LAGUNA SECA 2010: PS Report

fiat_hospitality said:

looks very fun i wanna be in a road trip!

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You work for Fiat Yamaha, you have the best 18 road trips in the world per year.

shovelhead said:

You work for Fiat Yamaha, you have the best 18 road trips in the world per year.

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haha, yeah... I'd immediately give up my luxurious job if Fiat Yamaha would offer me any job, even if I have to scrub and mop the floor clean

chopperman said:

Thats why this song was written



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN3GbF9Bx6E[/media]

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Or this...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luDgb5vVHuA[/media]

GatorDuc said:

.......and to all that are going to Indy, have an awesome time (I'm pissed and jealous, I will have to sit this one out this year). For those powersliders that care, I have this commentary on both venues. Laguna/Cali is, as has been said, Glorious. The beauty of the track and the locales surrounding it are without equal in the states (IMHO). Indy, by comparison, is a little "flat" as far as natural beauty, unless you're into farmland and midwest humidity. However, the city of Indy is nice, and your access to the racers is 5x better at Indy. Perhaps I'm stating the obvious, but it dawned on me during this Laguna race. For Indy, with a paddock pass, you have amazing access to all the racers (except Vale and Jorge of course). At Luguna, b/c of the beautiful location, I think there are many more european fans (which I enjoy b/c of the international feeling it gives). Yet, the paddocks were mobbed with Very Enthusiastic Fans. Either way, you're going to have a great time.

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I already booked my flights. Its gonna be a quicky, but we will fly in Friday at 5 AM and drive straight to the track from the airport. .... sleep, there will be plenty of time to do that when I'm dead. My only regret is not seeing you and beautiful Mrs. Gator. But if I had a choice between a East Euro trip with Mrs Gator verse a Indy trip with the boys, it would be a no brainer. Have fun in the Czech Rep (BTW, it might be a good idea to scout out a good place to stay when we go to the Brno GP, wink wink). Anyway, Terry said he is going, so that will be my consolation prize.



Gator is right about Indy, if you get your paddock pass (which is hard to do unless you have a hook up, which incidentally, we do as Shovelhead posted regarding the suites) then I suggest you go this route. Honestly, if anybody is considering Indy, do the math of grandstand seats verse Beth's Suites, which include Pope status parking, paddock (the real kind, like VIP Village) and food/drinks in suit, etc.

GatorDuc said:

My suggestion is stick with Jumkie and CK. Arrabb called them "fixers". Thats perfect. I call them the "closers". They make things happen and find a way. Cool .... gravitates to them and if something goes down, it's going down around them. Take my word for it, (i used to think I was a master bullshitter until I ran into them)

. Have a great time .......!! (F'ck your couch....an inside joke for Chrisflyhigh.)

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Honestly, its about picking great friends to surround oneself, as I have had the luck and fortune of meeting awesome peeps. On to the next story. (I ain't no Arrabi, so squint one eye when reading...)



-I’m so sorry sweetheart, but can we get just one more table please?



So after all the Saturday activities, practice, qual, umbrella gazing, etc, we go back to the campsite and start getting a few rounds of beer along with various assorted shots of whathaveyou. We had to figure out how to get from the campsite to downtown Monterey, as there is much nightlife on Cannery Row. (They close off the main street and bikes line the sidewalks, very cool sight to see, great people watching, etc). We have more people than seats in the cars, but lucky for us we had my friend Danny with his car and Gator had his rental. The trick was to get about 12-15+ heads into these cars. My two buddies decided to stay, and one guy had his bike, so he went in that. Gator had taken the wifeys back to freshen up so he came back with Terry to pick us up. We crammed the remaining heads in the cars and off we went.



In the back seat I brought along my trusty bottle of Don Julio tequila. Gator drops us off, and bam, we are walking in Cannery Row, just how I had imagined it the few months before (when I was trying to get Arrabbi to make the transatlantic trek).



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We ended up at Bubba Gump Shrimp (yes there is an actual restaurant named after the Forest Gump movie). While waiting, CaliKid takes a moment to show off his Lorenzo underwear.

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This place is a lot of fun too. The thing is, everybody and their mother wanted to eat there too. And considering that there were thousands of race fans wanting a hip meal, well you can imagine the wait time. But, no problem. Here is the trick. You don’t tell them you have a party of 10-20, you say you have a small group, and willing to split or sit anywhere. Thus it began….



So we wait outside, and finally the hostess says we have a table ready. Which later turned out to be ........ because we had to wait inside for another 10 minutes because the place was soooo packed. There was a bit of confusion, so I see another girl with the headset (seems she is the one directing traffic) and I tell her we have been waiting a long time, and I point to a table the busboys are cleaning and say “We’ll take that one.” Poor thing, she was so busy, she said “OK”. Well then the rest of the group starts to come in. So as the tables around us start to get cleaned for somebody else, I ask the girl in the headset for that table. And little by little we all start to invade the tables around us. But not everybody got there at the same time, so as more friends show up, we see another table near by being cleaned for somebody else (probably somebody outside waiting) but we take advantage and ask the young pretty girl with the headsets for that table. But by now I’m starting to feel my scruples, so I tell the girl, “I’m so sorry sweetheart, but can we get just one more table please? And I promise, I will make it worth your while (and like a Hollywood movie, slipped her some money). Which I was afraid to do the first time as I thought I might get slapped. But I was with a few Russian friends (seated along side us) and I was already well into a double Vodka shot. I didn’t want her to feel cheaply bribed, but without even looking at me or the money, she didn’t flinch and signaled me to take the table.



Well by this time we’ve sat three tables full of peeps, and then CaliKid says, hey, Gator & co are outside. ...., ok, I start looking around for another table, and as luck would have it another one appears to be getting cleaned next to some friends. I start to make my way out but then I see Gator through the crowd already inside. I tell him, sit here and point to the table (though I had not asked the girl with the headset for it yet, I figured we had a relationship already established and it wouldn’t be a problem). Gator then sees the problem and starts getting shy about sitting there (and if you’ve met Gator, he’s the type of guy that doesn’t like to impose on anybody, ...., it was like pulling teeth at Indy last year just to let me buy him a drink). I walk over again to the girl with the headset, “I’m so sorry sweetheart, but can we get just one more table please?” She is like, “they are with your party too?” I’m like, uhm yeah but that’s it. That’s everybody. No more. And alittle more grease on the wheels and we are In like Flynn, "F'ck your couch" hahahaha.



The round table and the three tables behind are the four tables we slowly invaded. Look at all the people behind and all around, as you can see it was packed. This place was very loud, and people were yelling and laughing about everything.

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I was walking over to take a pi of Gator's table when Arrabbi stopped me with a shot of tequila. (So I never got a pic of Gator & co table, but I'm sure he will post one.)

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After dinner we walked over next door to Sly McFlys. But not before a pic infront of the Can Co sign.

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Once we got into McFlys...That's when things got a bit out of control.

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Here we have Gator doing his best Michael Jackson tribute.

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shovelhead said:

The big difference is that in Indy you can't buy a paddock pass, it comes with VIP tix only as opposed to Laguna where anybody with $50 can get one.

I'm gonna buy Beth's VIP package again, price is set at $350 for this year.For the peeps that haven't been to Indy, well...if you thought that Cannery Row was great, wait until you get on meridian street, yikes...these Indy people know how to throw a party.

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already done & dusted! dodadoda

I'm behind here, so excuse the flitting around. Incidentally, Sam had devised a very resourceful and cunning plan to get Ros into McFlys which was seemingly a major problem we were faciing. Having turned 18 the month before, she was legal in the UK but almost immediately regressed to her status as a minor by crossing the pond in July. Before Jum could implement his clever scheme, Cali Kid, had grabbed her and simply whisked her in together with myself and Burrito I think through the kitchen entrance



Great photo's Jum, and superbly recounted - another night which was a bit of a haze to most of us.



To spool back the thread and rewind a tad to my last yarn, If you recall we're getting close to the circuit now. Jumkie mentions that he needs to text Long Rider because we have arranged to link up with him for the weekend.



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Actually, this could well be Jum exhorting the house sitter to feed the fish..I quote: "he may be an ugly ...., but he's like a son to me' Anyway, you get the picture so to speak.



The rest is very much a blur to me. although I'm certain we indulged in some more rum, at that point I couldn't see the Woods for the 't's (Tecates). We are headed North towards Salinas - proper Steinbeck country as I like to call it. The night draws in and 'The moon is down'.



I remember the RV pulling in outside a motel, and the six of us tumbling out of the back. I was immediately confronted by sight so grotesque it could only have been concocted by the twisted workings of my rum addled mind. There before me crammed behind the wheel of a cab was Jabba The Hut himself, leering malignantly in my direction. I mean I have no idea how many trips to 'Tommy's' this guy had made in his life, perhaps he had them flown in from LA, rather like Elvis's 'Fools Gold' consignments from Vegas to Graceland. But there was no grace whatsoever about this geezer, I was genuinely concerned, because his huge distended stomach appeared to be impeding his ability to turn the wheel far less see the dash board or safely command his vehicle. It was out of this perplexed bemusement and the horrified possibility that some gullible passer by might actually climb aboard this potential deathtrap, that I opened the door and stuck my head in.



"oy mate, you really need to lose some weight" - at which point the bloke rams it into reverse twatting me behind the ear with the corner of the open door. He knew exactly what he was doing. I'm sure he sped off then..and who could blame him? I meant it as a constructive comment, but then what did I expect? - him to turn around to me and exclaim 'dya kno what son - you're right' - whereupon he suddenly yanks a cork out of his ... and deflates right in front of me...or perhaps to violently explode like Mr Creosote in the 'Meaning of Life' and splatter us all with caustic green gastric juices. Anyway, to cast back to another thread, that's the effect of too much hydrogenated/trans fat for you Povol my friend.



Like I say...I got what I deserved for sure - which felt like it needed stitches, but Gator wasn't due until the next day. Whatever, the rest of them were in stitches - and that's this sorry part of the thread sewn up.



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Then out of the night emerged Long Rider like the Second Coming He quickly climbs aboard the Magic Bus and joins the ride.



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The moon was 'downed'

povol said:

Is there a Spanish Taliban or Mallorcan Muslim militia i have failed to hear about.

Not sure what your trying to say

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Not trying to say anything but that "fist pump" rhymes with "fist bump" (what the Obama's do when they greet eachother as per FOX), I thought you'd like the FOX reference. It was a stupid joke really.



But since you asked.......



August, 2010. Catalonia: police arrest man suspected of leading terrorist cells:

From Bloomberg: ‘Spain Arrests Suspected Leader of Two Jihad Cells in Catalonia’ | “Spain arrested a man suspected of leading two Islamist terrorism cells whose members were rounded up two days ago, the Interior Ministry said today.



There was also a Spanish commuter train that was bombed by terrorists a few years after 9/11....remember?



Povol, you really should get out more. These terrorists are everywhere man, everywhere. ....and Mallorcans are more Catalonian than they are Spanish, but you knew that.



Anyway, i'm just being an ..... and ruining a perfectly good thread. Sorry to all. You too Pov.

Jumkie said:

I was walking over to take a pi of Gator's table when Arrabbi stopped me with a shot of tequila. (So I never got a pic of Gator & co table, but I'm sure he will post one.)

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OK, thanks to the wonders of technology, courtesy of the 'canned up' cam - we are miraculously treated to a reproduction of my actual vision during our night on the 'Can Row.



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....and as the evening progressed....it got steadily worse



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Jumkie said:

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Lawson, Edwards, Lorenzo, Spies, King Kenny, Rainey, Rossi.



Awesome line up. All champions! But not all on a Yamaha.

I have absolutely no memory of our arrival at the track campsite, although I can tell you that the bottle of Woods was shrewdly confiscated later that evening.



Jum set up the vid screen whereupon we all downed a few more and shared a love of racing. At this point, I do recall somehow high siding my camping chair and disappearing in a cloud of dust. I was still spitting out the grit the next morning when I found myself up here...



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Which is quite ironic, in view of the fact that I spent the entire weekend out of my tree.



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Anyways, on to more interesting scenery.....



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As Cali has already noted - I was rather taken with her. CK on the other hand thought she resembled a discarded used newspaper ...



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I've always liked my broad-sheets - hot off the press

Bootsakah said:

Lawson, Edwards, Lorenzo, Spies, King Kenny, Rainey, Rossi.

Awesome line up. All champions! But not all on a Yamaha.

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Well in Boots - and reputedly 24 World Championships between them on one stage. Jum, Long Rider, Danny and I caught the end of the question and answers session after watching one of the weekends AMA Races. Vale was asked whether or not he thought he stood a chance of a podium, and whether he was riding for one. In typical unassuming but affected Rossi modesty, he played down his chances stating that it wasn't really realistic, and no he wouldn't be expecting to stand on the rostrum. At which point King Kenny interjects, and in typical laconic and acerbic Roberts style intones, 'sounds like a pile of ........ if you ask me'



Colin and Jorge promptly armed the Tshirt guns. Long Rider being approximately 22 feet tall had no problem snatching one of the projectiles out of the sky.

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Bootsakah said:

Lawson, Edwards, Lorenzo, Spies, King Kenny, Rainey, Rossi.

Awesome line up. All champions! But not all on a Yamaha.

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Ding ding, you win.



Ok, now can you name the movie actor here?



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answer below...

















































.

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The Tissot chick has got to have the most photographed ... for the weekend. Im seeing it on websites everywhere. The blonde with all the tats is a little nasty looking, reminds me of Courtney Love, just what a drunk at a race track is looking for . Like the country song says, I like my women just a little on the trashy side.

povol said:

The Tissot chick has got to have the most photographed ... for the weekend. Im seeing it on websites everywhere. The blonde with all the tats is a little nasty looking, reminds me of Courtney Love, just what a drunk at a race track is looking for

. Like the country song says, I like my women just a little on the trashy side.

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Well firstly, I didn't need a website to see it.



Secondly, the blonde she told me she was raised in a Tennessee trailer park, so I guess you must be right.



A drunk at a race track??? - don't be ridiculous, whatever gave you such an idea.

Arrabbiata1 said:

Well firstly, I didn't need a website to see it.



Secondly, the blonde she told me she was raised in a Tennessee trailer park, so I guess you must be right.



A drunk at a race track??? - don't be ridiculous,

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What part of Tennessee Thats important!

povol said:

What part of Tennessee

Thats important!

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Meanwhile, the hapless Suzuki boss is accosted by an imbecilic shambling drunkard at the racetrack.



'Forget the Zooks Denny they handle like a pair of puppys on a lead...lesh faak off back to Blighty insshtead and get blasted. Have you ever tried fortified naval rum before back in Bournemouth mate?'

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Arrab, is this your little girl pissing herself laughting seeimng her old man dripping in claret after he insulted jaba the hut

FYI,



Once more:



VIP package for Indy, $350.00



Call Beth at 317 710 5056

shovelhead said:

FYI,



Once more:



VIP package for Indy, $350.00



Call Beth at 317 710 5056

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this is for all 3 days don't forget!