Expert opinion

Shakey is without a doubt the favourite after last year, but while it’s hard to win one championship it’s much harder to come back the next year and do it again. As the old saying goes, it’s hard to get to the top but it’s even harder staying there. He’ll have a massive target on his back this year, but he knows how to play it. Leon for me is the person best placed to challenge him after last year, and I really hope he can turn things around as I’d hate for him to become another Chris Walker. You could look back over Leon’s career and say he’s always been the nearly man, he’s always been knocking on the door of great things and it’s just never happened. He could do with taking a leaf out of Alex Lowes’ book, it’s taken him three years but he’s finally starting to understand that points mean prizes. It’s the hardest thing for a rider to accept, but you can’t win every race. So many times Leon has crumbled for whatever reason. He struggles with red mist syndrome, as soon as someone gets past he wants to fight back straight away even if he can’t because the guy who has passed him is faster. That’s when he’ll miss apexes, outbrake himself and the sort of stuff he shouldn’t be doing. It’s all about the wave, you have to wait for it to come to you; you can’t force it. When it comes, you get on and ride!