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[Supermoto] Mettet '02 Almost there...
by Dave Lippet
Friday morning, bleary eyed after a couple
of hours sleep in a van; we trundle into the village
square in Mettet and head off for coffee and
breakfast in the welcome centre.
Already parked up in the square are Brit Andy Michell
and Dublin's Big Dave "Flemmo" Fleming. They
join us in the cafe as we scarf down ham, cheese and
eggs in a Euro stylee. Paul Rhodes and Shane T caught
up with us too and
we all headed back to the circuit to join the queue
for the A paddock. We decide to kill some time by driving
the half hour or so to find our hotel in Namur, drop
off bags and leave Metzger the hibernating hedgehog
to sleep.
The rest of us head back to the track. Local knowledge
is always useful and I thread my van and trailer all
the way past the huge transporters and motor homes to
claim pole position back at the paddock entrance...Hehehee!
With the paddock not opening until 15:00 we all disperse
to meet up with acquaintances or have a drink in the
circuit bar/petrol station.
I wandered across the traffic island to meet up with
Chippy, the HM guys and Dave Jefferies in the other
cafe. Ate frites and mayo with DJ and chewed the fat
and suddenly realised that it was 5 minutes until paddock
opening
time. Sprint back to the van, get met by a happy Alain
Blanchard who ushers into the paddock and pit garage
number 5.
The rest of the afternoon and the early evening pass
in a blur of spanner twirling, unloading and getting
the riders signed on, collecting transponders, race
bibs, meeting the guys from Maxxis Goldspeed tyres,
changing wheels and fitting up 6 bikes with the tyres
we decide are most appropriate for the following morning's
practice and qualifying. Biscuit
does a couple of ferry journeys to the hotel, Marc B
turns up in a taxi and proffers his services as pit
gimp which are warmly accepted. I've gone into Dad/Team
manager mode and it's just about now that I realise
what a wonderful team we have...I don't mean the riders,
obviously they're the mutts nuts, but the REAL STARS
of the team are Rich, Marc, Biccy Dave, and Glenn.
From this point on in the weekend they work tirelessly
and without a single complaint...Changing tyres at the
drop of a hat, fetching and carrying, transporting people
around, spannering frantically, giving physical, vocal
and moral support to the whole team, yet only getting
occasional glimpses of
the racing...Without their dedication and commitment
the whole weekend would
have been a chaotic failure for our Anglo/US effort.
We bedeck the garage wall with a Union flag and the
Stars and Stripes hanging side by side...I guess with
all the wonderful support and product we got from both
Maxxis tyres and Motomaster brakes that we really should
have
a Dutch flag hanging there too...
Around about 20:15 we call a halt and head back to
join the rest of the team who are already ensconced
in the hotel, we leave Phil's heater running in the
trailer for Biccy and Marc B to spend the evening sleeping
outside
the garage.
The mincing little food portions are eagerly devoured
at the hotel. I re-acquaint myself with the Swiss motard
champ Danny "Bad Boy" Muller who's at the
same hotel, along with DJ, Walker, Chambon and the majority
of
Starbikers. Danny is a top geezer and very entertaining
both on and off the bike, being a top motard stunter
as well as racer, I first met him in Bercy a few years
ago and we have a laugh as we recount some improbable
tales...;-))
As the riders all eventually retire to bed Rich and
myself join some gophers from the other teams and have
a few beers until I'm about to fall asleep through sleep
deprivation.
Off to my room where I sleep the sleep of the dead
tired until the alarm goes what seem like 5 minutes
later at 6:30 am....
OK, caffeine and orange juice then let's get to the
track and get on with the real deal...... ;-))))
Continued it Pt4
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