Time for a MASSIVE UPGRADE, oh, and Happy Birthday, to me!

2006 is over. The World Championship has come and gone. Now it's time to prepare for 2007.

Now it's time to ROCK-N-ROLL, baby!

Next season promises new 800cc racebikes, new challenges, a new campaign, and I am extremely proud to announce that I will continue my assault on the MotoGP World Tour in 2007 as an integral part of Pramac D'antin Ducati!

I travelled to Madrid on Monday to meet with Luis D'antin and confirm my position for next year, which will see me taking a massive step forward and furthering my knowledge of the international racing business, and in particular, all the details about the new Ducati GP7!

I always want to do my best and help my team to the fullest of my abilities. Last season I worked on
Alex Hofmann's crew, but next year I will be placed where I can help my team and work for both riders. If you think that doing your all for one rider is cool, just imagine being able to help two riders! In view of wanting to do as much as possible for the team, I will now be taking over the Parts and Logistics Coordinator position, facilitating all our spare parts needs directly through Ducati Corse, and managing them throughout the season at racetracks around the world. It is an awesome responsibility, but I am sooo hungry - and I'm ready for the challenge! I truly believe 2007 is going to be a break-out year for the Pramac D'antin team, and this is why I have chosen to stay with them and once again do my best so that everyone around me can do their best. I had some other options for the '07 season, but honestly, I love working with my teammates and I can't think of anything more rewarding than being a critical element in my team's structure and helping to build a solid foundation for the coming championship series. The job has now blossomed from High Pressure, to Hyper Pressure, because one oversight or mistake could cost us valuable time, money, or worse - a race! I'll need to be on my game to ensure that my team has Everything they need to get the job done, no matter what. On the lighter side, I will get to know every single piece of the GP7 intimately, and for a "lego-fiend" like me, I think that's going to be really fun. I'm sure that it won't be long before I'm able to visualize the complete bike in my head and rattle off part numbers, codes, and installation/replacement procedures. At least I hope so!

As I learn more about the current systems, and we develop new computer programs for doing things, I hope to be able to place my team on a higher level of competitiveness than we managed in 2006. It is my goal this season to do my best to raise the level - because I want to win races. Sure, I had a strong option to move to a squad that has won races, and I'm sure they will win races again, but I wouldn't have helped build that team. I'm helping to build this team, this family. It's my family. In my heart, I'm still a mechanic, though, and I still look at life as a series of problems that I try to fix. I just make sure that I put my all into living at the maximum, because you never know when the wheel will stop turning. My duties and responsibilities have increased exponentially now, so I'm unsure of what I'll be able to write about. Moreso, I am not sure I'll have the time to really do it up like I did last year! What a complete turnaround from my 30th Birthday in 2005.

I expect to spend some more time in Madrid, 30 minutes outside of the Barajas airport at the Pramac D'antin raceshop! Highly fortified, discrete, and massive.

My birthday present? Talk about practical! An eight language racing dictionary that I will use to help me translate some of the more technical information that comes my way. Working in the box with the other mechanics last year, I was amazed at how much you can communicate with hand gestures (and finger gesticulations, haha), and some choice words. To be honest, I never felt 100% comfortable because sometimes things got pretty complex, and my lack of perfect language comprehension could have been a problem because time is always of the essence at the track. Now, I've got a new book to help me improve that much more. Right On!

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has been behind me this year, supporting me with time, encouragement, and supplies throughout my first season in MotoGP. Thank you MotoLola, Evan and Joanne, Brad, Ian, Bob, the members of Barf, all the guys at MotoStrano, and of course, all my teammates from D'antin MotoGP. They say the first year is the hardest, but with everything I've got on my plate for 2007, I think it's only going to get more difficult - and that much more rewarding! I've never believed in taking the easy route, and feel that learning from the bottom up is the only way to go to truly understand and master something. Tonight, I'm raising a glass to celebrate my 31st, and also to kick off my new job in the 2007 MotoGP World Championship.

It's time to get to work. Let's rock!

MotoStrano, my personal sponsor and supplier of killer clothing, apparel, and luggage. I couldn't have made it as far as I did without you guys. What can I say? MotoStrano, with me all the way in MotoGP!

Axio Hardpacks, the best bag I've come across! I them use to protect the computers I travel around the world with. Worth it's weight in gold. Thanks Bob!

The Pramac D'antin Ducati website will be undergoing some significant changes during the off-season, and I'm hoping to change a couple things up on my own website, as well. Stay tuned.

We're putting the band back together, so expect to hear all about it when www.MotoGPod.com starts up again this off-season.

Posted by Liam on November 28, 2006 05:35 PM | Permalink