BACKROADS • DECEMBER 2021
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MotoGP
words + images: Brian Rathjen As the world began to open up from the bootless lockdowns and mandates of 2020, we began to make long-term plans for a trip later in the year to Valencia, Spain, and the final round of MotoGP for 2021. Then the race in Texas was announced and Spain was scrapped and Texas was now in focus. Although we put the word out to many, only our friends John and Laurie took the bait – although they did not need much persuading. Others we knew, like our friends and semi-neighbors Keith and Deb, would drive out, and another friend Jon, once press-maven for American Honda, would be Texas-bound as the calendar ran from September and into October. When I looked back on it this story was about big wins; starting with the Mets last home game of the ‘not-such a surprise’ baseball season – the end of the season (at least in Flushing) and also the end of a storied legacy of road racing in the United States as well. I wish I could be writing about days and miles on the road, riding down to Texas, but the truth is we drove to CitiField to watch the game with fellow friends and riders, more to hang out, but keeping an eye on the Mets trouncing of the Marlins, capped off by a Grand Slam and the second solo homer by Pete Alonzo that night. The season might have fallen apart for our team, but the game and company were more than excellent to Shira and me.
AUSTIN, TEXAS
As Howie Rose was saying to “Put it in the books!” we headed to a Crowne Plaza outside Newark airport for the night and to stash the Audi for a few days.
Friday – Practice
“You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas.” Davy Crockett Early morning saw us winging our way to Austin, Texas, and the U.S. Round of MotoGP. It was a short drive with the rented Chevy Impala (Enterprise, of course) to COTA, and we were walking into the track in time to catch the end of the first round of practice for Moto III; the junior division featuring some young riders that may or may not be the future stars of the sport in the premier class. There was a decent crowd here this day, but nothing like the mass of riders and fans that would be on hand on Sunday – race day.
The vendor area was interesting, with a few new products to be found. The MotoGP and COTA booths were all doing a brisk business, with the line for Valentino Rossi tees, flags, and other #46 items getting increasingly longer by the minute. Nicky Hayden, posthumously, was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in the class of 2021, and there were lines of equal Rossi length to purchase #69 memorabilia as well. We saw one fan flying a
