Indianapolis, Spies, Stoner, Rossi, AC and the flu

It was hot.

Casey Stoner

I thought the flu would be done and gone by the time the trip to Indy rolled around.  I guess I was wrong.  In fact the flu I contracted during the weekend at Brno, simply got worse.  The high temperatures and never ending air conditioning (AC) everywhere only served to cause me to think that I had actually spent my whole life working in a mine and had gone down with emphysema.  Every time I started to cough it never stopped, and never stopped, and never stopped and then only finally stopped when my lungs had completely expelled all the air contained within and I was dizzy from lack of oxygen. Fortunately for me Bob Starr at Yamaha had very kindly arranged for me to have a scooter.

Dani Pedrosa coming at me during the first lap

This was the first time in as long as I could remember that Emily would not be joining me for the race weekend due to school and work obligations.  So this would be the trip where I would not get to see her in over two weeks.  Something that does not fill me with joy.  However, I would spend the weekend with a good friend Nic Coury who is a journalist at the Monterey County Weekly.  So the company was more than welcome, and also it does help keep the costs down by being able to split the cost of food, accommodations and transportation.

Colin Edwards

I may have mentioned it somewhere else before, but Indy is a very challenging location to shoot racing.  The lack of service roads, having to negotiate crowds whilst on a scooter and lack of locations to shoot the track from can make for rather repetitive imagery. So there's a need to really test ones creative skills when working there.  

Gorls

So the weekend was hot.  The surface of infield section of the track had been repaved and was subsequently rather greasy for the riders.  The weather being so hot made me almost wish for the rain we had the year before, only because it adds another dimension to the imagery, and it does make life a little more tolerable, even if one has to deal with wet weather gear, protective covers and the lack of convenience that dry weather allows.  

Simoncelli

Once again all eyes were on Ben Spies, but also on Hayden and the other American Colin Edwards. This is the second home race of the season and as we remember, both Hayden and Spies have done well here in the past.  Did I mention it was hot over the weekend?  One thing you always forget about when you visit this huge concrete and steel structures is the residual heat that is reradiated back up from the concrete.

Tom, Greg and Ben, parc ferme

But it would turn out to be a weekend that neither Nicky Hayden or Valentino Rossi will want to remember...especially when it came to race day.....

Valentino Rossi

As I mentioned above, good friend Nic Coury was joining me for the weekend and was having a blast.  having never seen all three classes at one race (Laguna only has the GP class) it was a firs for him.  But boy howdy did that guy not need a scooter.  He walked everywhere and I was suitably impressed by the energy output!  Plus, he captured some really different images.Race day came, and even though it was dominated by Casey Stoner, with Dani Pedrosa coming in second, it was good to see Ben made it to the podium again for his home race.

The Pagoda and pitlane, race day morning

After getting up at 4am to run Nic to the airport for his trip back to California, I went back to the hotel, back to bed for a couple of hours and then packed up the car, headed to the airport and left for Italy and the next round from Misano on the Adriatic which is where I am writing this from now.

Italian country spicy sausage and vegetable soup, Indy style

However, even though I wasn't feeling too chipper, I still managed to crank out some fine dinners for us over the weekend in Indianapolis...however, I might just add, the blueberry bagels do not go too well with a country style sausage and vegetable soup, but they worked somewhat.  

Thanks for reading..

Dreams Coming Full Circle At The Brickyard

During the weekend of September 12th to the 14th, I covered the inaugural return of MotoGP and motorcycle racing to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Like many others, both professional and fans alike, I was excited. The last time I attended a race meeting at the IMS, (aside from testing in late July this year) I was with my wife Emily. In 2001 we attended the inaugural return to the US of Formula 1 and again in 2003 and 2004. It was at the same of the year, the level enthusiasm was the same and I was just a fan, sitting and looking on from the other side of the fence and barriers with a video camera, instead of Valentino Rossi being the man to watch, we had Michael Schumacher. In 2004, with my wife Emily and I pressed firmly against the crowd fence during the pit walk, Renault factory driver Fernando Alonso approached us. I turned and looked towards a photographer taking pictures of the fans from inside the barriers and said in passing to Emily, "you know, wouldn't it be wonderful to have a job like that?" Almost 4 years later to the day, here I am, in that same spot the photographer was working covering an event with as much gravitas as Formula 1 in a place with history oozing out of every piece of concrete and steel and for a moment, I was overwhelmed and humbled by the fact that I had been granted the ability to cover this event, sadly not being able to share this with my wife Emily a she had to stay home. Over the rest of the weekend, meeting folks back at my hotel, around the race track and even in the parking lot, many of which had *never* watched a motorcycle race in their life, I sensed a similar level of enthusiasm and enjoyment, regardless of the weather. Seeing people having this much fun at a time when there really isn't much to smile about, with big grins on their faces, with little kids and grown adults wide eyed as Rossi, Stoner, Hayden and others aboard their uber powerful hi-tech machines showing off their magnificent skills and hearing the oohs and aahs from behind me as I worked made the weekend something special.I hope some of the 174,000 people who attended this wonderful weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can realize their dreams, no matter how small just as I did. Odldy, I didn't manage to grab myself a smoked turkey leg. There's always next year, and fingers crossed, let's hope the rain stays away!

Last round of the AMA Superbike Series (maybe forever?) from Laguna Seca in Monterey, then we go to the land of Rolf Harris, kangaroos and Fosters "beeyah". One last thing before I go, I'd like to mentioned a solid "well done" to Ben Spies on his performance at this event.

Saying Goodbye - Where Was Everyone? - Rd Atlanta

One could say, the Championship is/was (and now has been won by Ben Spies) and that's why the crowds just didn't materialise at Road Atlanta. Typically, Friday's are easy to move around, Saturday and Sunday are really difficult. This weekend was so different. Less people camped out, the vendor area was full of people trying to sell their goods and services but to whom?
I think that there were possibly more people at an early season test at Infineon than there were at Road Atlanta. Shame. Could it be the DMG vs the OEM's is finally coming to a head? Maybe folks are upset that perhaps they perceive DMG are going after Mladin, being that he has been extremely candid on their plans for the AMA Superbike series. I'm not gong to get into it here, but for whatever reason, people were not there in their masses. Which saddens me. Humidity and heat aside, I like Road Atlanta and i like going to the South. I couldn't live there, but for four days I enjoy the hospitality, the weird clay and even weirder bugs.

On the ground and in the paddock with the teams and riders there was an air of reflection. This was the first race weekend since Toriano Wilson had died at VIR. There was a feeling reverence around the Red Bull Rookies bivouac. Outside of the entrance to the "garage" there stood a portrait of the young man aboard his KTM125 and a above it a lovely portrait of Toriano (taken on the stairs to the media centre at Barber). You could say it was more of a shrine. But an interactive one, whereby people were encourage to say a few words, whatever around his image. A nice touch. The epitaphs were extremely moving written my riders, fellow rookies, whoever felt moved to say a few words in passing.

Moving on, this week you'll find me going back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to follow up the the test I covered back in July. This time, it's the whole MotoGP circus. 125's, 250's and the GP bikes. I am thrilled to be able to cover this event, even though my knees are finally giving up the ghost. Hopefully they'll last until I'm done with the season, my last race being the MotoGP at Valencia. With that in mind, I'll sign off, and we'll see you there.

Smoked Turkey Legs - Indy MotoGP Test - Go Ben

Just a small update, I'll post some pictures to my site after the weekend.

This week I went to cover the MotoGP test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. The last time I was there was for Formula 1 (with Emily) and so it was with quite a lot of excitement that I was traveling there once again. When I was there last, as a spectator, it seemed so much bigger, so maybe having worked in motorsport for the last few years has made these places seem so much less imposing. Some of the old F1 track is there, however, where the last turn onto the start finish used to be, has been totally removed and is now turn one which takes you into the infield, not totally dissimilar to the "in and out" or turn 1 at Daytona.

The test included riders from Yamaha, Ducati, Honda and of course Suzuki, with current AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies putting in an immaculate performance during the test. Obviously, circuits (or as they're affectionately known over here as "rovals" - ROad courses on OVALS such as this are nothing new for Ben, racing on similar rovals such as Daytona and the California Speedway in Fontana.Fortunately during the two day test for the MotoGP teams the weather cooperated...however, on Thursday, rain made quite an appearance for the Red Bull Rookie test at the speedway.That's all from me for now...we'll see you at Laguna Seca for the Red Bull USGP in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here's a little G9 video vignette of the track for your viewing pleasure.