[Riders can get so sideways at 14 that photographers and cameramen congregate there during winter testing to capture riders showing off for the cameras.] It's one of the funnest corners, it just kinda sets itself up like speedway! ... It's uphill, so you come up there and it automatically kicks out sideways. But you can always have fun on MotoGP bikes, doesn't matter if you had all the traction in the world you could still break the thing loose! |
[The tropically hot conditions that prevail at Sepang make life tough for tyres, but Michelin has always been up to the track's demands.] Sepang is one of those special places where you get a lot more wheelspin than normal, ... The hotter it is, the more wheelspin you get, so you just try to keep the bike in line, you have to think about conserving your tyres more. The place is very heavy on the right side of the tyres, that's the side that gets all the abuse, so Michelin takes all that into account and builds something focusing 90 per cent on of the right side of the tyre. The places that really generate heat are turns three, six and coming onto the back straight (turn 14) where the thing just wants to light up. |
Basically, the old Aussie dollar took a dump and it was down to 54 cents when I bought it, and now it's back to 75 or 76. I've already made enough on it, and I'll hold on to it. It's one of those investments that I lucked into. |
Diana called me Colin. But the Queen is too royal for that. She once said to me, 'You turn up everywhere!' She's very witty. Oh look! There's Iris! |
I can win a race before the end of the season |
I don't want to start any rumours but I've had a word with Yamaha about Casey myself. I've put in a good word for him. I think anybody at this time would be crazy not to consider Casey for a MotoGP ride. |
I expected a lot more from Phillip Island but we had problems from the first day, |
I like Brno, Motegi, Sepang, Qatar... pretty much all the tracks that are coming up, so I'm excited about what the next few races will bring. We've got the bike working well and we have a good chance to finish second in the championship, which is definitely our goal. Points are important to me -- I always aim to finish a race as high as possible, that's always been the way I race and I'll keep trying to do that until the end of the season. At the same time it would be great to win a race...so I'm going to try for both! |
I like Brno, Motegi, Sepang, Qatar... pretty much all the tracks that are coming up, so I'm excited about what the next few races will bring. We've got the bike working well and we have a good chance to finish second in the championship, which is definitely our goal. Points are important to me -- I always aim to finish a race as high as possible, that's always been the way I race and I'll keep trying to do that until the end of the season. At the same time it would be great to win a race...so I'm going to try for both! |
I probably made the best race start of my whole life, Valentino got away well too and we went together into the first bend. Elias came up on the inside and I actually saw everything happen but to be honest I thought Vale would be able to stay on the bike so I kept my corner speed and tried to just run it around the outside. |
I've never really done that great there but I enjoy the place. There's a couple of tricky parts, you've got to get a couple of sections right to get the lap time, like the fast downhill left at turn five, you've got to carry a lot of speed through there, then the same through the blind stuff after the hairpin (turn nine). If you get those sections right you can get a good lap time going. |
If you're doing MotoGP you get to spend a lot of time at Sepang, |
It doesn't matter if the noise comes from years of on-the-job exposure or from a source that isn't job-related. |
It seems that they're really keen on MotoGP there and we were given an enthusiastic welcome. The people are so kind and it was no different this time, they looked after us really well! We go to so many different cities but usually only have time to see hotels, airports and race tracks, so it was great to have the chance to experience a bit of local culture for once and do some sightseeing. From what I've seen so far, Bangkok is a really lively and interesting city; I hope I get to visit again sometime soon! |
It was really good to have a quick break from paddock life after an intense weekend in Japan |