    |
 |
|
|
|
Silver Bullet is one of only a few Websites worldwide that receives Desiree Crossman`s newsy behind the MotoGP scene column (not always PC) reporting on #21 John (Hopper) Hopkin`s MotoGP exploits and her own as they travel the globe.
Check out - HOPPER`S WEBSITE:
You can send your support to John - HERE:
Sete wins, John got 15th
Another one down and now on to England.
In the beginning of the race, we all went on the grid and did the normal routine. The track was damp from the showers earlier in the day, but the officials declared it a dry race. From a distance, we could see this huge grey cloud and it was coming fast. When the riders went for their warm up lap, Nori\'s bike broke on the start so he ran back. After the warm up all the riders went in cause\' the track was too wet for the tire choices. Then it started pouring!
All the teams had about 5-10 minutes to prepare and then we had to go back out again. This time, Nicky wasn\'t on the grid, so he started from pit lane, and then Jeremy McWilliams\' bike broke so he had to start from pit lane. They all took off and Sete was on it. There were a few crashes here and there. Both Proton bikes broke and the riders crashed out. No one was hurt. Troy was doing really well in 4th, but he ended up crashing. He made it back up to 9th from like 16th-17th position. Marco came into the pits half way during the race, so maybe he had a mechanical problem. Colin and Nori did really well too. They were battling it out for awhile, eventually Nori crashed. Looked like the tire slipped, and so did he.
It was a strange race, all the riders were everywhere. The gaps between groups were so far apart, and it was hard to tell where everyone was at. Could only tell by the screen we were watching. I\'m trying to remember if Jeremy crashed and slid on the track???? Anyway, I think it was him, if not then it was somebody who crashed and slid on the track, and Alex Barros (I don\'t know how he saved it) nearly ran him over, but somehow dodged him. It set him back abit but he still crossed the line. Olivier and Checa were going back and forth but Checa took over and got 4th.
In the front pack, Sete pretty much led the whole race. Max and him were going at for a bit, but after that, Sete took the lead. Max was on his tail for most of the race, and Vale fell back abit. Halfway during the race, Max got caught up in some riders so he fell back from Sete. So Sete ran away with it. So it was him, Max, and then Vale.
Yukio was doing pretty well too for his first time here. But he ended up crashing out. He said he was on Ukawa\'s back wheel, barely clipped and he went.
John did ok. At least he got 1 point, woo-hoo! :(. On his start, he slid, but then when he was riding around, I overheard him telling his crew chief that the bike was acting up, back shifting on it\'s own in the back straights, and other stuff. I wasn\'t paying too much attention, but he rode thru it and came home. For awhile he was falling back to 20th, but kept it up and brought it home. It was dissappointing for sure, but at least he brought it home and rode anyway.
Well now this race is over. We\'ve had a few wet races, but this is the first major raining race we\'ve had so far. It was pouring and really ugly out. There were thousands of people everywhere weathering the storm. Tommorrow we drive back to Austria, a week of relaxing before heading to England. So I will write later on this week.
Bye
Des
