EXCITING CONTENT
Hattie Hughes - Mrs Chaz Davies , and mother to their baby girl - was speaking on the phone not from their regular home in Andorra , but from the land of Davies ’ fathers , Wales . Visiting family , as it happens , now that they have started one of their own recently . But Andorra is where Hattie calls home now , and will be based there for a while , it appears . “ We have got a really good group of friends in Andorra , and a lot of them have young kids , so it is super-nice ,” she said . “ There is a big group of us , mainly motorcyclists and cyclists and the odd person from rally . It is kind of like you depend on them over there . They are more than friends , it is almost like everyone is everyone ’ s surrogate family .” Literal family life is easier with a nice modern townhouse to live in and ‘ Team Davies ’ has bought a plot of land in Andorra to build a more spacious one on . “ We have some land and trees , and according to Chaz a section which would be absolutely ideal for trials riding … We are going to build up there eventually but it is a bit of a work in progress . We love it in Andorra . It is so safe , such a good community , good schools . It is a bit isolated but if you are travelling a little bit for work then it is a good balance . Whenever we go back there Chaz - and me too - just relax . It is so nice and peaceful . We love being in the mountains .” And speaking of relaxing , or not … When given the theory that the life of a racer ’ s partner must be filled by highs and lows , Hattie , said . “ You ’ ve nailed it . I really don ’ t need to speak to you any more - that ’ s exactly what it ’ s like !” She continued , thankfully , by saying , “ Literally , one week you can have such lows … I remember before you called thinking about the worst moment and the best moment . About the worst-looking accident Chaz ever had was in Misano . On the last lap of the race he and Johnny were super-close together , fighting for the win . Chaz crashed and Johnny rode over him - not Johnny ’ s fault at all . It looked horrific on the TV and Chaz had broken a vertebrae . It was so stressful and you are just super-worried . I am normally like really together , quite good in crisis situations . I remember going to hospital and I was fine , fine , fine . Chaz was ( relatively ) fine . Then when I came out of the hospital literally the whole team had come to the hospital and were all in the waiting room - and I just burst into tears . That was really hard , but he was fine . Then , only three weeks later it was the Laguna Seca round and Chaz won the first race on his return . He had just been in a back brace , hobbling round . It was such an emotional race because it was the first one back in America since Nicky Hayden had passed , Ducati were running cool colours on the bike , someone stopped and gave Chaz the Nicky flag on the cool down lap . I knew it meant so much to him . So in the space of three weeks to be in a hospital with a broken back , then in America having won the race . He was on such a high . In a race that really meant so much … It is so true , the highs and lows are so unbelievable at times it is like a proper emotional rollercoaster .” Hattie never saw herself in this kind of life , not at all . “ I wasn ’ t in this racing world for a lot of years . I went to university , then trained and worked as a lawyer in London for quite a few years , in my twenties . It got to be a bit of a grind , on the tube train every day and I just thought , ‘ there has got to be a better balance than this .’ I carried on working for that same law firm but I persuaded them to let me move to Andorra and work from there .” It was important to Hattie to be her own woman , as well as supporting her man . “ I have always had a good balance I think between going round with Chaz and doing my own thing , but I have become a bit more involved , obviously , since we got married Now I am a bit less involved ( with Chaz ’ s career on track ) since I have had Bay , but I am always there , in the background . When I first met Chaz
he was not even sure if he was going to carry on racing . Racing was a big part of his identity then but then it got more so . But we did do quite a lot of our own thing in our twenties , so I wasn ’ t always there .” Practicalities were also difficult , for a person in a desk job in London . “ I would try and come along on weekends and things that also was not very sustainable ,” said Hattie . “ I would come out really late on Friday night , on a horrible flight after work , then having to back on Sunday and then working Monday to Friday again . I enjoy it much more now , and we always make an effort on a Tuesday or Wednesday , wherever we are , to go and explore , or have a nice meal somewhere , and just have a nice time before the race . WorldSBK is so sociable as well . There area a lot of couples there . Although all the boys are competitors , everyone does really get along so well . There is a nice understanding of what you are involved in .” Motherhood is now Hattie ’ s main focus , and she feels that initially she may have experienced some aspects of racing making her miss out on some
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