from ... Tony Cairoli
18 Nov: Last weekend was the Superbowl of Supercross in Genoa, Italy, and I did my first 'official' Supercross !
Copy and Genoa photos courtesy of Tony Cairoli.
SX Superbowl Genova.
Sadly my preparation for this race didn't go really well and it was because of bad weather. Because of the bad weather, I could only train and test twice before this race. And in the days before the race I got pretty sick.
But I love Supercross and I was looking forward for this big show in my own country. I was pumped when I heard the news that my hero - Jeremy McGrath was added to the entry list! This was my chance to finally meet him!
In the training sessions, we were still searching for good settings, and trying to feel more comfortable with the track. After a bad start, I finished 3rd in the Qualification Heat for my group.
In the first of two main events, again I had a bad start, and I couldn't really find a good rhythm. I kept making small mistakes too, which kept me from finding a good rhythm, but finished 4th, which was good.
In the last main, I had a top three start and my riding went much better. I didn't make small mistakes and riding was well. I had a nice battle with Paulin for 2nd, and even passed him.
But then I had some problem with the bike, ... I couldn't make the jumps anymore and at one time my bike stopped. I got going again, but finished 7th.
I finished 4th overall, behind winner Kevin Windham, Gautier Paulin and Alexandre Rouis.
To me, it was a great weekend. I had some nice chats with my American friends such as Kevin, Justin (Barcia) and my hero Jeremy! Thanks for coming guys ! And we all had an amazing Italian public !! Wow !!! It was all good !
And "thanks" to all my fans for coming to see me ride in Genova. As I mentioned, I wasn't happy with my preparation, but it was a good Supercross experience for me!
Uniti x la vita (Riders 4 Riders) Faenza.
On Sunday after the race, I went with many of my close friends (Marco Melandri, Matteo Bonini, Andrea Dovizioso, Alessandro Lupino and Cristian Beggi) to Faenza for a charity day. It is called 'Uniti X la Vita'.
We had a great day together, lots of fun and the organistaion collected an amazing amount of money for http://www.riders4riders.it !
Grazie too for all the riders and my friends who couln't be there, like Valentino Rossi, Marco Simoncelli, Tanel Leok, Zach Osborne, many others, and my personal sponsor SIDI, who gave many personal item's for sale by the auction
Now, for this coming weekend, I will race for three days at the famous Bercy Paris Supercross! I hope I can have some good training this week, 'cause I'm looking forward to the Bercy Supercross!
GRAZIE a tutti !!
Tony
TC222