The Magic Number Eight

Eight or nine ? Eighth place it was. Shinya was actually ahead of Valentino Rossi at one point in the race, riding as high as 5th place. And then it fell to pieces. Rossi nudged past him (he eventually brushed everyone ahead of him off like the flies they must be to him, and won the race). Watched in dismay as rider after rider whizz past by him. Here comes Biaggi behind Shinya, there goes Biaggi in front of Shinya, here comes Barros, there goes Barros. Shinya would have finished in his other favourite number, 9, if it wasn't for Barros crashing out later. He said he felt a misfire in his engine and decided to go slow and steady to reap some points. Better an eighth than a DNF then.

Quick Qualifying

Shinya's going to start the Le Mans race from Row 2, in 6th position. That's great stuff.

1. VALENTINO ROSSI ITA GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM 1'33.226
2. COLIN EDWARDS USA GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM +0.223
3. MARCO MELANDRI ITA MOVISTAR HONDA MOTOGP +0.239
4. SETE GIBERNAU SPA MOVISTAR HONDA MOTOGP +0.241
5. NICKY HAYDEN USA REPSOL HONDA +0.288
6. SHINYA NAKANO JPN KAWASAKI RACING TEAM +0.310
7. JOHN HOPKINS USA TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP +0.368
8. MAX BIAGGI ITA REPSOL HONDA +0.473
9. CARLOS CHECA SPA DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM +0.501
10. LORIS CAPIROSSI ITA DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM +0.547
11. ALEX BARROS BRA CAMEL HONDA +0.650
12. TONI ELIAS SPA FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM +0.765
13. OLIVIER JACQUE FRA KAWASAKI RACING TEAM +1.177

Source : Kawasaki-Eckl

He has a knack for ending up number 8 or 9 though, once the red lights go off. Maybe he's too nice to muscle his way through the crowd. There are 8 more riders after Jacque, Kawasaki's replacement for the injured Alex Hoffman, but they seem to be there just to fill up the ranks, to score points rather than challenge for podium finishes. Like Miss Singapore in the Miss Universe pageants, sadly. The only time I remembered a local delegate making it to the final 10 was when it was held here, in 1987. The winner that year was Miss Chile. Didn't even have to look that up. My dad recorded it and I watched it, mesmerized, til I memorized the dance routines. Let's go baby, let's go baby, come on !

bonjour la france

Whiskin' off to Grand Prix Alice De France next. Let's hope the frou-frou European air would be clearer than the smog-shrouded Shanghai Circuit. Must be from all the factories in China, everything in this world is made there, aren't they ?

To commemorate the opening of a Kawasaki dealership at Le Mans, Shinya will make an appearance at the Best Way Kawasaki shop on Avenue du Panorama on Thursday, the 12th of May at 10 o'clock. At this time, I would most likely still be in bed, only occasionally being rudely jolted by the curtain fluttering over my head, letting in streams of sunlight. I am convinced this is the cause of the premature pigmentation on my face, as I put on sunblock even on the gloomiest of days.

Saturday evening, Shinya will be around at the circuit spectator area from 5pm, to meet and greet fans again. I wonder if he's going to do this in Sepang..

brolly dreams

When the umbrella was thought up, did the creative inventor ever imagine that one day, holding this plastic sheet on a stick up over someone's head would be someone's dream ? Probably not, cos it was made for practical reasons.

Practicality. Never been one of my stronger traits. That's why while my friends are busy haggling over the price of their new parquet flooring and baby-proofing their homes, I'm sitting here dreaming lime green dreams. Kawasaki green.