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*Liam's Wild Ride*

It's not all fun and games. I managed to wrangle a ride with two kids that I know who live an hour away from BCN. They drove out of their way to pick me up and I covered our lunch expenses. We made it to the track with no passes, and just the hint, the promise that something would turn up. The two guys, Nachito and Rafa, knew a guy with Kawasaki who could probably scrounge up one or two paddock passes, but I was going to have to fend for myself. We waited patiently at the front gate of the track after texting the Kawi guy and I hung out and went through my own rolodex. The last thing you want to do is cold call people, begging for a pass because you're trapped outside. Fortunately, one of the Dorna crew, Alexander, zipped by, recognized me, and asked me if I was having some trouble. Thanks Alexander, you stepped up and came through without even being asked, and it's moments like that when you realize there are a lot of good people in the motorcycle industry. Passion recognizes and respects Passion. If you ever make it to this historic circuit, take a moment to drive the vintage stone Mercedes!

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I made my way through the throngs of people in the paddock and said hello to some peeps at Repsol. Lots of fun talking with various Media people, and Mac, in particular, from HRC was great to talk to. His take on Alberto Puig's style and Horiike's style was spot on, in that they both know when to listen, and when to let the rider stop speaking. Sometimes a rider will speak for thirty minutes and end up talking himself into a circle. It's important to know when to say: hold it, fix this, tweak that, try again. They are definitely leaders.

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Boy, the Rizla Suzuki camp looks the dogs bollocks! The uniforms, the transporters, the scooters, Everything is spot on. Naturally, there were more than a few "rolling paper" jokes floating around, but when the bikes fired up everyone's heads snapped to attention and look at where John Hopkins is now. . . . leading the pack of non-Yamaha's!

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As much as I would have liked to stay in the Paddock and talk with everyone, I had other things on my mind. Like finding a spot to watch the action! I know this was only supposed to be a test, but the atmosphere, the ambiance, was decidedly race-like. There was a lot of tension in the air. There's only so much bad news a guy like me can hear, so I took my leave and made my way up and over the "bowl" of the central paddock area to a large grandstand. The clouds circling above were ominous, and although small streaks of sunlight shone through occasionally, it was dark skies a loomin'.

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I was looking for a specific bike out on the track. A bike that has brought a tremendous amount of excitement back to the series. A bike that wasn't up and running yesterday, and one that wasn't on the track until this afternoon. A bike that goes against the odds. A real David and Goliath bike. This bike.

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My favorite photo from today. Streaking through the leaves blocking my view, this bike roared out of the final corner and prepared to unleash itself on the main straight. I was panning the camera hoping for a shot, and this is what I got through the leaves. Awesome!

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KR211V

Team KR. Back in action, back on track. Two generations of World Champions. Speaking of generations, I caught Graziano Rossi checking out the BMW prize car quite closely. Maybe he's thinking about an upgrade?
Also had a chance to spend a couple minutes with Chuck Aksland, race director for the Robert's team and we joked about a couple of things. He said I gotta keep chipping away . . . . . . . . and I will! I think he'll do another MotoGPOD podcast interview in the future, and I was surprised to hear that he just got his first iPod for Christmas and found the GP podcast as a result. About the bike, the swingarm is a custom Roberts' unit (they're also providing swingarms for Erion in AMA. Pay attention to the photos, you can learn a lot, hint hint), and that is a one-off Akrapovic system you're seeing here. Longer pipes for more usuable torque :teeth
I asked King Kenny to call me if he needs a chopper, and he said ok, so that's good (could you actually see him on one?!?). He also told me I'm too big for an XR100, and that I must like people, since I've lived in Sunnyvale and BCN. Little does he know . . . . . Oh, and he wants his original TZ 750 flat tracker back, if anyone knows where it is. "Hell of a bike"
When we parted he asked if I would be back tomorrow.
--Hell yeah! I didn't move to Spain to not go to motorcycle races!

*edit* it was cold! Note the front brake shroud. Track temps ranged from 14C to 31C! You do the math.

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Here's another surprise. Carlos Checa is kicking butt! Armed with an M1, and Dunlop tires, he's been railing and taking top times consistently. I mentioned months ago that Dunlop was heavily responsible for bringing him back to GP and that they were a big reason Tech 3 Yamaha was staying in the series. . . and Checa is repaying them with a preseason to be proud of.

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Funny how the Brits are sponsoring a Spaniard who's working for the French. And that makes me think of a joke I heard from Karlitos, but might make certain countries blush, so I'll be discreet.

Heaven:
Food? French
Mechanics? German
Police? British
Fashion? Italian
Party Organizers? Spanish

Hell:
Food? your answer here
Mechanics? and here
Police? and here
Fashion? here, too
Party Organizers? and here

you guys can figure out the rest ;) Bwahahaha

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And another thing about Checa. . . . I noticed him doing something strange out of the corner of my eye. I managed to get it with the camera and closer inspection reveals it is a "Rossi-esque" manuever! This happenned more than once. . . . . . something about the Yamaha? As for the Michelins? I hear the new tire profiles are sharper and provide more rear grip, which causes the front to push . . . .and other things . . . . .

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Dani Pedrosa has added himself to the list of Red Bull riders. I had thought his helmet was going to be offered by Arai to the public, but the inclusion of the Red Bull graphics means that's a "no go". Remember E Boz's lid? The Shoei replica doesn't include the RB logo's, and Arai doesn't offer John Jopkin's helmet, either. Maybe now is not the time to be buying a new helmet in the US, and I'll tell you why, later :)

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Colin Edwards has modified his riding style this season, and he's running way up front right now! Here he is looking out across a sea of red.

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Jose Luis Cardoso is riding the D'antin Pramac Ducati on Dunlops. I can't say why the Dunlops are showing such different performances between the bike brands, but I can say the answer lies within the movie Faster. Listen to Peter Clifford. This shot turned out crystal clear (by my amateur standards) so I was stoked. Just wish it wasn't flat black!

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I said the new Rizla's were awesome, and I received confirmation today that the Suzuki is using pneumatic valves (just like I thought!). It has the most incredible sound to me. Whereas the Honda and Yamaha have a loud, droning blare, the Kawasaki shrieks, the Ducati booms, and the Suziki just plain tears the air - it rips right through it! F'n Phenomenal (who wants to host a 20 sec. mpeg at speed?)!!! Which guy put the sticker on backwards on the belly pan?!?

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Here's another shot of the "the Riz". It's the Biz. Goooooo Hopper!

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Naturally, the Doctor made a brief appearance, lighting up the time sheets within a few minutes and taking command of the afternoon. I like this shot because it looks like Rossi is using his heat/laser vision on the track. I don't know if it's the yellow, Camel paint scheme, but for some reason I think the tail section looks narrower to me this year. Burgess and crew were working into the evening tonight, but everything looked calm and tranquil in their garage. Does anyone like this current helmet with the four bullet marks on the top?

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I know they've started selling the Nicky Hayden Laguna Seca limited edition helmet. . . . .but have you seen what he's wearing this year?

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Sweet Liam :thumbup

Dude this so .......:cool

Nicky's helmet looks good... and do mean Colin is going bery bery fast??

:smoking
 
Hayden made an incredible 107 laps today, testing new equipment and trying to mail down the RC's development direction. 107 laps! Multiplied by his best lap time of 1.44s you get just over three hours of full tilt boogie! Amazing!

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Re: KR211V

Track temps ranged from 14C to 31C! You do the math. [/B]
Click to expand...



Looks like that pipe is quite the butt warmer..:laughing

My God a circle... I can't do the math..:p

:smoking
 
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