[AtheK]

Reading your points, I echo that experience for majority was with what you described. For me as an enthusiast I just decided to overlook all of it, as I was just busy enjoying the race and the bikes then thinking of all that and ruining my experience.

Water bottles as I mentioned earlier also were very small, maybe bigger bottles, but then knowing our Junta who would have stopped them from throwing those bottles on the track. The litter they left behind for what was made available was living proof how we as a country lack common civic sense. Reference pic shared by fellow bhpian SNS_12 clicked on saturday evening.



I hope our fellow country man do not behave so bad and I am sure better things will come our way. Where in the organisers are to blame we ourselves need to step up so more faith can be bestowed on us, one day I would also love to sit on the grass and sip a beer watching race, but that trust on us is long way to go. One more example of our literate junta is them tearing off Moto GP banners to take them home as collectibles, felt so cheap. I do wish that they had more umbrellas because of the hot weather though.

When we visited on saturday we clearly understood what would happen on Sunday, so we had bottles in our cars and some snack and chocolates which we used to hike down and take sips from and have a quick bite when there were breaks in between. In south picnic stand they had also arranged water cans and free water on race day, you just had to go down from the garden sitting area. They got better by every day but guess damage was done by then.

Food though expensive was still ok, regular dominos pizza was 350 bucks, Fasoos wraps were 300 each, which is fine by me seeing how ridicolously popcorn and coke are priced in movie theatres these days. Not sure how else it could have been priced, what was sad was the ATOMX card which was absolutely crap and a pain to recharge.

Only Two merchandise stall, one was selling Bharat MotoGP stuff which was decently priced but lacked quality. Other one was from malaysia, motoparts.my is there website and they were selling geniune stuff. The price is around 30-40% markup on the price they sell in malaysia, that is due to the astronomical price they had to pay to setup a stall to fairstreet. Some one said the Cap is 200 rupees on amazon, amazon has adidas replica tshirts also for 150 rupees for which I have paid 5000 rupees to buy Authentic. That said would have been good to have prices a bit more sane, but still I think they sold well. Ducati stand was not selling merchandise if I am correct, not sure why, but I think that is what was told to them by organisers.

I saw the main race from Grandstand thanks to SNS_12 and though the Aural experience there was mindblowing, I think I enjoyed the race more from South Picnic stand as I could see bikers lean, take corners and accelerate. Grandstand was all about Brutal acceleration, if I go again I would avoid the grandstand and rather enjoy it from stands which give you chance to watch the bikes and action for longer.

All in all lot of things to nitpick for sure, but i am concentrating on the brighter side which was the race and the bikes, I was there for that, everything else was an addon. The riders lived upto the moment, race was amazing and I really hope they come back again and organizers and spectators both take a step up from 2023.

[sathya.bhat]

So, Provisional calendar for next year has Indian GP

[nomadabhi]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Day 3

Bumped into a few friends

[

Bumping into you was a really good surprise.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

So, Provisional calendar for next year has Indian GP

Attachment 2508946

Oops it is again in September, really hoped they would have moved it to October, going to be a heat wave again both for spectators and riders.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by nomadabhi

Bumping into you was a really good surprise.

It was nice seeing you at the airport and thank you for calling me out as I almost walked passed you after speaking with Jason. Met Kunal and Yazed too after ages but didn't take a picture with them.

It's good your still holding on to your RD, we are just a few handful of people who still ride their two strokes from where we started our humble biking craze which continues to grow till this day.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Last but not the least pleasing all the folks with passes, media included. First priority should be given to those who paid for their own tickets!

����

Completely agree. For instance, why do we have the need to attach Bollywood with anything that happens in the country? Be it a baby diaper commercial or a Rock/Pop concert and now MotoGP!?

I mean, what does a Ranveer Singh have anything to do with MotoGP and why does he get the privilege to go to the start grid and mingle with the crew and riders!? The worst display was him visiting the Ducati paddock, socialising with someone like Paolo Ciabatti with his nonsensical antics and Paolo later putting a Instagram post saying he was honoured to meet him and was waiting for a selfie (I guess he was forced to do it by RS's PR)!!!i I can buy a John Abraham being present at the GP but I still don't understand why he got to lap the circuit on the safety bike? And, Suresh Raina in the side care with MM93, C'MON!!!!

The true fans are the people who bought the tickets months in advanced, braved the weather for 1-2-3 days, fought for basic amenities such as food and water, and still shouted and rooted for their favourite riders and teams!!! It is high time MotoGP organisers (and hopefully everyone else) realise this and stop catering to VVIP jokers who do not bring any value to the sport.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

I mean, what does a Ranveer Singh have anything to do with MotoGP and why does he get the privilege to go to the start grid and mingle with the crew and riders!? The worst display was him visiting the Ducati paddock, socialising with someone like Paolo Ciabatti with his nonsensical antics and Paolo later putting a Instagram post saying he was honoured to meet him and was waiting for a selfie (I guess he was forced to do it by RS's PR)

That is because unfortunately Ducati India thought that by signing him as the Ducati’s Brand Ambassador in India they would be able to increase the sales of their motorcycles.

https://www.motownindia.com/Bureau/F...n-India-Bureau

[ach1lles]

I had no clue about MotoGP. I tried to get into the sport when I got a bike, and have done a track weekend which I absolutely loved, but the sport just didn't grab me. F1 it is, I thought.
This weekend changed that completely.
As bad as everything beside the racing was, feeling the bikes around you at those speeds and angles just grabbed onto that thing within me that tugs on your heart a bit.
Post qualifying and Sprint the waifu and I couldn't get enough of all the videos. We did a crash course on MotoGP while on the way for the race.

A few points:

• The heat was (un)real. I've been in open fields in full Indian summer for many years, in the desert in Turkey, and under the Spanish sun.
  This heat was something else.
  Then the thunderstorm struck and we were drenched. You could look at it as, like the riders, and thanks to the incredibly fan-friendly "rules", we were completely exposed to the elements too.
  
• Serving water in 200ml bottles in that kind of heat was a poor decision. The stalls were too few, and you could visibly see the exhaustion on the service staff by the end of the day.
  
• It was good seeing n00bs like us who were there for the experience having a blast.
  
• The intensity, thrill, performance, and mind-numbing bewilderment that the sport offers is just amazing.
  
• The riders have to be some of the craziest (super)humans on earth. What they do is genuinely astonishing when experienced live at the venue.
  
• This weekend would single-handedly do more for motorcycling in India than anything in the last decade, combined. The same can't be said for F1 and cars.
  
• The RS457 is one tasty thing. It looked YUMMY.
  
• Wishing I'd done a track weekend at BIC, would have made me appreciate the action a lot more. Will be doing one soon.
  
• I was personally surprised to see non-manufacturer teams outperforming the manufacturer teams significantly. That's really quite the opposite of F1.
  
• MotoGP has lifelong fans in us. The notifications on the app have been turned on, and we'll be following along from now.
  
• Post race we kept repeating the words Bezzechhi and Martin, those guys really got the track better than the others.
  

I guess, the weekend served its purpose then, gave us a good time and made fans out of us. To sum up: the bikes and on-track action made up for everything.
Just imagine how good it would be in a few years when the organisers get their heads out of their behinds to offer a truly great fan experience like in more mature markets.

Post race, we tried every stand except the one on the long, round corners (8,9), and can safely say the best view was offered by Classic Stand 1 West. We'll be going for this the next time MotoGP happens at BIC. Picnic Stand South was really good too, if we'd been allowed to make a true picnic out of it.
The grandstand offers a super limited field of view.

Originally Posted by no_fear

I sincerely hope 2024 MotoGP happens. It will be organized by a different set of folks and companies, but the overall response by Dorna and riders was positive.

Yeah, it felt like the riders and teams sincerely liked the venue. I think if it happens next year it's going to stay for a while post that. Here's hoping.

Originally Posted by Porschefire

It is high time MotoGP organisers (and hopefully everyone else) realise this and stop catering to VVIP jokers who do not bring any value to the sport.

But they do. Without the support of the casual eyeballs and money the popular 'VVIP jokers' bring, the sport can't be sustained, at least in a tiny market like India. Think of this one as a test run, a prototype. It should only get better.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Oops it is again in September, really hoped they would have moved it to October, going to be a heat wave again both for spectators and riders.

LOL I saw your face after Q2. The heat truly was palpable.

edit: some pics


This kid had the right idea


Shoot 'em


Unchequered flag


Classic Stand West 1, was super breezy


Ready to Race

High flyer


The Grand Stand

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

.
LOL I saw your face after Q2. The heat truly was palpable.

Oh you bet I was exhausted, sat in the car AC for one hour to get back to see Sprint and the fact it helped that I was in the car when it rained.

Sorry we could not spend some time together, next time I am around we will catch up outside of the track, I was too fixated on the bikes like a kid in a candy shop. I still can't get over it, what bikes!!

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

In short here is my experience of attending the MotoGP India:

There was of lot of info being shared on the various motorcycling related whatsapp groups, that I am a part of. A lot of it was anxiety and people having experiences with the arrangements or lack of information and clarity from the organizers about the event.

Due to some last minute important work, I had to travel to my hometown on Sunday, which meant I would have to miss the main race. But I did plan to attend the Saturday Event. We were in the Picnic South stand and my friends who visited on Friday gave a positive on their experience. There was though a big elephant in the room and that was the heat.

We reached the venue around 11.30, just before the MotoGP qualifying to start. It was hot and I mean it was very hot. My friends had gone early and had reserved a spot under a big umbrella before hand. We carried mats to sit too. As soon as we reached the stand, the MotoGP qualifying started and the moment I saw a MotoGP bike go through that section of the track, I was stunned and had goosebumps all throughout. The Picnic South stand has a great view of a very large part of the technical section of the track. You can see the bikes go through the chicane on the opposite side then take the parabola and then exit parabola and take the next set of fast left and right handers. What a sight it was to see these bikes go through this section at the speeds they did. Watching the lean angles that these guys pull off in real life was stunning. The organization of the event could definitely have been better. They should allowed umbrellas and cameras to the stands. And the heat really drained our energies and tested our passion to the limit. But the sight of seeing the spectacle was worth it.

I could connect more with MotoGP than Formula1 maybe because I have ridden my R1 on this track and I have never driven a car on a track or anything that comes close to an F1 car. Since I had ridden my bike through these corners, I knew what I felt and went through while taking those corners. Seeing these guys take the same corners gave me so much perspective on how good these guys are and how good these machines are.

Putting some lap times into perspective:
Moto2 Q1 Lap was 2:02. This is pretty much faster than maybe 98% of people who have ever ridden on BIC. If I am not wrong, there was probably only 10 people in India who have gone faster on 1000cc bikes.

Moto3 Q1 Lap was 1.59. I think there are probably 5 people who have gone faster that this in India before. At just 3 seconds slower, the lap time of a moto2 bike which is probably half the power of moto3 bike is just staggering.

MotoGP Q1 Lap was 1.44. We did hear a 1.43 on Q2 I think. This is about 10 seconds faster than the previous record on BIC. Just shows the level of riders and bikes.

However, I feel credit where it is due, our top Indian riders have faster times than a Moto3 bike, which to me feels a great achievement. These are bikes prepared by the best engineers, huge budgets and ridden by people who day this all day. In that context, kudos to top Indian riders who have come this far on BIC.

Overall, I do hope this happens again in India, but the organizing committee gets a refresh.

[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Moto2 Q1 Lap was 2:02. This is pretty much faster than maybe 98% of people who have ever ridden on BIC. If I am not wrong, there was probably only 10 people in India who have gone faster on 1000cc bikes.

Moto3 Q1 Lap was 1.59. I think there are probably 5 people who have gone faster that this in India before. At just 3 seconds slower, the lap time of a moto2 bike which is probably half the power of moto3 bike is just staggering.

MotoGP Q1 Lap was 1.44. We did hear a 1.43 on Q2 I think. This is about 10 seconds faster than the previous record on BIC. Just shows the level of riders and bikes.

You've mixed up Moto3 and Moto2 times. Moto3 is 250cc bikes that make about 60hp.
Moto2 are Triumph 765cc engines that make a 130hp.
MotoGP bikes are 999cc making over 300hp today.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

You've mixed up Moto3 and Moto2 times. Moto3 is 250cc bikes that make about 60hp.
Moto2 are Triumph 765cc engines that make a 130hp.
MotoGP bikes are 999cc making over 300hp today.

Ouch!! Thank you for correcting me brother!!
You are right about my mistake.

CHEERS!!
Rachit