I had a race on Sunday with the Moose, which I cut short for no other reason than to leather-up and meet Spaz, Heather, Sue, Steve, Tom and Mike, and hunt for a bar/pub for which to view the last race of the MotoGP season at Valencia. Spaz called me at the track with the result of the Championship, so I knew who it went to... I just couldn't imaging HOW. Rossi had won the Pole in QP and Nicky was starting from the second row... it just didn't make sense!
We all ended up at a little English pub in St. Augustine. There were a dozen(ish) rockets parked out front when our herd rolled in, so I knew we were in good company. What a perfect place to watch the race! (Thanks Sue!!). There were only a handful of people inside, but all of them were there for the same reason.... Valencia.
The coverage began... a hush fell over the "crowd"... the lights ticked off and the riders exploded into action. Rossi didn't have the best of starts. He kinda got swallowed up and ended up a little further back than expected. It's okay though, he's The Doctor. Not one of us were worried about it.... we've seen him rally from 9th and take the win in 3 laps. Nicky was in there.... right where he should have been following a second row start. He had his work cut out for him to begin with. Those big, red, booming Ducatis found their way to the front in no time at all, piloted by Troy Bayliss (filling in for Sete :sniff: :sniff: :tear:) and Loris Capirossi (who certainly does NOT lack awesome).
The race seemed to be moving right along. Once they are off the line and away, one can usually expect that things calm down a little until the final laps. We all watched intently. A move made here, a position gained there, a couple of brave passes. OH, and for the record, Mr. Hayden, we all saw what you did on lap two... you know, in the turn, with the pass. How soon we forget Estoril.... glass houses Nick, glass houses. I digress... there were some grumbles in the crowd as Nicky pulled his little stunt, but, no harm, no foul.... the pass was clean.
AND THEN IT HAPPENED.......
The collective "NOOOOOOO!!!!" coming from the pub was most likely heard as far away as Georgia. I think Sue had a small stroke, and I'm sure I blacked out for at least 2 seconds. The instant replay confirmed (over and over and over again) what I thought I had seen before my brain, in a valiant attempt to shield me from what was happening, plunged me into darkness and prompted the high-pitched ringing in my ears....
Rossi crashed
The screams of the tortured audience were followed by a stellar silence.... disbelief was painted on every face (except for Sue's, who was still exhibiting symptoms of her aforementioned stroke). Bloody..... fucking.... hell.....
Rossi crashed
That just doesn't happen! He's not a crasher. Sure, he's gone down a few times... they all have. Statistically speaking though, he's not one of the regular asphalt jockeys. But, alas, there it was in vibrant color, crystal clear sound and painfully slow motion.... from every angle concievable, over and over and over again....
Rossi crashed
As his faithful Yam skittered off the track (him right behind it) Vale got to his feet before he OR his bike had even stopped sliding, and he was scrambling to pick it up.. which he did, and back on track he went. Cripes, that was hard to watch! You have to admire him for his drive.... no, this is not an opinion situation... the man must be admired.. it's fact :)
So, needless to say, Hayden took the championship. Rossi did finish the race, but not well enough to maintain what he has held for the past 6 years. In keeping with my original view on the Championship, if anyone was going to take it from Valentino, I'm glad it was Nicky. Yes, I said it, but that was before I thought it could actually happen ;) All that aside, congratulations Nick... it was a battle hard-fought. Won with blind luck, but hard-fought.
To add insult to personal injury, Randy DePuniet crashed out too. It was about that time that I turned my attention more toward the merriment in the pub than to the race. We did stay until the very end... even though Steve had already donned his jacket and was pacing 3 minutes after Rossi crashed. Props to Troy Bayliss, who actually won Valencia.
After the race, we all rode out and headed for Shannon's Pub for dinner. We had a particularly speedy ride back... maybe it was the frustration of the race, maybe it was the beautiful weather, or maybe it was just the penchant for riding like our "asses are on fire" (HA HAAAA!) but it was a treat. I found the top end of the SV.. and it wasn't enough to keep up with the righteous mounts of my co-riders. I topped out at 155 and was feeling rather triumphant.... until Sue eased by me on the Busa... which was about the time I think I clearly heard the SV moaning (as I was blindly hunting for a higher gear. Nay, bitch, there are only 6).... there may have been a wimper mixed in there too. So, I did the right thing and brought it down to a "medium pace". It was fun to frolic, and there was also a schooling session involved. It seems that a Kawasaki 636 is not condusive to airing out the front tire from a stand still.... in THIRD GEAR..... ummm Mike? However, I did get to tap the rust off my brakes (and become one with my cat-like reflexes) as I was directly behind him and fully prepared for the fireworks off the line. I missed him.. I don't know how, but I did.
That'll do it for today. I am off to update the final standings for the 2006 MotoGP season, and work on getting the rest of the site switched over to the new format.... and beefing up the content. We all know how much we like beefy content.....
Until next time......
Rubb'er Down :)
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