Ant West and Pol Espargaro both spent most of their time in the deeper water. Pol had come to the same location the day before, and a bit of experience showed. He seemed to be truly enjoying himself.

But Remy Gardner was the star on the waves, both while riding his board and while bailing out.

These pre-event activities are perhaps most interesting for the opportunity to observe the riders outside their normal habitat of the paddock. Suddenly in rented wet suits and with foam surf boards, they seem simultaneously regular guys out for a laugh and also professional athletes fulfilling contractual obligations. My understanding is that these media events featuring some local custom are required as part of the riders’ ‘employment’ in Grand Prix racing. I don’t know if they get to pick which events during they year they want to use to fulfill the requirement or not.

While receiving a surf lesson, or riding a zip line (Motegi’s event) or riding their bikes around a 50-year-old race track (Aragon) or karting (Brno) or learning basketball with the Indiana Pacers (Indy) or meeting local schoolchildren (Assen), the riders are generally doing something they had no idea would be on their schedules at the beginning of the year.

There is a certain air of noblesse oblige, but there’s also the fact that as a group, riders are young and competitive, and when it comes to surfing at least, there was plenty of fun to be had while crossing off another obligatory media appearance.

The competitive element is also interesting to observe. While there is a certain amount of camaraderie among the riders, there is a greater amount of competitiveness. They battle regularly on track after all. and while some riders are friends away from the paddock, it appears to me that most of them are willing to get only so friendly when brought together for an event like this.

There is also a hierarchy of experience and status in play. The younger riders, in this case Moto3 regular Brad Binder and Moto3 wildcard Remy Gardner, usually stood quietly to the side while the older, higher profile riders accepted most of the attention. Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl were clearly used to having the cameras (video and still) pointed in their direction, while Yonny Hernandez and Broc Parkes, though both in the premier class, also seemed content to defer to the higher profile riders.

It was my first opportunity to talk to Brad Binder, the young South African rider who has grabbed quite bit of attention this season in Moto3. He was very friendly and seemed pleased that someone was talking to him while Pol Espargaro posed on his surfboard for more photos and the Dorna video crew interviewed Yonny Hernandez.

I usually don’t attended these pre-event activities, but I’m glad I came along for this one. Though Stefan Bradl made an early exit, the rest shivered and persevered in the cold water until they were waved back to shore. One passerby who stopped to watch the event and take photos with his phone said, “I don’t suppose these lads will give up easily at something like this.” That seemed a shrewd observation, and indeed the level of accomplishment from the first moments to the last had risen dramatically. Though out of their element, these guys are still top level athletes blessed with abilities beyond those of the average citizen. Surfing was just another thing they’d all probably be really good at if they wanted to be.

Stefan Bradl

Yonny Hernandez

Ant West

Remy Gardner

Brad Binder

Remy Gardner