Archive - Mar 2007

I know that many of my readers follow both the 125 and 250 cc world championship, in addition to MotoGP, so I'm posting this for all of you who saw Roberto Locatelli's horrific crash during practice at Jerez last weekend. Eurosport is carrying a story that Roberto Locatelli did not suffer brain damage as a result of the freak accident, which saw Locatelli inexplicably veer off into a tire wall, hitting it at high speed.

The fact that the owners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway are talking to Dorna in an attempt to get a MotoGP round run at the track is an open secret. FIM officials have already visited the legendary American circuit for a safety inspection. And now, rumors are surfacing that the race is scheduled to take place in September 2008.

On any given race weekend, riders line up to be measured. They pit themselves and their machines against all comers, borne by an unwavering belief in their own ability to overcome their adversaries and the limitations of the equipment they have been given. They stand to be measured every time they line up. Sometimes, though, the measurement goes deeper. For there are some days when a racer has to step up and go beyond himself, beyond the limitations of his body and his machine, and reach a higher plane.

On any given race weekend, riders line up to be measured. They pit themselves and their machines against all comers, borne by an unwavering belief in their own ability to overcome their adversaries and the limitations of the equipment they have been given. They stand to be measured every time they line up. Sometimes, though, the measurement goes deeper. For there are some days when a racer has to step up and go beyond himself, beyond the limitations of his body and his machine, and reach a higher plane.

After the enigmatic shifts up and down the timesheets between morning and afternoon sessions, this afternoon's qualifying practice session would at least enforce some semblance of order among the riders. And though Dani Pedrosa rode a great lap to take pole position, the semblance of order created was a very fragile thing indeed, with grid positions being won and lost by hundredths, and in a couple of cases, just thousandths of a second.

After the enigmatic shifts up and down the timesheets between morning and afternoon sessions, this afternoon's qualifying practice session would at least enforce some semblance of order among the riders. And though Dani Pedrosa rode a great lap to take pole position, the semblance of order created was a very fragile thing indeed, with grid positions being won and lost by hundredths, and in a couple of cases, just thousandths of a second.

Apocalypse Now