MotoGP one shots

Jack Miller- Journalist

Working for a big news company has its pros and cons because you get to meet some really great people but also it's a lot of pressure to write the best piece anyone has ever read each time which is pretty much impossible. I love my job though I really do especially after getting transferred to the sport department because the people I meet are much less pretentious than the a list celebrities I dealt with before, these people are just much more real and are always so passionate about what they do which makes writing about them so much easier. Just this week I've been put in charge of covering all news on MotoGP which is a sport I wasn't too familiar with until I did some research after finding out about my new position. We don't have many people to write about the sport it's just me so it's going to be a lot of work but I'm so excited because part of the job is travelling to all of the races for interviews and press conferences . This means that instead of spending my time going back and forth from LA then having to sit in my office for the next week and then repeating the process I get to go to different places and see new scenery and I'll be writing while I'm there which I think will drastically improve what I write and my motivation.

This weekend is my first weekend getting to go to one of the races which is in Spain at Jerez the 4th race of the season because someone else was covering the first 3 races until they sorted the new team. I'm a little nervous to be responsible for everything and to be doing this all alone especially when I don't really know what I'm doing but I have been assured that there will be someone there to guide me for the first couple of races which is easing my nerves slightly. Something that is going to take a while to get used to is my new schedule because now I travel on a Wednesday for the press day on Thursday and stay until Sunday evening or Monday morning depending on flights which leaves me to be able to work from home Monday and Tuesday before going back Wednesday, I will also be able to be at home for non race weeks and will just report on anything from there. Getting out of the big office building is like a blessing because that place was filled with miserable people who hated seeing me succeed over them even though they didn't put in half the work I did so getting out of that horrible environment I think will be good for me creatively and mentally.

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After waiting all week it is finally Wednesday and I get to head out to Spain and leave the drab scenes of London where I have been living for the past 4 years. My flight wasn't till the afternoon so I had time to get some more 'research' in which is basically stalking the riders Instagrams to find out little bits about them because I don't want to be that new person who is clueless about who these people are and makes things just awkward because I've been there before and it wasn't fun. By the time I was happy with what I knew it was time to leave for the airport which has become kind a monotonous task but this time it felt new and exciting even though the airport is the same as always it feels different, the feelings of the first time I travelled to LA came flooding back though my veins that pure joy of getting to do something new that you've been looking forward to which I haven't felt in a long time. Even though you couldn't see it under my mask there was a huge smile on my face which I'm pretty sure is going to stick around all weekend.

The flight was nowhere near as long as the one to America but it was just long enough for me to watch a movie and relax a little before work takes over which is more than I got before so it's already an improvement. At the airport once I landed I got a taxi to the hotel I would be staying it which luckily is very close to the circuit so I can walk there each day instead of having to try and find another way to get there. It felt so odd to not be going to the hotel I always had to stay in in LA and to see new scenery which wasn't just big highways and tall buildings, there was actually trees and big areas that didn't contain any buildings which is almost unheard of in the California city.

Once I was at the hotel I had a meeting with my manager who sent me the schedule and exactly what I was going to be doing as well as locations for everything which was useful but I know I'll still get lost at some point over the weekend. There was a lot going on in such a short amount of time but most of it is easy things where I just have to go and listen to press conferences but I do have a few interviews to do which I'm actually really looking forward to as it will be my first interaction with anyone in the paddock, although I haven't been told who the interviews are with just when and where they are.