Attardtude! #4
A Column by Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard
May 17, 2006
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Glad to have Daytona behind him, Ben put his head down at the next two rounds and came up with a pair of fourth-place finishes. Andrew Northcott photo

Hey all, back at it again. This year is really starting go fast.... It seems like we were at Daytona only two weeks ago, instead of two months.

In the last month alone, a fair bit has happened. We’ve had two races and I moved into a house in the process. Also, as I said in the previous month’s column, my mum has flown in for five weeks and three race meetings. No sooner did she get off the 13-hour Brisbane-to-LAX flight than we headed to Birmingham for the Barber race.

Barber for sure isn’t one of my favorite tracks in the U.S., but I did manage to get a reasonable result. The first four laps of the 600 race I was riding tight (and slow). Barney had passed me and May had pulled about four seconds on me when something finally clicked. I got by Barney and started to bridge the gap on Geoff. By lap 15 I was on his tail, but I have never seen such a wide bike.... The last two laps, I threw everything I had at him and couldn’t get it done. In the end, I was happy with the way I rode, and after Daytona’s terrible result, fourth looked ok. As far as the 1000, we were never in the ballpark with it there, which really frustrates me since the results I am getting don’t reflect how good the bike is!

The next weekend, we headed straight to Fontana for round three, with a quick stop at KMC (Kawasaki Motors Corp.) the Wednesday before Fontana for the road race team’s annual kick-off party. It’s a pretty cool deal to see all the staff there—how enthused they are and how much support they give us. It’s definitely a great feeling to ride for a company that operates in a way that makes you feel a part of their family.

Attard's entourage includes one hot umbrella girl and two intimidating bodyguards. Andrew Northcott photo

Fontana started out well for me on the 600, being third fastest in two of the practice sessions. I really wanted to step up for Kawasaki with Rog being out injured, and another fourth wasn’t the result I wanted or needed. We had a few issues, but at the end of the day I didn’t get what should have been a podium. That race really got to me; I thought a lot about why it had happened and how I could fix these small issues that add up to me not being where I want to be at the end of a race. I believe I should have it sorted for round four at Sonoma.

The Monday after Fontana I got the keys to the house I’d just purchased. Pip Hancox, a good friend of mine, helped me move all my furniture while Mum helped packing and unpacking the little odds and ends. By 3 p.m. we had moved in, and it’s cool house with all the gear. The next couple of days were spent training in the morning then painting into the night. (Mum really knows how to work a paintbrush.) Finally, by Friday, we had it all sorted. The next day I fired up the barbie and had some friends around to watch the Vegas Supercross. Unfortunately, our boy Reed (a fellow Aussie) didn’t come out on top, but it was still a great effort.

Though he looks forward to putting a knee on the Miller and Elkhart Lake tracks, Attard's next target is Infineon. Andrew Northcott photo

This last week I’ve had some mates from Australia hanging out, and it’s been a bunch of fun. We’ve been go-karting, golfing, playing squash, and I even wore out a pair of shoes on the dance floor one night. No matter where I go with Georgy (Brent George), we always have a blast! It’s been good having Mum here, too—nothing beats getting home from a big cycle with the boys and having lunch waiting for ya. I’m not looking forward to getting the domestic duties back when she leaves next week, but I’m sure I will survive!

We have a fairly hectic schedule for the next month. Sonoma is this weekend, then it’s straight to the Miller test. The Miller Motorsports track is the best track I’ve ever spun a wheel on, and I’m anxious to race there. Following the test, we have a weekend off and then it’s straight to Road America, another great track. Despite all the activity, I would much prefer it to be busy like it is now rather than have weeks off at a time.... I get bored and have too much time to think!

Take care,

Ben