Getting ready for the big show!

Yup, I too missed my blog last week, also a victim of nothing good to talk about! Sorry.

Things are starting to look pretty good over on West 16^th Street. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is behind us, and the new GP road course has been set up. Over the next several weeks, there will be a lot of fine-tuning of the facilities and lots of training going on as all the support folks get ready as the first motorcycle event in 99 years at IMS hits the Brickyard.

Last Saturday morning, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway corner marshal team conducted their orientation and training day. This team has supported many four-wheel events over the past years. The Red Bull Indianapolis GP represents the corner marshal’s team’s first experience with motorcycle race machines and rider equipment.

To help this crew with their first MotoGP experience, members from ABATE Indiana and the Nashville Superspeedway will be working side-by-side with the IMS corner marshal teams throughout the event.

The Experience, that’s me, enlisted the help of a local motorcycle racing enthusiast and fervent track day participant, Jeff Henderson, to help with the IMS corner marshal training. Oh, and by the way, Jeff is one of my more persuasive friends, nudging me back into the track day scene! When he’s not suited up in his racing gear, Jeff is principal of Bloomington High School North. Wow, when I was in high school many moons ago, our principal was pretty boring by comparison!

The machines and participants of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP introduce a lot of new procedures and equipment for the support teams at the Brickyard. The fleet of IMS tow trucks will be sitting idle and replaced with a fleet of pickup trucks with motorcycle ramps.

Moving fallen motorcycles off the course involves a lot more “muscle power” than moving race cars. The corner marshal teams experienced getting a disabled machine out of a gravel trap. Many times the bike and rider are uninjured and need a push to get back on course during a practice or qualifying session. The teams practiced push-starting a couple of my race replica street bikes with Jeff and I aboard.

If the participant is done with the session after a fall, the motorcycle gets transported back to the garages in the back of a pickup truck while the rider catches a “Moto Taxi” back to the pits. The training Saturday morning included an opportunity for the corner marshal teams to load and unload a race bike into a pickup truck.

IMS executive Mel Harder lent his track bike to the crew, and it was the lucky recipient of a lot of “man handling” throughout the morning. Although he had a big smile on his face, Mel must have been gritting his teeth underneath that big grin!

All-in-all, the training Saturday was a great experience. The IMS corner marshal teams had an opportunity to learn a lot about the MotoGP race machines. Jeff and I also demonstrated some of the protective gear the participants will be wearing, which is very different than what the race car drivers wear.

Tickets are in the mail, and it’s now only weeks away from the inaugural running of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, so I’ll see you all next week at redbullindianapolisgp.com.

Greg