WSB Miller & BSB Thruxton

So, ever wondered what it's like to come off a motorbike at 160mph? Ask Stuart Easton. During practice for the washed-out NorthWest 200 he clipped his team mate's bike and stopped very quickly without the aid of his brakes, or his bike. Result: Broken pelvis, broken femur (that's your thigh bone), another broken femur, burst bowel and a number of broken fingers. Gary Mason (Easton's team mate) was so convinced that Easton was dead he wouldn't go near him, until another competitor (Martin Jessop, I think) told him that Easton was actually moving. Good job it was his out lap otherwise he would have been going even faster!!!!!

As they say every cloud has a silver lining, and whilst this is probably not how he wanted to get the job, Alex Lowes was given Easton's bike this weekend. And got Pole Position for Race 1. Not bad for first time on a SuperBike. Ok, not brilliant races, 7th in the first and crashed in the second, but when he crashed he was chasing, and catching Shakey, so all in all he did a good job. He dedicated his Pole Position to Stuart Easton and acknowledged that Stuart had done all the work to get the bike to where it was. Can't help thinking if I was Stuart Easton, lying in a hospital bed, I'd be wondering why, after all my hard work, I couldn't get pole....

The weather made for interesting racing. Shakey failed to qualify, crashing out on his first qualifying lap, so he started bog-last. 9th row. And finished first. And set the fastest lap. Anyone surprised he won the second race from Pole Position? You shouldn't have been. And don't forgot Hopper. First time at Thruxton (he'd been allowed to do a couple of laps in a hire care a week or so ago), it rains,and he still manages a 4th and a 3rd. He certainly is world class. And dispelling all (well most) of the stereotypical myths, Steve Brogan proved that even a Scouser can be a true sporting gentleman, by pushing Alex Lowes back to the pits so that he could take part in race 2 after an electrical fault on his (Easton's) bike.

And then came World SuperBikes. Race one was interesting. It was held on a race track that had a water feature, which is novel, and brought back some good memories; of Haga when he used to race motorbikes; of Biaggi, when he used to be a tosser (that might not be just a memory); of Corser when he used to be a contender (although he did have the help of a very soft set of tyres, which lasted about four laps); and why Checa, for so many years, factory MotoGP bikes.

I have a feeling Johnny Rea might be taking Biaggi off his Christmas list. Although we didn't see it, Johnny described the crash as "...being Simoncelli'd" by Biaggi. Biaggi described it in his post race (2) interview as being crashed into by Rea. Who do you believe???? 

Race 2 was fairly boring, but did underline Checa's class. Are we witnessing this year champion? Today (Tuesday) is Leon Haslam's birthday, and some of the riders have stopped off in Las Vegas to help him celebrate. As Eugene Laverty posted on Twitter ".....Flying back to Vegas tonight, that race weekend really interrupted my holiday." Haslam also posted a comment about his race weekend on Twitter "Oh Well."

Next up, MotoGP from Catalunya, this Sunday. I wonder if Pedrosa will make it.