I see that MotoGP continues to throw up minor dramas and talking points (and has an authentic ‘villain’ for the first time since perhaps Max Biaggi in the form of Marco Simoncelli) but sadly it wasn’t possible to watch the proceedings at Le Mans thanks to the early hour here in the USA and also a lousy internet speed in our Hampton Inn Hotel near San Bernardino.

The news of what had happened in France was a surprise over the weekend. But not as much as the sheet of rain and low temperatures that greeted us in California on Sunday morning. The bad climate had been forecast and after the sunburn of Friday and Saturday it was hard to believe that an ‘English sky’ would arrive. It duly did. Glen Helen was freezing to the point of needing four layers of clothing through the morning of race-day and the thick clouds leaked water until a strong wind finally blew them off around midday.

It meant two different motos; one muddy and slippery that caught out a number of riders and the second drier, rougher and faster. The long and quick lap at Glen Helen prompted riders to be cautious. Those with big crashes, like Guarneri and Tonus, were lucky to still be walking. The hefty triple into the immense uphill double is still one of the most awe-inspiring sights in GP motocross and the MX2 racers had to be fully committed.

So, Roczen and Desalle were peerless in their success. Roczen was actually riding with an injured hand after crashing on the sighting lap yesterday (“it was like someone hit my fingers with a hammer”) but was still a class apart from Herlings and Searle/Anstie/Osborne. When Marvin Musquin – negotiating his first MX race since the Nations last September – said ‘the series is his [Roczen’s]’ he was not exaggerating.

Desalle was the epitome of ‘smooth’ on a track that invited aggression but would also punish it (Steven Frossard found this out with two crashes). Cairoli and Nagl came close but like I said in the live TV commentary of the second MX1 moto, catching and then passing Clement is two very different orders.

I was lucky to be able to join Paul Malin and also David Bailey in voicing a few opinions about the race behind the microphone and it was a privilege to be next to David, even though I felt bad a couple of times when I almost cut off something he was about to say (and I’m sure people would much rather hear his opinions).

The cold meant that the press room was unbearable by about 10pm and with icy fingers we gratefully moved to the circuit control tower with Youthstream staff to finish work. A McDonalds at 2am provided a very early breakfast and a repeat chow at 9am allowed a batch of goodbyes to YS personnel and the factory Honda team who were in the same hotel.

A quick cruise of Santa Monica, Venice Beach, another shopping mall and a fantastic Thai lunch at the Farmer’s Market brought Monday to a tiring end. Tomorrow a bit more tourism before heading onto LAX…