LEON HASLAM BLOG 29/7/2010
Team Suzuki Press Office - July 28.
Well, the last month or so hasn't gone exactly to plan and it's been a bit of a frustrating time for me and the team.
Crashing in the USA cost me dearly, but that was my own fault because I was pushing so hard. Miller was the first weekend of the year that I felt that I didn't have the package to win, so I was determined to get back in contention at Misano. At Misano we all received new tyres and I - and many others - spent all weekend trying to find a good set-up with them. Race one wasn't too bad, but I knew that I could do better, so we switched back to the standard tyre for race two, went back to our old set-up and finished second! It was a very hard race and Max Biaggi seemed to be the only one to get on with the new tyre.
I was very happy with my podium there and felt that I had ridden my socks off. Then we had some tests in Imola and for the first day I used the standard tyres and was consistently the fastest. On the second day, I tried the new tyres, crashed heavily twice and was not as fast.
I was looking forward to Brno. I had never raced there on a really competitive bike, so I was happy at the prospect at racing on such a fast and flowing track. On day one, I used the standard tyres and was easily in the top five. I did a long run and was fast and consistent.
Using the new tyres on day two was not as good and I qualified 14th. I made a good start in race one and ended eighth - using the standard tyres. I knew I had to do better in race two, so I tried the new tyres and ended up going a second or so a lap slower! Others had the same problem - Cal's tyre was so bad that he pitted, put on the same tyre and then went one a half seconds a lap quicker!
The new tyres definitely give more grip and are better, but only if you can get it to work. And you have to set up the bike differently when you use the new tyre - there is no way you can use anything like the same set-up, so it's quite frustrating. Hopefully the fans will look at the big picture and understand that a lot of us are having problems. The thing is that the margin between fast laps and not so fast laps is very small - a tenth of a second - and if the tyre works with your bike, then you have an advantage. If not, you are struggling.
It has been a busy month or so, because after the USA, we've had two races - Misano and Brno - and also the Goodwood Festival of Speed sandwiched between the two races. It's a fantastic event and one that I wouldn't miss at all - even though it's not always at a convenient time in the race calendar. It's great to see so many fans and it is a pleasure meeting them, signing autographs and just having a good time. It's difficult explaining what a wonderful event it is and I would advise all race fans to go and experience it for themselves.
Oli and I managed to spend some time at our new place in Italy. I relaxed, while she did sorting out and organising stuff. It used to be three studio apartments, but now it's one large apartment, on the ground floor on Lake Como. George Clooney's house is directly opposite us, on the other side of the lake, but there's a rumour he's got it up for sale and the Beckhams are interested! There are a lot of sports people nearby - Ben Spies and also some of the top cyclists - and it's a great area for cycling and cruising around. I do cycle a bit but I prefer mountain biking.
In the UK, I usually mountain bike with Cal Crutchlow and Jamie Whitham, but even more than that I love trials riding. I've got a Gas-Gas and go riding a lot, sometimes with my dad. It's taken me a fair time to get the better of him, but I think I just about have now. I think trials riding is very good for my racing. It teaches you so much about clutch and throttle control. It's very physical, but pretty safe because you are never going fast enough to hurt yourself. If I could, I'd probably spend all my time away from the track on a trials bike, but there's other stuff to do as well: Like going to Amsterdam for Arai, to Snetterton for a Suzuki day, a shop opening, plus a couple of events for the sports charity Sparks.
It's been a busy time for sure, so I'll be looking forward to our long break after Silverstone. But first there's the small matter of getting back on the podium and putting as much pressure on Max as possible.
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