MotorsTV UK Official Blog

Hi Guys,
 
What a week! I have been here, there and everywhere. I’ve been flying loads and doing my final exams which were tough. Lots to know about clouds and stuff. I played in a charity match at Loch Lomond which was amazing. It was an unbelievable place. Our team came 2nd overall which considering I thought I didn’t play that well I was pretty happy with. I also went to the last round of the BSB and did a bit on the Think! stand and the Chris Jones auction.

 Oli Ran her half marathon that weekend in London and raised over £1000 for her elephant charity and did the run in under 2 hours so she was so happy with her achievement. Out of 20,000 runners she came 4820 which I think is amazing. She wanted to that everyone who supported her and donated to her charity – there will be lots of happy elephants out there now. 

As I’m sure you know I have signed for Alstare Suzuki for next year. It was a tough decision as Stiggy has been fantastic and gave me the opportunity in the first place to come back to WSBK. I am so grateful for that but the Suzuki deal was too good an opportunity to turn down and I’m very excited about it.

Last race though and I would like to thank Stiggy and all my sponsors and fans with a double podium.
 
Sorry it’s late my computer went kaput!

Leon

Hi everyone

Not a bad weekend then. I really enjoyed the track but the racing was quite lonely for me. We chose the harder tyre in the first race and it didn’t work quite as well. I was the only one using that tyre too so it was a bit of a gamble. In race two we had a couple of electrical problems but nothing too major so I just couldn’t push as hard as I wanted.

It’s true that I will part company with Stiggy after this season which is a shame as I have really enjoyed being a part of their team and I think we have worked really well together. Suzuki is on the cards for the next few days and I will let you know as soon as it’s a done deal, but it’s all very exciting.

I’ve been flying again today and this weekend I will go to Oulton on the Saturday to see some of the BSB boys in their last race. Then it’s off to Loch Lomond to play a couple of rounds of golf with friends. Oli is in London this weekend doing her half marathon. She’s been training really hard so she should blitz it.

I can’t believe the season’s nearly over, it’s gone so fast but it’s been awesome too. I love being in WSBK.

Speak soon

Leon

Just got home to good flying weather which is where I am going to be for the next couple of weeks. I am a bit disappointed after last weekend as I really feel like I could have had a couple of podiums, if not a win. My pace was good in both races but I was just a bit unlucky getting nudged by a couple of other riders. As I always say though, that’s racing.

In race one Johnny Rea pushed me out at the first turn which dropped me back to about 10th. It took me a while to come through and by the time I did the front runners were too far ahead. In the second race my start was much better and I was up to 2nd place when Ben Spies pulled quite a harsh move. He lifted up and I had no choice but to go on the gravel. When I rejoined something electrical had broken on my bike so I couldn’t accelerate and ended up being passed be Max too.

As far as the track goes I loved, loved, loved it! All you have to do is absorb it, learn from it and get over it. We now have a couple of weeks before Imola to train and talk with the team on how we can make more improvements to the bike.

I have the Goodwood Revival next weekend and am racing in the classic race against Jeremy McWilliams and Jamie Witham, so I feel it’s going to be a slightly competitive weekend, but fun all the same.

Quick word on the flying. I have about 18 solo hours to do in my little plane before I get my license so I’m going to be cracking on with that before Imola.

Leon

It’s been a whole five weeks since I last rode my Stiggy Honda and I really can’t wait to get back on the bike. That’s the thing with racing, you’re always waiting for the next race. Whether it’s five days or five weeks away, all you think about is what you can do to fill your time before you get back to racing again.

Having said that, I have done a really good job with filling my time. I’ve popped along to support some friends in BSB which was fun to catch up with everyone and watch some good racing of course.

Steve Brogan, Oli and myself went off to Redtread Enduro School in Spain for a few days. We decided to do a bit of a road trip and take our mate’s van but it’s really quite a long way, 1300 miles from Calais. Even longer when the van you borrow brakes down in the middle of nowhere in a rain storm at 11 o’clock at night and none of you really speak Spanish! After an uncomfortable night, the three of us in the cab, we got towed to Madrid to get fixed and were on our way again.

It was an awesome trip though; Steve and I spent the time riding around the Spanish mountains while Oli went diving every day. The last days we went to a water park and just chilled which was a much needed break for all of us.

Me and my Dad have also been taking our pilots’ licence; my Dad passed his a couple of months ago so while I’ve had some time off I have been getting some serious hours in. I now only have to do a few more hours solo before I can take passengers. We have bought between us a Eurostar light aircraft, it’s a little two seater thing but it’s amazing and looks like a little Spitfire. I’ll put some pictures on the site.

We are a bit governed by the weather in the UK but we have been pretty lucky on the break, and after Germany hopefully we will continue to get some good flying weather.

I’ve done the usual stuff too like training every morning with Kirk, Oli is running a half marathon in October in London to raise money for an Elephant charity so I have been helping her train and running quite a lot.

Trailing as been a regular occurrence too although we didn’t really have any time to enter any comps. All in all it’s been a pretty good break, but a very quick one too. Well they do say time flies when you’re having fun.

Speak soon

Leon

Hi everyone.

After the last round at Brno, it’s really nice to have a bit of time off. I have been hitting the gym hard and training with my trainer Kirk, going to all his circuit, spinning and body pump classes. Also been trailing loads. In fact, me and my Dad have been flying up to Jamie Withams place and then trailing all day.

My Dad has got his licence to fly a light aircraft and I am using my time off to get some flying hours in too so I can eventually get mine. At the moment we have a fixed wing microlight but are looking at something a bit bigger.

We are going down to Brands Hatch On Saturday to support Steve Brogan Who is riding the HM Plant Honda in replacement of Glen Richards who’s got a broken leg. I am also riding a classic Honda on a parade lap with the likes of Giacomo Agostini. It’s always fun doing things like that.

On Sunday night Oli, Brogie and myself are off on a road trip down to Redtread in Spain. We’ve chucked a couple of bikes and some diving gear in the back of a van so Steve and I can go off enduroing while Oli goes diving and sunbathing. It’s really hot out there at the moment so it will be cool to get out of the rain for a while.

Speak soon

Leon