from ... David Philippaerts

Ciao tutti

So, we are doing this latest blog right after the Grand Prix of Brazil and I was really happy to win my second moto of the season and only just missed out on the overall victory at Campo Grande. The long trip over there went a whole lot better for me than in 2009 and I could take a lot of confidence from the way we were so competitive all weekend. We arrived in Brazil and I liked the place and the track. The GP was a low point for me in 2009 because I lost third in the championship at the last round and didn’t enjoy the event. This time it was different. The hotel was better and I could sleep and relax more. The people were different and I had a good feeling. The track was good but not real motocross. Campo Grande was a bit like ‘super-motocross’ with its layout of ‘jump, jump, corner, jump, jump, corner’.

Quite a few big things have happened in the last month. First, the bad news. We lost our dog Chiara after she was hit by a car in Belgium. Alice and I love our two dogs and as you can imagine it was a big shock and very sad for us. It was an emotional week and we travelled back to Italy for the first part of the summer break quickly afterwards. We spent some days playing with our nephew, Gabi, and it helped to have family around.

I was able to be distracted when my sponsor Specialized gave me a new bicycle and this cheered me up. I had a road bike from them before the season but now I took delivery of a mountain bike and I had to play with it straight away! I travelled up the mountain at least four times with my manager Alex and had a lot of fun. The bike is very ‘trick’ and one of the best the company has. They also sent me a lot of clothing and I cannot say how much I am happy to be with Specialized. Their Italian division is based in Milan, so not so far from me and we began the association when I made contact with them at the start of the year and they were pleased to help in return for a sticker on my helmet. I use both bikes a lot but when it is hot I prefer to be on the road; even if it is a little bit dangerous in Italy! It is better to be on the road in Belgium and I am lucky that I have some good places to go on the mountain bike near my Italian home; I think I was on the bicycle more than the motocross bike during the July month!

After more than two weeks in Italy we went back to Belgium to start riding in the sand to prepare for Lommel. I rode at Lommel and also Lierop to get ready for the GP and also made some tests. The Limburg round had not been too positive for me in the last two years but I was happy to take fourth this time. The following week we went to Loket and it was a reversal of fortune. For the last two years the Belgian sand was very difficult and I ended up riding better in the Czech Republic; in 2010 it was almost the other way around. I was fast in the first moto in Loket but I lacked a good rhythm and didn’t feel comfortable on the track. Desalle easily passed me in the first race and then I crashed twice in the second. It was my turn to carry the helmet camera in the Czech Republic and the extra weight on the head bothered me and I also didn’t really like the idea of everyone seeing everything that I do! I think it would be better if they found a way to put the camera on the bike; it is      something that works very well in MotoGP.                                                                                                                      Attacking Lommel

The Czech Republic round is when the press first started asking me about the 2010 Motocross of Nations and the decision by the Italian Federation that they will not send Tony Cairoli and I to Denver as part of the three man team. I knew there would be trouble even before the discussions with them, Yamaha and KTM began. We seem to have the same drama every year about space and logos on the official race shirt. This was not a new problem for me and in 2009 we said to the Federation that the system has to change for the future, but nothing changed and two weeks before Loket we had news there was disagreements again. So at the moment I won’t be going to the USA, even though Cairoli is world champion and I am third and we both won motos in Brazil and finished first and second. I believe the situation can still change but it is not so nice for Davide [Guarneri] or Alex [Salvini] now that the Federation have already said they will be racing. I don’t like that the team gets changed around so much. The Nations is different from the GPs and is a one-off; maybe Davide or Alex can perform better than Cairoli or me! I can understand that there are a lot of strong feelings about this decision in Italy and I completely sympathise. The riders are the ones on the track, not the Federation.

So we recently lost the dog but just one week ago Alice’s sister had another child, baby Isobel, and we were all so happy. We lost something but we gained someone very special. It got me thinking about a family and children of our own but I am only 25 so I think a few more years yet!

We start the long journey back now and have one week to get ready for Lierop, which is one of my favourite tracks. Don’t forget to look out on Sunday in Holland for my new race kit which has been designed by a member of the public. Even I do not know which design has won yet and we will make a small presentation on Saturday.

I will be spending my relaxing time working through the TV series ‘Prison Break’. I am in the third season and I’m enjoying it so much. I think I like it better than ‘Lost!’ and I was addicted to that show.

Thanks for reading!

Ciao, DP19

Photo courtesy of Yamaha Racing