Dan’s Blog – Red Bull Rookies, Aragon round

“On the weekend I had the final round of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, I wasn’t sure wether I’d be able to ride or not. On the Thursday when we arrived, I went to the medical centre and did some tests. I was declared fit for the Aragon GP.

After not riding a bike for 8 weeks, I was quite nervous about hopping back on a bike. FP1 on Friday was wet, this was good for me because it was a lot slower and less physically demanding, I ended up in P11 for FP1.

For FP2 it had dried up, I knew it was going to be more challenging, I finished FP2 in 19th, I really struggled under braking and changing direction. I had a big task ahead of me in qualifying, after not riding for 8 weeks and then doing and hour of riding before qualifying on my first day back, my arm was hurting.

I did what I could whilst I was out there, I finished qualifying in P20, I was pleased with this result as it was so difficult. Race 1 on Saturday was 16 laps long, I hadn’t done this amount of laps all weekend, I already knew how hard it was going to be before the race. With 6 laps to go, I was in a group for 14th, I didn’t have the strength to overtake.

I could match other riders but not brake later and get a move done. Going in to turn 5 my bike went in to neutral, then mid corner went back in to 2nd and high sided me off the bike. I fractured my small finger and my metatarsal on my right foot.

I was then declared fit on Sunday morning, I was going to give the race a go. I was all strapped up and in pain, on the sighting lap I couldn’t physically change direction or brake. I decided it wasn’t a good idea, I knew what was ahead of me and how much pain I’d cause myself.

Overall it was a positive weekend, I really enjoyed being back on a bike. I didn’t expect anything from myself, but I feel I had some good results.

Thanks as ever to all of you for your support, it means a lot.

Dan”