Tag 15. Valentino, here I come!

Hello,

So, it's 6:00 am in the morning and the alarm clock is ringing! Now you must be wondering why I'm waking up so early during our vacation?!?! The answer is quite simple, because I have a date with Duccio at 6:30 am and we're going to ........ Mugello for the MotoGP.

For those of you who aren't so into motorcycle racing, MotoGP is the second most popular sport in Italy after football, especially with their hero Valentino Rossi, who is also my hero by the way.

Here we go: the camera is charged, sandwiches are made, and water is also packed in the backpack.

Mugello is about 45 km from Empoli and can be easily reached by car in 1 hour. We'll be at the racetrack around 10:00 am and shortly after we'll enter the natural grandstand. The first glimpse already gives me a rough idea of what's going to happen here later.

The first two races of the lower classes are already a lot of fun and from the hill where we're sitting, we can see quite a lot of the racetrack! We can watch the remaining parts of the track on the screen.

But now it's starting! The big motorcycles come out of the pit lane and even now the Tifosi go crazy as Valentino drives past the natural grandstand.

3, 2, 1, start... the bikes start and after a few laps it becomes clear that although Valentino can keep up with the front, he lacks the strength to fight for the win due to a motocross injury (training accident).

In the end, he only gets 4th place. But an Italian, Andrea Dovizioso, wins on an Italian Ducati! So 3 races and 3 Italian winners... it's hard to describe what's going on here.

To top it all off, Valentino Rossi also stops in front of our grandstand during the cool-down lap.

A really long day ends with an endless crowd of people who all want to get to their cars and of course want to drive away in them!

Late in the evening we're finally back in Empoli. Quick bite to eat and then sleep, because tomorrow we'll slowly head back towards 🇩🇪!

See you tomorrow......