2014 has already been a busy year for Aberdare motorbike racer Rick Olson, and with his debut season in the FIM Endurance World Championship swinging into gear it’s set to get even busier.
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On Monday Olson jetted out for Japan ahead of this weekend’s gruelling eight-hour race at the country’s renowned Suzuka track.
The 24-year-old’s call-up to the world stage came after a breakout 2013 season in which Olson claimed the FX-600 division of the Australian Superbikes Championship.
Olson also finished third in the main Superbike Championship behind Yamaha team-mate Broc Parkes (who also grew up in Cessnock), and with Parkes moving onto the lucrative MotoGP circuit it was he who gave Olson the vote of confidence to step up.
“My team-mate (Parkes) was riding these events last year, and now that he’s moved onto MotoGP this year he recommended me to stake the step up,” he said.
“It was a real boost for me and so far it has been unreal, the atmosphere is so different to here in Australia.
“The crowds are huge, and they just get so into it.”
Olson’s first test for his new Monster Energy Yamaha team came at one of Europe’s most famous racetracks, the Magny-Cours circuit in France.
For Olson and team-mate Wayne Maxwell it was a harsh introduction.
“We qualified pretty well in seventh, but the race was held in very wet conditions and we struggled a bit,” he said.
“We’d had a couple of crashes at the start of the race and once Wayne (Maxwell) broke his leg that was our race over only five hours into it.”
But rather than be despondent, the setback only served as motivation for Olson and his team to improve.
“Wayne and I actually spoke after the first race about the importance of staying consistent – it’s that long of a race and we realise that it might not be possible to go 100 percent the entire time,” he said.
“It’s been a real change for us – the races here in Australia are usually three races of 10 or 12 laps per day, and over there in an hour you might have done 25.”
Monday’s flight to Japan marked the start of a bumper period for Olson that will see him compete across three continents.
Following this weekend’s race, he’ll immediately return to Australia for an Australian Superbikes race at Winton in Victoria.
He’ll then return to Japan for the FX-600 Asian Championship, head to Germany’s Oschersleben track for another Endurance World Championship before more races in Japan.
Olson’s frenetic two months then culminates with the pinnacle of the Endurance World Championship season, a 24-hour race at the famed Le Mans circuit in France.
He might be racking up the frequent flyer points, but Olson certainly isn’t getting ahead of himself and in fact was critical of his current form.
“Unfortunately this year I’ve seemed to step back a bit with my performance and it’s now up to me to try and get back there,” he said.
“The last round we had here (in Australia) wasn’t too bad, and hopefully I can come into the upcoming races with a bit of self-confidence.
“I just really want to help the team out, everyone is working hard and you don’t want to let them down.”
At just 24 his career is on the upswing and emulating Parkes’ path into MotoGP is a possibility – although Olson was typically grounded when asked about his chances.
“When you start to do road racing it’s everyone’s dream to get into MotoGP but it’s just so tough to even get into a world championship,” he said.
“Of course if an opportunity came up you’ve just got to take it, but I’ll just keep working hard and see what happens.”
