It’s 23:11 and the 500 metre time trial has just finished here at the Bremen Six Day. We’re awaiting the start of the 300 lap chase, and the singer has kicked off. He’s currently butchering ‘Sailing’ – a cool song, not Rod’s version, the original Sutherland Brothers version.
But worse, we just had, ‘Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep’ in Deutsch – it doesn’t come much worse.
Franco and Kalz just won the 500 metre time trial for the second night running; Brad and Matzka were fourth, up from fifth, last night.
I think they can win it before the end of the Six.
Everyone is twitchy approaching the madison, Iljo especially; ‘it’s my hour!‘ he tells us.
Brad and Jackie are a little apprehensive about ‘Iljo’s’ hour – 300 laps, and yes, around an hour, the longest ‘chase’ of the race, so far.
Dernys, Time Trials and Devils are all very well but the essence of Six Day racing is the chase and the longer it lasts, the more the gap between the weak and the strong.
For the first time in the race we have what’s wearing on for a full house – if only that damn singer would get off the stage.
Eventually he goes and the boards rumble, like I’ve said before, not a killer chase but no cake walk either – there’s no big shake up.
Jackie punctures at a bad time – but that’s Six Day racing.
So are afternoon sessions, today’s saw a very fast Devil, but not much else in the way of hard racing – but if there’s a crowd then there has to be a show.
On the subject of shows, when it was all over last night, we wandered out through the other halls in the complex.
In the “good old days” from what I’ve heard, you had to fight through the crowds to get from one hall to another – it’s still pretty busy these days but you can move around without too much hassle.
There are bars of every description, beer, wine, cocktails, Jagermeister – you name it.
And food – with the most spectacular being the roasting pig.
And of course, it’s not a proper scene without an arrest or two…