BRACKSY - EL TORERO!
by Mark Bracks
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Hayden - a mediocre god |
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Kenny Roberts Jr's 212V gets its bottom bits warmed |
The MotoGP paddock is a little city with a few thousand people travelling the trail. Just in the mob I work for there are between 150-200 people responsible for the TV feeds that get to every race. It's a mini reunion every couple of weeks when we catch up and see what other people have been doing. It sounds glamorous but it's not all glitz and glamour. Anyone who has flown knows about departure lounges. They have to rate as one of the worst places to lose hours off your life - particularly when you're sitting there two hours after you're supposed to have taken-off! But whenever I mentioned that back home the best sympathy I could get was "Oh you poor bastard, I feel really fucking sorry for you travelling to every GP?" or words to that effect.
I said from the very first 800 test at Valencia immediately after that glorious end-of-season win by Troy Bayliss, that with the times so close 2007 would be better than last year. And though it's still early days, my thoughts have been affirmed. With the introduction of the new 800s and the new fuel and tyre rules, everyone is on a level playing field which bodes well for all fans.
As for picking a champion you can't go past Rossi as he aims for revenge in having "his" crown unceremoniously ripped from his noggin last year but he is definitely not going to have it all his own way. He has signed up until at least the end of 2008 so there are plenty of tussles to come with all the young bloods on the make.
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Practice |
Get used to Qatar being the opening race because it has been locked in for the next few years. Not bad I reckon as it gets it out of the way early. It's not a bad place, but if you are not working there is 3/8ths of bugger-all to do but laze by a pool. There aren't a lot of tourist traps, although there is some cheap shopping. Sure you can get a drink in the hotels but duck when they give you the bill! Basically, Qatar is an advert for over the top excess and is ostentatious to the max. On the track there were a few interesting tales to set the scene for the year. Qatar favoured the Ducatis and it was Barros who was fastest down the chute during the race and showed that on the right surface the Bridgestones are durable. Take Stoner's final lap -- a new record!
Those that said the Ducatis wouldn't have the advantage at Jerez were right, but now we are going to tracks that no one has tested at it will be very interesting. Turkey and China both have long straights -- the one at Turkey a spine tingling bottler as the right-hand kink is taken almost flat out. Standing there as they rocket past with the back end breaking away as they head up the hill is orgasmic!
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One thing's for sure Vermeulen will be out to break one special lap record -- and that's with me on the back. I walk every track looking at camber, corner entry, run off and all that sort of stuff taking notes to help with my commentary when I get my chance to chat. Amazingly, various riders have stopped and taken me for a couple of laps on their scooter to show me their lines. Seems they appreciate seeing someone out there having a look from their point of view. Melandri has done it at Qatar, Vermeulen at Turkey, Hayden at China, even Westy at Valencia on separate scooters on the eve of my ride on Shinya Nakano's ZX-RR. But Vermeulen was the standout. After one lap of showing me his way he just got quicker and quicker, with me on the back wearing not much protective clothing. At the end of the third lap I became a tad worried as we hit over 160km/h on the back straight and the bit of brake fade worsened as Chris tried to pull it up for the left hander. With no gears the lads can give these things a good workout. At lap's end I remarked, "That was a pretty quick lap mate," to which he replied, "Yeah, it was fun wasn't it? Hoppa got over 165 km/h out of his scooter with his girl on the back so I thought we'd try and beat it!"
If it's wet in Turkey Chris is well worth a little side bet. I know I'll be having a dig.
Speaking of Hondas, they aren't the pinnacle of success they once were. Rather fitting actually the finger has been pointed at them for pushing through the 800cc rule. Hayden is certainly struggling and I think he will continue to do so until he starts to ride it like a GP bike and not a Superbike. Look how long it took Edwards. There is no doubt he is riding the wheels off it, but it's interesting to be up close and see them under brakes. He is one having trouble in getting confidence in the front end with the new 16 in wheel. With the profile of the tyre it is similar in outside diameter to the old 16.5 but with the added dynamics of the gyroscopic effect and the need to tip it into a corner faster than ever before, a huge deep breath is required when throwing it in. As Hayden didn't ride 125s or 250s he has never had to use corner speed like he has now. But saying that, Checa and Elias are two GP long-termers having trouble gaining confidence in the front end of the Hondas and Elias has now moved to Bridgestones.
As we have already seen, with the times so close is that it is going to take some desperate tactics under brakes to get ahead. The doomsayers are saying it's going to end up like F1 with no passing but I can't see that. These lads will work it out and adjust accordingly but won't there be some awesome shoulder-to-shoulder action in the corners?!
One thing I'm not too surprised about is the demise of the Ilmor. A little surprised at how quick they disappeared but they were really going to be up against it this year. It's interesting how the closest they got in lap times was at the final two races last year, when they gave away 20% in capacity and horse power. Since advent of the 800s with their increased corner speeds Ilmor have been way off the pace. It's sad for the riders, particularly Garry McCoy who I thought did enough to keep his place. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise for McWilliams. It was tagic to see him hobbling around the paddock before he binned it big time during practice. He's very lucky he didn't do more damage in the crash -- it was a cracker. Lack of sponsors is the official reason for Ilmor pulling out and they say they aim to be back. It's funny that people with loads of money cite a lack of it for not continuing. I wish I was that broke! Besides having difficulty with the engine performance, I think it had a bit to do with Roger Penske who is in partnership with Mario Illien in the four-wheelers. Me thinks that a guy whose big interest is open-wheelers going around banked circles very fast and probably has little or no interest in bikes has seen the bottom line and thought "stuff this for a game of cards, we're outta there."
It's a shame because it sends the wrong message to anyone else that might be interested in joining MotoGP and yet again a F1 manufacturer who thought they could come in and show "us" how to do it has been given a little surprise in that what works in F1 does not work in MotoGP. It was interesting that the experienced bike personnel they had in the box at the end of last year were no longer around when the season kicked off this year. Apparently they wanted to do it "their" way. Big mistake.
To look at Qatar you could be forgiven for thinking that it's as flat as a shit carter's hat but there is plenty of camber change in the corners. Some of them are quite steep, allowing the riders to really throw them into the corners, whereas Jerez hasn't got much corner camber.
Qatar, Istanbul and Shanghai are all designed by the same man. Qatar and China are fairly flat but Turkey has to have the best layout in the world as it has fairly steep rise and falls plus all sorts of corners -- a real rider's track where you need the optimum setup and huge balls to go as fast as they do.
With the rumoured addition of Indianapolis next year, tis a pity that maybe China or Turkey will drop off the perch, as 19 races would just be too much -- not for me mind you, but logistically it would be a nightmare.
Jerez is a very special place to see a GP and believe it or not the race last week was the biggest crowd at any sporting event ever held in Spain! That surpasses all the football, Olympics and anything else that's been held here. It's well worth a tick in the diary under "If I only ever see one GP outside of Oz." Jerez is THE place for crowd atmosphere. Over 132,000 turned up on race day and there were nearly 100,000 just for Saturday's practice and qualifying.
Besides the race Jerez 2007 is indelibly stamped in my mind for reasons other than bikes. The Gresini Team (Marco Melandri and Tony Elias) celebrated 10 years and put on a bash at a local restaurant on the Thursday night to celebrate. As usual I thought "Mmmm, food and beer - can't miss that." No sooner had I walked in with my partner in crime, Nick Harris, than the team press girl grabs me saying "Mark I want you" and drags me off into the depths of the restaurant. "Mmmmm", I think "What's going on here?" I'm met by a couple of the Italian photographers getting changed into bullfighter garb. "You want me in this?" Si, si, si and in a bit of sign language the restaurant manager tells me to get my cojones out of the way, to which I reply, "El Toro?" (You can see team owner Fausto Gresini and Maria laughing on one of the pics.)
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Is Gresini laughing at me? |
"No, no el toro." Mmmm, wonder what's going on because something was being lost in the translation -- more than that, we were being kept in the dark! Once we were changed we were told that we would do a lap of honour and then come to where Gresini was and give him a bow. That wasn't too hard, then the three of us were shepherded behind one of the protective barriers in the bull ring. The next thing we hear is this banging and crashing behind a steel door and I think "Oh OK it's some hombre done up in a bull's outfit like Fred Gassit and we're going to have a bit of fun." Next thing a fair sized steer comes charging out of its lockup, huffing ad puffing and raking the ground with its hoof as the apprentice shows the crowd how it's done. I was asked a few times to have a go, but declined. But after seeing that the steer was trained in chasing the cape, I thought "Why not, it's only a young steer!" Well I had a couple of goes showing my (lack of) style. I was getting into it as it swept past me a few times. "Ole! Ole! Ole!"
Then it must've thought "I'll show this Aussie for knackering my cousins a few months ago!" It charged at my right side then suddenly about a metre away with all this happening in a split second, it straightens up and hits me amidships.
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Bracksy knew just how Troy Bayliss felt at Donington |
Bang! Next thing I'm lifted about 6 ft in the air as it belts me! I wasn't thinking anything except "no pain", so in a flash I covered its head with my cape and protected my cojones and used the momentum to sort of bounce off it's next charge. Surprisingly it didn't hurt too much and now I understand why they tell you to get your goolies outta the way. (Have a look on some of the guys faces and also the blood-stained cape from previous bulls in the background.)
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Beauty and the Bracksy |
My efforts went down a treat and I was the toast of the restaurant and everyone else that was there. After the apprentice had had another go it was slowing up a bit so after they had the necessary brave pills a couple of the more outspoken Italian press had a go.
I had been completely sober, but boy! didn't I neck a few afterwards, especially when I was told that one of Spain's most famous bullfighters was killed by a steer of similar size! Even Maria the press girl was surprised. She said being a torero wasn't in the script!
I didn't even have to ask for a frosty as they brought them to me thick'n' fast. It was certainly an experience and I'm so glad I did it, because I'd be regretting it if I hadn't. Now it's one of the highlights of my MotoGP memories. It was a lot of fun, but I still felt sorry for the steer because he will be killed, but that is the way in the south of Spain. Barcelona and other areas have outlawed bullfighting but it is still very popular in the south.
The night wasn't over as we had a big slap-up meal in the traditional Spanish style, then to cap it all off there was a flamenco demonstration, as Jerez home of flamenco dancing. My evening was topped off in a fantastic way when this muay guapa chica (very beautiful girl) got me up for a bit of foot stomping Flamenco! I didn't know what the hell I was doing (much like being a torero) but that wasn't going to stop me having a bit of fun.
After all that excitement the GP was almost an anti-climax! No, it was another great weekend, but word of my antics plus the pics and video were around the paddock quicker than a bushfire. Everyone had seen the evidence except me! Funny how one gets respect, but evidently there weren't many who would've done it, even if the bull was only a young 'un.
Ah, the things that happen during the course of the year. I could keep rambling on but first let's here from you! Do you want to hear more from me? After all as Boris says the Internet is about the only place left with free speech.
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and enjoy watching the best racing on the planet during 2007.
Cheers
Bracksy
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