Marquez on pole, Rossi second. But man was it close for a second. It all came down the last lap of qualifying and just for a moment Rossi looked like he’s snatched it.
Unfortunately, for him Marquez had grabbed a tow meaning he took it back almost immediately. But for a moment there the atmosphere was electric when we all thought he’d done it.
I watched nearly every session from a different stand meaning there are only a couple right out at the far side of the track that I’ve not seen action from.
I started out at Stowe at the end of the long hanger straight. The stands there are uncovered and the second the session was over I moved to get shade. The weather is glorious, but it is getting hotter and hotter and tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest of the lot.
The temperature drops a lot in the night so I find I’m going to bed boiling; waking in the middle of the night freezing and then waking boiling again in the morning after bundling up. I’m kind of wishing I’d brought a larger tent. It’s great for carrying as it packs so small, but the roof sits so low that I can’t sit up in it.
So in the morning or night when it’s dewy I’m ending up with a wet head or back as I end up pushing the inner against the flysheet. Next time I think I’ll get a dome tent or at least something with a higher roof.
I appear to have jinxed poor old Jack Miller. His bike stopped right next to me during FP3 and ended up parked up against the stand as he ran around looking for a lift back to the pits.
Speaking of Jack Miller and pits, I’m turning into a bit of a fanboy. After qualifying I had tickets to walk through the pits. Lots of the teams had the garages open, and others like Suzuki even had the bikes started and being revved-up. There was a massive crowd around Rossi’s garage as people vied for a look at his bike. But there was also a huge crowd around Pramac Ducati. Why? A couple of minutes earlier I’d seena Dorna official let a wheelchair bound kid and their family past the barriers, and now here was Jack Miller out of the garage and chatting with them.
I’ve no idea if this is normal weekend for him, but he seems to be everywhere I’ve been and has always been interacting with the fans. I’d love to see a Rossi win, or Cal since it’s his home race. But I’d be delighted to see Jack on the top step after what I’ve seen. He managed to recover and qualify third today so it’s on the cards.
Everyone I’ve met on the campsite is really friendly. We’re all chatting about our bikes or about racing or places we’ve been too. Randy Mamola said that biking feels like one big family during the Day of Champions.
Based on this trip you’ve got to say he has a point.
DigiDonkey 