After the two podiums in sunny California ­ in the last round ­ Troy's back on the road to success again. The good results in America proved that Troy hasn't gone off the boil and that he is a genuine title contender. But for the poor results in the rounds immediately preceding USA, Troy would've been breathing more closely down on series leader Troy Bayliss. But, there are still four rounds and 200 points up for grabs and Troy will be fighting it out until the last race in the last round.

In the meantime, the next round takes place at Brands Hatch in England on 29th July. In the last few years, Brands Hatch has become much more then just a round of the championship. Now, it is a motorsport event in its own right and the best attended UK mainland motorsport event ­ even bigger then the British F1 Grand prix. Brands Hatch circuit is set in a natural bowl and is one of the best tracks for spectators. It wasn't a particularly happy hunting ground for Troy last year though ­ with a sixth place in the first race and an unfortunate and unexpected no-score ­ due to over zealous officials - in the second.

"It was good to get back on the podium road again at Laguna Seca. I was under quite a bit of pressure to do well there and although I didn't win a race, I did get tow podiums. I don't think anybody could've beaten Ben (Bostrom) that day ­ he was on a mission. The podiums closed the gap a little on the leaders and now I have to score consistently high points in all the remaining four rounds and give Bayliss and Edwards a real fight."

"That's what I'll be chasing at Brands and the rest of the rounds. Last year, Brands was not a good event for me. I got a poor start in the first race and then spent the rest of the time playing catch-up, before finishing sixth. In race two, I highsided on the opening lap and the race was red-flagged. Yanagawa and I were both down on the deck ­ but we were both OK. I tried to get up, so that I could get back to the pits for the re-start, but a couple of the marshals held my head down and stopped me from getting up."

"They thought I'd hit my head, but I was speaking to them and telling them I needed to get back to the pits. By the time everything was sorted out, it was too late for me to get onto the grid, so I missed the race completely! Hopefully, that kind of bad luck cannot strike twice in the same place! I'm looking forward to Brands and a couple of good results to carry on where I left off at Laguna Seca. It's been a bit of a time since I won a race, so I think Brands will be a good place to do it."