Steve Parrish
Well, well, well! It’s been an incredibly busy month for me you know, and I’m writing this just after finishing my stint at Goodwood – and besides the weather on the last day being a bit dodgy, what a weekend it was.
The best bit about it is catching up with all the other old buggers; you know, the likes of Doohan, Ago, even Casey Stoner now he’s fully out at the game – or for the moment anyway. It was interesting actually. I’ve always been a massive fan of Casey and I was chatting to him a fair bit, and it turns out he’s still really struggling with his chronic fatigue problem that messed up the end of his MotoGP career. He’s not doing any work with Ducati or Honda at the moment. He said at times he’s even struggling to finish 18 holes of golf, which is crazy considering how fit he is. But he’s having loads of tests at the moment and he’s hoping it’s going to be sorted reasonably soon, which is good news… what I’d pay to see him back out on a GP bike.
Aside from the faces, it’s always bloody good riding some cool and completely different bikes up the hill as well. This year I was on everything... Schwantz’s old title-winning Suzuki, to the brand new Indian FTR 1200. It’s just awesome. And then there’s the ball. Alright, the music and all that isn’t massively my cup of tea, but I know a lot of guys did have a load of fun – I wonder if Hutchy is still feeling sore from his big night… but I’ll say no more.
What I will talk about though, is some BSB. Can we all just appreciate how bloody good Scott Redding has been this year? I know a lot of people had doubts over how he’d adapt, but the fact that he managed to put in those performances at a damp and pretty scabby looking Knockhill all those many moons ago is incredibly dangerous for the rest of the guys looking to take the crown. He does definitely deserve to win it, and the fact that he’s really fighting for it, and enjoying the racing, is a testament to him. Mind you, it’s not just going to be a one horse race I don’t think, and that’s why I’m enjoying BSB more than anything else at the moment; it’s just incredibly close.
I mean, look at MotoGP; Marquez is just absolutely on fire. The man is an absolute animal and he seems to just make his own luck, where the likes of Dovi, Maverick, Rossi and especially Lorenzo, just can’t seem to catch a break. But then again, that’s racing and that’s why we love it. I just hope that the other guys can find their stride after the summer break.
Oh, and talking of summer breaks, I hope that they’re going to have a better one than a good friend of mine. You see, he’s an avid golfer on a golfing holiday, so on our last round I might’ve accidentally swapped all his left-handed clubs for right-handed ones… but I still haven’t got the angry phone call just yet. Maybe he thinks that customs have put in the wrong ones?