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Riding with Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Motor Company moving manufacturing to Indiana?
Competition Accessories leaving Ohio for SC.
Billy Lane is sentenced.
MotoGP in Indy this weekend
Other news and recalls.
We left off last time after we had taken the training required to work the race. Then all we had to do was wait for the race. I did forget to mention one thing about the training day in the last post and that was where we were issued our jumpsuit that we would be wearing during the 3 days in September. We got full coverall jumpsuits that we wore and we were also required to provide our own gloves. The funny thing that we observed was that the jumpsuit had elastic cuffs on both the wrist and ankle area. It was understood that there was some safety reason for this but could not imagine how we were going to survive the heat of early September in Indiana. The firefighters let us ABATE guys, and gals, know that the normal suits they were required to wear during Indy and the Brickyard were much worse. I can’t imagine.
Anyway, September 14th came and ABATE of Indiana was well represented. Besides the sixteen that were working corners, we provided further personnel to “man” some other responsibilities. During the festivities in the downtown area and around the track ABATE was ready to provide transportation to anyone who had been drinking. The person was provided a ride after their motorcycle was loaded onto a trailer. This was a free benefit as the idea was to protect the race and motorcycling community from bad publicity. ABATE personnel also manned motorcycle parking on the backstretch of the Speedway. Perhaps the biggest hit with the crowd though were the gear check stations. Different locations around the track were provided for riders to check in their riding gear so they did not have to carry it around. How many rides have you been on where this would have been a welcome benefit? I can think of quite a few.
Anyway, working the corners was a great experience. We arrived at the track around 6 to 6:30 every morning and made our way to our assigned areas. I was in turn 11A which was in the 180 just off the backstretch. I saw some great racing from this vantage point. This turn is situated just behind the main bleachers on the inside of the front stretch. We had alot of fans standing behind us as you could walk around in this area and it provided a great vantage point. Many photographers stationed themselves along the fence to get that perfect shot of the riders coming off the backstretch out of turn 10 and barreling towards us in 11A and followed them through 11B. Turns 10 and 11B saw action as they had many riders leave the track in their areas but 11A had a pretty uneventful weekend.
If any of you watched the practice and the race, you know what type of weekend we had. It was a rainy mess. If you have ever participated in a motorcycle safety class you were taught that you slow down and reduce your lean angles on wet pavement. Somebody forgot to tell these guys! I was amazed at the speeds and lean angles even in pouring rain at times. True professionals with truly great equipment. The rain tires stuck perfectly and they put on a show. Race day was the worst weather day of the weekend and caused the MotoGP race to run with fewer laps than normal. Nicky Hayden on the Repsol Honda was putting on a show while being chased by Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner. You could sit back and watch Rossi slowly reel the Kentucky Kid in and a small mistake by Hayden allowed Rossi to pass and run away with the win. What a great weekend.
Hopefully the 2009 show will see better weather. On race day the wind got so bad that the Yamaha tent blew over and injured some shoppers browsing inside. We hope that everyone recovered and returns for the show this year. When you park your bike or check your gear this year, thank that person working because they have volunteered to make your MotoGP experience in Indy a great one.
**I apologize for this post being so late. This week was filled with visits to my Mom in the hospital and the death of my wife’s grandmother. We are back on track now and hope to stay that way. Thank you for your support.
Bullitt
This post will take us back to mid September 2008. I was going to write this then but I was still frustrated over my inability to navigate the roads that lead to podcast creation and I just did not get the job done. I have wanted all along to cover this event and share it with you and even though there is alot to do with the blog and podcast move I have some idle time on my hands today as I am sitting in the hospital while my mother has back surgery. She won’t be out for the next 3 to 4 hours so I will take this opportunity to bring this post to you.
September 14-16 brought the world renowned MotoGP motorcycle race to the historical Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was the inaugural race and with the history of the Speedway and the fact that this would serve as only the second venue in the United States to witness MotoGP racing, there were high expectations of huge crowds. I was pretty excited about the opportunity to go to the race and see what it was all about. What did I know about GP racing prior to this time? Three things. High cost bikes. Rossi. Hayden. That’s it.
Fortunately for me, I am active in ABATE of Indiana and I am close to the leaders and staff. The relationship that I have built with them over the years allowed me to be included on a list of people asked to actually work during the race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) officials were calling out their usual safety crews, mostly firefighters and medical personnel, that they use for any other race. In addition, they wanted “experts” on motorcycles as not all of the normal crew had experience with motorcycles. IMS called upon ABATE of Indiana and requested one person for each turn to work on the recovery teams. Our job, get the motorcycle off the track, shake it out if it hit the gravel traps, and either return it to the rider or take it behind the barriers for pickup if the rider was unable to return to competition.
Sixteen members of ABATE, one for each turn, were lucky enough to work this race. We had to go to training where we had to prove the fact that we could physically do the job. We started off watching information videos as to how to handle the riders (DON’T) and what the flags meant. Then we used four man teams to load a bike into the back of a pickup truck. After we passed that test, we went to the gravel trap and used a strap through the front and rear rims to lift the bike and remove it from the traps. Once the bike cleared the trap we lifted the rear and shook rocks out of the lower fairing and repeated the task lifting the front. We started out trying to roll it through but found it was faster to lift the entire bike up and carry it. Our last test was to push start a motorcycle. We all passed and we were ready to go.
Part 2 of this post will discuss the practice days and the race days. Thinking about this again is making me ready for the 2009 version. Come back and let me tell you about the wild weekend. Part 2 coming soon.
Stay Safe
Bullitt
