Part of the flag throwing team from the beautiful town of Arezzo. The prancing horses are not reversed Ferrari logos, they are the crests of the Tuscan town.
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Returning to the speedway Saturday, there seemed to be even more competing events. The cars of the Richard Petty Driving experience were circulating on the oval, providing rides to those willing to pay the $100 fee. Concurrently, Ducati riders were lapping the infield road course. It was a character-builder for all the self-styled hot shoes who found out just how slow they were when factory superbike riders took turns turning some hot laps while the civilians were on the track.
Wandering around the village, there were Italian imports other than the bikes. A spectacular team of flag throwers from the gorgeous town of Arezzo showed their talents, dressed in medieval uniforms. This skill dates from competitions in the 15th Century, versions of which are still held today. There was also a team of Italian champion pizza throwers. They took balls of dough, tossed them aloft for a few moments and produced pizzas of uniform thickness throughout.
In the Media Center and the Chapel, Ducati University was in session. Lectures with slide presentations covered a wide range of Ducati-related subjects including, "From Idea to Production", covering product development, "Ducati Design Process" and a session on race setup with former Superbike Champion, Doug Polen. Livo Lodi, Curator of the Ducati Museum gave an outstanding presentation on Ducati history. Perhaps the most popular event of this type was a Q and A with riders from the past including Paul Smart, winner of the legendary 1972 Imola 200, Cook Neilson, co-builder of the famous Californa Hot Rod, winner at Daytona in 1977 and Paul Ritter, who also won a Superbike race for Ducati in 1977.
Back in the daylight, stunt riders were performing. Front and rear-wheel wheelies with three people aboard one bike easily got the crowd's attention. There was also a lot of rear wheel spinning giving the stunt area the appearance that mosquito abatement was in effect. The climax came when one of the riders kept his wheel spinning with both feet on the pegs until the rear tire exploded.
For those who were not exhausted by the day's activities, there was a party that night at the Venetian.
