Kiwi Blog: Back to the Island (with Media Credentials!) Well, here we are with the first round of the Superbike World Championship done and dusted, and what a fantastic time we had during the races at Phillip Island in Australia. Hamish and I were privileged to be provided with media credentials to the final pre-season test on February 21-22, and to the first round of the championship the following weekend. We traveled over to Melbourne on Sunday the 20th; I’m not that fussed about flying, but the four-hour flight passed quickly enough. In the Hertz rental car office at Melbourne airport we met up with Paul Bird and Norman Burgess of the Kawasaki Racing Team. What great guys, and it goes to show what a small world it is! Norman said, “I know someone from New Zealand who races bikes, from the Wairarapa,” (which is a rural area about an hour north of Wellington). “Oh?” I said, “Who’s that?” “Doug Fairbrother,” said Norman. Well, you wouldn’t believe it – Hamish and I know Doug well; he’s actually my third cousin. We drove down to Phillip Island, which is a couple of hours south of Melbourne. We stay at Banfields Motel in the village of Cowes, a 10-minutes drive from the track. It’s a beautiful seaside village, and a very popular tourist destination as there is a lot of wildlife on the Island (though we’ve never seen it because we spend each and every day at the track!). Monday dawned with steady rain falling, but the sky slowly lightened up and although the first session started out wet, the rain soon stopped and by late morning the track was virtually dry. There were a lot of new teams and riders, some with new livery; it took me most of the two days to figure out who was who on the track. I got a big hug from Toshi, a lovely guy who is Noriyuki Haga’s right-hand man. We talk with him every year. They’ve been together for so many years now that he’s synonymous with Nitro. We had a rest day on the Wednesday. It was a fantastic day weather-wise, and we spent some of the afternoon relaxing down on the pier. Some of the riders were there also, strolling along the pier or chilling out in a café, making the most of the time off. We went back into Melbourne on Thursday morning to pick up some Kiwi mates who had flown over. All in all there were six other Kiwis in our group, all with Club Superbike tickets, and for almost all of them it was their first time in the facility. They were blown away with the access to the paddock, the pit garage walks and the post-race press conferences that Club Superbike gives. It’s wonderful to be able to wander around amongst the teams and riders in the paddock. The view from the roof of the pit garages is just great; you can see probably two-thirds of the track from there. The sound of the bikes going past at close to 300kph is amazing. One of our mates had the idea of getting autographs on his t-shirt from the rider’s wives and girlfriends – after all, the wives and girlfriends are just as much an important part of the team as the riders and technicians. Oli Haslam started the ball rolling, Pippa (Eugene Laverty’s partner) said it was the first time that anyone had ever asked for her autograph and Marcella (Marco Melandri’s partner) couldn’t believe Andrew wanted her to sign and not Marco! They were all so friendly and happy to chat with us fans. I finally got to meet the voices that are in my bedroom for six months of the year”¦Jonathan Green and Steve Martin, who are the worldwide English-language television commentators for World Superbike. Hamish and I tend to watch most of the races from the warmth and comfort of our bed, as the time difference from NZ to the northern hemisphere means that most of the rounds are broadcast in the middle of the night, during our winter months. We’ve got a 42″ plasma TV in the bedroom specifically for watching bike racing. I was really chuffed to meet Jonathan and Steve after all these years, and what nice blokes they are too. We caught up with well-known Kiwi racer Aaron Slight, who’d come over to spectate; it was like déjà vu for us to see a Castrol Honda with the number “111” out there racing! We had a phone call from home on the Tuesday afternoon with bad news – Christchurch in the South Island of NZ had suffered a serious earthquake, and as we watched the events unfold from afar the death toll climbed. It seemed surreal to be seeing such death and destruction in a city where we’d been only a week or so earlier for a round of the NZ national road racing series. We were very fortunate in that all our friends and family who live there were okay, though many of them lost their houses. Unfortunately one of Hamish’s work colleagues who had been working in Christchurch that day was among the fatalities. As I write this the death toll is still climbing; it is expected to reach about 200. There are also thousands of people whose lives have been changed forever, whose homes were destroyed. One of the riders in the Australian support races was a Kiwi from Christchurch, John Ross. We weren’t sure if he would be able to make it over, but despite the fact that his house was razed John and his lovely partner Julia made it. John hadn’t been to Phillip Island before and was racing a BMW S1000RR in the Pro Stock class of Australian Superbike. He finished a creditable third in class in one of his races. Many of the organizers and riders were very thoughtful and kind and asked us about how our friends and family had fared. James Toseland in particular was very concerned about the earthquake, and after the races on Sunday we introduced him to Julia from Christchurch. James spent some 15 minutes talking with Julia; I was touched by his genuine concern for the people of New Zealand. It really meant a lot to Julia that he took the time to speak with her. We enjoy the Australian support races at Phillip Island just as much as the World Superbike races. The Australian championship is very fiercely fought, and we know some of the riders as they travel to New Zealand to compete in our championship. And when the Aussie riders are in the World Championship races, we Kiwis cheer them on as if they’re one of us. While there is a friendly rivalry between our countries over most sports we play, we do support each other on the world stage. Thanks to our meeting up at the airport, we were kindly given a guided tour of the Kawasaki Racing Team pit garage by Norman. It was a real eye-opener; the amount of gear they have to ship halfway around the world is incredible. They have it down to a fine art, with 14 specially-designed containers to fit the bikes and all the equipment needed to run the team. I spent the whole tour with my eyes out on stalks; the banks of tire warmers, all the data-logging equipment, the spare fairings and other parts”¦incredible. And everything was so well organized and laid out. Despite there being a lot of team members working together in a very small space, no one gets in anyone’s way – it all flows extremely smoothly. You will all know the results of the races by now, so I won’t go into detail other than to say that Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi rode solidly, and it was great to see Leon Haslam (race 1) and Melandri (race 2) sharing the podium. I think that there will be many different riders on the podiums throughout the season. In particular I think both Yamahas will be up there, and I’m hoping Johnny Rea, Toseland and my all-time hero Haga will all have a better time from Donington onwards. From such a strong start I think Checa (riding my favorite marque of bike!) will also feature a lot. All in all I think there are probably six or eight who could be the champion in 2011. But anything can, and most likely will, happen in motorcycle racing. May the best man win. You may have noticed that Checa has a map of the world on his helmet. Well, if you look closely you’ll see that New Zealand does not feature next to Australia on the chin piece. I pointed this out (very politely, of course) to Carlos, and he’s promised to make sure that New Zealand appears on his next new helmet. I was chuffed that he noticed my Ducati earrings while he was talking with me! We dined at Pino’s Trattoria in Cowes several times. It’s an Italian restaurant whose walls are adorned with photos, helmets, leathers, etc from riders over the years. It’s a great atmosphere, and the food is superb. Often some of the riders or teams are eating there, so it’s extra special to be munching on your pizza or pasta and watching Biaggi and the Aprilia team being seated, or see Jakub Smrz stroll through to the bar, or have Michel Fabrizio and his team at the table next to yours. Troy and Sam Corser and their family were there most nights. We were very keen to get the riders views on the U.S. round at Miller Motorsports Park, since we’ll be seeing them there in May. Despite having had two DNFs there last year, Checa likes the track and is looking forward to going back there. Toshi said he and Nitro are looking forward to going there too. The organization of the whole event at Phillip Island is superb. The many officials know their jobs so well that it all runs like clockwork. From the Infront Motor Sports team based in Italy, to the flag marshals who spend all day on their feet on the corners, to those keeping the toilets clean and tidy, everyone does a sterling job. If you’re reading this and you haven’t ever been to a World Superbike race, then don’t hesitate”¦get yourselves organized and get to a track near you for one of the rounds. No matter what tickets you buy, I am sure that you will enjoy it; the speed, the smells, the atmosphere, the teams and riders. Our trip to Miller Motorsports Park now seems more of a reality for us as May looms closer. We’ll have had another three rounds of the championship by then, so there may be a clear leader”¦or it may still be anyone’s for the taking.