It’s a real pleasure for me to be able to write to you guys again knowing that I am going to remain a Yamaha rider for next season and hopefully beyond that. I think everybody knows that over the couple of months since my last diary my future has been the subject of a lot of debate in the press, and behind the scenes too! I had some important and interesting offers from other teams but in the end I was delighted to commit my immediate future to Yamaha. One important reason was the experience I have with the YZR-M1. We have worked hard over the past two seasons to get to know it and now, at this moment, I can ride the bike quite easily. Experience is an extremely important thing in MotoGP – as Valentino demonstrates on a weekly basis – so I didn’t want to lose this ‘weapon’ on the track. Also, I was very mindful of the faith Yamaha have shown in me over the last two years, especially Lin Jarvis, who was key to my decision, and everybody back in Japan. Riding for Yamaha is like being part of a family and this family has welcomed me with open arms, so I am happy to remain a part of it. I actually just got back to Barcelona from Misano and there was a newspaper in the taxi I took from the airport, with a photo of the crash between De Angelis, Edwards and Hayden. I got hit really hard and it’s a miracle I didn’t go down! At the time I didn’t realise it was De Angelis but I was told after the race and it didn’t surprise me. He is the rider I have had the most trouble with in the past but whilst I have tried to learn from my mistakes and control my aggression, it seems he hasn’t. Looking back over the last couple of months it has been a hectic time for me both on and off the track. I have been trying to enjoy myself as much as possible and as part of the build-up to the race at Brno I visited Vienna, which is of course in Austria but is not far from Brno, just over the border. The Austrian national television station ATV, who broadcast the MotoGP races, had organised a really special event and we paraded along the famous Ringstreet, the main boulevard in the city! The local government treated us like royalty, with the Austrian police riding ahead of us on a 5.2km loop through the city centre. It was really special. The route commenced at the Burgtheater on Josef-Meinrad-Place, along Ringstreet, past several important buildings such as the State Opera House, the most famous historical museums and the Austrian Parliament and eventually returning to the famous Burgtheater. We stopped for a few minutes at the Parliament building so that photographers and fans could take pictures before doing press interviews and autograph sessions with the fans. I also took the opportunity to visit one of my main personal sponsors, Grizzly energy drink. They took me to the Spanish Equestrian School in Vienna. It is one of the most important riding schools in the world and I was really impressed with the whole set-up. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to celebrate with a good result in the race, which was a bit of a disaster for me. I got a bad start and had to get by some people, and then I just didn’t have the same pace that I’d had all weekend. I was slower than in the practices and it really wasn’t what I was expecting. Unfortunately for me Valentino was just as strong as he’d been all weekend and I had to push very, very hard to stay with him. Towards the end I began to close the gap and after I passed him I was doing everything to stay in front, but then I made a mistake and crashed. There wasn’t much I could say to the team other than that I was sorry and that I would do everything I can to make it up in America. Amazingly, I went to Indianapolis and won the race – not only that but my two closest rivals have crashed instead! Of course I was sorry for them but these are the highs and lows of racing and it was an amazing result for me. I was strong all weekend and had my team to thank for giving me a great bike. Once again I had a bad start and I had to try very hard to pass people and get back to third, but then I had a good rhythm and I was able to go with Valentino and Dani. Once Dani had gone I knew it would be a hard fight between me and Valentino and in fact when he crashed I didn’t realise for a while, because I misread my pit-board. It said +6, which was the gap between me and De Angelis, but I thought it said +0! Anyway, my bike was great and from then on it was quite easy, I just stayed focused. I had great fun on the slow-down lap with the fans and I was so happy to win at such a legendary track. I didn’t get depressed after crashing at Brno and I didn’t get over excited about winning at Indy either, although we did have a little celebration with the team at a Brazilian restaurant in downtown Indianapolis, where a few ‘mojitos’ were drunk! It was a really fun restaurant, with a little card that was green on one side and red on the other, which you turn over depending on whether you want more meat or not! Then a few of us went on to a party with some of the other riders and paddock regulars. The next morning I was really excited to see myself on the front page of the 'Indianapolis Star' and with half a page in 'USA Today'. At Indianapolis I wore a special Captain America helmet whilst in Misano it was Valentino’s turn to wear a new design, calling himself the Donkey! Wearing the donkey ears on the podiums has to be one of his funniest celebrations ever and I must admit I laughed a lot when I saw his helmet. He is a true specialist at turning situations around but the helmet wasn’t the only example of it. When we were on the podium a number of fans began to boo and whistle at me but he told them to stop, which was a really sporting thing to do. As I said before, I am glad that I will still be a Yamaha rider next year and having the contract situation resolved means I can now focus fully on my racing. We confirmed everything before Indianapolis and I think you could see the positive effect it had on me, which came at a perfect time because we scored a win that means the championship is still a mathematical possibility. After my crash in the Czech Republic I was 50 points behind but we had to keep the faith and maintain our focus. Things can change rapidly in motorcycle racing and that is exactly what happened in America. Now, after Misano we are 30 points behind with four races to go. That is a big gap to be trailing somebody like Valentino Rossi but, like I said before, anything can happen in this sport and we just have to keep fighting. For me, the most important thing is to continue enjoying myself, scoring podiums and victories wherever possible, and we’ll see where we are when we get to Valencia. For now the World Championship calendar has given us a three-week break so I’m going to make the most of it by heading for Mallorca to spend some time training with my father. I did it before I went to Indianapolis and I really enjoyed it – it brought a lot of things back from my childhood and it was a nice feeling. I’m going to slide a bike around on the dirt and the tarmac, just like I did when I was ten years old! I’m glad my father and I are getting on with each other again. We only get one set of parents in life and we should enjoy them while we can. Jorge #99
