When I was much younger and racing in Motocross I always dreamed about racing in America one day. Finally that dream comes true next weekend. Not only am I racing in America but at Indianapolis one of the most famous race circuits in the world and also on the back of probably my best ever grand prix race and result.
I've only been to America once and that was eight years ago to Disney World and so you can imagine just how excited I am to race at Indianapolis, the home of the Indy 500. I go there in such a positive frame of mind after my second place at Misano on Sunday.
I was ten per cent disappointed at not winning but 90 per cent happy with being able to stay with Gabor Talmacsi and open up such a big advantage over everybody else.
I was racing against the world champion and managed to stay with and even lead him at one stage. He's right back to his very best form and I learnt so much following him at such a fast pace. Neither of us looked behind once during the whole 22 laps which shows the pace we were setting.
I set my fastest lap of the weekend right at the end of the second qualifying session and so we didn't know exactly what pace I could set in the race. I made a good start and was able to keep Gabor in sight and around half distance I saw a puff of smoke from his rear tyre. As I passed him I thought his engine might have seized. I pushed so hard for the next two laps but when I checked my pit board it told me he was right on my rear wheel. I had a quick look at one of the big screens round the circuit and there he was right behind.
Gabor told me later that he missed a gear and changed down to first instead of second going into the left hand corner causing the puff of smoke. He passed me and I tried so hard to stay with him but with five laps remaining I realised I would have to settle for second. It was a great result for my Polaris World Aprilia team who are based at Misano and it was a thank-you from me for all the hard work they put in on my behalf.
