Christian Iddon
Well, like any good soap, at the end of the last instalment I had left you all on the edge of your seat with a few cliff-hangers, and it’s been a busy month… so I’ll save the worst till last. First up, I was all excited about some new parts for the race bike that I was going to tell you about this month, but alas, they have yet to materialise so I guess I'll save that for next time. I was also just about set for heading out to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. It was an unbelievable, eye-opening trip for me and to see what the veterans had to go through was just mesmerising.
Wheeling Grandad around the memorial sites, seeing where he landed, listening to the stories of veterans really was an amazing experience. It's so easy to get caught up in racing in your own self-worth, and to be taken out of that situation and to see what those heroes went through is something to behold. My Grandad was in the 22nd Independent parachute regiment. He was a Pathfinder and was one of the first 10 to drop on D-Day. It was a very small company (the Pathfinders) and he is the only one left. Or so he thought!
At one of the ceremonies I noticed an old gentleman with a wreath and the 22nd regiment coat of arms. I told Grandad to which he replied, “Impossible.” Intrigued, I enquired to the veteran if he was a Pathfinder. “Yes lad I am. I'm the only one left.” So, I had to break the news to Grandad that there were two Pathfinders left. It was amazing. I wheeled him over to the other veteran. My Grandad put his hand on his leg and said, “You’re supposed to be dead!” It was priceless, and a nice break away from the tracks.
Anyways, back to the racing and we’ve had a couple more rounds since the last time we spoke – and things had been going pretty good. I gotta admit, we haven't been spectacular, but I had been edging my way closer to
the top six. The updates haven't come as we expected and it's not easy to opposition on that grid when you don't have the full package, but I was happy with how I had been riding either way. At Bran s GP I had a couple of strong finishes and then at Knockhill I just missed the podium in race 1, but then lost the front on lap four of race 2 and went down. It was no big crash, but as the bike dug into the ground it lifted up and then slapped itself right down on my left leg. In the immortal words of Britney Spears, “Oops I did it again”… another year with a stupid injury. An injury th t isn't that bad, but it's a frikkin’ serious inconvenience to my championship hopes of getting in the top six.
Back in 2015 I h d exactly the same injury and managed to ride in race 2, but that made a mess of my leg and I struggled for the rest of the year.
I'm now in a race against time to be back healthy enough to ride at Snetterton. Magnetic therapy, Lasers, Hyperbaric , it's all on the go right now!
Then, just to add insult to injury, just four days after breaking my leg, a seat became available in the WSBK BMW squad for the home round at Donington. God, I don't know if you read Fast Bikes, but if you d I want you to know that I don't find this very funn ! It just means that hopefully next time I have a tale of an amazing comeback to tell you all. I might ev n tell you all about my Spice Girls experience and how myself and my team-mate ruined a couple of BMWs fo a promo video, but all that just won't fit for now… and will get me in a bit of trouble.
So, until next time I just want to wish a massive get well soon to Keith Farmer (who beat himself up good and proper at Knockhill) and I'll catch all you lovely readers soon.