Thursday, 15 May: Sporting hype rarely lives up to its 'pre-race billing' but it did in Doha, Qatar in March and round 2 of the battle between two of Ski GP1’s titans Chris MacClugage and Jeremy Poret takes place at the Grand Prix of Italy in Milan (5-8 June) and will undoubtedly deliver more of the same.
In Doha America’s multi-talented multiple World Champion made his much anticipated debut on the UIM-ABP tour and was one lap away from a win in race 2, after finishing second to Poret in race 1, that would have given him the GP title but a broken sparkplug cruelly robbed him of the victory, the DNF putting him in sixth overall on 20 points, 30 shy of leader Poret.
Since Qatar his focus has been on his business commitments, spending time with his family and training, but the 40-year-old from Lake Havasu, Arizona did take time out in April to compete in the Karujet, starting well with two top-three stage finishes before mechanical problems ended his hopes, eventually finishing in 15th. “Hell the Karujet was tough, especially at my age,” he said. “Now it’s all about Milan. We are building some new engines for the race and looking for a great result. I expect the conditions to be different from Qatar, but I have been racing a long time and can adapt to anything. My family will be with me and that will inspire me to ride even harder.”