The World Champion was the fastest rider on day one of the final Jerez test.

Reining world champion Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest rider on the opening day of the final IRTA test in a soggy Jerez de la Frontera.

Rain has been  a reoccurring theme of the pre season testing ahead of the 2013 season, and Jerez was no exception to this theme.

With the morning session a nigh on wash out, it wasn’t until the afternoon that the riders decided to venture out onto the track.

The fastest rider of the day was two time MotoGP and reining world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

The world champion has worked massively, and now is somewhat of a rain specialist was the fastest rider and posted his fastest time right after the lunch break. His unrivaled lap time was a 1′47.423.

Immediately behind the world champion was the Repsol Honda duo of Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez. Despite behind second and third respectively the Spanish pair were over a second behind their compatriot, and Pedrosa just 0.050 seconds behind his vastly experienced team mate. There was also some complaints from Pedrosa of the chatter which hampered the RC213V at the start of last season.

Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly as the case may be in the wet) the Ducati’s were competitive at up the sharp end, but it was Pramac’s Andrea Iannone who was the fastest of the five Ducati’s present in Jerez.

Iannone posted a 1’48.984 second lap, which was just over a second and a half slower than Lorenzo’s time, and was faster than Ducati’s test rider Michele Pirro who was fifth (and will be wild carding in the Jerez race in May) with Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso 7th and 10th respectively.

Valentino Rossi continued to get acquainted with his M1, although he faces advsirty with technical problems contuing to hamper his efforts as he ended the day sixth fastest. Both Rossi and Lorenzo riders received new frames to test, but they will wait till tomorrow to use them.

Sandwiched inbetween the factory Ducati riders were Yamaha and Honda satellite riders Cal Crutchlow and Stefan Bradl who were seventh and eighth respectively.

Faster CRT rider was Yonny Hernández who was on his new Green, Gold and White PBM ART, although the Colombian used two sets of his four rain tyres today.

MotoGP Jerez test Day 1 results:

01- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – 1’47.423 (39 laps)
02- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 1.051 (30)
03- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 1.101 (38)
04- Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.561 (27)
05- Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 1.869 (48)
06- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 2.020 (36)
07- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.220 (20)
08- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 2.269 (19)
09- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 2.367 (33)
10- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 2.843 (22)
11- Ben Spies – Ignite Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 3.534 (18)
12- Yonny Hernandez – Paul Bird Motorsport – ART GP13 – + 3.846 (31)
13- Alvaro Bautista – Go&Fun Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 3.854 (31)
14- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP13 – + 3.910 (26)
15- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 4.611 (35)
16- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 4.624 (14)
17- Danilo Petrucci – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 4.757 (18)
18- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 4.868 (17)
19- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 5.253 (56)
20- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 6.569 (17)
21- Bryan Staring – Go&Fun Honda Gresini – FTR Honda MGP13 – + 8.696 (31)
22- Lukas Pesek – CAME Iodaracing Project – Ioda Suter BMW – + 8.990 (17)
23- Michael Laverty – Paul Bird Motorsport – PBM 01 – + 9.508 (12)

Pol Espargaro has left Jerez the man to beat.

Pol Espargaro has left the final pre season test in Jerez the fastest Moto2 rider.

Over the past four days and ten practice sessions, the combined fastest rider was Spaniard and title favourite Pol Espargaro.

Espargaro posted the best lap over the rest of the field during yesterday’s mid-day session, that lap was a 1’42.636, and he was also also the quickest rider in today’s final brief session, however he was unable to match yesterdays time.

Despite not taking to the track today, Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami and Julian Simon posted lap times that were good enough to give then second and third overall in the whole test, respectively.

Toni Elías was fourth fastest, and was just ahead of Scott Redding, who was the fastest rider after the first two days in southern Spain.

Espargaro’s team mate, Tito Rabat was the sixth fastest on his Tuenti HP 40 but was only 0.014s faster than Aspar’s Moto2 riders Nico Terol and Jordi Torres.

Xavier Simeon and Mika Kallio were ninth and tenth respectively, and ended the test just over a second from Espargaro’s fastest time of the test.

Moto2 Jerez test overall results:

1 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Tuenti HP 40 1:42.636
2 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN Italtrans Racing Team 1:43.103
3 Julian SIMON SPA Italtrans Racing Team 1:43.188
4 Toni ELIAS SPA Blusens Avintia 1:43.365
5 Scott REDDING GBR Marc VDS Racing Team 1:43.372
6 Esteve RABAT SPA Tuenti HP 40 1:43.424
7 Nicolas TEROL SPA Aspar Team Moto2 1:43.438
8 Jordi TORRES SPA Aspar Team Moto2 1:43.641
9 Xavier SIMEON BEL Desguaces La Torre Zelos 1:43.720
10 Mika KALLIO FIN Marc VDS Racing Team 1:43.774
11 Dominique AEGERTER SWI Technomag carXpert 1:43.800
12 Axel PONS SPA Tuenti HP 40 1:43.861
13 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1:43.925
14 Simone CORSI ITA NGM Mobile Racing 1:43.934
15 Johann ZARCO FRA Came IodaRacing Project 1:43.993
16 Anthony WEST AUS QMMF Racing Team 1:44.052
17 Randy KRUMMENACHER SWI Technomag carXpert 1:44.089
18 Mike DI MEGLIO FRA JIR Moto2 1:44.158
19 Sandro CORTESE GER Dynavolt Intact GP 1:44.276
20 Danny KENT GBR Tech 3 1:44.350
21 Ratthapark WILAIROT THA Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 1:44.456
22 Mattia PASINI ITA NGM Mobile Racing 1:44.538
23 Ricky CARDUS SPA NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1:44.572
24 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Idemitsu Honda Team Asia 1:44.839
25 Steven ODENDAAL RSA Argiñano & Ginés Racing 1:44.848
26 Marcel SCHROTTER GER Desguaces La Torre SAG 1:44.905
27 Louis ROSSI FRA Tech 3 1:45.181
28 Kyle SMITH GBR Blusens Avintia 1:45.314
29 Sergio GADEA SPA Interwetten Paddock 1:46.041
30 Rafid Topan SUCIPTO INA QMMF Racing Team 1:46.283
31 Alberto MONCAYO SPA Argiñano & Ginés Racing 1:46.410
32 Doni Tata PRADITA INA Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 1:46.649

Luis ‘mexicanos’ Salom was the fastest rider of the final pre season test.

Luis Salom was the fastest rider in the final Moto3 pre season test at Jerez.

Salom topped the timesheets with a best lap of 1:46.374, which was two tenths of a second quicker than the absent Viñales, who is in Barcelona having just undergone surgery on his right ring finger.

Estrella Galicia 0’0’s duo Alex Rins and Alex Marquez were third and fourth fastest respectively  as they continued to improve and impress ahead of the season opener.

Aspar’s young German rider Jonas Folger was fastest on the first day, but ended the test fifth and the last rider to be within a second from Salom.

Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira was sixth position as the new Mahindra looks sensationally improved from the bike that Danny Webb was riding last year.

Ambrogio Racing’s Brad Binder followed in seventh position, and the first Honda rider in amongst KTM dominance.

Eric Granado, Niklas Ajo and Jakub Kornfeil closed out the top ten and the Czech rider was 1.480s off pace.

Moto3 Jerez test overall results:

01- Luis Salom – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – 1’46.374
02- Maverick Vinales – Team Calvo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.229
03- Alex Rins – Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.236
04- Alex Marquez – Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.612
05- Jonas Folger – MAPFRE Aspar Team Moto3 – KALEX KTM – + 0.636
06- Miguel Oliveira – Mahindra Racing – Mahindra MGP3O – + 1.174
07- Brad Binder – Ambrogio Racing – Suter Honda MMX3 – + 1.327
08- Eric Granado – MAPFRE Aspar Team Moto3 – KALEX KTM – + 1.368
09- Niklas Ajo – Avant Tecno – KTM RC 250 R – + 1.413
10- Jakub Kornfeil – Redox RW Racing GP – KALEX KTM – + 1.480
11- Arthur Sissis – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.487
12- Danny Webb – Ambrogio Racing – Suter Honda MMX3 – + 1.585
13- Niccolò Antonelli – Go&Fun Gresini Moto3 – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.657
14- Jack Miller – Caretta Technology RTG – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.664
15- Isaac Vinales – Bimbo Ongetta Centro Seta – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.714
16- Efren Vazquez – Mahindra Racing – Mahindra MGP3O – + 1.721
17- Zulfahmi Khairuddin – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.817
18- Romano Fenati – San Carlo Team Italia – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.840
19- Alexis Masbou – Ongetta Rivacold – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.879
20- John McPhee – Caretta Technology RTG – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.178
21- Livio Loi – Marc VDS Racing Team – KALEX KTM – + 2.194
22- Lorenzo Baldassarri – Go&Fun Gresini Moto3 – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.445
23- Alessandro Tonucci – Team La Fonte Tascaracing – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.485
24- Jasper Iwema – RW Racing GP – KALEX KTM – + 2.494
25- Francesco Bagnaia – San Carlo Team Italia – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.512
26- Toni Finsterbusch – Kiefer Racing – KALEX KTM – + 2.614
27- Alan Techer – CIP Moto3 – TSRC3 Honda – + 2.755
28- Juanfran Guevara – CIP Moto3 – TSRC3 Honda – + 2.812
29- Philipp Ottl – Paddock TT Motion Events – KALEX KTM – + 2.874
30- Matteo Ferrari – Ongetta Centro Seta – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.925
31- Ana Carrasco – Team Calvo – KTM RC 250 R – + 3.105
32- Florian Alt – Kiefer Racing – KALEX KTM – + 3.366
33- Hyuga Watanabe – Team La Fonte Tascaracing – FTR Honda M313 – + 3.958

Nico Terol is adjusting to life on the 4 stroke better in 2013.

Briton Scott Redding was the fastest rider during a sodden second day of the day of the Moto2 pre season test at Jerez.

Only nineteen out of thirty Moto2 riders ventured onto the very wet Jerez circuit, but one rider who wasn’t deterred by the weather was Scott Redding. A day which didn’t see the likes of Espargaro, Simon or Rabat wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of the Gloucestershire rider.

The Marc VDS star was the fastest man with a 1’55.082. Much like Miller and McPhee in the Moto3 class, Redding waited until late in the session to past his fastest lap of the day, and had to much for the other eighteen riders who took to the track.

Yesterdays fastest man, Toni Elías, ended the day in second position, although, only just three tenths of a second behind Redding’s time.

Technomag’s Dominique Aegerter was third fastest, and under half a second behind Redding on his Suter, with 2008 125cc champion mike di Meglio just behind Aegerter, and ending in fourth.

On what appeared a day perfect for the wet weather specialist Anthony West, he could only manage a best of fifth position.

Nico Terol is continuing to impress as he ended the day in sixth on his Aspar Suter as he appears to be finally getting his head around the four stroke Moto2 bike.

Redding’s team mate Mika Kallio was seventh, and just ahead of West’s QMMF team mate, Rafid Topan Sucipto, who posted his best time in the morning session, with Xavier Simeon and Marcel Schrotter rounding out the top ten.

Moto2 Jerez test Day 2 combined results:

1 Scott REDDING (GBR) Marc VDS Racing Team KALEX 1:55.082
2 Toni ELIAS (SPA) Blusens Avintia KALEX 1:55.378 +0.296
3 Dominique AEGERTER (SWI) Technomag carXpert SUTER 1:55.559 +0.477
4 Mike DI MEGLIO (FRA) JIR Moto2 MOTOBI 1:55.757 +0.675
5 Anthony WEST (AUS) QMMF Racing Team SPEED UP 1:55.860 +0.778
6 Nicolas TEROL (SPA) Aspar Team Moto2 SUTER 1:55.937 +0.855
7 Mika KALLIO (FIN) Marc VDS Racing Team KALEX 1:56.081 +0.999
8 Rafid Topan SUCIPTO (INA) QMMF Racing Team SPEED UP 1:56.581 +1.499
9 Xavier SIMEON (BEL) Desguaces La Torre Zelos KALEX 1:56.734 +1.652
10 Marcel SCHROTTER (GER) Desguaces La Torre SAG KALEX 1:57.008 +1.926
11 Ratthapark WILAIROT (THA) Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 SUTER 1:57.208 +2.126
12 Steven ODENDAAL (RSA) Argiñano & Ginés Racing SPEED UP 1:57.224 +2.142
13 Randy KRUMMENACHER (SWI) Technomag carXpert SUTER 1:57.243 +2.161
14 Louis ROSSI (FRA) Tech 3 TECH 3 1:57.420 2.338
15 Danny KENT (GBR) Tech 3 TECH 3 1:57.484 2.402
16 Jordi TORRES (SPA) Aspar Team Moto2 SUTER 1:57.689 +2.607
17 Doni Tata PRADITA (INA) Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 SUTER 1:58.634 +3.552
18 Alberto MONCAYO (SPA) Argiñano & Ginés Racing SPEED UP 1:59.518 +4.436
19 Sergio GADEA (SPA) Interwetten Paddock SUTER 2:02.038 +6.956

Jack Miller was the fastest man in the wet today.

Aussie Jack Miller was the fastest rider today during day two of the Moto3 test in Jerez.

The Moto3 class only saw twenty riders out of 33 at Jerez electing to go out today and post laps in the torrential rain down the South.

The fastest of the twenty that elected to go out was Caretta Technoloy’s FTR Honda rider Jack Miller. The young Aussie posted the  best lap of the day, a 1’57.627, in the final hour of the day. Although Miller’s lap was more than ten seconds slower than Jonas Folger’s fastest lap of yesterday.

Backing up the good work of Miller was team mate John McPhee, who ended the day 0.174 seconds slower than his team mate completing a 1-2.

Ajo’s Louis Salom ended the day in third position, but over three quarters of a second faster than other KTM riders Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and Arthur Sissis (Red Bull Ajo motorsports).

Behind the KTM’s was a Honda trio of Jakub Kornfeil, Brad Binder and Livio Loi who ended the day sixth to eighth respectively.

Maverick Viñales aboard his KTM put a few laps in, in an effort to try and conquer the difficulties he usually faces when ever the rain comes to play, and rounding out the top ten was Danny Webb, but a highside put him out of action for the rest of the afternoon.

Moto3 Jerez test Day 2 combined results:

1 Jack MILLER (AUS) Caretta Technology-RTG FTR HONDA 1:57.627
2 John McPHEE (GBR) Caretta Technology-RTG FTR HONDA 1:57.801 +0.174
3 Luis SALOM (SPA) Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 1:57.963 +0.336
4 Alex RINS (SPA) Estrella Galicia 0′0 KTM 1:58.765 +1.138
5 Arthur SISSIS (AUS) Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 1:58.796 +1.169
6 Jakub KORNFEIL (CZE) Redox RW Racing GP KALEX KTM 1:58.968 +1.341
7 Brad BINDER (RSA) Ambrogio Racing SUTER HONDA 1:59.144 +1.517
8 Livio LOI (BEL) Marc VDS Racing Team KALEX KTM 1:59.395 +1.768
9 Maverick VIÑALES (SPA) Team Calvo KTM 1:59.419 +1.792
10 Danny WEBB (GBR) Ambrogio Racing SUTER HONDA 1:59.588 +1.961
11 Zulfahmi KHAIRUDDIN (MAL) Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 1:59.615 +1.988
12 Jasper IWEMA (NED) RW Racing GP KALEX KTM 1:59.620 +1.993
13 Matteo FERRARI (ITA) Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR HONDA 1:59.908 +2.281
14 Isaac VIÑALES (SPA) Bimbo-Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR HONDA 2:00.089 +2.462
15 Alexis MASBOU (FRA) Ongetta-Rivacold FTR HONDA 2:00.130 +2.503
16 Philipp OETTL (GER) Paddock TT Motion Events KALEX KTM 2:00.172 +2.545
17 Juanfran GUEVARA (SPA) CIP Moto3 TSR HONDA 2:00.818 +3.191
18 Ana CARRASCO (SPA) Team Calvo KTM 2:01.004 +3.377
19 Alan TECHER (FRA) CIP Moto3 TSR HONDA 2:01.988 +4.361
20 Niklas AJO (FIN) Avant Tecno KTM 2:02.043 +4.416

Pol Espargaro in action on his new Kalex HP Tuenti bike.

2010 Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias was the fastest man of the first day of the final pre season Moto2 test at Jerez.

With everybody expecting to see Pol Espargaro lead the way on the first day aboard his newly painted Pons machine (which looks wonderful) the former champion sprung a small surprise and piped the title favorite  in a day which saw the top 14 riders covered by less than a second.

Tiger Toni Elias aboard his Blusens Avintia Kalex posted the fastest lap of the day with a 1:43.365, which was 0.059s faster than the leading Tuenti HP 40 of  Tito Rabat and 0.286s quicker than third placed man Pol Espargaró.

The Italtrans duo of Takaaki Nakagami and Julián Simón ended the day fourth and fifth respectively as they continue their impressive testing pace, whilst Marc VDS’ Mika Kallio was sixth, making it six Kalex machines in the top six of the timing sheets.

The fastest rider not on a Kalex was the San Marinese rider Alex de Angelis on the first of the NGM Forward branded Speed Up chassis. Behind De Angelis was the a pair of Suter’s in the shape of Nico Terol and Johann Zarco on their Aspar and Ioda bikes respectively, with the Belgian Xavier Simeon rounding out the top ten.

Moto2 Test Jerez – Day 1 results:

1 24 Toni ELIAS KALEX 1:43.365
2 80 Esteve RABAT PONS KALEX 1:43.424 0.059
3 40 Pol ESPARGARO PONS KALEX 1:43.651 0.286
4 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI KALEX 1:43.664 0.299
5 60 Julian SIMON KALEX 1:43.747 0.382
6 36 Mika KALLIO KALEX 1:43.774 0.409
7 15 Alex DE ANGELIS SPEED UP 1:43.925 0.560
8 18 Nicolas TEROL SUTER 1:43.931 0.566
9 5 Johann ZARCO SUTER 1:43.996 0.631
10 19 Xavier SIMEON KALEX 1:44.029 0.664
11 45 Scott REDDING KALEX 1:44.062 0.697
12 95 Anthony WEST SPEED UP 1:44.090 0.725
13 49 Axel PONS PONS KALEX 1:44.273 0.908
14 77 D. AEGERTER SUTER 1:44.364 0.999
15 3 Simone CORSI SPEED UP 1:44.455 1.090
16 14 R.WILAIROT SUTER 1:44.461 1.096
17 4 R. KRUMMENACHER SUTER 1:44.466 1.101
18 88 Ricky CARDUS SPEED UP 1:44.572 1.207
19 52 Danny KENT TECH 3 1:44.894 1.529
20 11 Sandro CORTESE KALEX 1:44.933 1.568
21 54 Mattia PASINI SPEED UP 1:45.101 1.736
22 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI MORIWAKI 1:45.101 1.736
23 81 Jordi TORRES SUTER 1:45.240 1.875
24 9 Kyle SMITH KALEX 1:45.314 1.949
25 44 Steven ODENDAAL SPEED UP 1:45.656 2.291
26 23 Marcel SCHROTTER KALEX 1:45.660 2.295
27 96 Louis ROSSI TECH 3 1:45.808 2.443
28 63 Mike DI MEGLIO MOTOBI 1:45.931 2.566
29 33 Sergio GADEA SUTER 1:46.858 3.493
30 7 Doni T. PRADITA SUTER 1:47.266 3.901
31 17 Alberto MONCAYO SPEED UP 1:47.360 3.995
32 97 Rafid T. SUCIPTO SPEED UP 1:47.682 4.317

Vinales has really adapted well to the KTM machine.

Jonas Folger was the fastest rider during the first days testing at Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Southern Spain.

The German was the fastest riders in perfect weather conditions, with track temperatures reaching over 30°C and finish top of the 33 rider strong Moto3 field.

Much like every dry days testing this year, the day ended with a KTM heading the timing screens, but this time it was a Spaniard on a KTM, instead it was the young German rider on his KTM Kalex. Folger managed to stop the clock giving him a 1’47″149.

Just behind the Aspar machine of Jonas Folger was a trio of three different KTM factory. Alex Rins (who lead the first session) finished the day in second position, whilst pre season favourite and record breaking Maverick Vinales could only manage third position on his Calvo KTM. The final KTM was that of Luis Salom aboard the Red Bull Ajo bike, who battling a fever, but he was still fast enough to finish fourth.

Brad Binder was fifth, and the fasest Honda, as he took his Suter Moto3 machine and just a few thousandths of seconds faster than considerably improved Suter – Mahindra of Miguel Oliveira. Binder’s Ambrogio Racing team mate Danny Webb was seventh position on his Honda as he looks to be setteling in on his new Honda after his move from Mahindra.

Jack Miller and Alex Marquez were eigth and ninth respectivaly, and just ahead of San Carlo Team Italia’s Romano Fenati who rounded out the top ten, with his upgraded Honda engine.

Moto3 Jerez test – Day 1 results:

01- Jonas Folger – MAPFRE Aspar Team Moto3 – KALEX KTM – 1’47.149
02- Alex Rins – Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.252
03- Maverick Vinales – Team Calvo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.308
04- Luis Salom – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 0.319
05- Brad Binder – Ambrogio Racing – Suter Honda MMX3 – + 0.754
06- Miguel Oliveira – Mahindra Racing – Mahindra MGP3O – + 0.791
07- Danny Webb – Ambrogio Racing – Suter Honda MMX3 – + 0.810
08- Jack Miller – Caretta Technology RTG – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.005
09- Alex Marquez – Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.033
10- Romano Fenati – San Carlo Team Italia – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.065
11- Isaac Vinales – Bimbo Ongetta Centro Seta – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.344
12- Arthur Sissis – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.379
13- Zulfahmi Khairuddin – Red Bull KTM Ajo – KTM RC 250 GP – + 1.395
14- Niklas AJo – Avant Tecno – KTM RC 250 R – + 1.657
15- Efren Vazquez – Mahindra Racing – Mahindra MGP3O – + 1.857
16- Francesco Bagnaia – San Carlo Team Italia – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.889
17- John McPhee – Caretta Technology RTG – FTR Honda M313 – + 1.945
18- Livio Loi – Marc VDS Racing Team – KALEX KTM – + 1.990
19- Juanfran Guevara – CIP Moto3 – TSRC3 Honda – + 2.037
20- Alan Techer – CIP Moto3 – TSRC3 Honda – + 2.148
21- Alexis Masbou – Ongetta Rivacold – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.148
22- Niccolò Antonelli – Go&Fun Gresini Moto3 – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.208
23- Toni Finsterbusch – Kiefer Racing – KALEX KTM – + 2.267
24- Ana Carrasco – Team Calvo – KTM RC 250 R – + 2.330
25- Eric Granado – MAPFRE Aspar Team Moto3 – KALEX KTM – + 2.356
26- Philipp Ottl – Paddock TT Motion Events – KALEX KTM – + 2.417
27- Lorenzo Baldassarri – Go&Fun Gresini Moto3 – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.434
28- Jasper Iwema – RW Racing GP – KALEX KTM – + 2.614
29- Jakub Kornfeil – Redox RW Racing GP – KALEX KTM – + 2.761
30- Matteo Ferrari – Ongetta Centro Seta – FTR Honda M313 – + 2.910
31- Alessandro Tonucci – Team La Fonte Tascaracing – FTR Honda M313 – + 3.324
32- Florian Alt – Kiefer Racing – KALEX KTM – + 4.016
33- Hyuga Watanabe – Team La Fonte Tascaracing – FTR Honda M313 – + 4.053

As was the old citadel which clearly had Moorish influence.

Around the park were Orange trees and the local municipal workers were collecting the harvest. It was nice to see them not going to waste.

As you can imagine the role of sherry is very important in the economy. This is Senor Domecq who got the ball rolling.

One of the nice things about old cities is that the public buildings are quite fine, how about this for the local police station.

Next it was off to Arcos which sits to the east of Jerez. You can certainly see why they chose this location as it has commanding views of the surrounding countryside and certainly looks easy to defend.  We stopped in the main square in front of the church.

The streets were narrow and steep at times as the town was simply placed upon the ground that stood there.

To give you an idea of its strategic position you can see how it commands the surrounding countryside.

Every time I see a town like this dating back as long as they do, you have to wonder how much work was involved in transporting all the materials they needed to build what are some quite spectacular buildings. There is clearly a lot of work here over many years.

Now I realise that there are blue skies abound but it wasn’t as warm as it looked so we had to be well wrapped up.

After this outing, tomorrow we start heading home but the weather reports are not looking too favourable but we think we will be OK. So next installment is heading back to Madrid.

Eugene Laverty has been in action on his RSV4 in Jerez.

Despite dominating the opening round of the world superbike season with two 1-2′s the factory Aprilia have been testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit for a two day test.

Factory riders Eugene Laverty and Sylvain Guintoli were joined by former Aprilia Grand Prix rider Alex Hoffman for the two day test.

The Aprilia RSV4 has not been radically modified since last season, but it has undergone a targeted evolution to make fine tuning easier and to make it less susceptible to variations in weather conditions, affecting only the chassis set-up and the electronics.

Eugene Laverty posted 140 laps over the two days, with a best time of 1′41.47, whilst team mate Sylvain Guintoli managed 121 laps, with a best lap just over a second behind his team mates of 1′42.79.

“We certainly got off on the right foot at Phillip Island,” said Aprilia Racing Technical and Sport Director, Gigi Dall’Igna.

“With results that provide us with confirmation of the good job we did over the winter break. However, in the racing world if you snooze you lose, especially if you base everything on a single, albeit excellent, result.

“We are fully aware that not every weekend will be like the one in Australia, so we will keep working on the RSV4 and testing new solutions that will allow us to gain precious tenths of a second. These tests are also important for the riders.

“A long break between the first and second round could lead to a drop in tension. I must say that Eugene and Sylvain are two great professionals. They are very skilled at enhancing and developing the work done by our engineers and mechanics. This is an excellent calling card for the rest of the season.”

Aprilia test rider Alex Hofmann was filmed chasing Eugene Laverty around the Jerez circuit, and that video is attached below for you to enjoy.

I had the pleasure of witnessing not only Luis and his brother Ali’s mastery of palmas but also their charismatic presence and thousand watt smiles at the Viernes Flamenco in Jerez a few years ago.

This is a great video featuring Luis teaching students palmas for bulerias:

Visit the Patrimonio Flamenco website for a profile of Luis and Ali.

Here they are doing what they do best:

Disfrute!

Su sede canónica es la Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Fátima. Fue puesta en funcionamiento el 5 de septiembre de 1964. A principios de 2004, tras 3 años de gestiones con el Ayuntamiento y el Obispado Asidonense, cuando se inaguró la puerta de salida de pasos situada en el lateral izquierdo. Fue la Virgen de Fátima la que inaguró dicha puerta el 29 de mayo de 2004.

La vestimenta de los hermanos consta de: túnicas y capas blancas, antifaz en terciopelo color carmesí y escudo sobre el antifaz, portando en el lado izquierdo de la capa el escudo de la Aparición de la Virgen de Fátima. Cingulo trenzado en colores blanco y carmesí y botonadura del mismo color.

Esta Hermandad tiene 2 pasos. El primero es Nuestro Señor Jesús de la Paz y el paso de misterio, el cual necesita 40 costaleros para ser cargado, se estrenó el Sábado de Pasión de 2008. El segundo es Nuestra Señora de Fátima, estrenandóse el paso de palios en la Semana Santa de 2011.

Os dejo un pdf con todos los horarios e itinerarios. Para esta Hermandad en concreto mirad en la página 10. Horarios-e-Itinerarios-2013

Reside en la Capilla de Ntra. Señora de las Angustias. Tiene su origen en la cruz de humilladera levantada en 1578, esta cruz evolucionó a ermita ya en el siglo XVI y ésta pasó a ser capilla mas adelante.

Los hermanos se visten con capirote y túnica negras, con fajín de esparto a la cintura. Lleva en escudo de la Hermandad a la altura del pecho y los cirios son de un tono marron anaranjado.

Esta Hermandad tiene un único paso. En él se representa a la Virgen de las Angustias, también llamada la Virgen de los siete cuchillos, que lleva en sus brazos el cadáver de Cristo. Esta Hermandad fue la primera en tomar la iniciativa de que los costaleros fuesen los propios hermanos. En este paso son 28 los hermanos que se necesitan para cargar a la Virgen.

La salida del templo será a las 18:50, entrará en palquillo a las 20:50. Pasará por la Plaza del Arenal a las 21:50 y a las 22:24 entrará en la Catedral. Saldrá a las 22:55 y se recogerá en su templo a las 00:40. Su itinerario será el siguiente: Plaza de las Angustias (lado derecho), Higueras, Medina, Honda, Bizcocheros, Caracuel, Plaza San Andrés, Rosario, Plaza Aladro, Palquillo, CARRERA OFICIAL, Encarnación, de la Rosa, Manuel María González, Alameda Vieja, Conde de Bayona, San Agustín, Santa Cecilia, Plaza León XIII, Barja, Plaza Antón Daza, Ramón de Cala, Molineros, Plaza de las Angustias (lado derecho).

Hoy os dejo un power point sobre la Semana Santa de Jerez al completo.

Day 3: CÁDIZ

Oh boy, it felt so good to sleep after 2 days of diehard-citytripping in Córdoba and Sevilla (for more blog-feed about these 2 cities, check the older blogposts). Fortunately we could sleep “long” today because the bus wouldn’t leave before 11AM to our next destination: Cádiz.

Jeetje, wat deed dat slapen goed na 2 dagen stevig city-trippen in Córdoba en Sevilla (voor meer blog-voer over deze steden, check de oudere blogberichten). Gelukkig konden we vandaag “uitslapen” want de bus vertrok pas om 11 uur richting onze volgende halte: Cádiz.

And even though it was just a short ride: most of us slept like rocks on the bus. At 1PM we arrived in Jerez de la Frontera, where we were staying in a small hostal. From there, we could drive further to Cádiz where the biggest carnaval of Spain took place.

En ook al was het maar eventjes rijden: toch sliep ik weer als een blok op de bus. Om 13 uur ’s middags arriveerden we in Jerez de la Frontera, waar we een hostelletje hadden. Van daaruit zouden we verder rijden naar Cádiz voor het grootste carnaval van Spanje.

The weather was a less nice than in Sevilla, but you could see right away that Jerez was a very cosy and charming village with character. Even the hostal was very authentic Spanish and I really liked it!

Het weer was iets minder mooi dan in Sevilla, maar je kon meteen al zien dat Jerez heel gezellig en charmant van karakter was. Ook het hotelletje was heel authentiek Spaans van opbouw en dat vond ik super!

And because the rooms were rather small, I slept with only 2 other girls: Ula and Marisol.

Omdat de kamers maar klein waren, sliep ik vannacht met z’n 3: ik, Ula en Marisol.

 Ula

As soon as we got ‘free time’ to lunch in Jerez, me and Ula went to search for a good tapabar. Jerez de la Frontera is known for its sherry, and for that reason there are a lot of good bodegas and cosy tapabars.

Zogauw als we vrije tijd hadden om te lunchen in Jerez, ging ik met Ula op zoek naar een tapasbar. Jerez de la Frontera is gekend voor zijn sherry, en er zijn dan ook heel veel bodega’s en gezellige tapasbars.

I think we chose one of the better tapabars, because my travel guide says it’s a top choice! Unfortunately we ordered the wrong tapa: Ula made me believe that “riñones” were beans, but beans are “frijoles” and so we ended up with the ‘real inside body-parts’ of animals, and so we had a bad culinary experience. Fortunately we could really laugh with it and it caused a lot of jokes afterwards…

We kozen er weer zowat de beste tapasbar uit, denk ik. Want volgens mijn reisgids was dit een topkeuze! Helaas bestelden we de verkeerde tapa: Ula maakte me wijs dat “riñones” bonen waren, maar bonen zijn “frijoles” en dus eindigden we met een lever/ingewand-achtig iets als tapa en dat was het mindere gedeelte van onze culinaire ervaring. Gelukkig konden we er goed om lachen en veroorzaakte het incident heel wat moppen, waarom we nu nog lachen…

Around 3PM we returned to the hostal to get dressed for thé night of our lives: Carnaval in Cádiz. I didn’t buy a costum or anything, and decided to make a sort of color combination: and because I have a lot of pink clothes, I took all my pink things on. I turned out to be a cowgirl and for once I wore a lot of make-up in a very different way that I’m used to, and hupsa: my carnaval-figure was born!

Om 15 uur keerden we terug naar het hostel om ons tiptop klaar te maken voor dé nacht van ons leven: Carnaval in Cádiz. Ik had niet echt een kostuum gekocht ofzo, en besloot in Gandia om een soort van kleurencombinatie te maken: en omdat ik veel knalroze kleren had, nam ik dus alles roze mee. Ik werd ingewijd als cowgirl en deed voor één keer eens superveel make-up aan op een andere manier dan normaal, en hupsa: mijn carnaval-personage was geslaagd!

Around 4PM we left with a full bus of weird figures towards Cádiz, and there we should meet a lot of other crazy people.

Om 16 uur vertrokken we met een bus vol rare figuren richting Cádiz, en daar zouden superveel andere gekkerds rondlopen.

Warming up… 

Around 5PM we arrived in Cádiz and it became pretty clear soon that this would be CRAZY. But before the party began: first another Erasmus-citytour (in costumes). Funny!

Omstreeks 17 uur kwamen we toe in Cádiz en het werd al snel duidelijk dat dit een gekte van jewelste werd. Maar voor het feesten begon: eerst nog een Erasmus-stadstour (in kostuum). Grappig!

We did some sightseeing around the citywalls and to my surprise Cádiz was a really nice city. I didn’t bring my camera because it would be quite dangerous and annoying to party with this expensive thing around. But fortunately Ula brought hers and so I got these pictures of her later…

We deden wat sightseeing langs de stadsmuren en tot mijn verwondering was Cádiz echt nog wel een heel mooi stadje. Ik had mijn camera niet meegebracht omdat het nogal gevaarlijk ambetant was om feestend rond te lopen met dat duur ding. Maar gelukkig had Ula de hare wel bij en dus heb ik wat foto’s van haar “geleend” achteraf…

We enjoyed sunset on the beach with some booze and I felt like I was in the middle of the hippie-era, with everybody being dressed so silly and chilling on this beach.

We genoten van zonsondergang op het strand met wat flessen drank en ik waande me plots in een hippie-tijdperk, nu iedereen zo verkleed op het strand zat te chillen.

I has never seen so many crazy people in one spot and enjoyed my environment in all silence.

Ik had nog nooit zoveel gekte bij mekaar gezien en genoot in alle stilte van mijn omgeving. 

After the beach (after sunset), the real party could start… Everybody got loose, and we lost each other quite fast because we were with too many of us.

Daarna begon het feest pas (tegen dat het echt donker werd). Iedereen ging uit zijn dak, en we raakten mekaar al veel te snel kwijt omdat we met een te grote groep waren.

We “had to” party until 3AM because there was only one bus back to our hostel in Jerez and we had a time planned to see each other back on a meeting point. In other words: from 5PM until 3AM walking around and party… Can count!

We zouden tot 3 uur ’s nachts “moeten” feesten want pas dan was er afgesproken aan het meeting point in de stad, om de bus terug te nemen naar ons hostel in Jerez de la Frontera met zijn alle. Met andere woorden: van 17 uur ’s avonds tot 3 uur ’s nachts rondlopen / feesten… Kan tellen!

Fortunately there wasa a lot of atmosphere, and I really laughed a lot and had fun. As well with as without alcohol: I was a zombie anyway after this night! That I knew!

Gelukkig was er superveel sfeer, en heb ik heel goed gelachen en me geamuseerd. Zowel met als zonder alcohol: ik was hoe dan ook een wrak na dit nachtje! Dat wist ik nu al!

We took a lot of pictures with strangers that we liked because of their costumes and everybody had fun with everybody. Speaking Spanish even goes better when there is less pressure going along with it, doesn’t it?!

We namen foto’s met vreemde mensen die we leuk vonden omwille van hun kostuum en iedereen sprak met iedereen. Spaans spreken gaat ook zoveel makkelijker als de stemming wat losser is, nietwaar?!

 On the plaza near the cathedral I almost had to cry of eufory! Something so amazing I had never seen before. This was nothing compared to Queensday in Holland…

Op het plein bij de kathedraal moest ik bijna huilen van euforie! Zoiets overweldigends had ik nog nooit eerder gezien. Dit was niets vergeleken met Konniginnedag in Nederland…

We tried to find a way between the mass and stood up on a few stairs higher than the crowds. In the middle of it and all crazy arround us. Bottles of alcohol everywhere and in all kinds: plastic, glas, open, closed, on the floor, in the air, in the hand, in the mouth, intact, broken, … You cannot imagine yourself!

We baanden ons een weg tussen de massa en stonden op een paar treden hoger dan de massa. Er middenin en overal gekte rondom ons. Flessen dranken overal en in alle vormen: plastiek, glas, open, gesloten, op de grond, in de lucht, in de hand, in de mond, intact, kapot, … Je kunt het je niet voorstellen!

Because we were standing a little bit higher we had an amazing view over the crowds: they were all dressed, these party-people. Just to say INSANE! That’s the most correct word I can find for this.

Doordat we wat hoger stonden hadden we een onvergetelijk zicht op de massa: allemaal waren ze verkleed, die feestvierders. Gewoonweg WAANZINNIG! Dat is het meest gepaste woord dat ik ervoor kan vinden.

After that we had to find ourselves a way out of this and we when we finally managed, we walked through some smaller streets – that by now smelled like pipi. It was just hard to find a toilet in this mass because most of the bars were closed inside and only sold some basics foods and drinks from the outside via the window. That’s how busy it was!

Daarna zochten we ons weer een weg uit de menigte en slenterden we wat door de smalle straatjes – die inmiddels stonken naar straatplassers. Het was gewoon heel moeilijk om een toilet te vinden in deze drukte want de meeste bars hadden hun keet gewoon gesloten en verkochten alleen iets via hun raam! Zo druk was het!

 I AM FREE…

But it was awesome! And after a few hours walking, we returned to the beach to sit there, eat and drink something, make some pictures…

Maar het was fantastisch! En na enkele uren liepen we terug richting het strand om daar maar wat te gaan zitten, met een pak chips en wat Fanta.

And… Got wasted… After that, we had to get into action again to look for Plaza de San Antoni, where we had the meeting point with Erasmus. Of course we found nobody there because it was too busy. Way to busy! The only solution was: enjoy it and be crazy yourself. And that’s what we did!

Daarna moesten we weer in actie schieten om op zoek te gaan naar Plaza de San Antoni, waar we ons meetingpoint hadden met de rest van Erasmus. Natuurlijk vonden we daar haast niemand omdat het gewoon te druk was. Veel te druk. En veel te gek. De enige oplossing was: mee druk en gek doen. En dus deden we dat maar!

 Meeting the pope. Ontmoeting met de Paus.

Eventually we found the other Erasmus students back, and enjoyed the concert on the big plaza. And it was just after midnight when the concert ended.

I wasn’t tired but, you know, at a certain moment enough is enough. But still the whole group went, how else could it be, to a disco. Every night there was this going out! Pff.. Once we reached the disco, I was knocked out. They wouldn’t get me dancing nor drinking above all this Carnaval things. And so I went outside and sat, before the entrance. And we talked with some students until it was finally 3AM. Time to walk to the bus and go ‘home’.

I had no idea how long the busdrive took or anything else, because I felt asleep so deep. I walked as a death man to my hotelroom and felt in an even deeper sleep over there (around 5.30AM at night / in the morning), and at 10AM we would have to wake up…

Wat a wild and crazy night!

Uiteindelijk vonden we de groep Erasmus toch wel terug, en genoten we nog een beetje van een concert op het grote stadsplein. En het was nog maar middernacht toen het concert eindigde.

Ik was niet moe, maar weet je: op een bepaald moment is het wel genoeg geweest. Toch ging de hele groep, hoe kon het ook anders, weer naar een discotheek. Elke avond was er wel wat uitgaansleven! Pff.. Eens we de discotheek bereikt hadden, was mijn pijp wel uit. Ik zou echt niet meer nog eens gaan dansen en drinken bovenop dit Carnaval gedoe. En dus ging ik buiten zitten, voor de ingang. En ik praatte wat met wat studenten tot het eindelijk 3 uur werd. Tijd om naar de bus te wandelen.

Ik heb geen idee hoe lang de busrit heeft geduurd of weet ik veel wat, ik ben in slaap gevallen en al slaapwandelend naar mijn hotelkamer teruggekeerd. Vervolgens in een nog diepere slaap gevallen (moet rond 5.30 uur ’s nachts / ’s morgens) geweest zijn dat we daar toekwamen, en om 10 uur zouden we weer opstaan…

Wat een wilde nacht! 

Day 4: JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA

Sunday was the last day of our trip. We woke up at 10PM, because the check-out was at 11.30AM. We had free choice to go for breakfast / lunch until 2PM. So I went to discover Jerez a little bit with Ula, and we saw a small part of the town.

Zondag was de laatste dag van onze trip. We stonden om 10 uur op, omdat de check-out om 11.30 uur was. We hadden vrije keuze om te gaan ontbijten / lunchen tot 14 uur. Ik trok er met Ula weer op uit, en we zagen dan toch ook nog een klein stukje van Jerez.

We ate French fries with saté and salad for breakfast: no tapas for now but some strong meal to wake up! And we drunk a strong coffe afterwards, and we went to eat some sweet in a bakery. Now we could conquer the world again!

We aten als ontbijt frietjes met saté en salade: even geen tapas maar stevig voer om wakker te worden! En dronken vervolgens nog een sterke koffie, en vervolgens gingen we nog een bakkerij binnen voor wat zoets. Nu konden we er weer tegenaan!

Jerez was the more sophisticated place in this region. You could see older people walking around, the better restaurants and bars proofed it. Everything seemed more expensive, the shops and so on. But it rained unfortunately and so we wouldn’t make a lot of pictures.

Jerez was wat sjieker dan de andere plekjes in de buurt hier. Je kon zien dat er oudere mensen rondliepen, dat de restaurantjes wat deftiger waren en de bars een beetje beter. Het toonde ook wat duurder, de winkels enzo. Maar het regende helaas en dus zijn er niet zoveel foto’s getrokken hier.

Ideal to sit 9 hours or longer on the bus, and sleep the whole way!

We left for home – to Gandia – around 3PM and our route went more or less like this: Jerez de la Frontera – Granada – Murcia – Alicante – Gandia. We drove back via the Sierra Nevada (beautiful landscapes but also cold temperatures there). In this case you could go skiing if you want! And around midnight we got home in Gandia.

When I arrived I unpacked my bag, checked my email and went to bed around 2AM. That made the end of this wonderful and super intensive Andalucía-trip. And as they say: ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.

Ideaal om 9 uur lang op de bus te zitten, en de hele weg te slapen dus!

We vertrokken immers terug naar huis – naar Gandia – omstreeks 15 uur en onze route was min of meer: Jerez de la Frontera – Granada – Murcia – Alicante – Gandia. We reden via de Sierra Nevada (wat mooie landschappen maar ook heel koude temperaturen met zich meebracht). In dit gebied kan je namelijk gaan skiën! En rond middernacht kwamen we aan in Gandia.

Toen ik thuiskwam laadde ik mijn valiesje nog uit, checkte ik snel de laptop en ging dan naar bed rond 2 uur. Daarmee kwam een einde aan deze prachtige en intensieve Andalucía-trip. En zoals ze dat zeggen: ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END. 

From Julie… With Love… <3

Captivated certainly but the learning process can be daunting. The improvisational aspect of it appeals – it is always a joy to behold – but what to do when you are suddenly the object of attention in that dance circle? And how do you get into the bulerias groove? Especially for the more introverted types, the extroverted nature of the dance overwhelms.

Bulerias, bulerias, bulerias. A steady, big does of it is what I got during my recent trip to Spain. I didn’t exactly plan it that way but in hindsight I think that highly concentrated exposure to bulerias – in every shape and form – made the difference for me. Finally opening that door to the mysteries of the bulerias. Because it is not just about the steps and technical proficiency.

My first stop was Jerez. No better place to get close to the bulerias. First night there we had the great overdose that was the Fiesta de la Buleria. Not only was it present on the stage but in the stands. The jerezanos know how – they don’t have to think about it. They simply breathe it. It is such a pleasure to see the natural, unaffected expression of it up close.

My journey continued with a few intensive sessions at the studio of Chiqui de Jerez or Chiqui de Jeré . She put me to the test with her bulerias sencilla – peppered with classic bulerias moves. She was pleased to see that I already knew the paso de bulerias. That earned me a few points; I got the smile of approval from Chiqui. I had learned this one on an earlier trip to Jerez:

Chiqui was tough and good – making me repeat the sequences over and over again. It was the very beginning of my realization that it’s not just about the moves but the attitude and energy you put into it. Here’s a sample of what Chiqui manages to coax out of her students:

Of course, in Jerez, bulerias doesn’t just live in the dance studio. It’s ever present on the street. It’s in the air. As I sauntered out of Chiqui’s studio every day there was even more to experience. Just around the corner is the Pena de la Buleria. We wandered in one day and witnessed the great presence of La Paquera. Her majestic status also awaits you at the end of the street (as does that of Lola Flores a bit further down).

If your eyes, ears and soul are open and willing you can absorb the many nuances of flamenco at every turn every minute of your time in Jerez!

On to Sevilla where a gaditana and a very famous jerezano took me further on the bulerias journey. Sevilla during the Bienal de Flamenco offers a great many choices of workshops – almost too many. Almost. I had hoped to attend the class of Andres Pena but never quite managed. Next time! I was fortunate however to attend his dance partner’s bulerias class. Pilar Ogalla possesses a buoyant, infectious energy. Her style is very feminine – curvy, and flirty. Full of personality. And that’s what she demands that you pour into the dance. The moves again were often fundamental but the expression of each was earthy, full on, requiring your full commitment. Again, drilling the fundamentals into body and soul:

The culmination of my experience was a bulerias workshop with the grand master himself – Joaquin Grilo. I had briefly attended a workshop with Grilo two years earlier in Toronto. I let myself be intimidated that time. This time around I promised myself that I wouldn’t let myself be caught up and overwhelmed by the magnitude of his tremendous talent. I was set to entirely enjoy the workshop in Sevilla.

Every session was a revelation. Learning “the moves” was the least of the education – actually, there is very little of his sequences that I remember now. And that’s alright. Grilo really pushed us into the zone of letting go. Gone was the self-conscious preoccupation with positioning of the foot or hand, the “correctness” of a particular move. In was feeling it, no matter how absurd your exterior might seem to you. In was tapping into the bulerias current – that wave of energy that pulls you along. In was experimenting and being a bit silly.

It was great exercise in loosening up. That has stayed with me. That is what I try to maintain every time I take to the bulerias.

A few months later the journey continues – every Friday night here in Ottawa class ends with a round of jaleos and bulerias. As I venture forth and attempt to find my own bulerias voice, I feel more grounded in its rhythm. Hassa!

Smells of cappuccino, nuts and caramel. Like one of those gourmet ice cream tubs that you pay $8 for. I’d much rather an Amontillado flavour. Would be cheaper too.

Whilst it’s fairly distinctly an Amontillado, there’s nothing particularly captivating about it either. Dry walnuts feature predominantly on the palate. Decent length. Stumbles towards complexity though never really gets there.

Whets the Sherry appetite, but doesn’t satisfy it for me. Pleasant enough to have a bottle lying around if you crave the odd Sherry. There are better options for the price though.

Average / 86 points

Source: Retail

Closure: Cork stopper

Price: $17