Having a house near to Aragon Motorworld, Valencia, and Barcelona, I felt it was silly not to go to watch some sort of racing while we were there. I had suggested it from time to time but it had not met with any great enthusiasm. We had stumbled across Motorland on the way back from a holiday with friends in the Picos Mountains in the north of Spain. Really stunning scenery up there.

In 2010, it had just played host to its first Moto Gp.It was on the back of that , I was able to persuade the same friends, who had never seen a motor racing event of any kind, and Julia that it would be a nice thing to do. We thought we could stay nearby and make a break of it. We soon found out that there was not a room to be had for miles around! Must have been something to do with the large Spanish contingent at the head of the Moto GP field.

Our friends in Spain tried to book tickets but were not prepared to divulge all the details asked, so I did it via a very efficient firm called bookmoto.com, who I can thoroughly recommend.
They kept me informed and the tickets turned up in good time-vital as we couldn’t leave for Spain without them! At 75 Euros for a three day grandstand ticket, I felt it was a bargain. What we didn’t spot was that OAP prices were at a discount which probably explains the request for information.

We got the ferry booked, the car serviced and off we went. It’s about 1025 miles from Calais to our little house, and nowadays we take a couple of days to get there. It’s quite easy really and the stunning scenery over the mountains and the Millau Bridge make for a lovely drive. We arrived on the 24th of September and the general consensus was that, as its 100 miles each way, we would attend on Saturday for the qualifying and Sunday for the races. While this may sound a long way the road to and from Aragon is superb.
It’s inland over the mountains to Morella and then down towards Alcaniz to the circuit. The drive alone is worth doing!

We left at 7-30am both days and were able to get into the circuit quite easily even on Sunday. However, the car parks were allocated depending on which direction you approached the circuit leaving us with a good walk Saturday and a bit further still Sunday. I had to make the decision about where to watch when I ordered the tickets and we were fortunate that our seats were almost in line with the start line, directly opposite the Repsol Honda garage, and with a big screen directly across from our seats. A real result!
The Monster Yamaha garage was to the left with Carl Crutchlow and Bradley Smith, then the Ducati and then the works Yamaha, while to the right was the satellite Honda garage.Couldnt have made a better choice.

Every time Pedrosa, Marques, or Lorenzo made an appearance there were huge cheers but the loudest were reserved for Valentino Rossi. His popularity is amazing, even among the partisan Spanish. Next to football, this is one of their most popular sports and they know all the riders and the teams without having to resort to the programme like me! Even the small children around knew them all.

The engine noise was a problem for the girls but ear plugs were available along with all sorts of merchandise from all the teams. Big business for them all. I settled for a Motorworld t shirt and cap for 25 Euros’ am a pensioner after all. And I am a Lorenzo/Pedrosa fan, and I can’t afford all that. The weather was glorious and we watched the moto 2 and 3 final practices and qualifying, and they were both really exciting to watch. I noticed that the Moto 2 where braking at about the 100 meter board for turn 1 to our right, the moto 3 at 150 and the Moto Gp at 200.Given the size of tyres on those smaller engine bikes, the way they go round the corners is amazing!

The real stars were of course the Moto GP riders, and they were met with loud enthusiasm as they made their way out onto the track.
I don’t fully understand the qualifying procedure, but the practice times are used to divide the runners with two from the slower riders making it through to the final 12 as the fastest qualifiers of that group. Crutchlow was one of them this time and he made it along with Espagaro.Incidently both a younger Marques and Esparago are making their way through, Marques in Moto 3 and Espargaro in Moto 2.

The qualifying was really exciting with the pole being decided in the last minutes between the front runners. This time Marques did the trick but it was close. While the Moto2 and Moto 3 are not top of my viewing list, the races were excellent and I shall be giving them more time in future. Everyone enjoyed the close racing which was really flag to flag.
They are much more closely matched than in Moto GP, and that gives everyone a chance to shine. Of course they have to make all the choices on set up just the same and then run with it. This build up to the main race was just what was needed, and the crowd were quite vociferous by the time the MotoGP riders started to venture from the garages.
The bikes had been run up for several minutes prior to this to get everything up to temperature, and there were huge cheers for Rossi and indeed any Spanish rider, but to be fair they did applaud everyone. We were a bit of a lone voice cheering for Carl Crutchlow, Bradley Smith and Michael Laverty, but it had to be done.

The grid formed up right in front of us and there were a large number of pretty girls amongst them and they were also applauded by the mainly male audience! After the TV interviews, the grid cleared and they were off. Lorenzo made a good start and it was clear that he, Pedrosa and Marques were going at a greater pace than the rest.

Rossi had qualified well but just hadn’t got the pace at the beginning of the race to give Lorenzo any help. The race was spoiled for me because of the incident with Marques and Pedrosa, as we saw it unfold on the big screen. It did look as if Marques had been unable to slow enough to make the corner. We could anticipate the leader’s appearance to our left each lap by watching for the camera helicopter as it followed them round the track. What you don’t get at home is the sense of speed these bikes are doing and how they sound in a group as they come past. Very impressive on both counts! The result has been well documented, our brits did the best they could with what they were riding, and it was an exciting experience to be there. Everyone got huge cheers at the end, with Rossi once again getting huge support from the crowd.
Suddenly it was all over and we made our lengthy trek back to the car. The traffic management was good enough so that were back home by 6-30, with a quick stop on the way for a coffee.

Two excellent days and I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Motorland Aragon. I should have gone by Bike.It was a 2600 mile round trip.Anyone up for a ride next year?