Brno, home of the Czech MotoGP, is a firm favourite with pros and fans alike – you just have to get there, as Toby Moody explains in his latest exclusive view from the paddock.
Simply clever, simply knackered
Upon getting into my Czech hire car (a Skoda, of course), I thought there must be a mistake, because normally they’re nearly new and still shiny. Not this one. The chrome had peeled off the gearknob and the colour had been worn off the electric window switch. Just why quickly became apparent – 252,249km (156,740 miles) on the odometer. That's nearly six and a half times around the world.
Fobbed off with another story
More hire car trouble. Cal Crutchlow‘s Californian holiday just a few days before Brno nearly went very wrong. His car had one of those modern keyless fobs which, as long as you are in proximity of the car, will open and start it once you press the start button. As Cal pulled off for the trip down to San Diego, he heard a rattle on the roof, but thought nothing of it… until he stopped for fuel further down the road, turning the engine off before filling up. Yes, he'd left the fob on the roof many miles back. He pushed the unstartable car 2km to a safe place to be informed there would be a $250 replacement fee for another fob. At least he had three days to think about not doing it again!
Bloody steak but no bloody chips! (left). Later, Toby reflects (literally, see top of image, right)
on how three rather long people fit in one commentary box short of space… 
Toby Moody
When the chips are down
Eating out in Brno is great at night. The service is fast wherever you go, with great food. Ordering a pepper steak on Friday, it arrived in record time, but it was a pepper steak and nothing else. Oh well, steal the French fries of my colleagues then!
Commentary with legs
Commentary boxes are small at many circuits around the world. The Brno ones are 'snug' when there are three people in situ, even for me at only 5ft 8in (173cm) tall. Imagine my surprise when I saw the two familiar faces of oft-photographed Bwin grid girls Lucy and Tatjana in the next-door commentary box of Germany's Sport 1 channel alongside the lead voice of the channel, the already two-metre-tall Eddie Mielke. With legs like theirs, was they any space at all to fit anything else in there?!
Toby Moody
Bowing to the inevitable
Danny Kent on the 125cc Red Bull Ajo Aprilia had good news out of bad news come Thursday night after his team mate Jonas Folger had fallen ill, meaning he was to inherit Jonas’s more-up-to-date Aprilia RSA over his regular RSW. After just two sessions on the bike, Danny was fifth on Friday afternoon. Chatting to him in the back of the garage in the evening, we laughed about how he'd been working during the summer break for some extra cash, and here he was up there with the best in the world during his rookie GP season. 2007 125cc World Champion Gábor Talmácsi then happened to walk past (see above, left). I introduced Gábor to Danny, the Hungarian asking how he'd got on that day. To say Gábor was impressed was an understatement – he bowed in front of the Brit! Praise hardly comes from anyone higher in recent 125 history. Unfortunately the race didn't go so well for Danny when the thing broke on him on the second lap…
Randy socks it to Toby
Regular travellers always fret that they’ve forgotten something, and despite checking I’d got my passport and the essential documents I needed, I still had a nagging feeling. Only on the first morning did I discover what I had forgotten: all of my socks. Asking Alpinestars for an emergency supply, Randy Mamola heard of my plight. “Give him light green ones so when we see him in the paddock we know he's left them at home!” Fortunately they only had grey ones!
Top bikes in the range
The Brno circuit is a large place. It's not as spread out as Silverstone, but there’s a golf course with a few holes, a small go-kart track and, bizarrely, a shooting range. Obviously the bullets were put away for any off-track action, but the ranges were still put to good use as a motorcycle park for the fans. As the area is the largest at the track, it was a sensible and perfect solution for the bikers. Over 155,000 turned up on Sunday, so they needed all the space they could get.
Wooden fixtures and fittings from behind the Iron Curtain… 
Toby Moody
Wooden performances
The wooden drop-down grandstand seats at Brno have survived from the first race they had at the current circuit in 1987 when the place was still behind the Iron Curtain. They've witnessed Wayne Gardner to Mick Doohan to Alex Criville's 0.002 sec win to Valentino Rossi's first win to Sete Gibernau, Casey Stoner and now Honda's first 1-2-3 finish in the 800cc class. Let’s hope they’re kept and preserved.
Hayden’s winning feeling resurfaces
The next race is the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP in a fortnight's time. 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden has already ridden the brand-new track surface that has been laid after riders requested a re-pave for safety reasons. Hayden rode a Ducati 1198 road bike there on August 5: "The new surface is just what I expected, it's pretty much perfect. There are a couple of corners that the riders requested to be redone and IMS went above and beyond, and actually the whole infield from Turn 5 to the finish is repaved, so I'm looking forward to getting back here on the race bike and laying some rubber down and cleaning up the racing line and trying it out."
Want more?
- Classic MotoGP: Brno 2003 video
- Check out the official MotoGP site motogp.com
- Toby Moody on Twitter @TobyMoody
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