There is something unreal about the first race of the year at Qatar. The combination of the dazzling lights illuminating the desert, the strange, vampire-like day-night rhythm imposed by the night race, and the absence of crowds at the track makes the whole affair feel like it must have been a dream.
How different, then, is the event at Jerez? Hot Spanish sunshine, a paddock full of trucks, teams and hospitality, and 120,000 screaming, passionate fans. It is a heady mix, and feels like the real start to the season. MotoGP truly gets kickstarted at Jerez.
Which is rather ironic, as in this part of Spain, April spells the end of the riding season, rather than the start. The mild winters make it possible to go riding during the day, but once the summer heat arrives - daytime temperatures in Seville, just north of Jerez, are usually well over 40 degrees throughout the summer months - venturing out on a motorcycle in anything resembling protective gear becomes a sweaty, draining business.
So Jerez marks a double festival: The end of the local riding season and the return to home soil of MotoGP, and the Spaniards celebrate it in style, with wine, wheelies and song. The atmosphere is never anything less than frantic, wild, exuberant; if there is a party the night before the world ends, then this is what it will be like.
Bruce Beale Douglas Beasley Daryl Beattie Roger Beaumont Leandro Beccheroni
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