back in Chicago now after a long and sweaty Indianapolis Grand Prix weekend. although i think i still prefer watching the race broadcast in the comfort of my own home, my first MotoGP experience was a blast and i hope to do this again sometime.
but probably not anytime soon.
another sweaty day at the track culminating in a series of fantastic qualifying sessions. Spies got pole and Hayden also made it on the front row of tomorrow’s grid. can’t wait!
for full MotoGP qualifying results for the 2010 Indianapolis Grand Prix, click here.
i think what caught me off-guard the most about today was the sound of the MotoGP bikes. they already sound pretty loud on television but to hear it in person is a different thing entirely. a MotoGP bike at full chat sounds like a jumbo jet taking off as its runway erupts into a sea of flame. the sheer volume is incredible and the sound is absolutely glorious in pretty much every way that matters.
on a side note, Shoya Tomizawa waved and said hello to me!
anyway, Beka and i are driving down to Indianapolis today for the Indianapolis GP this weekend. i’m not sure what the internet situation will be at the hotel so i may be a bit quiet for the next few days. however, the photoblog will still be updated regularly regardless.
great news: i got my car back this afternoon. bad news: my money is gone.
it turns out that my radiator had cracked and was leaking coolant like a colander. luckily, i suspected as much and was able to avoid serious engine damage by periodically pulling over to add water while drawing stares from passersby. i felt like a freak.
but not for the first time.
spent about 20 minutes today on the hard shoulder with steam billowing out from my engine bay. it seems i’ve got some sort of radiator leak which is causing the engine to overheat. anyway, i’ve nursed the car home and going to get it checked out tomorrow. wish me luck.
dun dun DUNNN! behold, mere mortals, the SSANGYONG MUSSO.
i caught this little beauty (and by “little beauty” i mean “wretched vomit box”) hacking through Cairo a few months ago, recognizing it instantly despite it being the first one i’ve ever seen in the flesh. the Musso is actually quite beautiful by Ssangyong standards but with stablemates like the Actyon, Rodius, Kyron and Korando, even Sloth from The Goonies could be the next James Bond.
i almost rammed some middle-aged woman in a Toyota Yaris today after she rolled out onto the road perpendicular to traffic going five miles per hour. i honked. she floored the accelerator.
seven miles per hour.
crashing out of a motorcycle race must be one of the single most disorienting and disheartening events one could ever experience short of being trapped in a bouncy castle full of enemy ninjas. think about it: you’re absolutely tearing down the track, having established a good rhythm and are battling for position. you’ve overtaken two riders already and have begun chipping away at the the leaders. your pit board is a countdown: -2.1, -1.7, -1.4.
then, without warning, your front end gives way and you highside into the gravel. when the world stops tumbling, you sit up just in time to see all the riders behind you roar past you one by one until the backmarkers disappear from view. adrenaline is still pumping as you run over to your bike. it’s trashed. you’ve gone from 100 miles per hour to naught, from race speed to walking pace, from possible podium spot to DNF. all in a matter of seconds.
hold up, this Lancia Stratos revival is REAL?! i better start saving my pennies.
