The time has come
By TMX Archives on 28th May 08
It's British GP time and Mallory Park is ready for action, so let the moths out of your wallets and have yourselves a great weekend...
RIGHT chaps, we've been banging the drum now since New Year but the time for talking's over and the time for action has arrived. By the time you read this, the 2008 British MX Grand Prix at Mallory Park will be ready for action and the only thing left to do is for us British MX fans to get along and support it.
The hard core fans have already voted with their wallets – and bagged some bargains. If they went for the full family weekend ticket, which in this day and age was an absolute steal for £100, then they sure got one. If you are a waverer, and there's a lot out there, we know that, I know what you are thinking. And the answer is: "I haven't a clue!”
I have no idea whether the weekend will bask in 30-degree sunshine or whether it will rain stair-rods, whether the track will be a dustbowl or a quagmire. Did the organisers of the Spanish MXGP bank on running in four-feet of liquid mud? Did the organisers of the opening round of the British Superbikes expect snow to cause them to cancel the meeting at Brands Hatch? I have no idea whether the racing will be close or whether someone will run away with it.
I haven't a clue whether the quick Brits will crash their brains out in qualifying and not make it to the line. Like everyone else I haven't the foggiest what will transpire on the day...
What I do know is that RHL bossman, Gareth Hockey, has sweated blood over bringing the British MXGP to Mallory Park.
I know that the venue can cope with tens of thousands of spectators and that it has lots of the facilities that Youthstream demands as permanent fixtures on-site.
Because of this, Gareth and his team have been able to concentrate the majority of their time on the track.
Therefore all I can say is, stop torturing yourself over what ‘might' happen, give the man the benefit of the doubt and go and shout yourself hoarse on Sunday for Tommy, Shaun, Billy, Stephen and co – and don't keep telling me you can watch football or a pop group or some other crap for less money. Who cares – this Sunday is about ‘OUR' sport!
IN order to get myself in the mood for the coming weekend, I first of all read Alex Hodgkinson's GP reports over the previous weeks in T+MX, then I prepared myself, with a six-pack, for a session of Motors TV – known in the T+MX office as KennyVision when the MXGPs are on. So, thanks to Motors TV and that arch-enthusiast and indefatigable broadcaster Kenny Kay, I feel like I could now rip a quick lap of Mantova myself (in my dreams) so well do I know its berms, whoops, ruts and jumps. I'd certainly try and avoid those bumps that spat Billy Mac off anyway! I'd also avoid Kenny's moguls, and I bet he'd avoid them too after getting himself into a real commentator's knot attempting to fill a quiet moment...
No, I'm not having a go at ‘Mr KennyVision', he does a super job and to be fair, the TV coverage this season – and it has been, how can I say this, less than perfect in the past – damned good, with good camera coverage and excellent direction with downfield battles picked-out if the leader is away on his own.
If I'm being picky, I can easily live without the mid-race pit-lane interviews, which add absolutely nothing to the mix and are sometimes cut in just as an exciting battle is being shown. The translator's comic accent may be amusing for five-seconds but after that it's just another irritation and has me yelling: "Get back to the action!”
So, now being the world foremost expert on Mantova, thanks to KennyVision, I am now looking forwards immensely to Mallory where I and, hopefully, a cast of thousands, wait with bated breath to witness first-hand the sheer speed of Messers Cairoli and Phillippaerts, topped only by the even greater velocity of the home-grown boys previously mentioned, which in case you have forgotten are headed by Tommy Searle, Shaun Simpson, Stephen Sword and Billy MacKenzie.
And if you want an outside tip from me, or even if you don't, watch out for a full-on, balls-out attack from northern hardman Brad Anderson in fron