It was a fairly noisy evening. Someone
across the way from us had their Hi-Fi Theatre Surround system set up as
their perimeter fence and played some Crappy music loud! for quite a
while. They did play some good music as well though. We did get some
sleep.
In the morning we got up, started the generator and
made breakfast, then
checked out the neighbors we had, which had arrived through the night and
were still arriving.
The guys next to us were from Arizona,
they run a racing school here in Phoenix.
Well time for the hike up the hill. The
pictures do not do the hill justice.
It
is probably only half a mile, but seems more like 2 miles.
We made it to the top after my two rest
periods along the way. The good part about this is when we go back its all
down hill. :)
The top of the hill puts us on the
outside of turn two looking to turn one. So we wonder across the street to
see what we could see of the track and if we could get any good pictures
from there.
As it was, I'm assuming it was the
Dorna officials walking the track
checking on the improvements when we arrived at the fence. Then
Marco Melandri goes by on a scooter
checking the track out.
This is a pretty good place for shots as
the riders come through turn one over the
crest and then into turn two and then
through turn three to four. You can also
see them coming off the corkscrew on the far side, but that is really too
far away.
From here we decide we would take a walk
over the bridge at the Start line and go for a stroll around the paddock
and pits.
While walking around this guy asked if
he could have his picture taken with me
and Dave, he had obviously seen our
websites. :) But of course we all know he is Sete.
I try to get a quick word with Max, but
he is uncooperative (and was all weekend) bordering on obnoxious.
The Telefonica mechanics were cleaning
the parts of their Honda bikes. I wanted a picture of the
frame for reference, so while the
mechanic was stopping people from taking pictures I snapped one from
behind. :)
Thursday was a very casual day to
walking around the pits. It did not really matter who you were and if the
opportunity arose to talk to someone you could take it. Everyone was
relaxed and happy to chat. With the exception of Max.
There was not too much to be seen on the
back side of the pits, so we decided to see if we could get to the Hot
side of them.
As we approached the gate we could see
people standing out side the gates, straining their necks to look down pit
lane, while security stood each side of the gate. We decided that our pit
pass would be good to go so we just walked in as if we know where we were
going and were supposed to be there. No one said a thing. It's Thursday,
nothing secret is happening and I believe anyone with a pit pass could go
there on Thursday, but not after that. The Pit lane would definitely be
HOT on Friday with the bikes coming and going, checking set-ups. A quick
look up the pit lane and down it towards
the Bridge over the front straight.
Most of the Garage doors are open and
the mechanics are assembling the bikes. It is amazing! These bikes are
stripped down to every item, cleaned examined and put back on the bike or
replaced. All the suspension items are being changed. It's a great
opportunity to get some nice detail shots for the models, which we took
full advantage of. Too many to put here though. But
here is the Camel
Honda right side engine. Max's Fairing parts. Tamada's left
side engine
and the right side detail shot worth a million. :) Note the different
Carbon clutch cover extending all over the engine case and back to the
foot peg.
Some of the teams were further ahead
than others on their rebuilds. The Kawaski
Nakano's are ready to go, The
Fortuna Yamaha team one of Xaus' is just about ready
and the other is. Suddenly the silence, as
such, is destroyed as the Konica Minolta team fire up their RC211V and it
Barks into life! The sound is amazing this close! Some people have their
fingers in their ears, NO WAY! I want the full experience of this. You can
even feel the exhaust pressure when you stand behind it, and I was ten
feet away.
The mechanics keep it on a stand while
they run through the gears, up and down while getting the engine up to
temperature. They shut it down and wheel it back into
the garage, where
they check it out for loose bolts leaks etc. I assume, but they close the
garage door down part way so we cannot see
in.
Back down pit lane we go and see the
Ducati doors are open so we get some shots of Checa's
bikes have a close look at this picture
especially the number 7 on the front. I never noticed before that Checa
has his name in it. I always knew about the bull's head, but not the name.
Cool!
I also take a couple more
pictures of Max's bike
nice bit of detail there for all you modelers, free of charge. :)
We head out of the pits and take a
wonder around the main paddock where the "Low Life" Super Bikes and Super
Sports bikes are based. They are a very friendly bunch of people though.
:) The riders are available to chat and sign autographs, the mechanics are
friendly and chatty, as long as you speak the same language.
We stopped by the Ducati area and there
is a very famous mechanic there, who I chat with and take his
picture he is famous for his haircut as you
can see
He has been in many magazines because of his haircut.
It is great to be able to just take
pictures without anyone stopping you. Here are a
couple of
bare Ducs.
We take a wonder around the infield
where all the vendors are setting up. Not too much to see here yet.
Then take a stroll around the area where all the manufacturers have their
stands set up, which is pretty interesting. Each having a range of
bikes from their history in racing, plus the current range of road bikes.
Ah well! Extremely tired from all this
walking it's time to head back to camp..........at least it's down hill!
It's still a long hike though and a nice cold drink at the RV is most
welcome before dinner.
We are told there will be busses running
tomorrow, to take us up the hill and bring us back.
I decide I should have a shower,
although the RV is on a slight tilt, I figure it will be fine. But
in keeping with the trip up........while taking the shower the shower door
falls off! I can do nothing but laugh at this stage.
|