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Despite all that working in the noise and atmosphere of racing circuits , with the sound of competition often ringing in her ears , Corinne was unprepared for how much racing would take over their lives . Her life . “ I thought it was all fun and games at the start - exciting ,” she remembers . “ I went to the first race with him , I think in Assen , in about 2015 and he had a big crash , which was stressful . It was a big eye opener for me and I saw how stressed Alex was .” Being a partner of a racer who has to travel a lot means by definition , means that sometimes Corinne and any other racing wife ends up flying solo at home . “ I end up doing a lot of stuff on my own ,” she says . “ I am OK with it , so if we have a family wedding , or going out with friends , I usually take it that it is just going to be me . If Alex can come along , that ’ s a bonus . If not , it ’ s just me ! I don ’ t put that pressure on him because when he comes home I just want him to focus on getting fit , relaxing , doing whatever he needs to do . He is a professional motorcycle racer so I don ’ t want to put any pressure on him .” But do other people get it ? “ I think my family gets it , because my dad is into bikes . I am pretty laid back with it all . But believe me , in a few years he ’ s getting it all !” Alex does try to make up for being away , it seems . “ Before a race weekend we always used to go out for dinner on a Tuesday night , in a little restaurant close to us that we love . We would do that before the race because the training was done , flight booked for the next morning , so we would go for dinner , and that ’ s it . But since Covid …” Another very different aspect to Corinne being a ‘ rider ’ s wife ’ is that there are more or less two professional racers in her life . Her husband Alex and his identical twin brother Sam . Moto2 top runner Sam , his partner , and their daughter , live very close to Alex and Corinne in the East Midlands of England . They race in different championships , usually have done , but otherwise they spend a lot of time together . A lot . “ They are like magnets … I ’ m married to them both !” joked Corinne . “ He is part of the relationship . When I found out I was pregnant I told them both at the same time , because they were together . I know that sounds weird but they are like the same person . They have usually raced in different paddocks and that is probably a good thing for everyone ’ s mental health ! It is just how their careers have panned out . They also help each other in the own forms of the sport . If they were racing together I am not sure how that would work . They would help each other and get on the same , but the fact they have two different things to focus on , which is nice .” The camaraderie of the rider ’ s partners is strong in many ways , but changing categories of racing , parenthood and other factors mean that there are simply fewer opportunities for all of them to get together . “ Before my time there was a big group of girls - Oli Haslam , Caroline Guintoli , Tarsh Rea , Emily Foret who would get together . They were tight . I was new in the paddock at that stage . I kind of dipped in a little bit and it has fizzled out a little bit . They have all got kids and moved on and have other responsibilities . But I am really close with Pippa Laverty and Hattie Davies , all the girls . It is nice . We understand each other and we can have a moan ! I suppose deep down somewhere there is a bit of competition , not between us , but always like you get to July each year and everybody is fighting for a ride . But we really look out for each other and if any of the girls need anything , we are straight there . If there is a crash or anything . Completely , we are the first people there .” Ah , crashes again . Does that worst bit , and the stress around it , abate over time for Corinne ? “ It gets worse for me ,” she said , with disarming honesty . “ The first year or so I was pretty chilled with it all , I suppose you just don ’ t understand it enough . The longer you are here the more you understand , the more stressed you are about it . I don ’ t pay attention any more . I don ’ t watch , I don ’ t watch the sessions . Before I used to watch every session , used to sit in the box writing down the sectors . I just zone out , what will be will be and I tell myself he is one of the best guys in the world in his field . They all are . And I trust that he knows what he is doing . You get women whose husbands are in the army , or away for six months at a time . I am not comparing it to that . But for me , I try to switch off and just trust .” Things have changed for Corinne since she met and married Alex , but how has she seen him change ? “ Alex is pretty mature these days . He really is .” Someone who knew the WorldSBK paddock inside out long before she got together with her life partner Jonathan Rea is Tatia ‘ Tarsh ’ Rea . Originally from Australia , Tarsh started working in WorldSBK in 1999 . So not only did Tarsh have a travelling life and career before she and Jonathan got together , or had their kids , she was an integral part of this and other race paddocks . So her movement to wife or partner is actually a completely different experience from some . Did it feel different to Tarsh ? “ Yes and no ,” she said . “ I think the moment you step over that line from working in the industry professionally , like I did , then having feelings , emotions , a love for someone who is racing , it is a very different thing . In that way I think all the wives and girlfriends are probably very linked , because your emotions are the same when you are watching your partner in a race bang bars with each other . So that is the same . In terms of understanding the sport … that probably gave me an advantage at the start .” Tarsh , having had her own career , jobs and interests before she and Jonathan got together said . “ I have always supported Jonathan in his dream , but I don ’ t really feel I am competing with it . In the early days of any relationship you are quite insecure , so I would say like any one of those girls has had that moment where you feel like you are second best , in terms of their relationship . But I never felt I needed to compete because I understood the sport and I understood how the boys ’ brains work over a race weekend . How they function as two separate people . There ’ s the racer and then there is the human behind it . I think in the early days I definitely had a much better understanding and I did not have that feeling where I needed to be photographed next to him , I was always happy staying in the background .” In some ways , however , being so well known as one of the regular paddock workers , had its drawbacks for Tarsh . “ It made it more difficult in that I did not really want to cross over . I was considered to be one of the boys and happy to hang out with the boys , so to cross over and be involved with someone who is racing was difficult for me , in my own head . I felt I was being quite judged .” Also , Tarsh had always been part of a team , but then it all went from a team effort or manufacturer effort to everything going into one person - her own bloke . “ I found it quite stressful ,” said Tarsh , “ I was emotionally involved with Jonathan so the whole process was very different . A lot more intense . When you are working for a team and I was booking between 15 and 20 flights , it was not a bother . You could get to the track and have a laugh . You don ’ t carry that pressure and that burden . When you are responsible in life for looking after one person , one rider , then there is just a lot more invested . Those early years ( with Jonathan ) I never felt like it was an easy going ride . It was quite intense and when they crash , then they are medical cases . In the early days he crashed a lot and we were all over the place . I remember being dragged to hospitals and all that kind of thing . It really was a different side of it for me ,
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