Monthly Archives: February 2018

I’d be lying to say I do not feel a bit strange at the moment as the new MotoGP season beckons. For the first time in 38 years I’m not involved but I’ve filled the time in by buying a lawn mower and writing features for the Cumnor Parish News. I’ve also had a bit of a think what I will miss most about not being in Qatar for that opening race in three weeks’ time.

Saturday and Sunday breakfasts at Ducati where they called me Uncle Albert from Only Fools and Horses. Best scrambled eggs in the world.

The very British IRTA enclave in the paddock with cups of tea and British television on tap. Keith Huewen from BT Sport was a great tea maker.

Watching Premier League football with Matt Birt and Steve Day in Alpine Stars Hospitality on Saturday nights while discussing the fortunes of Cornish Pirates Rugby Club with Jeremy Appleton over a beer. It was always good if Arsenal and Leicester won and Spurs lost.

Alerting the Manchester – based studio of BBC World Service it was time to put the kettle on because I always rang at tea time, 15.00 on a Sunday afternoon with the race report.

Sneaking a read of the free copy of the Daily Mail on British Airways flights without Gavin Emmett from BT Sport noticing.

Suppressing uncontrollable laughter when somebody, often myself, had produced a rather nasty smell in the commentary box. Very childish but very funny.

Remembering Dylan’s name down in pit lane.

Practicing the pronunciation of the name of the Tissot Representative who was awarding the Qualifying watch winners, with MotoGP Media Manger Frine Velilla. I still got it wrong.

Checking the Oxford United full time score on my phone while the pole setters were answering my questions in the Qualifying press conference.

Locking myself in my office at Phillip Island in Australia when the python arrived to be draped over the riders shoulders in the pre-event photo-shoot.

That first cold beer on a Sunday night when work had finally finished.

Hoping that Valentino Rossi would not say f….. too many times in the press conference.

Trying to compose good questions for Cal Crutchlow because his answers sometimes scared me.

Trying not to say thank-you too many times to Marc Marquez in the press conferences.

So many great bars and restaurants but must mention Don Pepe in Jerez, Isle of Wight Pub in Phillip Island, The Brewery in Brno and the Sami Sami hotel bar and street food in Malaysia to name but a few.

Trying to keep up with Matt Birt as he strode through airports like Usain Bolt at a million miles per hour. It was something I never achieved especially on those escalators.

Being told to shut the f…… up in my headphones by Spanish producer Victor when the TV broadcast was coming to an end.

Staying at a Castle with a moat and drawbridge in Austria.

There are very a few things I won’t miss but seriously I’m already missing so much this truly incredible sport and the amazing people who work in it. That’s it, no more time for reminiscing I’ve got to trim the hedge and get that lawn ready for its first cut!

The great thing about us blokes is we never moan or go on about it when the dreaded flu or in most cases heavy cold strikes at the end of January. I would not think of telling just how rotten I’ve felt for the last week and a half because we just get on with it and never moan especially to our partners.

However, while not moaning of course, it did give me the chance of taking a longer look than normal at some other sports on the television and in the newspapers. The superb three days of MotoGP testing went ahead in Sepang unnoticed and in most cases totally unreported which is no great surprise on the evidence of last season. The 2018 MotoGP season looks like another superb spectacle of close racing and pure excitement in front of record crowds and especially at the new Far East venue in Thailand. So how are the other Motorsport World Championships reacting and shaping up.

I was excited to find a double page spread in my favourite Daily Newspaper, despite the paper failing to mention Marc Marquez had clinched the 2017 Moto in their Monday edition after Valencia, about the Formula One World Championship. Would it look into new rule changes and plans to freshen up the sport they devote so many column inches to during the season. I was disappointed to find that while the Sepang test was not mentioned a lot of space was taken up telling us how Formula One was going to replace Grid Girls with Grid Kids this coming season. Some would argue replacing some of the complicated rules and making the racing a trifle more exciting might have been a greater priority.

Football rules in Britain and most of the world which is reflected in its wall to wall coverage. While not moaning of course, I even had to miss Oxford United’s brilliant away win at Charlton on Saturday because of my ailment, blimey I must have been actually poorly. One of the big talking points has been the use of Video Action Replays in certain games to check if the ball has crossed the line and important offside positions. The trouble was it took a long time for the video referee back in the studio on some distant trading estate to make the final decision. It was a bit like not letting the riders onto the rostrum because VAR had still not decided the winner. It will work in football with a bit of fine tuning and you only have to look how Tissot’s instant finish line pictures determine race and rostrum finishers in MotoGP.

I watched and marvelled at the unbelievable play of Roger Federer in the Australian Open Tennis. What an athlete and competitor showing as much unbridled enthusiasm and pure joy of playing his chosen sport as a young teenager in his very first season. It all has a familiar ring to it. Swap the tennis court to the race track and there stands Valentino Rossi. Proper sporting legends are few and far between and these two are right up there with the gods of their chosen profession.

Finally I love cricket and during the last couple of weeks have tried to recoup the considerable amount of cash I owe Jerry Burgess, Rossi’s former Crew Chief. For over a quarter of a century we have always bet of the England /Australia Ashes series and I think I’ve paid him enough cash to finance his times with Honda, Ducati and Yamaha all put together and this year looks no exception. Don’t worry I’ll get the call from Adelaide reminding me of the exact amount.

By the way thanks for asking and I’m feeling much better now. Not that you would have ever known I’d been ill.