Moto GP at INDY !!!

[jftoha]

Hi everyone,

This last weekend I went to the Indy race and even with the rain, it was a great weekend. Below are some images of all these nice guys I met over the weekend.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2863929867/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2864762626/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2864769720/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2863938907/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2863939355/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2864772826/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2864765336/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2864767608/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2863932281/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27415374@N06/2864766438/



Odly enough of all the riders I met, which is almost everyone of them except Capirosi and Hopkins, the nicest was Lorenzo floowed by Edwards. I never liked Lorenzo but he was very nice and wanted to chat quite a bit end ended up giving me the signed  knee puck that he used on the race. i met most of these guys after the race when i got into the padock. It was a great weekend!!

[Munch]

Too bad you had the same goofy dude on the right in all those pics   

Well done, great pictures!

[lemond]

haha jftoha even had the same pose per every picture. 

Too bad you had the same goofy dude on the right in all those pics   

Well done, great pictures!

[RodeoClown]

Sweet   How did you gain access? Did you have a pit pass?

[superjohn]

Sweet   How did you gain access? Did you have a pit pass?

Yeah, my question exactly?

[Ducatiloo]

Yeah, my question exactly!?

Yea the guys with the yellow jackets stopped me.

[jftoha]

Well, the pose is the same and my head is tilted back in most photos because i am taking the photo with my left hand and i have it fully stretched. Not the best way of taking a photo but it allowed me to do it quick and without help.

How did I get into the paddock? Well, definitely not the legitimate way!! i was hanging around the gate that leads into the paddocks with a ton of people that were looking for the riders as they would come in and out every now and then. The RV's for Lorenzo, Vermulen, Rossi, Spies, Hopkins and Edwards were right there and you could catch them with a little luck. Then, I noticed that behind some generator trailers there was a door that lead to a space where a catering company had set up. That space opened up on the other side to the padocks. I sort sneaked in and went through and suddenly i was inside surrounded by all the riders, team bosses, journalists, and VIP'S. The street inside the paddocks is huge and and at one side has the paddocks themselves and on the other side each team and some major sponsors have hospitality areas with some patio furniture where the riders hang out in their time off.

It was great because once I was in the riders were very relaxed and actually i was surprised that some of them wanted to talk. I had a chat with Lorenzo, Edwards, Melandri, Luvio Suppo, Elias, and Roger Lee Hayden. A lot of them are actually pretty lonely in there and have nobody to talk to because the teams are packing everything into shipping containers. I speak spanish and a little Italian and that helped too. When i was talking to Lorenzo he was so nice that offered me the knee puck he used in the race and signed it for me. I was pretty surprised. I will post a photo of it later. This was after the race. The rain had stopped and some riders were still in leathers after speaking to the press for some time.

Now, the funniest thing is the story behind the photos with Rossi. I had been trying to find this guy for some time but it was getting late and I had to make my flight. As i was about to leave and heading to the gate of the paddocks, i see him coming in with some guy in a scooter (not Uccio). He flies by me and heads to the Yamaha paddock which is at the other end of the center street. I start walking back there and when i get there I see him through the Yamaha pit as he and his team are taking photographs in the track side of the paddocks. I tried to walk though the pits but a guard stops me and asks me to leave. As i walk away I notice that the Alice Ducati pit is almost empty and i ask a mechanic if I can cross over to the track and he says OK. Now, i am on the other side watching Rossi and his mechanics take some official pictures with his bike. I wait for them to finish and I approach Rossi who is very friendly and I took about 8 photos with him and then he ask me if I wanted one next to the bike. I of course said yes. You can see in one of the photos that I posted that his bike is between us and he is holding the marker he used to signed my hat. I could not get the entire bike becasue my arm can only stretch so far. You can also see that the track is right behind us in the photos. At this point I am in heaven and cannot quite believe I got this far in to the track and i am taking photos with Vale while only a couple of guys are near by. I am laughing as write this because it now seems surreal. Below is one of the photos they were taking when I approached him at the track. I found it in the Moto GP site.



Here are a few more photos.

[rockaduc]

I am so jealous of you and your Ninja techniques!!!  Well done. 

[RodeoClown]

That is awesome! Wat to go

We actually stealthed our way in to the Flat Track Race and ended up hangin out with most of the Red Bull Rookies Cup riders. Wish I would have stayed around after the race, but I was worried by bike blew over in the campground, but it didnt. I did hang out near the RVs and got a Colin Edwards shirt and autograph, but the highligh was meeting King Kenny just hangin out there! Not sure whos RV he was outside of but he was just chillin past Edwards RV?

[arai_speed]

Awesome story man....that's great that those guys are so friendly!

[Adam in TX]

Dammit, Jagstang and I were in those party tents on friday immediately after qualifying, but we were just stealing RBV's and beer. I had no idea it opened up to the PADDOCK!

We snuck through the catering entrance also :-D