Get Smart: First BSB win.

Hawk Kawasaki rider Scott Smart took an audacious first British Superbike win in the last Sunday's first race at Mondello Park. Here he tells Crash.net readers all about it.

Wow, what a weekend. Fourth on the grid, two podiums, Man of the Meeting and, of course, my first BSB win. It was a great weekend for myself and the team - plus a bloody good excuse to party, but more about that later.

The Irish BSB round, at Mondello Park, is great. It's a bit of trek to get there, but to be honest I don't mind because it's got a different feel to all the UK rounds. For the Irish fans it's the biggest short circuit event of the year, so they're well up for it, and there's generally a more relaxed atmosphere to the whole event than in England.

I like Mondello and didn't go bad there last year, but I thought I'd have a wobble around the track on my roller blades before the event to refresh my memory. Before you laugh there's a good reason behind using roller blades rather than my plates of meat, and that's to feel for surface changes on the track before I get on my bike. The trouble is Mondello's like a patchwork quilt so I gave up counting after the tenth change!

I like to unwind when I get to a track - it gives me a chance to settle myself in before I get on the bike. When I got to Mondello on the Thursday I was knackered because I'd been burning the midnight oil earlier in the week getting Glen's wiring harness finished, then I had to drive to Ireland, so I was up for a laugh.

Glen and Superstock rider Dave Johnson decided it'd be a great idea to play Frisbee in the paddock before the Hawk 7.5 tonner got there. We had it bouncing off team trucks, people's motor homes, garage doors and all over the place. Half the time we were clambering all over the trucks just to get the thing back, like the grown adults we are...

That was top fun and certainly took my mind off my back, which ended up giving me grief all weekend. I've had a weak back since I was 14 - I pulled it in a wind surfing accident - and it can make riding a bike really uncomfortable. Mondello's such a physical track that you're moving around the bike all the time, which aggravates it more. I felt drained whenever I got off the bike because that's when the adrenaline starts to wear off. I'm going to get it looked at before Thruxton though because it's really physical holding onto the bike there.

Talking of holding on, I kept my team waiting until the last lap of the last corner to make my move on JR in the first race. I knew we had a good race set-up because I'd run consistently fast laps in qualifying, but I also knew I needed a good start. The first corner at Mondello is a tight right hander where you can easily be blocked out, or worse, if you're not off the line well. As it was I got really good start and was up with Rutter from the off.

Michael managed to pull a couple of seconds on JR and I by mid-race, but he must have found it hard at the front because we started to reel him back in again. Maybe that was enough to unsettle him because he crashed out on lap 14 while still leading. John passed me at 7a corner on the same lap and I'm sure most people thought it was a foregone conclusion that he'd go on to win, but once Michael went down I thought, 'hang on, there's a win on the cards here'.

By the start of the last lap, JR was 1.3 seconds ahead and it really spurred me on when I braked late and closed the gap at Honda corner. I just gave it everything and figured I'd either win or bin it trying. My only chance to pass John was on the final turn because I knew he'd be back through if I tried it earlier, so that's what I did. I braked really late up the inside, dived underneath him, which slowed him right down and gave me 10 yards, then I turned and nailed it. I knew his Suzuki could outrun me in a straight line so I really needed that 10 yard breathing space. It feels like forever when you're in that situation and I could feel him coming, but in the end I pipped him by just 0.002 of a second.

It was so close that neither of us knew who'd won until halfway round the slow-down lap. We were pointing at the marshals to see if they knew - when I realised it was me I felt euphoric and drained at the same time. What made it even more special was Glen, my team mate, taking third behind JR. That's the first time the Hawk team has won a BSB race and had two riders on the podium at the same time. Fantastic.

I have wondered if the race result was down to my 'new lucky T-shirt'. Let me explain, the official championship T-shirt at Mondello had JR and myself on it, so wearing one I went and got him to sign it in the pit-lane walkabout - to say he was surprised was an understatement, don't think he will be happy signing me again though!!

I got away good in the second race too. Up front it was Michael, me, JR, Tommy Hill and Glen. Rutter was away with it after messing up in race one and there was no way John was going to have me mug him on the last corner again. As it was, if I'd had one more lap I think I could have passed John again because his clutch was failing at the end and I was closing him down all the time. Still, a third to back up the win wasn't half bad and Glen took a fine fourth. Niall Mackenzie picked me as his Sky Sports Rider of the Meeting too, which was a really nice way to top off the weekend.

Obviously we all went out to celebrate on Sunday night. We went to a BSB after-party at a local nightclub and most of the guys were there. I got led on stage by four half-naked 'ladies', which was nice. They tied me up so that I couldn't move and then did loads of rude things in front of me which, I have to say, wasn't an unpleasant experience! (and as a note to the organisers - this is much more fun than a trophy) Luckily I managed to keep my clothes on though - that would have looked good on the front of MCN!

It was nice to have a blow-out after the weekend, although I didn't get particularly drunk because I was actually exhausted. If I had drunk too much I'd probably have fallen asleep in the corner of the club and looked the real lightweight that I am. Now I'm back in the UK I'm going to concentrate on the next round at Thruxton where, with a bit of luck, we can win some more bubbly. See you there.

Scott Smart