MotoGP Blog: Ex-GP Rider Robinson Robbed at Mugello

Ex-GP Rider Robinson Robbed at Mugello

Former 250cc GP rider Jamie Robinson rode a Yamaha R6 from England to Italy to camp among the fans and experience the real Mugello – and got the full treatment when he was robbed while sleeping in his tent.
Robinson, 35, lost 150 Euros, $250 and a camcorder during the night.
“I didn’t go to bed until 2.30am and I woke up at five and found half my belongings outside the tent,” he said. “They just unzipped the tent while I was sleeping in it – the cheek of it is incredible. I just wanted to experience Mugello at its finest.”
The behaviour of a minority of fans at the British GP offends those of us who believe – perhaps naively – that bikers are not like football yobs. But Robinson has pictures of posters and flags brought to Mugello by Italian fans bearing insults to all kinds of riders that are just not printable.
After the Mugello “experience” Robinson will return to a calmer life in Los Angeles, California, where he is now running the monthly motorcycle magazine 2 Wheel Tuner.

FIM’s  Laughable Anti-Pollution Gesture

You can’t believe the hypocrisy of this – riders in each class at Mugello are being asked to pose for a picture session ten minutes before today’s practice sessions to promote awareness of environmental issues among motorcyclists! It’s part of the FIM’s decision to support World Environment Day, and aims to “inform the motorcycling community about the necessity of reducing the environmental footprint of motorcycling events”.
So why run the opening MotoGP race of the year under floodlights in Qatar? Why not restrict the number of trucks and airline flights involved in staging the MotoGP series over 18 worldwide rounds? Why not ban racing – an activity totally unnecessary to human progress – altogether?
Motorcycle and car racing will be very easy targets as the environmental debate heats up. Our image is a little unjust, because the number of teams and fans travelling to a major non-motorsports event like football’s World Cup in South Africa generates similar amounts of pollution.
But just asking riders to pose for a photo to support the environmental cause – without any attempt to physically reduce pollution – is a laughable gesture.