It felt good to be back racing in Germany after such a long break, too long in my opinion. There really is no need to shut up shop for a month and a half with just four rounds remaining but that’s how it is. I was back on the rostrum at the Nurburgring which was important after two lowly fifth places at Donington and Brno. Yamaha were too fast for us again but I was pretty pleased to finish in the runner-up spot ahead of Lascorz. It proved a terribly difficult weekend for us as our best engine blew on Saturday morning and the bike went on fire. I believe we can challenge Yamaha at Imola where we tested back in July; the Honda chassis is very precise and so the more tracktime we get, the better.

It was so bloody cold at the Nurburgring. Friday was wet and miserable and although the weather picked up over the weekend the temperature remained baltic. I spent a few days in Dusseldorf after the race and I couldn’t believe how much better the weather was. I was cycling in 32℃ on Tuesday just 150km from the circuit where the temperature had been in the mid-teens. Strange thing geography.

Did anyone see Alex De Angelis’ Friday practice crash? I don’t like to criticise but my God man, sort it out! He turned too tightly at the first corner and crashed on the grass on the inside, that’s just not on for a guy who’s racing at the pinnacle of the sport. His race crash wasn’t much better.

I’m going to Croft on Friday to watch BSB practice then I’ll head back to Ireland to enjoy the weekend at home. It would be nice to see John land a podium before the season’s out, he’s got six opportunities left and I reckon he can do it. By the way, Michael was really strong all weekend in Germany but unfortunately he fell early in the race. Here’s a tip for you if you like a spot of gambling. Get down the bookies and bet on Michael Laverty finishing in the top six at Imola, you’ll get some good odds on that un! Don’t say I never give you anything.

Eugene