This is my second time at Phillip Island, the first being on a 250cc Honda back in October 2007.  This morning I got up at 7.30 then I headed down the road to have breakfast in a little café along with the mechanics.  There may have been a few rashers of bacon on my plate, and a sausage, maybe even an egg.  But I’m not saying!  

I arrived at the track at 9.45 and went straight to the garage to check out the set up.  It’s the first time I seen the bikes in full livery.  The mechanics worked flat out back in England to get the ’09 bikes ready in time for round one and they did a great job.  Even the Ten Kate team are still on their ’08 bikes for the first two rounds.

After arranging my kit and preparing my visors for the weekend I borrowed my teammate Miguel’s bicycle to do two laps around the track.  Miguel arrived on Monday so he’d hired a bike for the week.  Nothing has changed here in 18 months which is rare because I usually spot something small, for example a little more kerbing, but all’s the same.  My mechanic Ben asked me to check that both bikes’ levers/footrests were in the same position then I caught up with my chief mechanic Brains to discuss tyres and our starting point for tomorrow.

I nipped off for a quick lunch before the FG Sport photoshoot at 2.15.  The entire supersport grid lined up then the superbike boys joined us for a group photo.  I returned to the box to change back into my clothes before heading upstairs for the rider briefing at 4.00.  The briefing lasted 20mins then my team manager Simon Buckmaster and I stayed behind for a further 20mins to talk with the FIM rep about a few hazy areas in the rulebook.

The full team ate dinner at the Stone Bake restaurant in town tonight. I had steak which was cooked to perfection! Bear in mind I cooked it myself on a 400 degrees stone slab.  I’ve watched the DVD of the race from last year a few times already but I’m off to watch it again.  I’ll let you know how things go tomorrow, wish me luck!

Eugene
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