Gary Johnson
Gaz is getting his life in order before he heads off to the Macau GP. showdown.
Well, that's another season done and dusted. This year in race terms has probably been one of my most disappointing if I'm honest, but that's mainly due to the fact that I came into it with such high expectations.
BMW brought out their brand new bike and that was going to be my golden ticket to World (or BSB) domination, but as it transpired with the late arrival of our bikes and with the goal posts being moved (the Ducatis) that was never the case. As you all know I then went and bust my leg in the middle of the season and despite the fact I didn't miss any races, it was a sizeable inconvenience. With four mechanical no scores thrown in, we still came damn close to the showdown top six and missed out yet again by less than 10 points. I last left you with just a couple of rounds left, having missed the cut AND had my first double DNF at Assen. Thank feck, since then we actually turned things around and ended the year just about as positively as we ever could have hoped, taking the fight back to the front. At Donington I was an all-but sure thing for a podium, only for my footpeg to snap off with a few laps remaining, and at Brands I was again given a package to take the fight right to the front guys. Sure, I wasn't able to be there right to the end, but we certainly put on a show and I was proud of how we ended the year.
To be honest, that last round at Brands was just plain lovely from start to finish. I went into the event knowing it would be my last BSB weekend for Tyco BMW (despite not knowing my alternative plans) so it was quite an emotional occasion. I've spent four years with these guys and experienced incredible highs as well as some lows. In racing everything is heightened and the emotions you experience on a race weekend seem tenfold to week-day life. Because of that, allegiances and friendships are strong, but in such a pressured environment stress levels are high and it goes without saying that when things don't go to plan, clearly tempers fray. This year we became a little disjointed in the mid part of the year and that probably showed in the results, but what was beautiful is that during the last couple of race weekends we got back that cameraderie that had lost its way. We started working together again as a team should. I could see the fire in the belly of the lads and I felt once more that they were on that bike with me every lap of the way.
I entered Brands 10th overall in the championship, but still had an outside shot of the Riders Cup. I've joked about it all before. The 'wooden spoon' trophy, the award for the 'other guys', but when I entered parc ferme after the final race and my guys told me we had won it, I honestly couldn't have been more chuffed. Through a tough and lean couple of seasons, WE had achieved something together and that trophy means an awful lot to myself and to the guys in my corner. I'm immensely grateful to the Tyco BMW squad for the last few year, but the time has come to move on. For all those who have been so inquisitive, it genuinely is a mutual parting. We both know we need a fresh start and are parting on the best terms possible. I may yet be back at some point in the future.
At the time of writing, lots of discussions are going on as I look for a seat for the 2020 season.
It's taking my mind off the fact that the racing is over for another year because I absolutely hate losing that focus. It's something I have always struggled with. I've never done drugs, but I can only assume this cold turkey thing is pretty much what I get when racing stops for another year.
It seems like just yesterday that I was at Kirkistown shaking down the fresh BMW for the first time, and no doubt as long as it may seem at the time, tomorrow will be here before we know it and I'll be throwing my leg over a new horse. Giddyup cowboy! Hopefully next month we’ll know what horse that is…