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*Liam's Wild Ride*

Most people don't realize that it rained the morning of the race. When I woke up (hearing the first bikes running around the track), I was shocked to see how much dirt had fallen out of the sky. This really made the track slippery for the first sessions and race. Tricky conditions, for sure!

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Fast forward, past the parties, the media/press events, and a fabulous weekend of racing, and I was headed back to Barcelona on Monday morning. It was a wild weekend for me, not really suitable for print, and I really enjoyed myself. I met some great people, heard some very personal and revealing interviews with some of my favorite pilots, and breathed deeply of the race gas. On my way home I passed more cool vehicles, the first being the Semi for Ruben Xaus' privateer effort.

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All I could think about on the drive back was, "That Damn Beer!" :laughing

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My kick-ass weekend came to a rude end. While I was moving along with the flow of traffic on the freeway, I noticed some cars coming up behind me at a rather high rate of speed. I moved over into the slow lane, like a good little motorist, and let them whiz by. Zoom, went the BMW! Zoom, went the Mercedes! I started to move back into the fast lane to make a pass on a truck but saw a third car coming up quick, so I stayed put. As the third car went by (some no-name hatchback) I started to duck behind them so I wouldn't get all up on the truck in front of me. The passenger in the hatchback turned to check me out, seemed to notice it was a rental (remember the stickers on the door?) and then they hit the brakes. I was thinking, mighty strange behavior, but then I realized they were an un-marked Policia vehicle, and rather than work hard to bag the Beemer and Mercedes, they were going to go for the easy money. Mierda! Even the truck in front of me was speeding! I pulled over, got the whole spiel, and had to drive twenty minutes off the freeway to some middle-of-nowhere town to get to an ATM to pay my fine in cash. Immediately. I'm still not sure it wasn't just a shakedown for some pocket money for the two cops. . . . . but whatever. I had to follow them to the town, and they sped the whole way! I thought they were going to try to get me for two tickets, so I took this photo to back myself up (as if I could do anything in the Spanish judicial system!). Here we are going 60 in a 40 zone, but later we would go as high as 85 in the 40. <Sigh> Karma will take care of everything, and I'll be off to another race soon enough!

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P.S. what kind of movie does Liam watch at a race?

Not sure if this had anything to do with my speeding ticket, who knows? :laughing

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Hey MadDawg,

Funny you should mention it, but I'm working on something just like that! I'll give you something cool in person. . . . if we can make it to Misano, Italy in June!

Whoops! I meant Mugello. . . . .Misano will likely be next year. There's a lot of talk and rumours about a couple venues being changed for next season. If anyone is on the fence about visiting Portugal, I highly suggest going to the Estoril GP this year. . . .

In other news, I'm working with some interesting ideas and the possibility of providing adspace on a bike (and much more) at the USGP has come up. Is there anyone who thinks their company wants to be represented at the premier motorcycling event in the United States, seen by all the spectators who will visit Laguna Seca this year, and better yet, by millions of viewers worldwide? This is a far bigger fish than some stickers, so naturally I'm concentrating on it as much as possible. Email for details.
 
*Edit*

Looks like I'm going to have fun this weekend! While my plans to attend the fourth round of the World Supers fell through, I'm somewhat relieved, because getting to Monza on such short notice would have been expensive. The initial plan was to jump into a car with a couple Spaniards and share road costs all the way to Monza. Once there it was going to be sleeping bag city! But. . . . thanks to the Spanish efficiency I've come to know so well, even with two weeks notice I couldn't get the guys to come through with the car! ARGH!
 
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I've always been a fan of the Underdog. While I respect the might and technology of the Factories (not to mention their budget!!), there's always a large part of me rooting for the privateer.

That said, I've decided to throw my expertise and ability (limited as that is :)) behind Kenny Noyes for some races this year in Spain, and possibly during the three AMA rounds he will contest later this year.

We worked together last week for three days to test some special parts he's going to use in the upcoming Spanish Formula Extreme races, and then over the weekend I helped the Folch Endurance team (which Kenny rides for) during the six hour race. Initially, I had just wanted to check out an Endurance race, but getting involved is my stock in trade, and working with those guys was fun and educational for me. I'm always trying to learn as much as I can, and anything I can do to improve my skillset comes first. This weekend I'm going to figure out Kenny's telemetry system and see if I can make a positive difference. As todays motorcycles get more complex, and more adjustable, the electronics package becomes that much more important, and I'm hoping that I can adapt to the software quickly. I can't think of a better way to test parts than at the racetrack, and what better way to test myself than by working at the racetrack, too!
Hopefully, I'll be able to give Kenny an extra boost at the track. . . because this weekend we're going up against some heavy hitters - namely David De Hea, and moreso, Anthony Gobert!

You can find out more about Kenny in the current issue of
Road Racer X . He's got an eight page spread that's full of some great pictures and stories, and I can totally relate. Or, heck, just go to his website! After all, not many Americans move to Europe to get into racing :laughing.

Tomorrow I'm off to drive six or seven hours to rustic Albacete. It's not one of the huge tracks in Spain, but WSBK used to go there in the late nineties and I think it's a pretty nice track. In fact, BSB still goes there every year for preseason testing because the weather is so much better than in cold and rainy England. Anyway, catch you guys later!

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Har Har, very funny. Glad you guys take this stuff as seriously as me. I've always wanted people to come to this thread and find photo chops of me. Isn't that why people visit?

No time for goofing off on this side of the pond - This weekend my job is to make *this* go faster!
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I also want to add that on a personal note, I was Extremely Happy my friend, Hiro Aoyama, won the Turkish 250GP! It was a crazy race, as anyone who saw it will attest to. I'm glad Hiro was able to tuck in, keep his head down, and bring home the first victory in the class to KTM (in only it's third race this season). No resting on their laurels, though, as KTM is planning to debut a completely new chassis at the next race in China. We managed to have dinner a couple nights ago to celebrate the win, and about the last laps Hiro had this to say. "They are like Terrorists - they have no fear!". I'm just glad he made it through ok, and the win? Bonus!

images courtesy of Hiro
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Glad you guys take this stuff as seriously as me.
Click to expand...

Please note username :teeth

the first victory in the class to KTM (in only it's third race this season). No resting on their laurels, though, as KTM is planning to debut a completely new chassis at the next race in China.
Click to expand...

I hope they fix Mika Kallio's bike too because that really broke my heart, and made me want to make like Charley Boorman (Long Way Round) and rip all my KTM posters off the wall, only that I don't have any KTM posters.
 
Congrats on the work Liam. I look forward to reading your thread every time that you update it.
 
I rode once at Albacete in vintage in the 80s, and liked the track a lot, although it's pretty tight for anything bigger than a 250!
Drove down all the way from Paris in a van, pulled off the autoroute, and the guy at the toll booth had a local newspaper with all the riders' bios and pictures in it, including mine!
Great time there, free hotel room, fireworks and 40,000 screaming Spaniards on the beach all night for a national race, made a podium on my old Norton...great time.
Rgds
Richard

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You're right, it's not a Norton. It's my 72 Ducati Sport. I sold the Norton to a buddy a long time ago. It was nice though, Wideline featherbed with a 750 motor in it. Lot of work though.
Cheers
 
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