John’s Blog: Hi from Jerez

Hi Everyone,

I’ve arrived in Jerez and I’m really keen to get the season underway!

Although my first day of testing starts tomorrow, my 2016 season started back at the start of January! I’ve been based north of Spain for the last 6 weeks, sharing a house with Chaz Davies, Michael and Eugene Laverty. We’ve had a good laugh while training hard and I’ve been riding a bike almost every day! Whether it’s been motocross, supermoto, trials or getting some miles in on the bicycle. It’s given me the chance to fully focus on my training and to ride with some of the best riders there are!

The main reason for coming to Spain is for the weather, having only one rainy day since I arrived is definitely something I’m not used to!! It’s also my first time trying supermoto which has been mint! I’ve enjoyed chasing a lap time of my own with no stress or pressure and having some fun letting the rear tyre back into the corners and slide around with the extra power of a 450. We’ve also got a handful of really good motocross tracks on our doorstep with my first day in Spain being spent riding the MxGP track Bell Puig! Jumps were a little big to feel comfortable on without taking too much risk but still a really cool track to say I’ve ridden.

My only trip back to the UK was for a four day training camp with all the guys from Racing Steps Foundation. The camp was run by Eliot and his team at PHP and was a solid four days putting us through different sessions including gym/cycling/squash/yoga etc. It’s always good to catch up with the other RSF drivers and riders before we all get going with our seasons.

Arriving in Jerez after a really solid pre-season training block feels good. I’m ready to get the real work started and excited for the next couple of days ahead. The new Peugeot bike looks really promising and has to be one of the nicest looking Moto3s I’ve seen! This time tomorrow I should hopefully be smiling as Il know whether it performs as good as it looks but I’m definitely looking forward to getting out on track and having some fun!

Our next text will be next week for the Official IRTA tests, again in Jerez on the 2nd 3rd and 4th. Then it’s off to Qatar and all go from there!

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your support.

John