EXCITING CONTENT distance driven is big , but not scary . “ Probably not as much mileage per year as people might think , depending on whether we are zig-zagging across Europe or doing a bit of a circle , but generally about 12,000 miles a year ,” he said , “ which is not that much . Europe is not a massive place but also I tend to leave the motorhome at the circuit we have just raced at , or take it directly to the next circuit we are racing at . As opposed to storing it in the UK , or with the team in Barcelona . Generally the circuits will let you do that but some circuits won ’ t entertain you - usually because they have other races on or other championships arriving . So in all about I drive about 12,000 miles a year .” Kev ’ s motorhome life is inside the unit itself on the road , then he goes to stay in local hotels over race weekend itself . “ I usually sleep in the motorhome on a Wednesday and a Sunday night , then go into a hotel for the rest of the weekend ,” said Kev . “ On the road I sleep in the motorhome and have full use of it . In the week between Jerez and Portimao , for example , I will stick it on a campsite in Portugal and just stay in it .” The motorhome is registered in the UK , but spends almost all its time in Europe , for obvious reasons . That ’ s where most races are . Ironically bringing the British motorhome back to Britain caused a few issues this year . “ After the Navarra test we finished on the Wednesday and then Donington was on the following Wednesday into the paddock ,” said Kevin . Nowadays life is more complicated , and involves more paperwork … “ Because of Covid etc I had a PCR certificate in Logrono , Spain . Then got on the ferry and off the ferry on Tuesday , so that I could then say to the customs people I was going into the Donington paddock on Wednesday , just in case the argued the point about isolating and doing this or that . So that was it , from Donington then straight out to Assen , to the ferry again . The whole Brexit thing and Covid thing have taken the smile off it a little bit .” The unavoidably compressed nature of the 2021 season is also making things unusual for Kev and the likes of him . “ If people say that ‘ well , we have a week of before the next race ,’ I haven ’ t . I could be going from Portugal to the Czech Republic and driving 1,700km . I have got three or four days to get there and then one day to recover and get set-up ready for Jonathan ’ s weekend to start .” It is not by any means all work and no play , as ‘ Kev ’ is quick to acknowledge . There can be mini-holidays in among all that driving preparation and his rider assistant duties . “ Misano is the best ,” he said . “ We have been going on the same campsite in Misano , which is literally across the road from the beach , for over ten years . We have rented cottages there too , so Misano is the best all round fun .” Andy Berzins has combined driving Leon Haslam ’ s motorhome to all the European races with being a team tyre technician , but not in 2021 . “ This year I have been driving the motorhome for Leon ,” said Andy . “ I pretty much organise most things myself . I know where I need to be next so I know how I will get there , book the ferries and the flights home in between . You got to know people and places and I have found places I can park this all over over Europe now , and found people to give you lifts in cars to airport , and so on so you can get home for a few days . It is all people in the paddock , there is a network of people . Different teams have different locations so you can stay
with them and park up . You tend to go back to the same places year in , year out .” And meeting new people is one of the attractions of the job . “ You meet such fantastic people . I needed somewhere to park at Faro in Portugal , to fly home . I just pulled into the local Kawasaki dealer and said I was looking for somewhere to park the motorhome . He was like , ‘ Oh , yes , bring it ! He was so excited to have the motorhome . He drove me to the airport . When I got back to pick it up he had brought all his family there . He had caught a huge fish so we had a barbecue in my honour basically - just because I was driving Leon Haslam ’ s motorhome ! We are friends and I call in and see him now and then .” Fun yes , limited funds , also yes . “ Everyone will tell you it is not the best paid job in the world , you cannot make a full living at it because you are a week here , a week
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