Toby Moody, our man in the know paddockside, gives us the insider's version of some of the stories you may not have heard from the Czech Grand Prix in Brno last weekend…
Valentino’s love affair is over
The Press Office was all of a blur once the flag came down after the MotoGP race. We all sat here waiting for the Yamaha announcement of Valentino Rossi’s 2011 move to Ducati, which came in bang on 6pm, later to be delivered also with a paper version that included a copy of a handwritten statement saying, “Unfortunately, even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time on the grass at Welkom, when she looked straight in my eyes and told me ‘I love you!’” It was hot over the weekend at the track. But could you have a bike that was this cool?
Marc shoulders his responsibilities again
Marc Marquez came out of the summer break on a roll of five victories on the trot and as the championship leader. But Brno jumped up and bit him on Friday afternoon at the end of the very first practice session when he fell at the infamous turn three, a corner that has claimed all of the greats over the years. The pocket rocket Spaniard highsided and bellyflopped onto his front in what looked like a crash he would get up from. Soon, though, it was apparent that he’d dislocated his left shoulder to add to his right shoulder dislocation at the Spanish Grand Prix in May. “It wasn’t so bad, though, as Dr Costa managed to click it back in very quickly,” he said. Marc still opted to miss the Saturday morning session to save his energy for qualifying. It was just the right thing to do as he flew to the front row of the grid just 24 hours after dislocating his shoulder. The guy is amazing.
'They just look at me and touch my leg… It took just 10 minutes' – Randy de Puniet
Eddie's steady progress
German TV commentator Eddie Mielke is normally watching motorcycle racing from the commentary box, but last weekend he had the chance to be in front of the cameras as a driver in the VW Scirocco Cup race at the Nürburgring. Alongside him were the greats from German motorsport such as Uwe Alzen. “Sitting in the car with my helmet on, lined up on the grid with these guys around me, was pretty amazing,” said Eddie, who didn’t disgrace himself, either, as he finished 19th out of a field of 27 cars.
Randy’s quick return
Randy de Puniet made a return to racing just four weeks after having his leg broken at the Sachsenring. It didn’t seem like he went through much of a medical test to be given the green light to ride from the doctors at the track. “They just look at me and touch my leg,” he explained. “It took just 10 minutes.”
Mechanic goes to great lengths
One of De Puniet’s mechanics, Chris Richardson from Belfast, Northern Ireland, did what might be classed as an equally heroic ride through the pain barrier the previous week. In just six days, he rode from John O’Groats in northern Scotland to Land’s End in south-west England – tip to tail of the UK – by bike. “We chose to go the slightly longer way to miss some of the main roads that are a bit busy, so it ended up as 965 miles [that’s 1,520km] rather than 860 miles, too,” he commented. Hard nut Chris burned over 8,000 calories a day including a 146-miler (a huge 235km) that took over 12 hours to complete. He raised over £3,000 (€3,650/US$4,700) for a charity that researches cures for pancreatic cancer. Well done, Chris – an unsung hero.
Lorenzo’s holeshot
Jorge Lorenzo celebrated his Brno win with another quirky little number, this time playing golf on one of the holes inside the circuit itself (see picture, top). He took a couple of putts to get it in, but did eventually. Later, we realised where the clubs and the flag had come from when one of the girls in the press office was caught putting (no pun please…) it back in storage.
'Man, it’s loud. I’d forgotten just how loud they were!' – Sylvain Guintoli
I’m all right, jack
125cc rider Sandro Cortese was wondering why his feet weren’t touching the floor when he mechanics left the grid after a delayed starting procedure because heavy rain was expected. The boys had forgotten to remove the front jack, leaving the exasperated German to try to get it out – something that was never going to work with him on the bike. In the end, a nervous marshal leapt the barrier from the other side of the track and removed it for him!
Follow the Star
Being out and about in Brno itself is great fun, and the town is easy to navigate around. All roads seem to lead to the Starobrno Brewery at the base of the small hill that dominates the centre of town. Massive tables outside with music and views – one can’t go wrong.
It’s roaring down here…
Monday’s test session got underway under perfect blue skies rather than the doom and gloom that was forecast. It saved the teams having to return to Aragon in order to try and get the second of the two precious days of midseason testing under their belts. One rider at the test was Sylvain Guintoli, who hadn’t ridden a MotoGP bike since 2007 when he was on the Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha. “Man, it’s loud. I’d forgotten just how loud they were!” he exclaimed as he was test-riding a new Suzuki. However, just as the day was affected 12 months earlier with rain, it made a comeback appearance with a couple of hours remaining, thus putting a spanner in the works for some teams who needed every single lap they could get before the last eight races of the year.
Returning to a Hiro’s welcome
The great news on Monday was that Interwetten Honda’s Hiroshi Aoyama was back riding in the test session after hurting his back two months ago at Silverstone. It went well for the reigning 250cc champion and he expects to ride at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on August 29.
More MotoGP fun can be had at our Czech GP event page 
Toby Moody
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