A historic weekend comes to a close
Remember as a kid how the day after Christmas seemed so blah? The weeks and months of anticipation and planning all came down to a single day of excitement.
Well, it’s Tuesday morning after the inaugural running of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, and it sure feels like the day after Christmas! However, rather than one day of fun, the folks out on West 16th Street and the City of Indianapolis put together six days of events that culminated with the first motorcycles to race at the Brickyard in 99 years this past Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008.
Tuesday’s MotoGP kickoff event on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis was a great time. Some of the Red Bull Rookies led a parade of motorcycles through the downtown area, gathering around Monument Circle for the kickoff celebration. Fans of all ages were treated to a display of race motorcycles from the past and the present.
The Experience visited the FOX 59 Indianapolis studios Thursday morning and put on a segment about the protective gear worn by motorcycle racers. Morning anchor Angela Ganote quizzed me about all the various pieces of safety equipment I had on and how it protects the racers in the event of a fall.
Mother Nature didn’t fully cooperate over the course of the week. We started off with several glorious days until Friday when the rain began to fall. The wet weather at least gave the teams and riders a chance to work out their wet-weather setups. This also kept the Moto Taxi team pretty busy on the KTM 990 Adventure bikes retrieving fallen riders and giving them a lift back to their garages. Saturday greeted the teams with some sunny, dry conditions, and the teams treated the spectators to some great practice and qualifying sessions.
It appeared Mother Nature might give us a break Sunday morning. The day started off with some blue skies peeking through as the day’s activities started to crank up. The Red Bull Riders Cup race was ran under dry but windy conditions, but the western skies didn’t look promising. Hurricane Ike decided to add a bit of excitement to the remainder of the day. Both the 125 GP and MotoGP events were ended early with red flags, and the 250 GP event was completely cancelled due to the severe weather. Check out www.redbullindianapolisgp.com for full race details.
Even with the wild weather Sunday afternoon, the first running of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP was a spectacular event, and I believe everyone who braved the weather left with an experience to remember.
If you all remember, about a month ago I discovered a great way to wrap up a weekend by starting off the week with a bit of knee-dragging of my own. Ducati North American and Ducati Indianapolis sponsored a Ducati track day Monday, Sept. 15 at Putnam Park Road Course in Mount Meridian, Ind. Those of us attending also were treated to a surprise with legendary Ducati racers Paul Smart and Cook Neilson attending. They both suiting up and took a Ducati 1098R and Desmosedici RR out for some hot laps. What an historic experience for those guys who rode alongside these two great legends of the sport.
Well, a year of activities has come to an end, but it’s now time to start planning for next year’s running of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 30, 2009.
Greg