Alex Gobert Column - An American adventure

Hi MCNEWS.COM.AU readers!

I went back over to the States on the 14th of January for a two day test at the new California Speedway and then a week later, the annual Laguna Seca AMA three day test.

My friend, Justin Girotto, came over with me to check out what it's like over in America.

We left Sydney on Monday the 14th and landed in the USA early on the Monday. I actually had to ride that day so we rushed through customs and went straight to California Speedway. We got to the track at about 8.30 am and I had to do a quick photo shoot for the American Honda press kits. I was feeling pretty tired but I was keen to get on the track and ride some motorcycles!

I used the day just to learn the track and get a feel for everything after the holiday break. I also have a new mechanic so we worked through some settings and I was happy with the day. I was right there with the lap times and also got to ride the Formula Extreme bike, which is just sooo much fun to ride. It's awesome and the Dunlop tyres just slide around and give so much confidence.

On the second day I spent a lot of time on the 600 F4i and was chasing Tommy Hayden and picking up a lot of stuff and building more confidence. I'm really looking forward to the second round of the AMA championship at California Speedway, and also that will be the first round of the Formula Extreme championship, as we don't compete at Daytona on the FX. I like the track layout, it is pretty tight but a really smooth surface. It reminds me of Winton, in Australia and I seem to go pretty good there so hopefully I can get up and mix it up with the front runners....

After the test we had four days until we went to Monterey, CA for the Laguna test. On the first day, Anthony, Justin and I went riding motocross at Lake Elsinore and it was heaps of fun. I was a bit rusty on the dirt, but after the day I felt pretty good and pretty much back to my normal pace.

The next day we went riding at the new Saddleback MX park, about 40 minutes North from our house in Elsinore. The Hayden brothers were there and it was way cool riding dirt bikes with those guys, we are all a pretty similar speed on the dirt but Anthony pretty much smoked us all!

The Haydens are all cool guys, and I always like to hang out with them and talk and stuff so it was cool to go motocrossing with them. Roger Hayden and I get on pretty good and are around the same age and both the youngest of 3 racing brothers so we have a fair bit in common. On the way back from Saddleback we stopped in at Troy Lee Designs and picked up our Suomy road race helmets. Troy Lee always does awesome paint jobs for my brothers and I, my new one is the best yet. Justin also got hooked up with some clothes and stuff so that was cool for him too.

We went to Disneyland the day after. I have been there before but Anthony wanted to show Justin what it's like....I mean, you cant go over to the US without checking out Disneyland! So...after we ran amuck there for the day and turned Mickey's world upside down, we went back to Elsinore, packed the MX bikes and went training under lights at a track called Perris. It reminded me of when I used to race Supercross when I was a bit younger. Justin was going pretty fast on Anthony's YZ250F and I was in front of him and crashed, he ran over my leg and it kinda hurt but it was all good.

Round 3 of the AMA Supercross series was on at Anaheim the next night so we went to that and it was just crazy. Supercross is so big over there and the guys are really, really fast! It was good for Justin to watch, as he is a motocrosser in OZ and I guess it's his aim to get over to the States one day.

So off to Laguna Seca for the three day test and we met up with my other brother Aaron up there. I raced the Aprilia Cup race there when I was 15 so I kinda remembered the circuit. It's probably my favourite track in the world, the place just flows so well and the corkscrew gets pretty exciting if anything goes wrong up there...just ask Aaron! (He had a HUGE crash on the way up to the corkscrew, doing about 210 km/h)

Overall the test went good and I'm really settling in to the Bruce Transportation Group Honda team. I got into the mid 1m29's on the FX bike and could do them lap after lap. The race was won last year at low 29's so my confidence is rising all the time. My team-mate Jake Zemke was the fastest of the FX riders and he is really riding well, it's good for the team and he is a great guy to speak to and learn from.

On the 600 my best was a low 31, about a second a lap off the top guys but I'm sure after a few races I should lift my game and get up near the top five.

Our new 2002 954 FX bikes aren't built yet, but I'm really looking forward to riding them. The new bike is supposed to be a big step forward and I just can't wait to swing a leg over one! Also our new 2002 model 600's are arriving soon so it will be great to get a fresh bike.

Well I just got back to Australia this morning (Saturday 26th ) and plan to put my head down and do a lot of training in the gym and cardio to get in really good shape for the Daytona 600 Supersport race. It is just over a month away now, but I am really getting keen to get on the grid and race, the whole of the American Honda team have done lots of testing and it will be great to finally race!

I head back to the US in about 3 weeks so, I will let you know how it is all going at the end of next month.

LaTeR eVeRyBoDy
aLeX # 121
Bruce Transportation Group Honda