Steve Parrish
Well, it looks like the world has gone a bit mad since the last time we spoke! I mean, you’re never really sure who or what to believe with that old Corona Virus stuff, but it does’en half make life difficult.
It got me thinking though, surely now we should be pushing to get more bums on bikes? I mean, you’ve got all these people on buses, or sharing cars and taxis or squishing themselves on to trains, spreading all the germs and coughing and sneezing over each other. Imagine if everyone was on a bike? It would all be nicely selfcontained, people would be having fun, and when they got to work, they could even leave their helmet on as a sort of mask. Now that would be ace, wouldn’t it? Or maybe not… who knows.
Oh, and on the subject of which, I’ve just bagged myself a machine for this year… a big, new Indian Roadmaster! I’m sure you lot will all be laughing at the thought of me on one of those things, but it’s big, comfy, and does massive burnouts – which is pretty much all I need in a bike at my old age, and it should keep me busy until the racing season properly kicks off.
But then again, who knows what’s going on with that? I mean, it really is anyone’s guess what’s going on, with the MotoGP and World Superbikes both being postponed and in a sort of disarray. I know it’s annoying for us lot who just want to enjoy it, but you do have to feel for everyone in the paddock – I mean, there’re so many races anyway, and now their whole year has just gone up in a bit of a mess. Like especially if those rumours are true about racing until Christmas!
But then again, with the start of World Superbikes being so good, I have to say that I’d like to see all of those races run, as it has all the ingredients to be a really close season, right up until the wire. Redding was great and mature, Rea was blisteringly fast, and then you’ve got Toprak and Alex Lowes truly in the mix – both class acts. Even the Hondas came good, with the only disappointment for me coming from the BMW garage – with Sykes and Laverty they should be right up the sharp end, so I hope they can turn it around.
Still though, one of the things I’m most excited for this year has to be the road racing season. With Hicky and Harrison on familiar machinery the pace is going to be absolutely blistering, although now we have a hungry Michael Dunlop on an incredible machine in the PBM Ducati V4R, and Hutchy on Yamahas, which should be a real good match. If McGuinness can make that Kawasaki sing like we know he can as well, then things really are going to be exciting… I’ll see you over there!