Around the GP Tracks
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Saturday 28 July 2007 - The Czech Grand Prix, Marketa Stadium, Prague
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I got back from Praha/Prague/Praga/Prag (how the hell do you spell the bleedin' name?) on Sunday night. I had a great time (thanks Roni, Martin and Keith), great city, great fun, sh*te track!
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This was one of the worst meetings I have ever had the misfortune to attend. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) the track was to blame. I sat in a 95 degree (Fahrenheit) heat on Friday afternoon to watch the 'practice' session and it was clear then that there were going to be problems. The first bend started to cut up badly and should really have had traffic cones put round the ruts to show the riders the spots to avoid! Incidentally if you're in that kind of heat there and are sitting in the blazing sun, don't start drinking the beer, It's the most potent headache draft I've had in a while!
This was one of the worst meetings I have ever had the misfortune to attend. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) the track was to blame. I sat in a 95 degree (Fahrenheit) heat on Friday afternoon to watch the 'practice' session and it was clear then that there were going to be problems. The first bend started to cut up badly and should really have had traffic cones put round the ruts to show the riders the spots to avoid! Incidentally if you're in that kind of heat there and are sitting in the blazing sun, don't start drinking the beer, It's the most potent headache draft I've had in a while!
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Some of the riders (especially a certain Mr Gollob) were clearly not impressed so it was no surprise that, on the night, there were one or two...shall we say...sub-standard perfromances. The meeting itself was unbelievably poor. The only interest in the later races (there was none in the earlier ones) was who would be next to hit the fourth bend ruts and whether they would manage to stay on. Nicky Pedersen was the fastest rider but how on earth can one rider make seven starts from four different gates against the world's best and outgate them every single time? He deserved to win but added nothing to the meeting although that was hardly his fault.
Some of the riders (especially a certain Mr Gollob) were clearly not impressed so it was no surprise that, on the night, there were one or two...shall we say...sub-standard perfromances. The meeting itself was unbelievably poor. The only interest in the later races (there was none in the earlier ones) was who would be next to hit the fourth bend ruts and whether they would manage to stay on. Nicky Pedersen was the fastest rider but how on earth can one rider make seven starts from four different gates against the world's best and outgate them every single time? He deserved to win but added nothing to the meeting although that was hardly his fault.
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Would I go back? Well certainly not before next year! I did love Prague though and once I'd sussed out how to use the transport system (never bother with tickets - just get on and off buses, trams and the subway - nobody checks you've got one) things went smoothly.
Would I go back? Well certainly not before next year! I did love Prague though and once I'd sussed out how to use the transport system (never bother with tickets - just get on and off buses, trams and the subway - nobody checks you've got one) things went smoothly.
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As a bit of name dropping....on Saturday morning we had breakfast with Nicky Pedersen, Tomas Gollob and Rune Holta. Well when I say 'with' I should maybe have said 'near' since they were sitting at the tables round about us. Also saw Bjarne Pedersen in TGI Friday's just off Wenceslas Square.
As a bit of name dropping....on Saturday morning we had breakfast with Nicky Pedersen, Tomas Gollob and Rune Holta. Well when I say 'with' I should maybe have said 'near' since they were sitting at the tables round about us. Also saw Bjarne Pedersen in TGI Friday's just off Wenceslas Square.
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Enjoyed the weekend - recommend Prague as a city to be visited but the speedway .......... err ........ and I used to think that Rye House was slick with no dirt. I swear they were out with Vaccuum cleaners before the start. By the way, if you haven't been and are thinking of going to the GP there, take an umbrella. There is absolutely no cover (unless you plan on spending the entire match in the toilets) and the showers can be, shall we say, beefy! Also don't believe the receptionists and porter at the hotel that there is no public transport to the stadium as they usher you into one of the hotel taxis where you'll pay half your holiday money to a licenced bandit to get you there. The 22 tram will take you to within a couple of hundred yards of the entrance and, yes oh Diplomat Hotel, it does run on a Saturday night!!
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