Chaz checks in: Re-signing for Aprilia.

In his latest update, rising 250 GP star Chaz Davies reveals his plans for the 2005 world championship season and his off season antics to date...

"First of all Happy New Year to everybody. I hope its a successful one!

"Things were pretty quiet here over the Christmas period. I've been keeping the training ticking over quite nicely and I got a proper Polar Heart Rate Monitor for Christmas so now when I go out on my mountain bike I can measure exactly how far I'm going and monitor exactly what my body's doing. It's pretty technical stuff but its all good.

"We went into the new year still torn between going to BSB or staying in GPs for another year. And now I'm pleased to say that I'll be in GPs for another year with Aprilia Germany once again.

"We had an e-mail just as we came into the New Year from my team manager Dieter Stappert and he said that he is still pushing Aprilia for some slightly better engine bits rather than just the standard kit so we're still a bit unsure of the outcome of that. I'll definitely be getting a newer chassis which is from 2003.

"My previous chassis was from '98 and now there going to retire it to a museum as its rotting away! Only joking! I don't know how good the chassis was or how bad it was, because, I've never tried anything else, but I'm looking forward to trying something a bit newer (in the right decade!).

"Apart from that everything else is much the same. At the moment we're still sorting out leather and boots deals which shouldn't be too much longer. I'll be with Nolan helmets for the third year in succession. They give very good support at the races and are bringing out a new helmet for this year which they say is very good so I'm also looking forward to trying that.

"My biggest problem is sorting out accommodation, as this year, Casey's parents will not be with him so my accommodation for the weekend has gone! I would like to motorhome it, for the European rounds, but I am not old enough to drive myself and my dad cannot afford the time away from work, and apart from anything else I have no sponsor to provide a motorhome or at least help with the expense of one!

"At the moment I am talking to various motorhome owners & trying to see if any will let me have one for a minimal fee!!!! I could stay in hotels of course, but as any of you know, who go to the GP's the prices are hiked up for the particular weekend and also getting into the circuit can be a bit of a nightmare. Anyway I shall keep begging!!!

"My first test will be in Jerez on the 24th of this month and I'm eager to get back on the bike now. My team-mate is a new guy from Columbia called Martin Cardenas who I don't really know a great deal about. Apparently he did the Spanish formula extreme championship which, I'm not too sure, but I think he might have won.

"Between now and the 24th I don't have too much planned. I'll keep ticking away the miles on my mountain bike and also get out on my supermoto when all the wind and rough weather dies down.

"I've just finished editing the video of my last days at school for all my mates. For the last couple of weeks when I was in school I took in my video camera and got plenty of footage and made a pretty decent video of it all. It's only taken two years!! Plenty of the usual school terrorising antics going on and I'm hoping that none of my previous teachers ever see it!

"As I write this I have a bit of a swollen mouth as I have just been to the dentist. I have had tooth ache in my front tooth since early December last year and I went to the dentist a while ago where they confirmed it was an abscess under the tooth, nice!

"Since then it had spread slightly to the tooth next to it. The reason why it's there is because when I was about 8 I crashed into a tree on my minibike and chipped the tooth and upset the nerve which has taken all this time to form an abscess. My dentist tells me its quite normal if you bang your tooth hard an abscess can come out years later.

"So today they performed root treatment on the two teeth which is where they drill the tooth, take out the nerve and then fill it! Can't say I really enjoyed the experience all that much! Eating is a bit dangerous, I'm chewing my mouth without even knowing it. Anyway, it should be better before too long.

"For the meantime that's about all that is going on at the moment and I will update everybody with more news after testing."

Chaz#57