MotoGP – Preview Shanghai – Hip Hop arrives in China

Returning home by plane from Portugal, I was intrigued by a report in the plane's magazine with the headline: “Hip Hop lands in China”. I have always considered MotoGP somehow close to Hip Hop, and I quickly realized that the article was talking about this musical culture's propensity for insults. Certainly the insults have already flown in the first two races of this season!

In reality the report described how China is changing. Too quickly for commercial rivals and too slowly for the inhabitants and especially for young people. The country has one billion three hundred million people, the largest population in the world, and is literally exploding on the market, with the production and sale of motorcycles leading the way.

This is therefore the best time for MotoGP to land in China, like Formula 1 and the Olympic Games. Several new grands prix have been criticized by the media in the past, but certainly not China's. If by chance in Shanghai you step off the pavement without due attention you risk being hit by a two-wheeled vehicle, almost always a moped.

What can MotoGP expect when it arrives in Shanghai? A New York-like city on one side of the river, a colonial city on the other, a legacy of an era when it was known as the Paris of the East. A track that cost a fortune, which could be the set of an episode of Star Wars, and an enthusiastic public, who probably drives a moped but is crazy about Formula One.

Shanghai is the tangible demonstration of the country's new wealth and power. It is a city of enormous dimensions, which stretches for 120 kilometers from north to south and 100 from east to west. It has a population of 17 million inhabitants and is certainly the industrial, commercial and financial heart of China.

The weather should be more similar to that encountered in Jerez than in Estoril, relatively warm, with however a certain percentage of risk of typically spring rainfall which usually begins in May. We race on the first of the month so let's hope that the rain stays away and that some time will still pass before we see the first return to the pits of a driver after the display of the white rain flag. He already made his appearance at Estoril but no driver returned and Alex Barros won the race on slick tyres. Perhaps, however, Shanghai will not only host the first race in China but will also give the opportunity to see the new bike change rule applied.

But if speculation about time can be wasted, one thing that remains a certainty is the presence of thousands and thousands of motorcycles. Last year, motorcycle sales in China were higher than in any other country with 12 million units sold. Shanghai traffic will perfectly illustrate why sales are so high. Motorcycles and bicycles are the ideal means of transport in congested traffic and with a population of 17 million people this is not a rare situation to occur.

Honda alone produced about 36 million units in China last year, not only for the local market but also for export to XNUMX countries, including home scooters in Japan.

But beyond the commercial part, what does China have to do with motor sport? Two years ago Shi Zao Huang and Zi Xian He took part in the 250cc GP in Sepang, Malaysia. Huang finished the race in last position on his Yamaha, while He failed to qualify. Both, together with eight other wild cards between 125cc and 250cc, will participate in the Chinese GP next Sunday.

Last year a page of history was written when the second round of the World Endurance Championship was held on the 4,300 km Zhuhai Circuit, a six-hour race that was very successful.

An important chapter will therefore be written on Sunday in the 56 years of motorcycling history. The first Chinese Grand Prix. Shanghai is considered the city of opportunities by all major international companies. Who will be able to seize their chance in the shadow of the gigantic grandstands in the MotoGP race on May XNUMXst, and above all, will there be a bit of hip hop to warm up the atmosphere?

Camel Honda