The Australian circuit is one of the favourites for many riders and that means some of the best racing of the year is on view there. It is also one of Nicky`s favourites, because of its characteristics and the beautiful setting, as well as the language, and so feels quite at home there. Friday was not easy for the riders: cold, windy and with showers that came and went in a question of minutes. More than ever this made time precious and the rider capable of taking advantage of the conditions was the one who was going to get the best set up for the race. On Saturday things were better, although it was still windy. Nicky got a good fourth position that he was not all satisfied with.
The classification tyres this time did not last the whole lap. On the final sector, where the bike is almost constantly leaning over, he lost 4 tenths of a second, that would have given him the pole position. But we had to forget all about that and think about the race.
After the Warm Up, Nicky knew that he could win, he felt fine on the bike. He did one of his better starts and was just behind Stoner, the most dangerous of the riders that day, to study him. But unexpectedly his engine did not let him enjoy his favourite race, one that he is waiting for all year.
Once again at the end of the day we had to make do with Nicky having found the speed and desire necessary to be World Champion again, although to be the best we cannot allow any more mistakes to let us down, neither this year nor next year.
