| July 28, 2006 | Pam Anderson is Actually Very Pretty |
At the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in Monterey last weekend, Chris and I ended up standing 5 feet away from Pamela Anderson as she walked out of the pitts area and climbed into a car. Always quick on the draw, Chris captured 2 excellent photos of the soon-to-be Mrs. Kid Rock.  Two things that surprised me about Pam Anderson: 1. She was truly wicked freakin hot. I was expecting her to look overly made up and tacky, kind of like Anna Nicole Smith. But here's the deal -- she's a really cute gal. She was wearing very little make up and a cute, simple black tank top. Even her chest didn't look ridiculously huge. 2. She was with a guy I didn't recognize, and the mystery guy was definitely not Kid Rock. It's not that big of a deal -- because I'm sure she has tons of male friends -- but I'm just wondering if anyone recognizes the guy. Take a look at the photo, and let me know who you think he is. Shortly after seeing Pam, we saw Italian male model Fabio Lanzoni, known to most of the world as just... Fabio. Just as you might imagine, he's very tan and his long-hair was flowing in the breeze. This photo I took of Fabio and some "umbrella girls" is just like the cover of a romance novel. Or, errr, something... But, what man can resist hanging out with umbrella girls? Labels: fabio, grandprix, motogp, motorcycle, pamelaanderson, photos, racing, umbrellagirls posted by Jess Barron @ 5:56 AM 
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| July 26, 2006 | Celebs, "Umbrella Girls," and Hot Motorcycle Riders |
 At E3 they have "booth babes." At MotoGP, they have "umbrella girls." Umbrella girls dress in revealing skin-tight outfits and carry color-coordinated umbrellas advertising their team's name. Part of their job is to hold up the umbrellas to keep their team's riders out of the sun when they're waiting on the grid. Another part of their job is to promote their team and brands. Guys line up to get their pictures taken with the umbrella girls (as Chris aptly demonstrates). These women were all very sweet and charming when I spoke with them -- much more pleasant than I would be if I was wearing spiked heels or platform moonboots for hours on the baking hot asphalt. Of all the female fans at Laguna Seca -- and it surprised me that the crowd seemed to be comprised of about 45% women -- most wore sensible footwear: sandals and sneakers. Hardly anyone chose high heels for hoofing around the huge track and paddock area. I kept wondering how the umbrella girls managed it all day long. In retrospect I'm surprised I didn't ask them to reveal their secrets. Monterey, California is generally mild temperature-wise, even in summertime. But this July, all of California was caught in the midst of an intense heatwave, and it was unbelievably hot, especially under direct sun on the blacktop of the paddock. There was hardly any shade for fans to escape to (except inside the Red Bull tent). I was wearing flip-flops, a short skirt, and a t-shirt and I was about to faint from the heat. The Laguna Seca announcer kept coming over the PA reminding everyone to drink plenty of water. At $4.00 per bottle for Dasani (which isn't even real spring water) -- you could see why some people needed encouragement. At those prices, I was drinking $16-$20 worth of water per day. Thankfully, we had access to free water in the Media tent -- I'm a frugal person, and I might've risked dehydration just to save $10. By Sunday, many of the vendors in the "International food court" of the paddock had run out of bottled water. They posted hand-written signs to tell potential customers "Sorry -- Out of Water." No one seemed to expect it would be this hot. In the women's bathroom, gals ran cold water from the sinks over bandannas and tied them around their necks. Others jumped into the showers with their clothes on. I wondered how the riders handled being out in the track wearing full leather outfits, helmets, and mesh long johns underneath for 32 laps. It seemed impossible and unbearable. During Saturday's post-qualifier press conference, the riders told us that the track is literally melting in the heat and breaking up in places, making the heat even more challenging to them. When the riders left the pitts area, they would immediately begin peeling off their leather outfits and hang them outside their trailers (or, their girlfriends hung their outfits on the metal stairs outside the trailers as we saw Cardoso's gorgeous Dolce & Gabbana bedecked lady friend do). We noticed some Japanese female fans getting their photos taken with their arms around Nakano's leathers, so I followed suit, pun intended. Speaking of female motorcycle fans -- we saw Pamela Anderson walking out of the pitts area on Sunday afternoon. She looked great in a black tanktop with her MotoGP VIP laminate passes around her neck. She wasn't with Kid Rock when we saw her and we didn't recognize the guy she was with -- do you? Pam wasn't the only celeb hanging out at Laguna Seca. We also saw semi-celebs Ian Zierring (of "90210" fame) Matt LeBlanc (from "Friends") and Italian male model Fabio Lanzoni, known to most of the world, of course, as simply "Fabio." Fabio may have been my favorite sighting of the weekend. Just as you might imagine, he's very tan and his long-hair was flowing in the breeze. When we saw him on Sunday he was wearing a bright lavendar shirt and pin-striped jeans. He was standing next to two umbrella girls from the Kawasaki racing team wearing very short shorts. It could've been the cover of a romance novel. Or maybe not. Check out my Flickr photoset from the event. With all these umbrella girls, celebs, and hot motorcycle riders (as well as their hot girlfriends) roaming around and American rider Nicky Hayden winning MotoGP at Laguna Seca for the 2nd year in a row -- I'm still surprised MotoGP isn't more popular with the American audience (yet). Maybe if Hayden becomes the next world champion -- Americans will start to take notice. What do you think? Labels: celebrities, motogp, motorcycle, pamelaanderson, umbrellagirls posted by Jess Barron @ 3:14 PM
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| July 22, 2006 | Why MotoGP Is Not as Popular in the U.S. as it is in Europe? |
MotoGP may not be as well-known in the U.S. as it is in Europe and other parts of the world, but you wouldn't know it if you had seen the crowds at Laguna Seca waiting on the hot asphalt in the relentless sun to catch a glimpse of their favorite riders coming out of the pit. The fans clamored to get the riders to sign posters, hats, shirts and to snap photos with them. Four-time MotoGP world champion Italian Camel Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi seemed to have the biggest fan-base, with folks wearing shirts and hats in his trademark yellow and black.  American Repsol Honda Nicky Hayden may have a chance at winning MotoGP this year, and there are plenty of people wearing his "star-69" logo as well. Hands gripped Sharpie pens and reached through the fence, as fans pushed for autographs from American Camel Yamaha rider Colin Edwards and screamed for t-shirts that Colin shot into the crowd from a pressurized air gun as he stood atop the stairs to his trailer. Fans were jumping to grab the shirts and pushing and elbowing each other. It was crazy. I was glad that there was a chain link fence between us and the crowd. I didn't want to be caught in the melee. We were also lucky to have a small sliver of shade to stand in if we stayed close to the riding team's trailers. Even with big hats and wet bandannas tied around their necks -- I didn't know how those folks in the crowd were doing it. Even standing in the shade of the riding team's trailers, I became lightheaded that I almost fainted. Or maybe it was standing so close to Valentino Rossi that almost made me faint...  This morning on Yahoo! Answers, I posted a question that I've been also asking all of the folks here at Laguna Seca, Why is MotoGP huge in Europe but not as popular in the U.S.? I was wondering why NASCAR is so hugely popular in America, while MotoGP and Formula One racing don't have quite the dedicated fan-base. racing. I've received some interesting responses so far from the fans at Laguna Sec. The most common reasons people mentioned are: There's no live network TV video coverage of MotoGP. (MotoGP is only televised on the Speed network in the U.S. NASCAR, in comparison, is televised all over.) Motorcycles are more popular means of transportation in Europe and Asia than they are in the United States. People in Europe grow up around motorcyles and ride them more so they are more interested in them, in general. As for other motor sports -- although Formula One is held in high esteem throughout the rest of the world, NASCAR is much more popular in America. I followed up my initial question about MotoGP by asking people why NASCAR is more popular than Formula One racing in the U.S. Some folks mentioned that American audiences enjoy watching the cars rub and bump each other on the NASCAR track. Others said it's because Americans can relate to NASCAR better since the cars are stock cars made by Chevy and Ford, similar to the cars most Americans are driving themselves. Exotic Formula One cars are more expensive and less familiar to people, less like the cars the average Americans actually drive. This made me think that Americans may be less familiar with sport bikes than they are with chopper-type bikes. Think about it. Choppers and hogs have been hugely popular American icons for over 50 years. Counterculture motorcycle gangs, the Hells' Angels, and 1969's 'Easy Rider' paved the way for today's TV shows like Discovery channel reality TV show 'American Chopper' and the Speed channel's show "V-Twin." Choppers and hogs continue to be a symbol of outlaw cool in American culture. From high school rebel James Hurley on David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" to high school rebel Jason Dean "JD" (played by Christian Slater) in 1989's 'Heathers' to boxer Butch Coolidge (played by Bruce Willis) in 1994's 'Pulp Fiction' -- "cool guys" in popular American TV and films drive choppers and hogs. (Chris pointed out that there are a few exceptions where sports bikes are represented as the cool guy's ride in popular films: in 1986's "Top Gun" Maverick (played by Tom Cruise) rides a Kawasaki Ninja and in 2004's futuristic 'I Robot' Will Smith's character rides an MV Augusta. Although the MotoGP bikes aren't American, there are still some great American MotoGP riders: Nicky Hayden (who won MotoGP at Laguna Seca in 2005), Colin Edwards, Kenny Roberts Jr, and John Hopkins. A British guy also told me, "The reason MotoGP isn't so popular in the U.S. is, Americans like sports where Americans win." It's true that there hasn't been an American rider to win a World Championship yet (Italian Valentino Rossi won the World Championship of MotoGP for the past 4 years), but American Nicky Hayden has the current lead in points, and has a strong chance of taking the World Championship this year. If Nicky Hayden wins the World Championship it could certainly increase Americans awareness of, and enthusiasm for, this sport. Labels: motogp, motorcycle, speed, valentinorossi posted by Jess Barron @ 1:23 PM
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| Faster Than Photographs |
 The GP bikes are louder than I thought. When they're coming out of a turn and accelerating -- it sounds like a giant ultra-amplified lawnmower. We brought several pairs of ear plugs with us, and I put mine in as we walked toward the edge of the track. I squeezed the foam tight and pressed one into each ear. As the foam expanded, it shut out the sound completely, and i could no longer hear Chris. Labels: motogp, motorcycle, photos, speed posted by Jess Barron @ 12:33 PM
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