Americans get noticed in Spain among 130 racers from 12 countries. The third Metrakit MiniGp world Festival has just concluded this Dec 10-11, 2005. This third edition of the event took place for the second time in Valencia’s “Circuito Ricardo Tormo” and was truly a sight to see. Over 10,000 spectators walked through the gates for the two day event and the largest racer participation in the world for a kids MiniGP event. The two Americans that made the trip from the USA included Rey Dominguez of Miami, FL. age 12 and Hayden Gillim of Owensboro, KY age 11. Hayden was immediately noticed not for his relationship to the Young American MotoGP star but for his fantastic podium finish worthy of admiration considering he had never seen this track outside of his PlayStation. Metrakit provided a Nicky Hayden replica, REPSOL bike complete with the number 69 (Gillims race number in the US) which was later replaced with a federation issued #18 as #69 belonged to another racer that weekend. Hayden got a weak start that put him in 6th but immediately made a pass for first in turn one and battled in a three man (boy) dogfight for most of the race. Hayden was in second place on lap 6 of 9 when a lapped rider caused a two second gap between him and the now second place rider. In the 3 remaining laps Hayden rode his heart out and closed the gap again but was unable to regain the second spot. Rey Dominguez was equally impressive aboard his Metrakit XL80 bike. This was Rey’s first ever visit to The famous Valencia Circuit. The XL80 class was comprised of 33 riders in all. The high level of tuning of these 80’s made the unforeseen low temperatures of the weekend a nightmare in the garage. Rey got three laps of a 20 lap practice session and only got out in time for the last lap of the second session on cold tires. This meant he would have to get all his track knowledge in the warm up session on Sunday before the race. Rey was worried but determined and interestingly confident. In the total 4 laps of practice he dropped from an expected 2:12 lap time to an unexpected 2:07 which proved he was quick to adapt and comfortable on the bike. Ozzie Saez of USMINIGP says “I knew the bike was not all it could be (of course I did not share this with the team) Still I expected problems to come not from the bike but from Rey’s state of mind and downed spirits as a result of Saturday’s problems. A lack of confidence and excitement is typical in these circumstances. Man was I surprised when the red light went out!” To sum things up Rey started from behind mid pack which made for a less than impressive start but immediately made his way forward. The pace was brutal and even scary at points but he made it past the seemingly more “careful” riders only to get hung up in a battle that slowed his times down for two laps. Got passed that rider and opened a huge gap. He rode solo the remainder of the race while closing the gap on the group just in front of him. Rey’s times continued to drop during the 9 lap race which proved he was still just learning his way around the track. His best and final lap was a 2:03 only 2 seconds behind the 9 rider group in front of him. This was good for a 12th place finish. Worthy of mention is that the two front runners checked out with a 1:59 best lap on 166KPH bikes. Also worthy of mention is Dakota Mamola (Randy Mamola’s son). This boy can ride and has a wonderful personality as does his little sister and Mother who were there to cheer him on. Dakota was taken/crashed out on the last turn of the last lap in a 4 way battle. He was OK and when asked what happened and how he felt, he said “sh_ _ Happens”. Although perhaps improper language for a little guy his age it was quite a funny response and proof of his great personality/attitude. Although the Mamolas live in Spain they felt like part of the American team and shared in the team pictures and ambiance. In the name of equality, three of the bikes torn down for verifications were disqualified in both groups. For those interested in learning more about this program see; www.minigp50cc.com or www.cycleimports.com