MotoGP is Coming! MotoGP is Coming!

If you have seen our documentary, you'd probably guess that the Wilkinson Brothers would be fans of MotoGP. As motorcycle enthusiasts and fans of racing, how could we NOT be? As I've said to many, if you're a fan of the basic elements of good racing (varying road courses, rivalries, a lot of overtaking, intense speed, and the defying of physics), then MotoGP should get yer motor runnin.'

This is certainly a time when we are proud to be Hoosier motorcyclists. It should really be no surprise that the highest tier in motorcycle competition would want to make a stop at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but I'm sure dialing in the logistics between the organizers and MotoGP owners was no small task. We have to give a tip of the helmet to Mel Harder, the Senior VP at IMS for orchestrating what will, or has become one of the most historic invitations in motorcycle racing history. To boil it down: The oldest motorsport world championship in existence is coming to the Racing Capital of the World at the largest sporting facility on earth. Makes perfect sense to us. We're thankful for Mel's vision and hard work in seeing this through.

Living just minutes from the track, we've immersed ourselves in the excitement leading up to MotoGP next week. See our journey that started over a year ago...


Get used to seeing more of this: Bikes and the Circle City. It's sure to be a common sight in mid-September!


We second that "thanks." Thank you, thank you, thank you. This day, back in the summer of 2007, we rode in the Motorcycle Rally that led us to a lap around the famous oval. We parked our bikes in the infield, walked into a room and heard the official announcement of MotoGP at Indy. See our video and photo presentation of the whole experience by clicking here.



Somehow, some way...the Red Bull folks back some exciting motorsports. Rock on.


Casey's GS sitting proud in the plaza right under the Pagoda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.



Then came the inaugural lap to be completed by 2006 MotoGP champ, Nicky Hayden, on April 7th, 2008. He would get a quick lesson in 1909 technology and ride this Indian around the new MotoGP course.

Corey riding his Tuono just past the yard of bricks. We were thankful to have been among the first 30 or so motorcyclists to make a lap around the new MotoGP layout at IMS. Yeah, we've pretty much completed more laps here than Valentino Rossi at this point, so...

Then came came the three days of testing this July (2008). See the pics below...







Here, the bikes would pass the start/finish line at 190-something miles per hour. I could feel it in my chest when they blasted by. It was amazing to see how soon they started hanging off the bike to begin the process of turning it into turn one.

The third day belonged to the AMA Red Bull Rookies Cup riders. The young teen racers show up to two semis full of bikes and an Alpinestars van carrying their leathers. These kids earn their rides and time on the bikes through a strict point system that involves their performance on and off the track.






Yep, it's a big deal to us. Indianapolis, MotoGP, the history, the motorcycles, racing...it's a special event in so many ways and we're gonna wallow around in it as much as possible! (And, yes, we have tickets to the Indy Mile as well...so much top-tier racing we've got to squeeze in in a few days, but we're up to the task.)

Oh, and if you're wondering where the vids are that we shot at the Speedway, here they are:

Tom and Jerry: One Year Later

If you have seen our documentary, you've met Tom and Jerry, a father and son from Wisconsin. When we first interviewed them over a year ago, they were riding through Indy headed to the Smoky Mountains together. When we learned they'd be coming back through Indy this month, we jumped at the chance to have lunch with 'em and shake hands again.

We've been asked how we know these guys and here's how the planets originally aligned... While looking through online forums to prepare for our filming at Deals Gap, NC, I saw a random post that read: "First timer to the Dragon." We thought this guy might be a good subject to interview to get a good before-n-after perspective of the Dragon. It was Tom asking for advice on where to stay in the area, saying that he would be riding there with his Dad on their first trip to the Smokies. We were very surprised to learn that they happened to have planned their trip the same week as ours. They were even passing through Indy the day before we would leave town. Perfect. We intersected their route, had lunch in the Circle City, then filmed the "before" interview. We'd catch up to them a couple days later for their "after" interview in North Carolina. 

We were thankful that the timing worked out so well, but even more thankful that they were some of the most genuine people we've met. They played such a special role in our documentary. 

We couldn't thank them enough for their time...but they still insisted on buying lunch. We met up this last Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a carbon copy of the day we first filmed them. After lunch, we parted ways and wished them well until we meet again. Couldn't help but think how blessed they are to be riding together in good health and good spirits. On the way out of the Speedway, we wondered if we'll still be riding with our Dad when he's 75 yrs old? We certainly plan on it.