James Rispoli will make his debut in the Motorpoint British Supersport Championship next season with Keith Flint’s Team Traction Control and the American is already preparing for his move to the UK.
In the latest instalment of rider blogs the newest addition to the Supersport grid is training back home in Florida after a busy few weeks. Over to James:
Hi everyone. James “the Rocket” Rispoli here wishing everyone an incredible Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and an awesome holiday season. I’m new to BSB other than a couple of wild card rides and I am super excited to be racing in the British Supersport class for Team Traction Control in 2014. I ended my AMA Pro racing season in the USA in October and since then it’s been an incredible international journey I will never forget.
My first stop was to France where I received an invitation to be a reserve rider for the Penz13.com BMW team. While they didn’t end up using me for the race, I was able to get as much practice and qualifying sessions as my team-mates. For me it was the first time on a superbike and of course the first time on the legendary Le Mans race track. It was so cool to ride a bike like that with so much power that it would wheelie in every gear and it felt like it just had endless power.
During that weekend I met Keith Flint who was there to watch the race. We hung out watching the race and chatted about what I was doing, my goals and stuff. Before I could step back onto US soil I was getting a flight back to London to meet with the rock star and his team; I hung out at his house for a week and also put in a ride at the last round at Brands Hatch. It all happened so quick I was dazed. We all seemed to gel pretty well and the next thing you know we were working on a plan to race in the series full-time together. As my fellow mates have taught me, I was ‘buzz’n’ about the opportunity.
After that race at Brands Hatch I had plans to meet so I came home then had one last trip back, this time to meet up with MotoGP rider Bradley Smith in London and then head to Spain for the last round of MotoGP in Valencia. I got there a week before the race and Bradley and I went out and rode bicycles in the town with Randy Mamola and his son Dakota. We rode to some cool sites like the second oldest race track, totally made of concrete high in the hills, and rode in the towns by the Mediterranean Sea; that was a treat as well.
At the MotoGP race I had a great time. I got to hang out at the Tech 3 pit and garage the entire weekend and got to meet so many new people from the International racing world. Being able to have so many friends in so many top series around the world is something incredibly special. And, to be able to live my dream of fighting in a top rated championship like British Supersport is nothing short of amazing.
Anyway, as you can tell I have everything on the road to getting things done and having a blast. I am now back in Florida training every day getting prepared for my first tests on the new bike with the new team in February. For now I am wishing everyone around the globe a healthy and happy holiday season. Don’t forget you can also follow me on twitter @jamesrispoli
James ‘the Rocket’ #43
Article originally published on britishsuperbike.com