Blog: MotoGP on the Cheap

By Patricio Avila

Avila is an avid young race fan from Orlando who attended the 2005 and 2006 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on an extremely tight budget. Following is his blog on the 2005 edition:

I landed at San Jose Airport at about 8 p.m. on Thursday night. I didn’t have a cell phone to set as an alarm clock, so I brought my clock from home with me. I was planning on sleeping at the airport but first off, I had to go to the 7-11 to buy a battery for the clock. When I got to the store, I saw two guys that just purchased about $400 worth of scratch-off tickets. It turns out they were from Oklahoma, where they don’t have Lotto, so these guys were taking advantage of the opportunity.

We started talking, and they soon figured out that I had just turned 18 and come out to California by myself. I told them I was staying at the airport that night and I was then going to camp out on the track the rest of the time. They offered to let me sleep in their hotel room that night, which I gladly accepted, and they even gave me a ride to the track the next morning. I lost them at that point and never saw them again.

At the track, I watched as much racing as I could and set up my tent on the side of the hill, looking down on the straight between Turns 4 and 5. It was pretty steep and high up, but I wanted that great viewpoint of the racetrack.

I spent the entire weekend walking around and getting as much free stuff as possible. I didn’t realize until the first night how cold it gets out there at nighttime. I only had a few T-shirts and jeans with me for warmth, so I just put a bunch of them on. I also forgot to get something soft to sleep on in the tent, so I had to find crevices in the ground void of rocks to sleep between. It wasn’t comfortable, to say the least, but I’ll never forget waking up at about 6 in the morning; there was morning dew all over, a light haze over the track, and as I stood up out of my tent, I saw most of the racetrack, with the sun coming up. A huge line of cars started pouring in, and I just felt bad for them because they didn’t get to see the morning as I did.

After watching all the practices and qualifying, it was time for the race. I managed to buy a ticket a few minutes before the start of the race to be in the grandstands on the main straight looking into the pits. I looked up at the large TV right next to parc ferme and saw Valentino Rossi (he’s my favorite rider) getting ready in his pit. It wasn’t until I saw him on the large TV that I noticed I was directly in front of his pit (past pit wall, the straight and then a fence was all that was separating me and the racers). Fortunately, I have good eyesight and was able to watch Rossi putting his helmet on, praying to the bike, and then leaving pit lane, picking his wedgie. I couldn’t believe it.

Pages: 1 2