Hello guys,
Sorry for the late post this week but it has been pretty hectic as I have now traveled from Norway to Latvia and back and I'm now in Sweden!
This weekend's GP was in Latvia. Most of the Americans who will read this will have to get their globe out to find it! The circuit we raced at was called "Zelta Zirgs" or "Black Horse". I won the 2004 Junior World Championship there so to go back was a pretty cool thing for me. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and got a cab to our hotel. Friday morning we woke up and went to meet my team manager, Steve Dixon, and my teammate, Mel Pocock, for some lunch at a nice buffet I first discovered in 2004. Then we went to the track to check things out. Friday evening we went for dinner (again at the same buffet). About three hours later I found myself hanging over the toilet with an empty stomach. I'm still telling myself it wasn't the food that caused me to throw up...
Saturday morning came really early for me after being sick for much of the night. I woke up feeling tired and still a bit woozy from the night's events. Let's just say it wasn't my best day of the season. I ended up 11th in the qualifying race after being one of the last three people around the first corner. Sunday morning brought more energy and brighter feelings. The warm up went well as I tried a couple of different tire choices. In the first moto, I got a decent start but a fall in the first turn pretty much ended my race. While I was on the ground someone ran over the bike and my exhaust was dangling from the bike for the first few laps. I pulled in for a new exhaust hoping not to lose much time. When I left the pit box I was already almost two laps down, so on the next lap my technician pulled me in for good. After a zero score in race 1 I knew I needed some good points from moto 2. I got a decent start and worked up to 6th but a last lap effort saw a sweet pass around the outside for 5th! Although the first moto caused me to end my longest podium streak thus far, I was happy with my second moto result.
Monday morning was an early flight at 6:45 which meant a cab at 4:30! That put us back in to Oslo at around 7. We gathered our stuff and headed off on our next journey to Halmstad in Sweden. It's a nice vacation area with beaches, nearby tracks, and some really good cycling. I'm taking a slightly easy week this week because it's my 6th straight week of racing (including the long trip to Glen Helen) so I'm pretty tired at this point.
I really look forward to this week's GP of Uddevalla and then a nice break for a couple of weeks. I'll update you all again soon!
Thanks for reading!
--Zach
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Brand New Blog.
As if Facebook doesn't consume enough of our lives, I've decided to try blogging as a way of keeping my friends & fans informed of my racing and traveling experiences along with life in general. Please bear with me.
This weekend I raced the GP of Teuschenthal in Germany. Although I've been told over and over again for the past two years that this track would be "the one" for me, I wasn't all that impressed. On Saturday I really struggled to find my rhythm on the track. I felt a little bit out of control which caused me to ride really tight in the heat race. I managed to get 6th after losing a few positions. I was really disappointed with myself, but I put that result behind me and tried to re-focus on Sunday.
Sunday was much better for me as I was fastest in the warm-up session. In the first moto I got a decent start and after the second lap I found myself in 7th position. I was able to move forward past Simpson and Herlings fairly early on in the race. With about four laps to go I found myself within sight of Ken Roczen who had taken off his goggles. Within two laps I was able to pass him for fourth position. The second race saw the same mediocre start as I collided with Musquin in the second/third corner.
After the first lap I found myself in 4th position behind Roczen, Musquin, and Shaun Simpson. Fortunately I was able to get around Simpson fairly quickly and began to gap the rest of the pack. Roczen, Musquin, and I were all very spread out so each of us were basically riding our own race. I was able to maintain 3rd position for 3rd overall and my 3rd consecutive GP podium. It ended up being an awesome weekend! My girlfriend and I celebrated by having pizza with some friends. We stayed Sunday night at the track where someone decided to steal my boots. Bummer.
Monday afternoon we boarded the ferry from Kiel, Germany to Gothenburg, Sweden. We booked the trip over the phone with some Dutch guy. Brittney and I both had a good laugh at how our names ended up being spelled: Z. Ostborn and B. Gurrican.
We arrived in Gothenburg this morning and then traveled onto Norway where we will be staying with our friends, the Johannessen's. It was my first time ever seeing Norway without complete snow coverage. It's one of the nicest places on Earth for sure. Here is a picture of me and my friend Lasse:
Here is the view from Lasse's back porch:
AMAZING.
On Thursday we fly to Latvia for the next round of the GP's. Latvia is a special place for me because I won the Junior World Championship there in 2004. Last year when I raced there I was injured so it was not a very good experience for me but I am looking to change that this year! As far as the blog, I plan to update it on a weekly basis. Thanks for reading.
--Zach
This weekend I raced the GP of Teuschenthal in Germany. Although I've been told over and over again for the past two years that this track would be "the one" for me, I wasn't all that impressed. On Saturday I really struggled to find my rhythm on the track. I felt a little bit out of control which caused me to ride really tight in the heat race. I managed to get 6th after losing a few positions. I was really disappointed with myself, but I put that result behind me and tried to re-focus on Sunday.
Sunday was much better for me as I was fastest in the warm-up session. In the first moto I got a decent start and after the second lap I found myself in 7th position. I was able to move forward past Simpson and Herlings fairly early on in the race. With about four laps to go I found myself within sight of Ken Roczen who had taken off his goggles. Within two laps I was able to pass him for fourth position. The second race saw the same mediocre start as I collided with Musquin in the second/third corner.
After the first lap I found myself in 4th position behind Roczen, Musquin, and Shaun Simpson. Fortunately I was able to get around Simpson fairly quickly and began to gap the rest of the pack. Roczen, Musquin, and I were all very spread out so each of us were basically riding our own race. I was able to maintain 3rd position for 3rd overall and my 3rd consecutive GP podium. It ended up being an awesome weekend! My girlfriend and I celebrated by having pizza with some friends. We stayed Sunday night at the track where someone decided to steal my boots. Bummer.
Monday afternoon we boarded the ferry from Kiel, Germany to Gothenburg, Sweden. We booked the trip over the phone with some Dutch guy. Brittney and I both had a good laugh at how our names ended up being spelled: Z. Ostborn and B. Gurrican.
We arrived in Gothenburg this morning and then traveled onto Norway where we will be staying with our friends, the Johannessen's. It was my first time ever seeing Norway without complete snow coverage. It's one of the nicest places on Earth for sure. Here is a picture of me and my friend Lasse:
Here is the view from Lasse's back porch:
AMAZING.
On Thursday we fly to Latvia for the next round of the GP's. Latvia is a special place for me because I won the Junior World Championship there in 2004. Last year when I raced there I was injured so it was not a very good experience for me but I am looking to change that this year! As far as the blog, I plan to update it on a weekly basis. Thanks for reading.
--Zach
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