The best way to describe the heat at Suzuka is like blasting a hairdryer straight down your throat. It’s unreal, and it knackers you out in no time. I found that out in free practice as soon as I arrived at the Japanese circuit, where I’d been lucky enough to be invited to race for Team TRAS on a BMW S 1000 RR. I slotted into a three man team with two Japanese dudes, who weighed half my weight and were twice as fast. Well, maybe not that much faster, but they were rapid and a top laugh – even if the language barrier was a bit of an issue. Mind you, I get that everywhere...
Last one to the bar gets the beers in!
The whole team was awesome and they really went out of their way to make me feel proper welcomed into their professional, privateer team. I say privateer, but in truth they were as professional, and perhaps even better run, than some of the bigger factory outfits. I watched them rehearse countless pitstops in scorching heat to make sure they were on the ball, and it paid off big time when we got going with the eight-hour gig around the iconic track. Learning the circuit was a mega experience, gradually building my pace and adjusting to the bike, which had been dialled in to suit my skinny teammates. The track’s super fast, really wide and you have to ride it balls deep everywhere. The more laps I bunged in the quicker I got, but it was awesome to be out racing against the likes of Pol Espargaro, Nicky Hayden and a load of other world class riders. Suzuka’s such a big event and it means everything to the Japanese manufacturers who go all out to chase the win each year.