As we entered 2023, I decided that I needed to re-assess my expectations and approach if I wanted to land a role with a team. A change of tact was required and deep down I knew what I needed to do but still wanted my gut feeling validated.
So I reached out to my old Motoplay Publications buddy and current editor of Trail Magazine, Jonathan Bentman, for some sage advice. 'JB' and I have been good mates since 2003. I was living in rented accommodation in Ely, Cambridgeshire at the time, and John joined Motoplay as editor of their then latest publication, MotoX magazine (he moved back to the UK as part of the deal, after spending many years living and working in Australia and New Zealand).
Up until then I'd lived alone, so upon his arrival I offered John my spare room for a very modest fee. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement for both of us; John got immediate and very affordable digs and I got a 'big brother' figure of sorts that I could aspire to and learn from - John's done it all: club-level racing, motorcycle journalism (freelance and employed), PR and communications in multiple, motorcycle racing paddocks...
In short, John is my go-to guy if and when I need advice and help about anything to do with the industry. We have that kind of friendship whereby we can go many months, sometimes even a year or more without talking, but he's always just a phone call away and when we do finally re-establish contact, we can spend two to three hours talking (mostly reminiscing about the Motoplay days!).
John confirmed I should consider hitting up teams in the British Superbike Championship as that paddock would offer more opportunity for me to join a team.
At first I was a bit reticent; in the last few years I'd only followed BSB from afar due to a variety of reasons, but what John said made perfect sense; it was a more realistic proposition for someone with no experience to find work in that paddock compared to the WorldSBK paddock. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
Left: 'JB' and I on the ferry to/from the Isle of Man TT, 2003 (Check out the Slayer 'Divine Intervention' t-shirt!). Right: Posing with our trusty Honda Hornet 900 at the Isle of Man TT
The problem was that by the time I'd settled on this course of action, we were only about six weeks away from the start of the season and I'd soon find out that teams have their personnel sorted in the off-season! So I hastily scatter-gunned the entire BSB paddock my covering email and CV and just hoped for the best...
Unsurprisingly there weren't many takers although to be fair I did get a response, albeit a very diplomatically and nicely-worded rejection from one team and a reply from another outfit stating they'd like to take me on but weren't in a position to pay me.
Beggars as they say can't be choosers so a few weeks later I was making my way up the M1 on a sopping wet Tuesday morning to meet Dean Hipwell of CDH Racing at Silverstone for an official BSB test. And after a brief meeting where Dean candidly laid out his position and terms, we came to an agreement that I would join the team as a volunteer PR/Social Media person - which is to say, due to their modest size and limited budget, CDH would not be able to pay me a wage or even cover my expenses to attend each round.
Now obviously this kind of arrangement was far from ideal given I'm married and have two kids to think about, but with no other choices available to me and no prior paddock experience to speak of, I was pretty much on a hiding to nothing. I had to play the long game - when all was said and done, I was being given the opportunity to gain vital paddock experience as a bonafide BSB team member and to not accept Dean's offer under the circumstances would have been an act of pure folly.
Part 4 to come...
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