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*Liam's Wild Ride*

Finally!


Actually, I ended up circling the complex twice, looking for the Media/Welcome centre. It might not look like much, but immediately following the entrance, there are tunnels that split off to take you to various spots around the track, like parking or the paddock area. Also, there is a well stocked museum onsite, with amazing four wheelers and motorcycles that have made it through the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races.

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The Welcome Centre was well guarded, but my broken English managed to convince them that I was picking up something there. Once inside, I was a little blown away by how big it was, because from outside it just looked like some little offices. Everyone was very, very polite and I felt lucky just to be there. Managed to catch the Anglo flags up above, and the guest hospitality booth is in the background.

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There's a different vibe at this race than any of the others I've been to. It's darker, more intense, and a little scary. Everything seems a little more "hardcore" here, and it's difficult to get around the track. Maybe the weather had something to do with it, maybe it was all the security guards everywhere, and maybe it was the fact that the whole circuit was lined by barbed wire!

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In the end, it was all worth it.

It was an adventure just getting to the track, and by Saturday morning, the real fun hadn't even begun!

I have some other business to take care of today, so I won't be updating more for a little while, at the minimum. Sorry to those people who have been emailing me lately, I just haven't had the time to get around to replying to everyone, but I know you're out there and I'm sure to respond shortly.

This is probably less than half the semi's at the race. Not to mention the huge amount of personal motorhomes and hospitality trucks that go to the European rounds. In fact, this isn't even the full contingent of MotoGP paddock trucks, so adding the 125, and 250 semi's, plus everything else - WOW!

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So Saturday was my first day at the races in France, and I made my way to the main grandstand/paddock area as soon as I could. I wasn't "officially" working for anyone this time around, so I wanted to concentrate on soaking up as much of the atmosphere as I could - I mean, that is one of the reasons why I'm in Europe!

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Extended view of the Paddock area. If you look carefully you can see me. Just kidding!

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Sweeping right. This is one of the few paddocks that is split up, and many of the crews and workers were unhappy about it. It meant longer walks, more contact with the fans, and generally disrupted the routines that people were used to.

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I forgot to mention that the 125/250 hospitalities and all-classes motorhomes were up a slight hill. The photo doesn't do the size of this place justice. It was a hike.

Sweeping right again, you can see the clouds barrelling in, and how quickly the conditions could change. This was the windiest race I've ever been to, and it was difficult just to hold the long lens on my camera steady. I must have blundered almost all of my shots because of the whipping winds, so after getting pushed around, I decided to try and take a different approach to action photography this race.

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This is the final corner before the main straight, and it is probably my least favorite section in the entire championship.

Just to the right (not pictured) there was a stand alone grandstand filled with the hardcore fans (outside of Spain, and we'll see about Italy :) )- they never left their seats except to use the restroom. 24 Hours straight, endurance style. I know this from hanging out there a little on Saturday night, though truthfully, I left them alone around 4:30AM. Fun stuff that night also included walking through the entire camping area (pictured), filled with every sort of crazy French experience imaginable.

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Once I'd gotten a lay of the land, I went over to say hi to Hiro Aoyama and wish him good luck.

While I was there, I had the chance to see KTM's 250 effort up close and personal. I met with Harold Bartol, who is singly responsible for developing the 125 and 250 KTM's (and has a huge list of accomplishments in GP, with other manufactuers) and out of everyone I've met, I can say without a doubt that he is an absolute Master. Their truck is a veritable factory on wheels, capable of all manner of repair and modification. I know that the 125/250's are some of the last racebikes still using carburetors, which I like, and seeing row after row of magnesium bodied FCR's was way cool. Not that they're using them, of course.

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I then took a moment to check up on the crazy Sete-heads, who were busy mounting their enormous Go-Gibbers flag across the straightaway from the Ducati Paddock. Lots of strange looks from the locals, but the best were these Japanese race fans who couldn't stop taking pictures of us. I guess Sete fans are rare in Japan these days?

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Stopped to say what's up to Alex Criville, 500GP champion after Doohan was injured. His work with Toni Elias is going to pay off some day.

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This is actually his main scooter. Now that I think about it, many of the super nice scoots weren't used at this race, because of the Tabacco Ban in effect. That meant the Camel Yamaha team, and several others were running their "clean" colors, and weren't able to fully pimp around on their primary scooters.

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Hmm, what's he doing here?

Also present was Peter Clifford, formerly of WCM. Since he's been involved in GP, he hasn't missed a race in years. This is the first time he hasn't had a team on the grid in I don't know how long! For you statistics types, find out, cause I'd like to know. Mr. Clifford is attending all the races this season, because deep down, he's just as big a fan as anyone. Right On!

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Zoom! Alex Hoffman wears his Puma Boots. Expect to see more of these come Laguna time. . . .

That looks like Randy Mamola's Alpinestar's scooter in the background.

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Hi Chris!

I hope he gets used to the style of the Suzuki, cause it sure is different than the CBR1000 he was on last year. Really nice guy, balanced. Great in the rain, too, just absolutely beautiful front tire control in the wet.

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'Sup, Sete. Rolling three deep I see :)

Behind in red is Marcia Guidotti, PR person for Gresini Racing. When you see her at Laguna, say hi, because she's a super cool person.

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