I began my road racing career in 1984 at Brands Hatch. Being from South London it was my local track and it all took off from there really. I quickly moved into Superbike racing, taking my first victory in World Superbikes in 1989 and then securing what was the equivalent of the British Superbike Championship in 1990.

I moved into Endurance racing almost by chance, but as it happens they’re actually some of my favourite memories. In 1992 I wanted to move from the British tracks but didn’t have anything lined up until Kawasaki French Endurance boss Christian Bourgeois asked if I’d like to join his squad to partner Carl Fogarty, a rider I had clashed swords with many times!

Our biggest strength that year was the bike. The prototype ZXR750 ‘Formula One’ machine we used was incredible and the motor was so strong. All the other teams used both qualifying and race spec engines (which were maybe 6bhp de-tuned), whereas we ran the same spec for both which gave us a real edge.

I think the most amazing memory I have is whenever we would go testing in Japan or for the Suzuka Eight Hour. When I arrived, there would be two bikes, boxes of parts and ten Kawasaki factory staff in their grey uniforms and caps, who would work tirelessly for solutions. Sometimes I also rode the 200km race at Suzuka which was designed as a shakedown for the Eight Hour itself.

Some people think Endurance racing is easier, as the pace isn’t as fast, but when you went to Le Mans you tested for a whole week in the run up, which means the mileage was incredible. We once calculated that you actually do more laps during that week than in an entire Superbike series - including every practice and qualifying session.

Endurance is always something I’ll love, I managed the small budget Diablo 666 Bolliger Kawasaki Endurance Team and now I get to commentate on the series for Eurosport, I can’t get enough!