The countdown is on until several of the teams in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship travel to Spain to get testing underway ahead of the opening round at Brands Hatch, and Tommy Hill is gearing up for his first ride on the all-new Swan Yamaha.

Hill who can be seen on the big screen in March as one of the stars of the forthcoming I, Superbiker movie, has been training and working hard behind the scenes in a bid to get an advantage over the opposition in preparation for the forthcoming season. In an exclusive blog for the BSB website, Hill gives you the inside line on what he has been up to and how he is counting down to Brands Hatch.



Over to Tommy:

"Writing blogs at this time of the year is always hard as basically over the off season I'm at work and not really living the life of a Rockstar racer! I have been busy talking to potential sponsors, drawing up proposals or designing logos, bike apparel, helmets or websites with my design business (http://www.imagedzign.com). I feel it's always good to have something to focus on over the winter period and this has definitely been keeping me occupied!

"Fitness is always a big talking point, who's training the hardest, who's done two marathons in a day, who has been to the gym and it's good. When I got the Superbike ride in 2004 it was all I focused on and trained like a Gladiator, but I honestly believe you can train too much. I train a lot and now have tailored my body and workouts to feel good on the bike. I put myself through a major fitness test recently at a university in Surrey and I had the best results they have seen in the last 2-3 months so that is positive and we are still a month away from testing. But I will always remember my trainers saying "the five Ps" (prior, planning and preparation, prevents, 'pee', poor performance). Generally I've done a lot of cycling and some mountain biking which has been mega as I tend to clock up lots of miles on the road bike, but I get a little bored sometimes apart from trying to avoid the poxy pot holes! I've also been to the press launch of I Superbiker, which is going to be released in March so I am also looking forward to that, watch out Tom Cruise…or maybe not!

"I've been speaking with my team recently, making plans and drooling over the new bike which looks mega. I haven't had the chance to actually get my leg over it yet and try it out for size, but know my team have been working hard to get the bike done. Just looking at the pictures and seeing glimpses of the 2011 designs makes me more eager to get back riding again. We always say before Christmas how long we've all got to wait and how eager all the public are to get back to Brands Hatch on the Easter weekend probably freezing their goolies off at Paddock Hill.

"I've managed to continue my relationship with my current sponsors Vent-Axia, CoporateFX, Shoei, BKS and Alpinestar for another consecutive season, as well as tying up a deal with a local company KGN Pillinger, based near Croydon. Everyone knows it's hard to find sponsorship and this has been the case with my brother Jimmy riding in Supersport this year. So I've been drawing up some proposals for him to try and secure some financial support so he can continue to ride next season.

"We recently have managed to get out and do some karting a few times which is always good fun, especially as we won the 90 minute Endurance the other day against some stock car drivers. You could tell they were not happy at the end as my girlfriend Kate was out with the same helmet as me so they were trying to ram her off - probably thinking it was me!

"Today (Wednesday) I'm hoping to get out to Snetterton to do a piece with MCN on the new development for next week's paper. I am hoping that I might get a few laps on the new circuit which will be pretty cool being the first rider to test the track - even if it is on four wheels rather than a Swan Yamaha!

"I was up at the MCN Show at ExCeL last weekend and went to the O2 to watch the Supercross on Saturday night. The best part was the head to head, but a little dangerous for the riders as you put two riders together in a race, they are going to want to win. Some were leading a championship and crashed out, dislocating their shoulder for just one lap. I felt for them!

"Over the next few weeks it's more itchy feet time! It's just more training on the mountain bike, road bike, going mad on the rollers in front of the TV or testing my devotion staring at a wall, then mixing it up with some circuit training. I will keep myself busy with the graphic design work and continuing with proposals for my brother. I will go up to the work shop in the next week or two, to drop some gear off ready for testing and have a LONG sit on the new R1. I'm also attending the Belfast Motorcycle show this Saturday so I am looking forward to meeting some BSB followers over the river.

That's about it really, hopefully I will have some more news in the next week or two… Take it easy and don't forget to check out my website www.tommyracer.com or Twitter:@tommyhill33

Laters,

Tommy