Kawasaki WSB - 2010

Akira Yanagawa is returning to the World Superbike series this weekend aboard the Kawasaki as a wild-card rider at Silverstone for the British round of the championship.

The Japanese rider has been called on as a replacement rider for the injured Chris Vermeulen and has said he is looking forward to the event although he expects it to be tough.

Yanagawa began racing for the World Superbike Kawasaki team way back in 1997 and rewarded his team with three race wins and finishing in fourth place overall in the 1997 championship.

The last time that Yanagawa was on a World Superbike was at Sugo back in 2002 before the team decided to concentrate more on the MotoGP series.

Yanagawa still races in the All-Japan Superbike series which he was leading in 2007 until he finally lost out to Atsushi Watanabe.

Leon Haslam 2010

The North Yorkshire Road Racing Supporters Club are delighted to announce that they have the father and son motorcycle riders Ron and Leon Haslam with them for a chat night.

The event takes place on Tuesday 3rd August following the British round of the World Superbike series at Silverstone where Leon will be competing on the Alstare Suzuki, currently running in second place in the World Superbike championship.

The talk night will take place at The Yorkshire Suite of the Golden Lion Hotel in Northallerton with the doors opening at 7.30pm and the event beginning at 8.15pm.

There is a bar at the event along with a raffle and TV highlights to be shown all for only £6 or £4 if you are a NYRRSC member.

Chris Vermeulen - WSB Kawasaki 2010

It has been announced that the World Superbike Kawasaki rider Chris Vermeulen is to be out of the series for up to six months as he recovers from his injuries.

The Australian had previously decided to sit out the rest of the 2010 season and is to undergo keyhole surgery on his injured knee this week.

Vermeulen received the injury five-months ago at the Phillip Island round of the World Superbike championship which was aggravated when he crashed again at the Brno circuit.  The surgery will concentrate on repairing two of the three damaged ligaments in his right knee but it is the recovery period that will require the time to heal properly which led to his decision to sit out the remainder of the year to enable him to be fit for the 2011 season.

Akira Yanagawa has been named as the replacement rider for Vermeulen at the Silverstone circuit on the 1st August, suggesting that the team may still be looking for a full-term replacement for the remainder of the season.

The 39-year-old Japanese rider has previously been on the starting grid of the World Superbike championship over 100 times, achieving 20 podium finishes with 3 of them being on the top step from 1997 until 2001.

Since 2001, Yamagawa has been on hand as a test and development rider for the former MotoGP crew but is excited to be once again riding in the World Superbike series especially on British soil.

Jonathan Rea - Hanspree Ten Kate Honda 2010

Jonathan Rea claimed victory in the opening race at Brno yesterday while Max Biaggi took the chequered flag in race two of the day.

Race One

It was the Aprilia of Max Biaggi that took to the front of the pack as the first race of the day got underway at the Brno circuit but before the end of the lap he had been passed by the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda of Jonathan Rea.  At the final bend of the first lap, Rea went around the outside of the Italian rider to put his machine in front and never looked back.

Biaggi was then passed by Cal Crutchlow on the following lap before Ruben Xaus put his machine in front of the Aprilia rider on lap 4.  The Italian rider soon returned to form and retook Xaus on lap 6 before finally catching and passing Crutchlow with only 4 laps of the race to run.

Rea crossed the line to claim his third win of the 2010 season ahead of Max Biaggi in second.  Crutchlow finished in third place followed by Sylvain Guintoli in fourth, Ruben Xaus in fifth, Noriyuki Haga in sixth and  James Toseland in seventh.

Leon Haslam finished down in eighth place after qualifying in fourteenth on the grid ahead of Carlos Checa in ninth and Lorenzo Lanzi in tenth.

The Kawasaki rider Chris Vermeulen, was involved in a three-bike pile-up at the first corner of lap 1 with Max Neukirchner and Jakub Smrz.  All three failed to return to the track with Vermeulen once again re-injuring his knee that was originally damaged at the first round of the 2010 championship at Phillip Island and it has since been announced that he is to miss the remainder of the season as he undergoes corrective treatment.

Troy Corser withdrew from the Brno round of the championship after suffering concussion and a chest injury following his accident in qualifying but his hoping to be fully fit for the Silverstone round.

Here are the results;

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 20 Laps
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +2.518s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +4.071
4. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.160s
5. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +8.602s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +11.379s
7. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +11.513s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +16.487s
9. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +20.829s
10. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +25.164s
11. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +32.602s
12. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +36.748s
13. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +39.183s
14. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +59.889s
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 05.329s

Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR

Race Two

Max Biaggi claimed his ninth win of the season in race two after his initial battle with race one winner Jonathan Rea as the race got underway.

Rea took the lead as he got ahead of Ruben Xaus, Biaggi, Michel Fabrizio and Cal Crutchlow during the first few corners and looked to be on for his second win of the day.

by lap 3, Biaggi had passed Xaus and was chasing the race leader before finally passing him on lap 7 at turn 2.  Rea attempted to stay with the Aprilia but after just 2 laps Biaggi began to create an impressive gap.

Biaggi crossed the line almost 5 seconds ahead of Rea to take the chequered flag with Fabrizio taking the final step of the podium following the retirement of Xaus. With just 6 laps of the race remaining the Spaniard low-sided off of his BMW at turn one after a fantastic fight with Fabrizio.

James Toseland finished in an impressive fourth place after getting ahead of Noriyuki Haga with only 2 laps of the race to run.  Carlos Checa crossed the line in sixth place followed by Sylvain Guintoli, Leon Camier, Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam.

Despite Chris Vermeulen starting the second race he could only manage 2 laps before being seen heading to his pit garage to retire.

Tom Sykes and Max Neukirchner also failed to finish the second race after both tangled on the opening lap and Luca Scassa was unable to make it to the grid for race two after fracturing his foot in the first race incident.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 20 Laps
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +4.627s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +13.600s
4. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +16.372s
5. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +17.530s
6. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +21.704s
7. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +23.769s
8. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +25.875s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +30.374s
10. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +34.002s
11. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +34.691s
12. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +49.270s
13. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1min 03.258s
14. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +1 lap
15. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1 lap

Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR

Max Biaggi - Aprilia 2010

Max Biaggi was cheered on by his home crowd at the weekend after winning both races for the Aprilia team at the Italian circuit in Misano.

Race One

It was the BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider Troy Corser that led the first race of the day for the first 16 laps until he was passed by the Italian Aprilia rider.

Leon Haslam got off to a terrible start and was shuffled back to ninth place after being forced wide by the Suzuki Alstare rider Sylvain Guintoli through the first bend.

Jonathan Rea who had qualified in sixteenth on the grid, barged his way through to eighth place early on in the race before being passed by Haslam on lap 3.

The front five runners, Corser, Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Guintoli and Michel Fabrizio soon managed to create a gap as the battle went on for sixth place between Cal Crutchlow and Noriyuki Haga.  Crutchlow made a mistake on lap 4 after making a move past Haga and low-sided off of his machine and was out of the race.

On lap 9, Biaggi made a move on Corser to take the lead but only briefly as Corser retook his position before the whole sequence took place once again leaving Biaggi this time in front.

As Corser tried to keep the pressure on Biaggi he ran wide at the left hand bend at Quercia allowing Checa a chance to get past him.

Biaggi fought off the attempts of Checa to pass him and crossed the line to take his seventh win of the season ahead of Checa and Corser.  Fabrizio finished in fourth followed by Guintoli in fifth.

Leon Camier on the second Aprilia crossed the line in sixth place after qualifying in fourteenth on the grid ahead of Noriyuki Haga for seventh place.  Haslam finished in eighth place followed by Shane Byrne and James Toseland in ninth and tenth respectively.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 24 laps
2. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +0.387s
3. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +0.822s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +4.911s
5. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +5.916s
6. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.658s
7. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +11.872s
8. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +11.907s
9. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +16.490s
10. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +18.458s
11. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +18.646s
12. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +19.315s
13. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +25.405s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +31.671s
15. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +39.658s

16. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +48.137s
17. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +56.316s
18. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +56.667s
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +57.218s

Not Classified

20. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 8 laps completed
21. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 4 laps completed
22. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 1 lap completed

DQ. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR

Race Tw0

In the second race of the day at the Italian circuit it was Troy Corser who once again led as the riders headed into the first corner ahead of Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi.

Biaggi was briefly dropped back to fourth place after being passed by fellow Italian Michel Fabrizio on lap 2 before setting a new lap record.  The Aprilia rider soon got his head down and began to chase down third place man Checa who was shuffled back to the field by Fabrizio and then Biaggi.  Haslam and Crutchlow followed the lead and both made their moves on Checa dropping him back to sixth place.

Fabrizio past Corser on lap 7 of the race to take the lead as Biaggi also made his move slip in behind his fellow countryman for second place.

It didn’t take long for the Aprilia rider to get past Fabrizio and finished four seconds ahead of the second placed man for his fourth double win of the season.

The battle continued for second place with Haslam also passing Fabrizio on lap 14 while Fabrizio had then to deal with a challenging Crutchlow. The Ducati rider had his position snatched away on lap 24 before retaking it within the next two laps.

Haslam crossed the line for second followed by Fabrizio in third, Crutchlow in fourth, Checa in fifth, Guintoli in sixth, Shane Byrne seventh, Luca Scassa in eighth, Noriyuki Haga in ninth and Corser in tenth.

Corser made a mistake on the final lap after running off the circuit while trying to defend his position from the pressuring of Carlos Checa.  James Toseland failed to finish the race after falling from the Yamaha Sterilgarda at turn one of lap 11.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 24 laps
2. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +4.095s
3. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +4.631s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +5.014s
5. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 +6.256s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.677s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +10.144s
8. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +10.942s
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +13.640s
10. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +16.279s
11. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +17.799s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +22.793s
13. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Ducati 1198 +24.131s
14. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +28.212s
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +36.551s

16. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +49.636s
17. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +50.041s
18. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +51.246s
19. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +58.174s
20. Federico Sandi ITA Gabrielli Aprilia RSV-4 +1min 10.688s

Not Classified

21. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 10 laps completed
22. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 7 laps completed
23. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1098R 2 laps completed

Paola Cazzola - 2007

Paola Cazzola - 2007

Female motorcycle rider Paola Cazzola has signed a contract with the Elle 2 Ciatti team and will be racing at this weekends World Supersport round at San Marino.

The Italian rider will be at her home circuit on her return to the series after parting ways with the Kuja Racing team where she rode their Honda CBR 600RR.

The 32-year-old is the first woman to compete full-time in the Supersport World championship after dominating woman’s racing in Italy over the past few years.

Paola has been named the ‘Valentino Rossi in Pink’ and scored points during her first outing of the series at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.  The Italian rider was also the first woman to ever win the Vallelunga Rome race of the Yamaha R6 Series Cup after beating all the other male riders in the competition back in 2006.

Troy Bayliss - Ducati Xerox

Troy Bayliss will not be coming back to the World Superbike series following his recent two test sessions on the Ducati as he had decided he does not miss racing enough.

The former three-times World Championship rider said in an interview;

“I spoke too soon. Everything felt easy for me and I said that I wanted to comeback; I guess I started my own rumour. But when I tested here I found out that things weren’t going that good and we ended up going around in circles.

That’s when it hit me and it was hard things like that that I didn’t miss about racing. That completely I changed my mind I don’t want to come back racing and I don’t want to do any wild-cards. I’m retired and I’m happy.”

Bayliss may have retired from racing but he signed a contract for ‘professional services’ under which he remains a test rider for both Ducati WSB and MotoGP teams so for now the rumours can be put to bed, but for how long?

Jason Disalvo

The World Supersport rider Jason Disalvo has parted company with the ParkinGO Triumph BE1 team following his disappointing season so far leaving him running in 15th place.

Following his superb career in the American championships, Disalvo joined the squad for this seasons championship but has failed to get to grips with the Daytona 675 while his team mates Matthieu Lagrive, Chaz Davies and David Salom are all showing their potential in the series.

The team have been enjoying their best season so far with top five finishes while Davies and Salom are sitting in fourth and fifth respectively in the championship standings so far.  The team are now said to be looking for a replacement rider for the American after their mutual agreement to part ways.

Max Biaggi - Aprilia 2010

Max Biaggi won both races this weekend for the Aprilia team at the Miller Motorsports Park in Utah while his team-mate Leon Camier made it onto the podium after his best finish so far this season.

Race One

It was Carlos Checa on the Althea Ducati that dominated race one from the start, fighting off a challenging Max Biaggi midway through the race to gain an advantage of almost three seconds.

As the race got underway, it was Leon Camier that managed to squeeze his machine between the Ducati of ChecaBiaggi and his team-mate to slot into second place but only until the next corner when Checa breezed past.  Checa was then on the tail of Biaggi who had taken the lead after a fantastic start but by the second lap Checa went around the outside of the Italian to take his position at the front of the field.

With only two laps of the race left to run and with a comfortable lead over Biaggi, Checa’s Ducati came to a standstill out on circuit, leaving the Spaniard with no option but to park up his bike and return to the pits.

Biaggi crossed the line to take the chequered flag ahead of Leon Haslam who had battled his way back through the field from ninth place after a poor start and with a smoking Ducati ahead of him.  Haslam had been sat behind Jakub Smrz on PATA B&G Racing Ducati when smoke began bellowing out of the bike causing Haslam to inform the marshall’s of the problem which appeared to have gone unnoticed by Smrz.

Haslam was fortunate to be gifted a further two places after Jonathan Rea on the Ten Kate Honda suffered another off following his accident in Superpole and took Cal Crutchlow on the Yamaha Sterilgarda with him.  Both riders managed to make their way back on track but were then at the back of the field.

The Alstare Suzuki rider was now up to sixth position and chasing down Noriyuki Haga on the Ducati Xerox and Checa, passing both riders in an impressive move.  Haga followed Haslam through and the pair were soon harassing Camier who was sitting in third place but Camier held his line leaving until lap 16  when he ran wide allowing  the pair to take advantage of the flying Aprilia.

Biaggi crossed the line to take the chequered flag ahead of Haslam in second and Haga in third.  Leon Camier claimed fourth followed by Troy Corser in fifth, Shane Byrne in sixth, Luca Scassa in seventh, Sylvain Guintoli in eighth, James Toseland in ninth and Ruben Xaus rounding off the top ten riders.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 38mins 20.442secs 21 laps
2. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +4.931s
3. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +6.432s
4. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +8.576s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +11.150s
6. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +11.243s
7. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +12.432s
8. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +15.145s
9. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +16.091s
10. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +16.502s
11. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +18.719s
12. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +24.285s
13. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +36.479s
14. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +39.700s
15. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +41.263s

19. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 19 laps completed
20. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 1 lap completed
21. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 0 laps completed

Race Two

Max Biaggi is now leading the World Superbike championship after winning the second race of the day for the Aprilia team.

It was Carlos Checa that once again looked as if he would dominate the race as he out-breaked the Aprilia rider into turn one to take the lead.  Biaggi sat in second position followed by Troy Corser in third from fifteenth position on the grid with Leon Camier in fourth place ahead of Ruben Xaus in fifth.

Leon Haslam had been forced back to tenth place after being pushed aside as the field headed into the first set of bends.  By the second lap, Corser had made a gap of over a second between himself and Biaggi but by lap seven, bad luck had once again stuck the Althea rider as he incurred further technical problems with his bike and was out of the race as he coasted to a halt.

Biaggi was now leading for the second time in two races while behind Leon Haslam had fought his way past James Toseland, Noriyuki Haga, Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus to slot into fifth place.  As Haslam began to close on the leading riders disaster struck as the Suzuki rider high-sided after making an error and was out of the race.

Corser was now in second place with Leon Camier in third and Cal Crutchlow in fourth but as the race developed the BMW of Corser began to lose pace allowing Camier to close in on him and move into second on lap 13 with Crutchlow following on the next lap.

Biaggi crossed the line to take the flag for the second time followed by Camier with his best finish so far this season, making it a 1-2 for the Aprilia team. Crutchlow grabbed the third step of the podium in third ahead of Noriyuki Haga in fourth, Corser in fifth, Sylvain Guintoli in sixth, Shane Byrne in seventh, Jonathan Rea in eighth, Michel Fabrizio in ninth and Luca Scassa in tenth.

James Toseland crashed out on lap 15 of the race after losing the front end of his Yamaha Sterilgarda when he came out of one corner too fast leaving him no time to slow down for the next.

Here are the results;

1. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 21 laps
2. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 +5.899s
3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 +7.363s
4. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1198 +8.842s
5. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR +9.473s
6. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 +12.293s
7. Shane Byrne GBR Althea Ducati 1198 +12.483s
8. Jonathan Rea GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +15.959s
9. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1198 +18.897s
10. Luca Scassa ITA Team Supersonic Ducati 1198 +20.372s
11. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR +26.823s
12. Max Neukirchner GER Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR +30.344s
13. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +33.337s
14. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R +38.772s
15. Broc Parkes AUS Echo-CRS Honda CBR1000RR +44.994s

16. Jakub Smrz CZE PATA B&G Racing Ducati 1198 18 laps completed
17. Matteo Baiocco ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 15 laps completed
18. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Sterilgarda YZF R1 14 laps completed
19. Roger Lee Hayden USA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 12 laps completed
20. Leon Haslam GBR Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000 7 laps completed
21. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1198 7 laps completed

Troy Bayliss

Troy Bayliss announced his intention of a possible return to the World Superbike series earlier this month after retiring from the sport in 2008.

Bayliss hinted he could be back on track in 2011 and is being given full support from Ducati after winning his three World Superbike championship wins with the team.

The 41-year-old Australian, tested for the factory 1198 at Mugello last week to give crucial feedback to the engineers with Ducati boss Filippo Preziosi saying in an interview that all efforts to accommodate the rider if he finalises his return to the sport.

Bayliss said after the test session;

“I really enjoyed myself and I hope the feedback I have been giving the guys is useful.  I was a little worried that I’d have forgotten how to ride after the year and a half break, but it was easy and to be honest it felt like I’d never been away!”