Round 3 - Adversity and Mental Toughness

After the extremely unfortunate event that took place in race 2 at Donington with the crash in the long lap, I was left with a sprained ACL and with inflammation of the tendons. This news was absolutely devastating for me due to some other plans we had for training that I was now missing. However, the positive was that it happened in time for the 6-week break in the season. Coach Torres and my family put a plan together immediately and got straight to work to be at 100% for the next round. I was very fortunate that it was not a full rupture resulting in an operation which would take 4–6-month recovery time instead of my 4–6-week recovery time. After getting to work immediately, I was progressing at a rapid rate and making big improvements with the knee. After around 2 weeks I was able to hop back on my MTB and get back to enjoying myself again. Those two weeks were so hard. Not being able to be active was driving me insane. All I could do was ice and heat and small movements a couple of times a day...other than that it was just sitting around letting my body do its thing. A week later I hopped on an Ohvale and did a parking lot workout with no pain which was just amazing news. I was able to continue to build up my knee and even got back to the gym to continue with my weight training. The weekend before I left for the UK I even got to get on my 600 and enjoy Homestead Miami Speedway with Florida Track days. After the day I had at homestead I knew I was all set for the races coming up.

While being fully focused on the rebuilding of my knee, on the 14th of June I received the news that my team boss, John Cresswell, of 3 years had passed away in his sleep. When I first heard the news, it didn’t feel like real life, surely, he couldn’t have passed away I was just with him 2 weeks ago and he was normal John. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it, it just didn’t make sense to me whatsoever. I broke down into tears in my mom’s arms and just felt this emotion that I’ve never felt in my life. John was such a special person to me; he gave me my first ever opportunity to go racing overseas and he brought me in like his son. John and I grew to be so extremely close, and we have endless amounts of memories and fun times together. Back when I was in my slump and struggling, he never left my side and he certainly never lost faith in me because he saw the potential in me that I didn’t. I will forever be grateful for John and what he has done for me, all the good, bad, sad, and happy moments will always stay with me. I know John is up there with a cigarette in his mouth watching down on me, keeping me safe, and I’m going to make him proud! Forever Race for John Cresswell!

Back on the plane to the UK I was starting to build the hunger back up to go racing and be back at the top. Due to John’s passing, the race team is under probate which means we don’t have our bikes or anything from the team accessible to us. Mr. Gary Wilson and Wilson Racing have stepped up and given me the opportunity to be on the grid for Round 3. This is a new team, bike setup, and atmosphere for me, but I told myself as long as I’ve got a bike between my legs then I’m going to do the best of my situation.

After a fitness test and the track walk on Thursday I was so excited to get back on a bike and give my maximum. The weekend though didn’t get off to the best start. I only completed 2 laps in FP1 due to a mechanical problem, the bike wasn’t receiving enough fuel and the bike cut out on me. This was not the ideal start to the weekend, but the team got the bike sorted and ready for FP2.

I got a full second session but found out that we were severely down on power compared to the rest of the field and it would be very difficult to be competitive with the current motor in the bike. The bike setup however was really good and the bike felt planted in the corners. Not having the horsepower down the various long straights was not ideal. The team took the bike over to the onsite dyno and the result was 3hp down from normal expectations of the motor. Those of you not familiar with this type of racing; being down 3hp on this bike is like being down 15hp on a 600. Mr. Wilson sourced and put a refreshed motor in for qualifying and now there was a promise. Friday was certainly not my brightest day, but I tried to just keep my smile and stay as positive as possible for the people around me.

Heading into qualifying it absolutely poured and soaked the track fully but I’m a fan of wet weather conditions, so I was ready. The start of qualifying wasn’t bad, and I was within the top 6 throughout the session but I had terrible feelings with the front through all the corners. I figured it was just the circuit, especially watching so many go down. However, it got to a point where it was physically un-rideable and dangerous, so I pulled in and let the guys know. It turns out the valve went bad in my front wheel, and I was qualifying on a flat front tire. The guy’s got the valve tightened and filled the tire up ready to head back out. When we went to start the bike, it wouldn’t start, and it took us 2 mins to get the bike started. By the time I got back out on track I wasn’t going to be able to get another flying lap time in because the clock had expired. I finished qualifying in P11.

I was in complete disbelief; all I could say is why? Why am I dealing with all this suffering and bad luck? Why is this happening to me? Why me? I am training, I am sacrificing, I am working, I am doing all the small details and pushing and all these uncontrollable situations are just consuming all my efforts. I’m not going to lie; I was ready to pack it up and head home at one point because of my situation. Immediately after this thought I gave Coach Torres a call and he calmed me down and put a plan out for me to execute. I was much more relaxed after this chat and with more optimistic thoughts going into race 1.

It was looking very wet for race 1 but I knew I had the pace for a solid result with a front tire that was inflated. Starting from p11 isn’t ideal but with a good start and a very strong first couple laps, anything is possible. I got a great launch off the line and made my way through the field up to around 4th and 5th place. I then concentrated on head down and pace. The track conditions were treacherous and there were riders going down everywhere. I too started to feel lots of movement underneath me so my main goal was to finish. I slowly started dropping back in the field as I was in preservation mode especially after seeing two of the main contenders go out of the race. Came over the line P6 with a big sigh of relief, after the 2 days I had been having, this felt nice. Completing a race, maybe not as competitive as I wanted to be, but finished the race and accumulated some good points which now placed me tied for 3rd place in the championship standing. 

Luckily, we had a dry warm up; I had decent feelings with the bike and ready to attack for Race 2. Made a couple changes to make the bike a bit more aggressive for the race. Race 2 was looking like a dry one as well, so it was time to analyze and plan our targets. Starting p13 was going to be a struggle to get to the lead group but, I didn’t think about it much because I knew if I put my mind to it, I can finish on the podium. We didn’t have a generator for the warmers or a blower, but I was confident I could get the bike to work on the warmup lap so that wasn’t too big of an issue either. Started the race again with a good launch but got pushed a bit wide through turn 1. I made at least 4 positions up through turn 2. I had an unbelievable lap one going from p13 to p4 and with the podium in sight. By the end of lap 2 I was in a podium position and decently clear of the chasing pack. I had a super fun race with a great battle between Surowiak and myself throughout the entire race. I knew exactly where I was going to make my pass on the last lap for the podium and I executed flawlessly. Made a super nice pass under the bridge into the final sector leaving him nowhere to pass and beat him on the drag to the line. While rolling down pit lane before the race I told myself that I was going to pull into Parc ferme, and that’s exactly what I did. Finished the race on the PODIUM P3 BABY!!

After the most difficult weekend of my career so far, P3 felt like a win. Being able to repay Mr. Wilson for the opportunity and putting it on the podium for John was unreal. After all the adversity and everything I had been through in the past 6 weeks and throughout the weekend, I was over the moon. Going up to P3 in the championship after a weekend like that was incredible as well.

I want to thank Mr. Wilson and the whole Wilson racing team for all the help throughout the weekend and for this opportunity. Massive thank you to Jay, Alan, Parry, and Bobbie for coming and helping me with the situation and with the bike. Special thank you to Mr. Michael Bowes for everything, he’s been such a blessing to me and he’s a pivotal role in my career, my second father. And of course, to my brother from another mother and the best teammate George, we did this together bro!

P3 in the championship now when we started the weekend in P4 is amazing, especially considering the situations and the adversity we all had to endure. Now time to hunt the boys at the top!