Carl Stevens
As we’re getting into December and it’s absolutely freezing outside, I can’t think of a better time to sit and reflect on this season’s racing and how awesome it’s been for me. Things got a bit slower towards the end of the year, (well the amount of riding, not the pace thankfully) but when you turn over the page and see what happened to T-Mac, I can’t really complain about how things have panned out. To think we didn’t even have a bike coming into 2017, after the plan to buy an R6 for Superstock crumbled before it’d even looked like becoming a reality, meant that we were on the back foot from the start. But then we found a right stroke of luck at the hands of a good friend who let me use his Panigale 899 for the year.
No crashes and two class winning rides were the stand out performances in the Ducati Performance Tri-Options Cup alongside a barrel of laughs with the lads I raced against. Then a podium at Cadwell Park’s Moto Time Attack was the icing on the cake… the day before my birthday. Although we had to cut the season short due to funding I couldn’t have imagined the year turning out the way it has. I mean, at one point I was sat on my arse with just three days before the first round with nothing more than my pushbike to throttle jockey, and then everything slotted into place right when it needed to. It was beyond belief, and a real lesson in life (and racing) to never give up and keep thinking of the ‘what ifs’ in life.
Another turning point in 2017 was when we took the decision to buy a Gixer thou and spec it into Superstock trim. That’s still very much an ongoing process that’s been consuming me day and night to make sure it’s ready and waiting for the start of the new season. The plan is to start covering the transformation soon in the mag’s project section, just so you guys can get a closer look at what goes into building a weapon of this magnitude. It’s already been a real eye-opener for me. I’ve learned shed-loads, which is how I feel about my riding this season too with the main note being that racing is all about the fun; no matter how seriously you take it. If you aren’t smiling you’re going to be slow. Fact!
Not only that, but this job has been beyond awesome: this year I’ve been able to race in Bahrain under the stars, have tuition from the likes of Alex De Angelis and Ron Haslam, go pillion with Max Neukirchner and race a KTM against the up and coming nippers in the Santander Consumer RC Cup – and that’s just a few examples. I’m one lucky dude.
If you’ve been reading this column, then muchas gracias. Come and see me in the paddock next year, grab a cup of tea and have a chat. Whatever happens I’ll be trying damn hard to get my hands on some more champers. That stuff is addictive…