Poor traffic execution, poor pedestrian routing, but I loved every minute of it!…read more
As the previous reviewer indicated, there are very few signs denoting where one should be going, so we just followed the crowd, and it was wall-to-wall humans packed like sardines for about 30min. waiting for the gates to open. It sounds horrendous, but I was prepared for such times and wasn't phased in the slightest. If you've been to a sporting event or concert in the United States, this isn't much different, so complain I will not.
Once inside the gates, you notice that yellow is the predominant color of choice at this venue for their local hero Valentino Rossi. That being said, be prepared to be educated (in Italian) if you raise your voice against said hero, so keep your opposing views to yourself. The amount of people is staggering on every visible patch of green-grass, and the amount of passion for MotoGP is mind-blowing. America could take notes on how to support the local team in overwhelming style from this crowd.
We arrived just before morning practice, and our seating was the main grandstand Biondetti right across from the paddock on the main-straight, so our view was hindered a bit by the natural topography, but the giant television screens helped a bit. Being that our seats were in the Biondetti, we had to traverse miles of those passionate fans I spoke about earlier, which makes for the whole reason I came here... Italian fans. The Italian MotoGP fans are amazing! No matter the amount of beer, they were all friendly, quirky, and fun all-around. If you get your panties in a bunch, then this crowd isn't for you, guaranteed.
The track itself is amazing with all the elevation changes, and natural spectator areas, the television coverage does NOT do Mugello justice at all. I would love to ride my motorcycle out there at a fraction of the speed just to experience it all, so I'll have to see about that on my next visit. Plenty of run-off room, and billiard-table-smooth tarmac make for a world-class track by any standards.
A couple of big downsides to the event were 1) the lack of trash-cans, and 2) the lack of food choices which we are accustomed to at American motorsport events. Maybe we are spoiled in the United States with trashcans and a variety of foods, but this didn't hinder my visit at all. Let's just say that I hope you like meat on bread, and beer.
Now the best part of all wasn't on race-day, but rather the following day. I was told by my employer (the reason I was here in the first place) that some of the MotoGP and other teams would be sticking around for week-long testing at the track, so I wanted to view what this was all about. I figured we would view from a distance outside the fences, so I pulled my rental Renault up to the gate where a friendly policeman waved me inside. He said a bunch of words in Italian and signaled the number FIVE which I took as "five minutes". Well that five minutes turned into about forty-five, and we drove the rental around the walking paths we traversed the day before watching the same race teams test at full-tilt, but with a handful of people watching instead of the 150,000 the day before. Soooooo cool. That being said, the amound of trash was mind-blowing (remember my comment about trash cans?). I felt sorry for whomever had to clean this place up!
I came to Mugello to experience a MotoGP race on European soil on European terms, and I got EXACTLY what I asked for. The amount of people, and the passion for the sport isn't seen in the United States is why I traveled so far from home. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
