Steve Whyman

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	Sept 09 Steve’s Misano Blog or “Butch Cassidy and the Sunbed Kid go to Misano”	The only way to find out how a Moto GP is run on the continent is go and have a look! Me and Ian flew out to Salzburg in Austria on Thursday 3rd Sept and drove down to Lake Millstatt in the South in absolutely glorious weather. Thursday The first thing that Ian does is hit the sunbed on the terrace and spend the rest of the day there! After his 2 week damp and grey holiday in Cornwall he was intent on getting as much vitamin D as possible. Friday Friday was another glorious day and for Ian that meant, more sunbed. Saturday In the early hours of Saturday morning (2.00am) we set off to drive the 350 miles to Misano near Rimini in Italy in the most violent rain and thunderstorm ever! But as we dropped down from the mountains, the skies cleared and the full moon lit the way to or first major hurdle………..getting round Bologna! You would have thought that at 5.00am in the morning it would be pretty quiet…………it wasn’t……….it was chaos! We managed to get on the right road OK, but unfortunately heading in the wrong direction! We must have traveled about 20 miles before we could turn around! And that meant driving towards the motorway toll booth, Ian jumping out of the car, shifting the barrier in the middle of the motorway, and getting on the other carriageway back to Bologna!...........It’ll probably appear on U tube or “Police camera action” sometime in the future. We get to the town of Misano at about 8.00 am and spend the next couple of hours trying to get in to the correct car park where we would meet with Roger Keys (Scott Redding’s manager) to get our passes. Don’t ever……….ever, moan about getting in to Donington. Thousands of hot Italians in cars, motorbikes, and scooters all overtaking, undertaking and fighting for the same piece of tarmac…………..mad! We finally spend the rest of a very hot Saturday watching qualifying for all the classes and cooling off and being fed and watered by the Blusens team. We were going to find a hotel for the night, but to be quite honest, the thought of the mayhem trying to get in to the circuit on raceday meant even sleeping in the rented Ford Ka was more appealing. We managed to get a shower in the paddock and surprisingly had a good night’s sleep, apart from the wrestling match with the only sleeping bag at about 4.00 am! Sunday Sunday and race day arrived and thankfully it was a little bit cooler. After the warm up sessions (Scott still not satisfied with the set up) we had some time to walk around the pits. Had a chat with Valentino’s mum and arranged a bit of a business chat with the Valentino Fan Club for later. Well a crackin’ 125 race. Sadly Scott’s bike didn’t finish……..again, but he was making good progress through the field until it died. Well done to Bradley for another podium and Danny for a top ten. An excellent 250 race followed, but I think the Italian fans were getting a bit worried that there could be a Spanish whitewash. However, once the Moto GP got underway and Valentino pounced on Dani, there was no stopping him.Of course the noise and the passion of the fans shown for Vale winning on home soil was a sight you can never forget. And that was it…………..no supporting races, 3 GP’s and “goodnight Sooty”! The crowd squeezed its way out of the circuit and we hung around till about 8.00pm for the dust to settle. We spent an hour or so at the Red Bull after race “pool party” and then the next part of the adventure was to drive the 20 miles or so to Rossi’s home town of Tavullia to visit the Rossi Fan Club. So off we went. Again all the roads around the coast and Rimini were absolutely heaving with traffic. But the further inland we travelled, the easier it got. Somehow we found Tavullia, and lo and behold everybody that was at the circuit was now in the town (well not quite, but it was busy) so we introduced ourselves to the Fan Club, had a chat and sowed the seed for some business further down the line. My old friends Mike and Paula (England’s biggest Rossi fan) were there, so we had a good chat with them. Then another couple that I know who live about 20 minutes up the road from me showed up. Talk about a small world! After a bite to eat in Rossi’s local café, we decided to get back on the main road and head north back to our base in Austria, of course by now (11.30pm) the roads would be empty……………………….Wrong! The whole of Italy was travelling from the coast back North! M25 like conditions, 3 lanes of stop start traffic all the way back to Bologna, where, incidentally we got lost again! After Bologna the traffic disappeared and after a break for an hour or two we arrived back to the tranquillity and lush pastures of Austria at about 8.00 in the morning. Monday After a bit of breakfast, you guessed it, Ian got back on the sunbed and slept most of the day! I had to give the rental car a wash and hoover inside as it looked as though we’d just finished the Dakar. The next few days were spent relaxing in Austria with Ian taking up residency on the sunbed. All in all then, Misano, a good place to watch and witness the Italian passion but the facilities are not that good, the heat and the dust get to you, and the traffic is horrendous. As I said, don’t ever, ever, moan about Donington! Thanks again to Roger Keys (Fab Racing – Scott’s manager) and all at Blusens for their hospitality. Thanks to Mike and Paula for their help in Tavullia Steve Whyman

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