Hi everyone,

Now that the season has come to an end, I want to thank everyone, including my fans who helped and supported me on this roller coaster season.

Looking back over the year, I really have many people to thank and so much to be grateful for, starting with Enrico, and everyone at Peugeot for giving me the opportunity to be their factory rider. It was an honour to win my first GP on a Peugeot, giving them their first race win since 1906!

When Florian Prustel and his dad became the new team owners mid season, they really pulled the team together in all areas. It was a big step for them, but thankfully their passion for the team and sport led us to continue the rest of the season in an even stronger way than we started. Our sport needs people like them and I wish them the best.

I enjoyed working with everyone in the Prustel GP team. We all moved forward through the year and made some really strong results by the end of the season. My biggest thank you needs to go to my crew chief Mark Keen, for always giving me his best and getting the best from the bike. We both need to thank my mechanics, Alejandro and Diego, all the guys at Mahindra for their support, Alex and Ohlins, along with all the people at Dunlop.

Finishing the season stuck over here in Melbourne definitely wasn’t the way I had planned on ending my year but I’m on the mend and making progress daily. I’ve been back in the gym doing some light training and I’m eager to get back to full fitness. My second operation is scheduled for the 2nd of December.

I will be having the pins removed from my thumb and the next day my chest and lungs will be reviewed. If everything goes well, I will be flying home on the 5th of December. Although I’m stuck here, there is definitely worse places to be. Melbourne is a great city and I’ve been able to look around, which isn’t something I can usually do. I am very thankful for Victor (with me in the photo) and Jenny Soussan for looking after me while I’ve been here and making their home feel like mine.

Luckily, I’ve also had my family here at different times to visit me which has been great, considering they’ve had to travel across to the other side of the world.

I need to give a huge thank you to Peter Ball and all at Racing Steps Foundation and to my sponsors: Walker Macleod, Caladen, Vroom Media, Cairngorm stoves, PolePositionTravel, Ducati Glasgow, Scorpion, IXS, Knox and Alpinestars. Without your help and support, this season wouldn’t have been possible.

To all of you reading this, thank you for all the support and your messages. It really means a lot to me to know you’re all there for me. I’m looking forward to getting back in shape and seeing you all again in 2017. I will keep you up to date on how my training is going over winter once I’m back home.

John

John with Victor in Melbourne