MotoGP - 2003
The circus came to town again in October
2003. MotoGP, the premier class of motorcycle racing was back at the
critically acclaimed Phillip
Island Grand Prix Circuit for another weekend of insane speeds, incredible
skill and great entertainment. A generous amount of Aussie competitors
filled the grids in all the international races and unsurprisingly, the Aussie
support classes would provide some great racing. So it was, we met up with
a crew at the service station in Lang Lang on Saturday morning and headed down
to watch qualifying in the international events and the local boys in Superbike
and Supersport. It was a glorious day, with blue skies and temperatures in
the high 20s. We arrived just in time to catch the MotoGP practice and
headed to Doohan Corner to watch the spectacle. The bikes are
significantly louder this year compared to last year and that was the first
thing immediately noticeable. The wonderful bark and growl of the
unmuffled Honda V5. The snap, crackle and pop of the Kawasaki as riders
rolled off the throttle. The Ducati not having that typical dull drone of
the marque's V-twin, instead it is replaced by a howling V-four which resembles
more of a Formula 1 engine than a bike. The Aprilia Cube was one of the
quieter bikes, as were the Yamahas. I was expecting the Proton V5 to be
something really unique from what i'd read in the press, but I was disappointed
when comparing it to some of the others. It's still a fantastic sounding
motorcycle, but not as ear-catching as some would have you believe.
Suzuki, while disappointing on the time sheets, still sound fast, although a lot
more muffled than Ducati's V-four effort. MotoGP really is a fantastic
spectacle these days. The 2 stroke bikes of the 125 and 250 classes sound
positively asthmatic compared to the big bore 4 stroke bikes. After
watching these guys, and having ridden the circuit several times myself, I can
only assume that they have some kind of super human make up from another planet.
Their courage and skill levels are not of this earth. A few of the
mcnews.com.au forums people met up
putting more faces to names. After practice was over we had a look at the
new FireBlade and toured through the GP Expo which, as usual was full of goodies
I don't have enough money for. The 125s were the first group out to
qualify and the boys put on a good show, with Casey Stoner just getting a front
row start in the dying minutes. MotoGP was next. Watching these
awesome machines and riders from turn 11 was terrific. Troy Bayliss
managed to hold his front row on the grid despite the efforts of Hayden and
Biaggi. We needed a break from the sun as it was the first warm day we'd
had for a while so we found a shady tree and watched the freestyle MX boys doing
all manner of crazy stunts. This meant we missed watching the 250GP
qualifying but we needed a break and some food. The local boys were next
with 2 Superbike races and 1 Supersport race. Great entertainment from
them, a particular highlight was witnessing Josh Brookes break the Supersport
lap record only to break it again the very next lap. A great day.
Sunday dawned and I looked out the window too
see overcast skies and drizzling rain. I was still sunburnt from the
previous day, so the change in temperature was welcome, but not rain, please,
not rain. Getting some gear together for the trip, I noticed the sound of
rain, not drizzle this time, but rain. It was fairly pissing down outside.
By the time I was ready to go it had eased back to a drizzle again, so I took my
luck in my own hands and wore leathers instead of wets. I carry a storm
suit just in case, but I just feel safer in leathers. I rode out to
Pakenham and fuelled up the Blade. Until now it wasn't raining to really
get me wet, it was more just an annoyance. As I pulled out of the servo,
it began to rain properly. "Nah, she'll blow over soon. I'll be
right." I pressed on. About half way between Pakenham and
Koo-Wee-Rup, I was beginning to feel a few trickles of cold water. I
actually pulled over and for a couple of seconds thought about putting the
stormy on, but stupidity took over and I pressed on, riding in the pissing rain
with a water proof storm suit strapped to my back. I am a fuggin'
intellectual giant. I made it to Koo-Wee-Rup, soaking wet and thought that
now was a good time to put the stormy on, which I did, much to the jokes of a
few passers by. "It's warm in the pub, mate, and we have a big telly to
watch it on too!" Pricks.... Again, we met at the Lang Lang servo
where I met a whole bunch of people who were just as wet as me and we punched
our way through the rain and wind to the Island losing a few on the way for what
reason I had no idea. A call to Hasbeen's mobile phone yielded no result,
so I could only assume they were all OK. Turns out that the dill left his
bag at the servo and had to turn around to get it.
Coffee, we needed coffee. The queue for
coffee was about 49 miles long. Funnily enough, the queue for ice cream
was empty. MotoGP free practice was just about to start, so we forgot the
coffee and headed down to watch the guys. The rain was falling heavily,
but that doesn't seem to deter these guys. They lap at blistering pace.
Rossi fastest, Bayliss fastest, Rossi fastest again. Bayliss fell twice in
the session, only to get straight up and go back out ASAP. Rossi didn't
fall, as usual, but most others did. Stoner was fastest in 125 practice
and West was fastest in the 250s while Bayliss was 2nd to Rossi in the MotoGP.
It was looking like a great day for the Aussies. With a bit of time to
kill before the main racing, we headed to the Honda tent to drool over the new
Blade again and get dry. Everyone else was there too. Damo and I
discussed the finer points of FireBlades for a while before we headed to the
Expo again. I'd seen it before and the place was packed solid so Damo and
his mate went through while Paul and I caught up with Antti and Tony again.
Darren showed his face again with his better half and we stood in the pouring
rain, laughing about the situation. Ian (tarmac) and his better half, Jo
also met us there along Gardner Straight. Damo had decided that is was
warmer and dryer in the Expo and the rest of us headed up to turn 11 to watch
the main races. Good reports of the races can be read over at
mcnews.com.au so I won't bore you with
my version. Let's just say that I was spewing when Casey fell off, happy
that Ant West got second, and sickened by Bayliss's fall in the main race, but
after a couple of SMSs came through on the phone confirming that he was OK, I
could get my mind back on the job of watching the race. Yes, it was cold
and wet and windy, but we had a great time. If you are one of people that
piked it and went home early in the day, you missed out.
We had organised for a few members of the
mcnews.com.au forums to get together for
what is now our annual post MotoGP ride to the Victorian High Country. A
great turn out this year consisted of 16 bikes from WA, SA, NSW, ACT and VIC.
We met at Pakenham, rode to Healsville, through the Black Spur, on to Mansfield,
across to Whitfield and then over to Bright. A run over the Mt Beauty road
is a compulsory ride. It's so much fun that Antti and Wayne did it twice.
I think this overnighter is best summed up by Pete. Hope you don't mind me
stealing your post, mate.
"Fella's
Got home Ok last night at about 6.00pm .... Very Very 2nd hand ...
Sorry about having to get up and piss off early , Adam and Rusty woke me up at
7.45 and said they were leaving by 8.00am ...
Trust me , you do not wanna ride up to Mount Beauty after getting Hammered and
going to Bed - Drunk - at 3.00am .... It wasn't a fraction of the fun I had on
Monday arvo ...
Cal those pics ... I want forensics ... I think somebody slipped me a Beerhypnol
..... I wasn't that drunk .. was I
That would had to of been one of the greatest nights I've had in a long long
time ... it is an honour to say that I know you blokes and am proud to call all
of youse me mates . and I think me and a few others are pretty impressed with
the company we keep ( CC )
Anyway , just popped into work to check all you blokes and gals got home OK ...
I'll talk some more in a week or so ....
Love , your drunken mate
Pete / Beefa"
So, keep it mind for next year guys.
In the meantime, the pictures tell more than I can say, so have a laugh on us.
Cheers
Cal
For pics of our assault on the township of
Bright, click here.
To
see the second round of pics, click here (thanks Damo)