Hi Everybody,

This is my new column that I'm going to be doing at the end of every month for mcnews.com.au.

I'm going to fill you in on all the news and interesting stuff that's going on in my first season of AMA racing.

After the final round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Oran Park, we began talking to American Honda about the possibility of me going over to the states for the 2002 AMA 600 SuperSport and Formula Extreme championships on the Erion Honda team.

We ended up putting a really good deal together, everything that I had hoped for....and more! I will be riding on the Bruce Transportation Group team, the team is sponsored by a school bus company and the bikes have big yellow school busses on the side, it's really cool.

The bikes are identical to the Erion racing bikes and normally if you do good in the Bruce team, the following year you move on to the Erion team and then the Factory Honda SuperBike team.

After two years on the Honda Australia SuperBike team, I felt it was time to move on and for me there was no better place to go. I mean I get to go over and race against my two brothers, Anthony and Aaron and also get to stay with Honda and ride the new 954 and 600....the money really doesn't hurt either! but that's just a bonus I guess.

I went over to the states for my first test straight after the GP support races at Phillip Island in October.  

We tested in Las Vegas and it was a private Honda two day test. It was really hot and humid over there but I enjoyed every bit of it.  There was only my teammate Jake Zemke, Mike Hale and Miguel DuHamel there because Kurtis Roberts was in Malaysia at the GP and Nicky and Roger Lee Hayden just had surgery on their forearms.

It was a good two days with no pressure and time to settle in to the bikes and also my first time on Dunlops.  I really like the feel of the Dunlops and they give so much feedback and confidence for the rider.

I rode Roger Lee Hayden's 2001 model 929 FX bike and 600, because the new bikes haven't arrived yet.   The FX bike is totally different to the one I raced in Australia and it has a really smooth power band. The Ohlins factory front forks also made it handle better than any bike I have ever ridden before! It also has a slipper clutch and an electronic shifter so they are a lot more of a race bike than the Aussie ones.  I went pretty good and everybody was happy, my times were close to Zemke and Hale and it was a perfect start to my new season.

I came home for a few weeks and then went back over on the 20th of November for a test at Thunder Hill in Northern California and then the Daytona Dunlop tyre test.

Anthony and I flew over together and spent a couple of weeks at his house in California riding motocross and going to the gym almost everyday. All three of us have been training really hard and I'm probably in the best condition of my life.

It's so awesome over there during the weeks at home in California. We get up really early and go riding MX and then go to the gym in the afternoons, it's the perfect place for training and it makes the hard work a lot of fun!

There is always at least one Pro motocrosser down at our local track, and Anthony knows a lot of them so it is cool to get to speak to and hang out with guys I have been watching race Supercross my whole life.

We also caught up with Chad Reed, he bought a house just down the road and it's great to see an Aussie kicking some butt in the world of motocross. He is a cool guy and its really good to speak to another Aussie living his dream.

Then it was off to the Thunder Hill test and all of the American Honda team guys were there, I spent a lot of time with my team and the other riders so that was awesome getting to know them better. It's hard to believe it when I'm kinda in the same team as guys like Nicky Hayden and Kurtis Roberts and those guys that I have looked up to for a lot of years.

Kurtis helps me out a lot and we get on really good, he was the top guy for Honda on the 600 and FX bike and won both championships in 2000 so if there is anyone who can help me with the bikes, it would have to be him.  My times were right on par with the other guys on the FX bike and Mike Hale was the only guy quicker than me on the 929. It boosted my confidence a lot but I was still struggling a little on the 600, as I haven't spent much time on one in the last year.

The Daytona test was next and that is a huge test, it's where all the press get to see the new riders and the guys on their new teams for the '02 season.
I had a lot of attention on me, as I'm the youngest of the Gobert brothers but it was really good doing interviews and photo shoots for the team and magazines.

I was really pumped to ride with all the other US factory riders and it was a great learning experience. I learnt so much in those three days about bike set up and riding in general, it was unbelievable. We only ride the 600's at Daytona because the tyres won't last on the FX bikes around the banking.

The place is so fast and it intimidates you at first, being so close to the wall and just tucked in behind the screen wide open. Drafting is really important and their is just about no point to ride by yourself around there.

Aaron helped me a lot with the lines around the banking which are so important for a good time there. At one stage there were about seven of us 600 riders going around for lap after lap and a lot of people watching said it was really entertaining to watch, I can't wait until the race in March!

My times were pretty good considering it was my first time on an oval track and it is the steepest banking on the AMA calendar. It's such a hard place to go fast at and that's why it is the most important race of the season to win.
All in all, everything is going really good over there at the moment and my team is just awesome... I can't say enough about the support the have given me so far and my mechanic is really keen to see me do good and works hard.

I'm at home now in Australia for Christmas and the new year until the 12th of January and then we test at the new California speedway and then the Laguna Seca test.

Speak to you again at the end of next month and have a safe and happy Christmas and new year.

Seeya Later
Alex

PS..... I'd like to thank Honda Australia and all the guys from Redwing Honda for the support over the last couple of years.  Without them I wouldn't have the chance to be where I'm at now.