It’s difficult to memorise a circuit in just one lap so Martin and I rented a scooter for a couple of hours and we did about 8 laps which by the end we knew the circuit plenty well enough. That evening the team and my dad went out for a traditional Chinese meal in the centre of Shanghai. I am always game to try stuff but, as I had been crippled in Japan by food poisoning a couple of years ago, I had no motivation for experimenting so Martin and I stuck to the Italian restaurant in our hotel which was good.
On Thursday we went to the circuit at about 10am There was obviously not a lot of revising on the telemetry because it was a new circuit and we had no data. Aprilia gave us a gearbox set-up that they thought would be some where near so we don’t have to start from scratch. They get the information from
Ferrari from the
F1 when they were there last year and try and relate it as best they can to two wheels. In the afternoon Martin and I jogged the circuit which made us sweat a bit as it was 36° c!
After sorting all my riding gear out we went back to the hotel for a chance to have a good look around the town. In the early evening we went to China town which is always good as there is one in Malaysia. Full of Chinese rip-offs and it was all good quality.
On Friday we left for the circuit at 8.30am so we could watch some of the 125s and the
MotoGP to get an idea of the track. After the 125 session had finished, one rider had quite a big crash and had to be airlifted to hospital. In this case the spare helicopter has to be used while the other is away but apparently the helicopter wouldn’t start. That’s what I heard anyway. So that meant that everything was delayed for 2 ½ hours.
