Many thanks to John from White Dalton, Tony Margiocchi and Rob Wright for the extra pics, to compliment the professional images from PLJ Photo. If anyone would like a higher resolution version of any of these pics, drop me an email.
As the Brands Hatch round approaches I’m focusing on fitness. The bike is tip top so there isn’t a lot else that needs to be done. The sort of fitness you need to race at club level is different to Superbikes or MotoGP. The physical work in riding a bike is directly proportional to the speed, so the faster you’re going the fitter you need to be.
The Tuono is heavier than most race bikes but it changes direction easily and doesn’t fight back, so for one race you don’t need to be especially fit. The difference over a weekend of club racing is that I’m usually on my own, doing all the work in the paddock, and sleeping in my box trailer. After all of that you can start a race feeling tired. The aim of being fitter is that I can still feel fresh on the last lap of the last race and able to ride my best.
I train five to six times a week, including cycling, weights, and specific push-up sessions for strength under braking. This gives me a good combination of strength and endurance, and keeps my weight down to around 11st7lbs to help acceleration. I especially love cycling and there are some great rides around Bath – so long as you don’t mind some big hills.
