!!! Watched a couple films on the way over, Couples Retreat which was pretty funny and easy to watch. The 2nd was 'he's just not that into you' again funny in places but wouldn't watch it again.

We arrived into LA around 3pm then caught the bus to the car hire place. we left there around 5pm, we knew we were in for a drive but we didn't realise it was gonna be that much of a burner. We ended up getting to the hotel in Phoenix at 1am.......8hrs.....not the best!

We headed to the track after getting some breakfast yesterday morning. It looks real fast but fairly straight forward. After seeing this and comparing it to the grands, i've come to the conclusion that alot of people would be suprised how mellow the jumps seem to be. Certainly not like euro tracks. That's not really a bad thing as althougth the jumps aren't that deep, they're shaped properly and let you really charge at them.

Could sleep to good last night so thats why i'm updating at 7.15am my time!! Adjusted to the time zone pretty well but just couldn't settle properly last night. I've managed to sort out Skype on my phone for the first time, phoned me dad on the house phone yesterday for like 12mins and it cost 24p. And spoke to Kate for 20mins for 26p I think..........buzzin! Gone are the days for £200 phone bills for when I'm away :)

We practice at 5.30pm this evening so looking forward to that. Myself and LP have all the new FOX gear so should be pretty fresh come practice time.