James Haydon column: Good news all round.

No sooner has he signed for the rest of the season for the Rizla Suzuki camp in the British Superbikes then James Haydon takes another step forward in his impressive career as he joins Crash.net as a columnist. Here's the first...

It's good news all round for the Haydon camp - not only do I have the pleasure of contributing to www.crash.net, I am now a permanent member in Rizla Suzuki, the best Superbike team in the world, and I can proudly announce that I am going to be a Dad for the first time as well!

Jo, my wife, is expecting our first born in December and the pair of us are absolutely made up. Before you all get cheeky - yes, it was planned and I can't wait to be a Dad. It is still early days, but already I am reading up on triple tests, folic acid, morning sickness and hospital scans.

I'm actually quite looking forward to getting the trickest pushchair that I can find and upgrading it with any Factory parts I can. How cool would it be to have a pushchair with Ohlins suspension and telemetry? I must speak with the Rizla Suzuki technicians to explore that further...

It's great to have finally landed a permanent ride in BSB with Rizla Suzuki. I'm not kidding when I say it is the best team on the block. I think all the riders know how well it is organized and the desire for victory here is stronger than anywhere else, so for me I am treating this as what I am hoping is a defining move in my career. I've raced for Crescent before and enjoyed success and I want more.

We tested at Donington last week. It was meant to be a two-day test but the first day was cancelled because of mud on the track - left there by the thousands of people who had visited Donington for a concert the weekend before. It was a shame to waste the day as it was sunny, but there was no point running around 20-seconds off the pace.

The second day started wet and we only got out on track for four hours in the afternoon. We worked hard though and I am still exploring the performance of the Rizla Suzuki. It's quick, no questions on that front. It also feels like my own bike now, it's fitted for me alone and to my tastes and I am confident I can push it hard. I am off to Knockhill tomorrow and I am not as race rusty as I was last time when I stood in for JR. I want to get good results this weekend and with a bit of luck and a following wind, podiums are achievable!

Finally, thanks to Crash for taking me on as a contributor. We are planning a lot of audio interviews from races as well as columns, so keep on visiting to see how my season progresses.

Ciao

JH