Dani Pedrosa might have missed out on all the fun and frolics behind the scenes at Motegi, but fortunately for us Toby Moody didn’t…
Pedrosa (not) totally screwed already
The man on form throughout September, Dani Pedrosa, crashed heavily in turn nine after only five minutes of the first practice session in Japan, fracturing his collarbone in three places. His recovery seems to be as fast as the Spaniard has been on track, however, as by Friday evening he was on a plane home to Barcelona and by Saturday morning he was being operated on. (The world really is getting smaller...) With the aid of a titanium plate and eight screws, his collarbone is already fixed and back to almost normal strength, and at such a crucial point in the season, paddock insiders reckon that it’s not impossible that Pedrosa may return in Sepang to try and keep his title hopes alive in Malaysia next weekend.
The glares on the bus go round and round
The finish to Sunday’s race was a cracker. Yamaha team-mates Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi rode like it was for the championship in the very last race, not just for a third place. Lorenzo, who technically still needs as many points as possible to secure the title, didn't see the funny side of it when the chequered flag fell, but he was indeed beaten by Rossi, who was all sweetness and light. It's always the way when one loses out… However, it must have been even more fun after all the debriefs and sideways looks at the back of the garage: the whole FIAT Yamaha team shared a bus back from Motegi to Tokyo. Was there a boxing ring in the middle of the aisle, or maybe just a strategically placed curtain? To be fair, at least there were no signs or radio calls from the pits during the GP saying, “Valentino. Is faster. Than. You.”
Toby Moody
You wait all that time, then…
… two buses come along at once! The MotoGP paddock is chock-a-block with corporate guests, corporate money and corporate image, precisely and professionally crafted and cherished. So when the 16 MotoGP riders (with Dani Pedrosa already en route back to Europe) were transported by the circuit to the official autograph session, what was their mode of transport? Why, the Twin Ring Motegi yellow fun bus of course! The height of technology at Motegi, and more fun to be a passenger on than the Yamaha one, we suspect.
(Tight-)fitting memorials
Being his home nation, tributes to Shoya Tomizawa, the Japanese rider who was tragically killed in an accident a few weeks ago, were much in evidence at Motegi, including fitting memorials from Shoei, who had replica helmets on display, a wall of fan tributes in the public area and the ceremonial presentation of the Michel Metraux Trophy, awarded to the season’s best privateer, to Shoya’s parents. Being Japan, though, some fans paid their tributes in a more, er, unusual fashion, such as the man who wandered the paddock on Thursday, when it was raining hard, wearing a white skintight suit with a sign around his neck simply asking people to, ‘Please paste this sticker of 48 to your motorcycle and face.’
Toby Moody
Protection racket
Clearly expecting some fairing-to-fairing action from the heady mix of 40 Moto2 bikes and Motegi’s first corner, championship leader Toni Elias was taking no chances as he had his first mathematical chance to seal the title. His Gresini team fitted motocross-style lever protectors on his handlebars. In the end it was all clean stuff for once between the 40 Moto2 bikes that left the grid.
333: the number of the beast
Privateer Honda rider Randy de Puniet enjoys his speed on four wheels, it seems, having recently wound his beautiful Mercedes SLS up to an indicated 333kph (208mph) in Italy – on a private road, of course. By contrast, his top speed during the Japanese GP was ‘only’ 288kph. ‘The SLS is so stable, I could have gone faster,’ he quipped.
Nice touch from the organisers
Managing tens of thousands of starstruck fans during a GP weekend can be a tough thing, but Motegi seems to have it sussed. The organisers have carefully crafted a ‘Good manner!!’ list to guide racegoers on the type of apparently typical behaviour to avoid while in the company of their heroes. Top of the wacky list of don’ts are not touching a rider’s body, not speaking loudly to a rider (they have sensitive ears, apparently…) and not chasing a rider into a toilet. Not high on our list of priorities anyway, but noted, thanks!
Toby Moody
Going batty
The team and organiser party on Friday night was subject to an unwelcome visitor, in the form of a bat that decided to crash the event. Most novel, though, was the way in which the Japanese circuit staff tried to convince the bat to leave – by following it around the room pointing TV remote controls at it and pressing buttons, much to the confusion and amusement of everyone present. Presumably they were trying to disorientate it with the infra-red beam. Or maybe they were trying to turn it off mid-flight.
What a Twit
With the Japanese races starting in the early hours in Europe, some people get up early, some stay up or some record, but just as the racing got underway, an amusing Tweet arrived into my phone that puzzled me for a few seconds:
@tobymoody I'm just now off to bed for a couple of hours before the big race - pls keep teething so I can catch up when I wake :-) xx
Alas, there was a second one from the same person a few moments later:
@tobymoody sorry, that should have said tweeting... I may be just a tiny bit drunk.....
Well done to the amusingly titled @ewokmuncher!
Catch up on the other happenings in Japan at our event page, and enjoy some Red Bull athlete Tweets on our Red Bull Messenger update.
Comments
Add a comment