Hi all

Well it was all a bit of a strange weekend really, with all the rule changes last week I didn’t even know if I would have been riding at Donington. As it turns out we got to ride and I got a fifth and fourth in the two races, I’m still third in the Championship so I can’t complain too much.

There was a lot in the press last week about the weight situation and to be honest I tried to stay out of it and let the boss (Colin) sort it all out. I just want to ride my bike and fortunately that’s what we got to do, the weather over the weekend at Donington was awful though. Saturday was dry but cold, it rained most of Sunday and therefore we had a wet qualifying session and the two races on Monday were very wind swept! Made it all good fun and a bit more of a challenge. There were a lot of crashes in the wet on Sunday as when it rains there it becomes like and ice rink – all good fun and luckily I managed to keep the Airwaves Ducati upright!

It’s been a manic month and a bit not stop, I’m quite looking forward to a couple of weeks off before Snetterton. I did manage to get out on the motocross bike the other week, Storka and I were invited up to Foxhills, which was awesome. A bit out of my league when it comes to motocross riding but it was worth having a shot at and I’m sure it made for entertaining viewing for anyone that might have been watching.

I’ve just bought myself a cross country mountain bike too which has been great fun, I’ve got a few scars on my shins from my off road excursions but I’m beginning to get the hang of it now – just about! I went out with a few riders that have been doing it for years and I have to say it nearly killed me off, I was aching for days afterwards!

Back to Donington, we had to run the extra weight, which you could feel on the bike and it was a little strange at first but hopefully by Snetterton I’ll understand it a little more. It didn’t effect Shakey and once again he was on form, taking the double again. He’s riding brilliantly, I did try to make a pass on him in race two and I probably looked totally out of control to him as he got me straight back. All good fun though, he’s teaching me a lot and also how to ride a Ducati well, he’s a great team-mate to have and he’s showing me the way forward.

The Airwaves team once again bent over backwards to help me and worked so hard to ensure that I got the best out of the bike. I enjoyed the races but I really do want to get that first win, I don’t want to push myself too much and I know I’m not far off so fingers crossed I’ll hit the top step before long! Thanks again to the entire Airwaves squad and I hope to carry on with the consistency that I have shown so far this season.

I’m off to the World Motocross this weekend at Mallory Park and I’m sure they will show me how you are really supposed to ride one of them beasts. I’m looking forward to it and I’ll try not to copy them when I next get out on my motocross bike, as I think if I did I might have my wrists slapped by Colin!

Hope to see you all at Snetterton and hopefully the weather will be a bit kinder to us there.

Cheers

Leon #2