WSB and old man Chili

[PierreM]

My trip down memory lane - World Superbikes, 2000, the South African round at Kyalami.

I was strolling down pit lane with some friends checking out the hardware and chatting to the riders. As for Chili, I didn't get to meet him on this occasion, but I did get the chance to speak to Foggy, Chili, Gobert, Corser, Edwards and a slew of other big names at the time. I remember Haga being red-eyed and hung over after a wild binge the night before. I was told (confidentially) that he was the centre of attraction at a few popular hangouts in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg that night.

As we were leaving the paddock area I suddenly found my way blocked by a camera man and a reporter who shoved a mic in my face. I was flabbergasted. Hey, I'm a noboddy, shouldn't you guys be interviewing the riders or someone important? The interviewer made some sarcastic remark that they were covering the event from all perspectives and since I'm a noboddy this would be my one and only shot at fame and fortune and that I should be honoured being interviewed by an international TV crew. Yeah right. I was annoyed and decided to give some of his own back. His first question provided the opportunity - So give us your thoughts on Foggy... I replied very sarcastically that if I was Carl, I'd change my first name to "F*ck". Reporter was unphased and asked why? Cause that's what the other riders call him when he comes past. He should really think about changing his name to "F*ck". It'll be a cool marketing ploy, a good strategy to intimidate the other riders and besides it has a nice professional wrestling ring to it - "F*CK FOGGY". That worked, they let me go and I knew that they could never use that for official WSB footage.

The racing was close and superb. Colin Edwards won the opening race on his new v-twin Honda. Haga took the second race despite his hangover. Chili managed a 5th in heat one and a respectable 3rd in heat two. However, the 750 SRAD Suzuki didn't serve him well that year. In fact, bad luck and mechanical failures hounded him throughout the championship, but he managed repectable results when things didn't go wrong. His race win in front of his home crowd in heat one at Monza was truly memorable. Later that year, during October I think, Chili managed a second place in heat two at Brands Hatch. In the post race interview that went out live to over 60 million viewers across the world, he said "... and I pass him (Edwards) and then he pass me and then I pass him again and then he pass me again and I say F*CK...!"

Skip a year or two and I found myself in pit lane at Kyalami during WSB 2002. At the bottom end of the pit area I bumped into Chili. No one else around, except for the regular two track buddies I hang around with at bike racing events. We started chatting with Chili. The conversation turned into a one and half hour chat. Unbelievable. This guy is what you see on TV. No window dressing for the cameras, he's really that friendly and he loves the sport. I asked him all sorts of questions in a relaxed manner. I used to race bikes myself but I started too late in life to be any good at it, but I have a good understanding of the guts and skills required to be a good road racer on two wheels. Car racers will never understand.

Anyway, as we were talking to Chili, one of my track buddies asked him about "insider" nicknames of the other riders. I mentioned F*ck Foggy and Chili's eyes lit up. "That was YOU?" As Chili told us, it turns out some of the WSB riders were shown the interview way back when I suggested Foggy should change his name. They loved it and since then the "insider" nickname for the race leader is "F*ck", followed by the rider's surname.

And look at Chili now, leading the 2004 championship at the official age of 40. I happen to know his a tad older than that. I'm 43 now and it does my heart good to see Chili is still kicking snotnose butts at his (my) age...

Pierfrancesco Chili, a legend in my books. If he keeps up his current winning streak he'll be "F*cked" in his old age.

Cheers,
Pierre.