Month: December 2013

In Madrid the weather has been fantastic this autumn. Unfortunately I have not been able to take much advantage of it since I’ve been busy working and studying. At least the course I’ve been taking is over now, but the sunny autumn has turned into cold winter. I shouldn’t complain really, we took a ride today and it is fantastic to be able to do that mid-December. The mornings are grim but during the day the temperature peaks at 12 degrees. Some weeks ago I was able to take a break from studying. Well, I had to, we had tickets for the final Moto GP race in Valencia.

The expectations were huge and we were not disappointed. We had our seats on the blue grandstand, in between the Doohan corner and the Nieto corner thus having a splendid view of all the track from the first corner after the straight almost until the last corner before the straight. It was sunny and warm, out of the wind it felt like summer on the grandstand.

The moto 3 was exciting since the three first on the grid also were aspiring for the championship. Maveric Viñales, Alex Rins and Louise Salom, all Spaniards battling through the race with massive support from the fans making the grandstand sway.

But this was not the only excitement in this race, further back in the line there was a group of riders continuously battling for positions and one of them was Ana Carrasco who finished 8th in the end. She is also the first woman to score a World Championship Point earlier in this season in Sepang. She has said herself in an interview earlier this year that she is not thinking of herself as a female rider, but as a rider. Nevertheless role-models like her make it easier for young girls to dare to try riding and/or racing. I look forward to following her career.

The Moto 2 championship was already settled but nevertheless the race offered excitement. The champion Pol Espargaro went wide in a corner earlier on and the lead was taken by Nico Terol. Two years ago we saw him become Moto 3 Champion at Ricardo Tormo and now we saw him win the last race of the season. Arriving at the last Moto GP race of the season Marc Marcquez had a strong lead, 13 points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. To win the championship Lorenzo would have to win and Marquez finish no better than 5th.

Well, not likely to happen bearing in mind the strong season Marquez had had. Nevertheless in the beginning of the race everything semeed possible and I could hardly breathe. The race was surely entertaining to the end and Lorenzo did a good race finishing first, even though it wasn’t enough to win the championship. Spanish triple on the Moto GP podium, and a double in Moto 2 as well as Moto 3. A good day for Spain.

When heading back to the centre the train was crowded, and later the metro was crowded. But amazingly enough I managed to glimpse two familiar faces on the platform. Of course events like this gathers bikers from all over Europe but I was not expecting to see two good friends from the Swedish Ducati Club, Gothenburg chapter. Fortunately, my fiancé and I had a few hours to spend before our train so we could all get together for a dinner and catch up. I know I say this often, but the Swedish Ducati Club is one of the things I miss the most from Sweden.