Graeme Irwin can’t wait to get the season started this weekend in Argentina!
The current British champion has worked hard over the years to get back on the World championship stage, and now he is finally back where is wants to be.
Irwin is excited but also realistic about the long season that also includes the eight round British championship as well as all 19 rounds of MXGP, but the Irishman knows this is his chance at world level and he wants to take it!
We caught up with Graeme just before he left for Argentina, to get his thoughts on Hawkstone Park, practicing with Cairoli and the start of the world championship this weekend.
Graeme on…
Hawkstone: Honestly, Hawkstone is one of those places you can ride round and have a mega day or have bad starts and have a bad day, and people don’t really know what went on.
The first race I thought I rode a steady race, I got a good start and settled into a rhythm. Bobby got passed me but I knew I could go faster, I got him back again, it was a good first race and I got it out of the way, but I felt I could have been better than I was.
In the second race I got a good start again but I couldn’t really fall into good rhythm and then a back marker done me.
The last race I had a really bad start, I was coming forward but I think other riders struggled with the same thing, it was hard to come through with a start. With the MX2, some guys are riding out of control, so it took me a while to get past them and I didn’t want to do anything stupid by that stage, the point was to get through the day and get ready for Argentina.
The Hitachi ASA KTM UK team: Lee and Roger have done a really good job with everything, it’s been mega, they have given me everything to get the job done. I can’t complain, everything I have asked for they’ve gave me, it’s really just down to me now.
I don’t feel like anyone saw the best of me at Hawkstone, there are a lot better things to come.
Riding with Cairoli: Riding with him and Jasikonis was pretty cool. I’ve known Cairoli for a long time, the first I met him was with Roger the first time I was with him. I saw him at Ottobiano and thought why not speak to him about joining in and riding together, it was just really cool he was up for it. He had no problem with me joining in. It’s not often you get a nine-time world champion as laid back as that.
He’s just so consistent, he’s speed is obviously unreal, he’s just good every lap! You can see where he at with the Italian championship so he is going to be strong again this year, he is on the gas.
Argentina for round one of MXGP this weekend: It is really exciting. This is the moment I have been waiting for. The whole Hawkstone, pre-season has all been a build up for Argentina and I can’t wait. I have everything I have asked for the, the team has been mega and I am looking forward to getting and just seeing where I am at, I don’t know where I will be or what to expect. For me I want to be top 15 to start off with.
I am there for two years with Roger and Lee, we just need to not do anything stupid and find our feet and build on it. Everybody knows I can ride a bike as fast as anybody. We just need to bring that to race day and do it consistently, bring it every weekend and not end the season at the first round.
