The
Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Quebec, was the site for this year's
Moto Mondial (Motor World) Festival, and, with over 25,000 motorcycles
showing up for the event, it is certainly one of the biggest festivals
in the northeast corner of the North American continent.
This
historic track, named after one of the greatest Formula One drivers in
the world, had it all. Motocross bikers getting big air; dragracer Yves
Giard demonstrating his art of launching; stuntrider A. C. Farias, '98's
champ of the show, showing off his winning performance with his trademark
hands-behind-his-head wheelies, stoppies, and combos of both, sometimes
with his girlfriend on board sitting in unusual places. There was also
a custom bike show that had outrageous Harleys, R1s, and even a pimped-out
Jeep.
The
festival started off with a street ride from the Molson's Brewery in Montreal,
through the city's streets, then off to the circuit. The action from thereon
at the event was continuous with everything happening over and over again,
every hour or so. Always something to see, all at once.
Nearly
every manufacturer was present with demo fleets giving motorcyclists the
chance to sample the roads and even part of the race course. At the Yamaha
trailer there was a trio of R6 racebikes with Canadian racer Benoit Pilon,
fifth in Canadian Superbike series, signing posters.
Montreal
is bilingual, so it's not a problem being understood: everything's in English
and French. With its continuous blend of everything happening at once,
the event is a sensory overload. And for its $10 dollar Canadian (about
$6.75 US), it must be the cheapest kind of thrill of its kind. |
To most riders,
this is an accident. To a trials rider it's just an average maneuver. |