Yes, tomorrow is Motorsport Porn Day… well, for me, at least.
I guess I shouldn’t say “porn.” There’s nothing pornographic about motorsport. Heck, I don’t even own a pornograph. But it will be an orgy of motorsport and that sounds pornographic. Aside from which, Porn is my name in Thai, so it will be My Motorsport Day.
Starting at 0630h (alarm has been set) we have Aussie V8s … the 1000km “Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000” from the awesome Mount Panorama Ciruit in New South Wales. For me, it’s the most exciting circuit in the world. Never mind the Nordschleife Schmordschleife. The descent from the top of the mountain looks terrifying, and I’m told by those who have raced there, it’s even steeper than it looks on TV!
Thanks to Thailand’s True Visions satellite service, it will be the first time in more than a decade that I’ll be able to watch the race, and it will be the first time ever in High Definition.
I’ll never forget the first time .. must have been close to 20 years ago. My son and I were glued to the TV for about seven hours. We had a large and quite illegal dish, which had been hammered out of a single sheet of aluminum, and it sat on a large sand-filled plastic bucket. Both were painted grass-green to camouflage them! “Tuning” was done by someone moving the dish, while a second person – watching the TV – shouted “left a bit” “up a bit” etc. It took a while.
But one of the satellites we randomly pointed it at carried Australian Television, and they had the Bathurst 1000. That was quite a day…. as will be tomorrow.
Lunchtime, Typhoon Vongfong permitting, it will be MotoGP from the Motegi Circuit in Japan. Currently it looks like the typhoon is heading straight up the main island of Japan, so if the race is held, it will for sure be a wet race. For me, that will overlap with the Bathurst race, but luckily there’s a replay mid-afternoon.
And then it’s on to Sochi in Russia for Formula 1. That’s at 1800h. Given the unfortunate accident last week to Marussia’s Jules Bianchi, the mood will be somber. But, a race is a race. The show must go on.
Meanwhile, here at Chez Porn, Do Not Disturb signs will be erected. Phones will be off. E-mail will be ignored. Skype will be un-Skyped and Whatsapp de-apped. Snacks and drinks will be grabbed during commercial breaks, and the inevitable safety car periods.
Normal service will be resumed on Monday.