James307
Member
Reported on some unique stuff through the years, women's rugby in Sacramento (100 degrees) to cross country skiing nationals (minus 5 degrees) in Minnesota and all the mainstream sports, boxing to tennis, golf to hoops.
But just got back from the MotoGP event at Laguna Seca. It was my second year at the race, and I did a piece after hanging out in the garage and watching Colin Edwards, the veteran rider from Texas, try to get some fast qualifying laps. Amazing what goes into a guy "flying" around the track. There are about 15 crew members for each rider. It's like an operating room.
The sport, like other niche sports in the U.S., could be easy an target for some loudmouth columnist to just dismiss the whole thing as testosterone foolishness. There are only 20 guys on the circuit. It's way too loud and way too fast (150 mph-plus), and the bikes are way too expensive ($1 million-plus). Don't freakin' crash, either. It hurts to watch some guy skid or tumble along the track and end up in a heap.
But even as a pretty cynical 32-year veteran, it was a pretty cool event. Only two races in the U.S. on the 18-race circuit. Next U.S stop is in Indianapolis, Ind., in three weeks.
The riders are pretty relaxed guys, and the winner, Valentino Rossi, apparently "walks on water" in his native Italy. He's somewhere in the top-20 of the world's highest-paid athletes.
Cheers, James Raia
www.theweeklydriver.com
But just got back from the MotoGP event at Laguna Seca. It was my second year at the race, and I did a piece after hanging out in the garage and watching Colin Edwards, the veteran rider from Texas, try to get some fast qualifying laps. Amazing what goes into a guy "flying" around the track. There are about 15 crew members for each rider. It's like an operating room.
The sport, like other niche sports in the U.S., could be easy an target for some loudmouth columnist to just dismiss the whole thing as testosterone foolishness. There are only 20 guys on the circuit. It's way too loud and way too fast (150 mph-plus), and the bikes are way too expensive ($1 million-plus). Don't freakin' crash, either. It hurts to watch some guy skid or tumble along the track and end up in a heap.
But even as a pretty cynical 32-year veteran, it was a pretty cool event. Only two races in the U.S. on the 18-race circuit. Next U.S stop is in Indianapolis, Ind., in three weeks.
The riders are pretty relaxed guys, and the winner, Valentino Rossi, apparently "walks on water" in his native Italy. He's somewhere in the top-20 of the world's highest-paid athletes.
Cheers, James Raia
www.theweeklydriver.com
