Attardtude! #2
A column by Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard
February 27, 2006
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Hello, everyone....

Well, I’m back for round 2. A fair bit has happened since my debut column, even though I’ve barely thrown a leg over my Attack Kawis. Just after the first column came out, I had a couple of funny e-mails and phone calls asking if I was going to hang up the leathers and focus on writing. Definitely not going down that track, my friends.... I plan on racing in the USA for as long as I can, hopefully outdoing Duhamel.

Ben hopes to reward his hard-working crew with inspired results this year. CJ photo

I arrived in the U.S. on the 3rd of January. I basically got here a month and one week before our first test to get over jetlag and get stuck into the training. As I said in my first column, I train with pro motocross riders Andrew McFarlane and Michael Byrne. Those guys are real strong on the road cycles, and by the end of each cycle I feel like my heart is going to throw a rod while my tongue is hanging somewhere near the chain. I can definitely notice an improvement, though, and I guess there would be no gain without the pain.

The second day I was back in the U.S. I headed to Kawasaki to pick up a new KX250F to hit the local tracks on. I have been riding a couple of days a week and having a heap of fun, though getting injured is always in the back of my mind so we can’t get too crazy out there. Josh Hayes has been out on the West Coast, too, chasing his heart while also chasing me on the motocross track (ha ha). He has me covered on the cycle, though. Josh and I get on great and have a lot of fun together. I’ve also seen Tom and Rog [Hayden] out on the motocross track, and they can get around quite fast. Rog isn’t scared to hit all the jumps, either.

My mechanics have been working overtime to get everything perfect and ready. It’s good to have guys who are so committed and want to win as much as myself, and I think that is going to make a huge difference this year. I have definitively learned a few good lessons, and one is to surround yourself with the right environment. I believe this is a critical part of success. Most people who are successful have this structure, and that is a major reason why I chose to hire a trainer and spend time around Andrew and Michael.

After a successful session on his factory KLX 110, Attard decided to hop on a ZX10R. CJ photo

Most mornings I go to what we call “coffee club.” Two of my mates and I meet at a local Starbucks to have, like, a little mothers’ meeting. It’s quite funny, really—none of us have real jobs. One’s a pro BMXer and the other a burnt-out rockstar who lives off royalties. (A few others come and go on an irregular basis.) We get there at 8:30 a.m., talk garbage, have a coffee, then go our separate ways. Kinda like a Seinfeld episode every morning. Some evenings I go to Andrew and his wife Nat’s house. Nat kills it in the kitchen. After dinner, sometimes a couple of other friends come over and we play a bit of black jack or poker. Poker is a bit of a mind game, and I either win big or go home early when my bluffs don’t work.

Finally, after two months off my Attack Kawasakis, it was back to business on the 7th and 8th of February. For me, it was really weird; after having eight weeks off, the fist four or five laps I felt like I’d never raced a motorcycle before, then all of a sudden—around lap eight—it came back. Both Bucky [Damon Buckmaster] and myself mainly focused on the all-new ZX10R. I only rode about 15 laps on the 600; it felt good so I parked it and turned back to the 1000. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the setup dialed on the 1000, so we drove out of Fontana a little bummed about that. However, on the way home I put it all into perspective: It was only my third day on a 1000, and it’s going to take a little longer than three days.

Next week we head to Laguna Seca for another two-day test. I love riding there; it's a really nice, flowing racetrack. This will be our last time out before Daytona, so I will be working my butt off to make sure I go there with the best possible package I can. The best reward for my crew’s hard work is a great result, and that's what I plan to deliver.

Take care,

Ben

Ben makes like a cover boy during a Kawasaki photo shoot. CJ photo