Friday, September 12th

I woke at 6:15, and was surprised (I shouldn't have been) that it was still dark outside. A little rain was coming down by the time we went to breakfast - Jim couldn't pass up a visit to the Waffle House next door, it takes him back to his time down south. After a pretty good breakfast we bundled up for the rainy ride to Indianapolis and headed out.

First time the Ducati has been in Indiana

Very crappy ride on I-70, rain went from just drizzling to full-on downpour a few times. Never really let up until we got to Indianapolis. I had the GPS programmed to take us to the 16th street entrance to the Speedway, not the 30th street Gate 10 entrance we needed - figured we'd adjust once we got there. Not the nicest neighborhoods we passed through on the way. Passed the Triumph and BMW demo trucks in a parking lot, had to resist the urge to stop for a demo. Once we got near the Speedway we started to see some other bikes - and who did we see in the queue for the Ducati Island parking but our friend from Maine, Grant! We were heading to the free parking at Gate 10 (since Jim and I were riding together I didn't want us to get split up by me parking on Ducati Island and him who-knows-where), so we waved at Grant and circumnavigated the whole Speedway to find our entrance.

Once we got to Gate 10, there was no checking of parking wristbands, just staff waving us in. We rode closer and closer to the actual facility I was getting more and more excited. Soon we were right behind the grandstands and I was thinking this was pretty good parking - then they waved us into the tunnel underneath the stands! We came out ONTO THE TRACK! We got to ride onto the back straightaway of the main Indy track (not the MotoGP track) and park right up against the fence. I was totally psyched!

There was an army of attendants there giving out MotoGP kickstand plates, and they insisted you using them immediately. "Once in a while we make A LOT of money with this bit of road".

It was very hard to slow down and get everything squared away - I just wanted to run over to the track and see what was going on. I think I left my camera on the seat the first time I walked away - could have been my gloves, it's all kind of fuzzy.

You couldn't pry the grin off our faces upon arriving

Getting everything squared away

Our route onto the track parking

We took advantage of the free gear check and started the long walk in the general direction of the engine sounds we were hearing

Thank you, ABATE!

Looking back at the bike parking

After quite a trek we came over a rise and got our first look at the track. What's the first thing we see?

Valentino whizzing by, followed by Toseland, Rossi, Hayden and the rest of the GP crew - we had arrived just in time for first MotoGP practice session.

I can't describe how overwhelmed I was at being there. The sound of those machines roaring by, seeing Stoner and Rossi, the whole thing was just sensory overload. From the "grassy knoll" we had a good view of turns 6-7-8-9, not fast turns but you could watch the guys swing between full left and right lean, and then listen to them power down the Holman straight. We basically just stood there and watched for a while, then I headed down closer to the fence to see what kind of pictures I could get. I could get good shots shooting close to the fence, as the depth-of-field would make the fence disappear, but there were sections along the fence that had a big horizontal section of fencing missing (like a very long mail slot) that was even better. Had to squeeze in with the rest of the photographers there, but chatting with them was part of the fun. Some of the guys there were fans with decent equipment (like myself), others were pros with really decent equipment (like $8k 400/2.8 lenses).

Tough spot to photograph through, not enough field of view to get the camera to track-focus the bikes

The best place to get photos of close on-track action

Our first look at what was going on on the track

The GP riders (Toseland in this picture) did their launch practice in front of us. Toseland was playing to the crowd.

Rossi gets some air under his front wheel during his launch

A very happy Jim

Made our way to Ducati Island (over the Red Bull bridge, not for the last time) - quite a long walk, and not very obvious how to get there. Showed my registration and got a wristband, and one for Jim as my guest. It was nice to return the favor, as he got me into the ROK tent at Americade which was a big relief from the heat.

Jim (far left) enjoying the complimentary water at Ducati Island.

Me

"Entertainment"

Parking lot at Ducati Island

We saw Grant's 996 in the main Ducati Island parking section

Jim taking a little sip of the Kool-Aid

I thought this guy was a big fan....

...until I saw this guy!

Walked around checking out all the vendors, no big deals to be had that I could find. Got a lunch of an Indy Dog, which was pretty terrible. Prices for food and drink weren't too bad for a captive audience, nothing like the $6 sodas at concerts.

Man, this is a big place

Jim got to check out Rossi's old bike

Eye candy

We watched the 250's practice from the free Buell grandstand, which overlooks turn 9 and the Holman straight. Couple guys going off-track at the exit of turn 9, pretty entertaining.

The Buell grandstand

We then thought we should check out the other grandstand between turns 4 and 5 on the other side of the track, so we began a long trek through a no-man's land of tunnels, deserted bleachers and rain. It started to really come down hard as we passed the KTM, Yamaha and Harley demo areas, and by the time we got to the grandstand it was pouring. Sitting down on a metal bleacher seat with puddles was not one of the day's highlights. We watched the first session of 125 qualifying, but they didn't stay out there too long. The rain was just pouring down, visibility was terrible.

From there we headed back to Ducati Island and the rain finally subsided for the day. Jim enjoyed an espresso, and I tried to get a little drier.

Interesting paint scheme

Ducati Island in the rain

Um, OK....

We watched the second MotoGP practice sessions from the viewing mounds again.

Not a shortcut for Alex De Angelis

A very wet track

Ant West put up the fastest times on the wet track, Rossi was fast as well. Stoner had highsided at the end of the first practice session, but we didn't see that. The Ducati's sounded like nothing else out on the track.

After that we stayed to watch some of the Rookie Cup practice

These guys were hard-chargin'

When we got back to our bikes, there were a lot of workers there collecting the MotoGP kickstand plates they had given out in the morning. They'd stand there with a stack of them, clacking them together and watching you like a hawk. No souvineers today....

Back at the hotel

We rode back to the hotel to clean up, and figured we'd head back into town to check out the action on Meridian Street. Indianapolis had closed a few blocks of Meridian Street for just bike parking, and that sounded like fun. I almost got taken out leaving the hotel from a car coming out of a blind spot in the hotel parking lot, locked up the front I think. Yikes.

Meridian Street was pretty cool - we got there early so there weren't a lot of bikes there yet. Had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (not bad), and then roamed the streets for a while. There were cops checking VINs for stolen bikes, which I had never seen before. Later in the evening they were putting some bike on a flatbed, with lots of flashing lights and a crowd gathering. "Nothing to see here, move along". I disagree, there's plenty to see! The crowd was behaving, it was a nice vibe.

Our parking spot off Meridian

Indy had put up street signs for all the racers

Must be a big fan

Have to report this to Ducati - you can't have flames and skulls on this!

We hit a sandwich shop on the corner to use the bathroom before the ride back to the hotel, and I think the counter guy had had about enough of this. He got right in my face, "You going to buy something to eat?!" I bought a water.

When he had checked in earlier, the clerk had mentioned about secure night parking next door at the Marriott. When we got back to the hotel we had a chance to check that out. It was a pitch-black parking lot, right next to the road, mostly surrounded by a temporary chain-link fence with a huge opening. No one minding it, and maybe 5 bikes parked inside. Pass.

Jim's Fog City fog shield had developed a case of permanent fog thanks to the rain today - odd. I spent the rest of the evening drying out the contents of my wallet, looking like a counterfeiter with all these bills laid out neatly on the desk. I also MacGuyver'ed a lens cover for the big telephoto, as the weather for Saturday was supposed to be just as bad if not worse. I had to wash the bottom of my pants in the sink as they were beyond filthy from all the mud and grass we trudged through - my wife would have been so proud!

Jim's Foggy Fog City Shield

Mr Handy!