les accidents

so it turns out that the grand prix was really exciting! maybe it was the fact that it was for real and it really meant something, or maybe it was the fact that during the actual race, there are a lot of cars going around and they’re going around incredibly fast (the laps were around 1:15, by my watch).

or maybe it was all the crashes!

it was incredibly nutty. there was this great flameout by sato, where his engine billowed huge plumes of white smoke that covered the entire width of the course, so no one could see at all. and everyone slowed down, but one guy couldn’t see and ended up hitting some other guy from behind, running over him and flipping over!

later alonzo was trying to pass ralf schumacher, and ended up hitting the wall in the tunnel. bang, sparks, spinout! and then the craziest thing, the favorite, michael schumacher, who had won the previous five f1 races this year, was in the lead during the safety lap from the alonzo crash but had a bizarre crash with montoya, taking him out of the race.

all in all, very exciting after all, and jarno trulli for renaut ended up winning the race, as the pole position guy usually does in monaco, although apparently normally in a more straightforward and less hazardous fashion.

only nine of the twenty cars ended up finishing the race.

best of all, we got to use our new favorite phrase: “j’aime les voitures et les accidents magnifiques!”

(someone had told me that crashes was something like crochements, but i can’t seem to find it in the dictionary, unless it’s the same word for recess. someone who speaks french let me know!)

afterwards we were going to go to the famous monte carlo casino, but after getting to the lobby, hmc didn’t want to go in after all that.

we ended up eating at the adjoining cafe de paris, which while pricey, is a fantastic place to watch the ridiculously rich and outrageously fashionable.

Posted at May 23, 2004 10:15 PM