WORLD SUPERBIKE
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4/MAY 11, 2014
ENZO/DINO FERRARI CIRCUIT/IMOLA, ITALY
P38
SNOW FALLS IN
THE HEAT
The opening day of action at Imola -
the circuit in a city, by a river, weaving
through a park – was punctuated from
the start by a fall of cotton-like seeds
from the surrounding poplar trees that
made it look like it was snowing.
It's like that at this time of the year,
apparently, but this was a new thing
to most in the paddock as we usually
come here later in the season. If you
suffered from hay fever, it was like a
malevolent alien invasion of your head.
For the riders this dry 'snow' was
an early distraction from the eventual
day one disappointment of the track
breaking up. To be specific, a drain-
age cover on the exit of turn four (the
infamous Tamburello Chicane) that
posed a threat to the riders.
Shame really, as Imola, for all its ob-
vious close-walled, old-school risks, is
a classic circuit in one of the prettiest
locations imaginable.
Imola is disliked by some as the
venue for some recent horrible ac-
cidents. It is also loved as a venue
because it is, for reasons of simply
following the natural topography, so
much more challenging than any mere
computer-designed racetrack could
ever be.
Mother nature knows best, even
in the polluting world of motorsports,
