The pre-season shakedown in Jerez, Spain, allows Moto GP fans the chance to get the close to the riders and watch them tweak their bikes, writes Conor Twomeyfrom the circuit.
NOW THAT the first race of the Moto GP World Championship season is over, all eyes will now turn to Jerez in the south of Spain for round two.
Jerez is one of the riders' favourite tracks not only because of the fast, open corners, smooth surface and the way it undulates through the rugged Spanish countryside, but also because of the crowds that come to watch the greatest riders in the world do battle on the track.
It's one of the top events in Spain's sporting calendar and it's enthusiastically supported by a fiercely passionate and patriotic crowd.
Set in the hills not far from Jerez de la Frontera, the 4.4km circuit is the easiest in the world to get to, and by early on the first morning of testing a substantial crowd had turned up to get a first look at the riders in testing.
It's really more a pre-season shakedown than a full-blown test session, but it does give the teams the chance to tweak suspension settings, experiment with tyre compounds and the sophisticated electronics of the bikes. Because it's so close to the start of the season, few riders are prepared to push their bikes too far beyond their limits, and because they're not racing there's really not that much action to see. However, this doesn't stop thousands of people from showing up and buying paddock passes so they can get a closer look at their heroes.
It's a bit surreal, in fact, to be there during testing. It looks like a race weekend with all the team trucks parked up in a long line by the back of the pit garage and bikes whizzing up and down the track, but the only areas that are off limits are the pits themselves. It's not unusual to see Rossi or Pedrosa zipping around on scooters, dodging eagle-eyed spectators desperate to snag a picture with one of the riders. Most of the riders are quite happy to smile for photographs or sign a few autographs, although you can tell they do try to avoid getting spotted whenever possible.
We're guests of Bridgestone at the event, who provide the world champion's tyres. They've also enjoyed unprecedented publicity thanks to Valentino Rossi's rebellious defection from Michelin in the off-season, which has resulted in the bizarre situation where the two riders from the same team use tyres from different manufacturers.
For the most part the riders wait in the back or in their trailers before coming down to ride, but some, like Stoner and Capirossi, seemed to prefer sitting in the garage watching the lap times.
Once the time comes to ride, the bike is fired up, the helmet is donned and they're away moments later. Timing is crucial because the tyres will cool down rapidly once the tyre warmers are off and, as James Toseland discovered the following day, even a short delay in getting on track can cause the tyres to lose grip with disastrous consequences.
With my ears still ringing from having Melandri's bike started just a few feet from my unprotected ears, I go to observe the bikers in action.
I'm allowed to get inside the wire fence which means I'm closer to the action than most people will ever get, and observing them up close really is quite something.
As they flash down the start-finish straight they're often travelling in excess of 250km/h (sometimes as fast as 280km/h) and yet they have to come to a virtual standstill to take the tight right-hander safely.
For several hundred metres prior to the corner, the riders will balance the front brake so perfectly that the rear wheel will spend several seconds off the ground, just a few centimetres off the surface, while they shift their weight around to prevent the back end from stepping out.
Once committed to the corner, they tuck their leg into the bike so they can get as low as possible for the turn and once past the apex they're back on the power with the front wheel in air, charging on to the next corner.
To do this once is an achievement, but to repeat the feat lap after lap illustrates the kind of skill it takes to compete at this level. Getting a close-up view of the laps makes it worth a trip to the Spanish track - just to witness first-hand these extraordinarily gifted, brave and/or demented riders at work is quite an experience.