Attardtude! #3
A Column by Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard
April 12, 2006
Click here for a printer-friendly version

Something that hadn’t even crossed my mind as a possibility happened at Daytona: a complete disaster. If you had told me two days before Daytona what my results there would be, I would have laughed in your face. But I wasn’t laughing at 5 p.m. March 9 as I limped off my 600.

After an "unacceptable" season-opener at Daytona, Ben Attard hopes to be back on track when round two gets underway at Barber Motorsports Park. Andrew Northcott photo

I can’t believe that the effort I put in both on the bikes and while training amounted to an unacceptable 10th in Supersport and 12th in Superstock. I went to Daytona thinking a win was in reach—and if not a win, then for sure a podium on the 600. Being sixth fastest on the 1000 in testing was a good sign on that bike, as well.

It’s tempting for me to give you the whole miserable, boring account of my Daytona experience. If I have a bad result for which I need to take responsibility, I generally do that, but Daytona was just one of those situations where absolutely everything that could go wrong, did! I left there feeling exhausted, frustrated, and with a killer bruised calf from a foot-peg gouge! It’s been a bitter pill to swallow, and after analyzing it for days afterward, I decided I needed to shift my focus to moving forward and how I can contribute on a personal level to situations like that not arising again. My season starts at Barber!

Ben (shown here last year at Barber) just finished up two days of testing at the Alabama track. Andrew Northcott photo

Speaking of Barber, I just got home from two days of testing there, with a half-day canned due to rain. My head mechanic, Tony, and I found something we have been looking for on the 1000. I have not been comfy on the bike since the Dunlop tire test back in December, but finally we figured it out and I was immediately riding it, rather than it riding me. I was still 1.5 seconds shy on lap times, but that’s a lot better than three seconds, like at Daytona. So it was a step in the right direction. We only spent about two hours working on the 600 at Barber, and after the fourth lap we didn’t really improve a great deal, which was a bit of a disappointment.

Next we head to Utah to test at the new Miller Motorsports Park track. I am looking forward to getting there and really trying to bridge the gap on the 1000. It’s definitely a huge goal for me to be a threat on the 1000, and I believe it’s only a matter of time and patience. It will be good to really get into the racing season; I seem to learn a lot more in the environment of a race weekend. My usual trend is to test about 1.2 seconds off the pace, stress about it for the three weeks before the race, turn up at the race weekend, and then find that second—or more—in the first session. It kills me!

Ben is pleased with the way his bikes are running, he just needs a little luck to start falling his way. Andrew Northcott photo

Just before Barber, my Mum flies in from Oz [Australia] to visit me. (She’s visited me every year since I’ve been here.) I’m definitely looking forward to her cooking, and no doubt I will be able to slacken off on the domestic duties for a while, too. She is going to stay for about six weeks and see three races, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Mum was here last year when I got my first AMA podium, though, so hopefully she’s a good omen and I’ll grab a few more while she’s here this time.

Being on the podium more times than not at the final couple of races last year was real satisfaction—something that I cherish and that gives me the strength and determination to dig deep and turn my Daytona results around. I now feel I belong on the podium and that anything less is a disappointment. I won’t be happy or content unless I am in the top three consistently, and I am definitely doing everything possible to achieve this…. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet!

Take care,

Ben