Quote from Cleve in another thread: "Hey everyone. I am Paul and Jill's teammate and was there on the day with Paul when he had the big one. (In fact just behind him). We usually dice with each other on the track and on that day he was running hot. However his lap times were slower than previous ones when he crashed. So it wasn't that he was going too fast or beyond himself. It was just a racing crash, made worse by what Puke is like. The whole thing has been a big shock for me as Paul is not just a teammate but a bloody good friend. I haven't known him for that long but he is just one of those guys that you feel you have known for a long time and that he has been a mate since you were kids.
Paul was in a pretty rough way after the surgery (last time I saw him was in the ICU unit the day after). It sounds like it was a horrendous experience. Anyway I will be back to see him soon again and will be there to support him through all this and to whatever he wants to do afterwards.
The crash has caused a few rethinks about the racing and has also got me a bit mad about track safety in NZ. Some people say "well you can choose to not race there" but that is not the issue (and also for those young kids chasing sponsors just NOT an option).
The basic fact is that Puke is irresponsibly and unnecessarily dangerous. When you crash on a fast corner you should just slide. Maybe be a bit bruised but still able to get up and maybe even do the next race. You SHOULD NOT slam into a wall and then have your bike slam into you.
I don't want to give up racing. Doing it with Paul, Jill, Jonno, Shaun, Anthony, the late Bruce and the late Darryl etc have been brilliant experiences and I am addicted to the thrill of racing.
However falling off and hitting things that don't need to be there are not on. Street racing is a personal choice thing and nothing can be done about them, but circuit racing is a different beast and all of us should be pressuring for these things to change.
Cheers all for your support for Paul. He appreciates it."
Didn't want to post in the other thread about Paul, but thought this warrants more thought/explanation/discussion.
Is Puke open to bikes again? Was the day on the track MNZ sanctioned? (sorry, not really into road racing, so don't quite follow what is going on).
One thing that struck me was the comment about the wall & the bike slamming into Paul. Even if you guys are only club racing, safety should be paramount. Rules on track safety have changed over the years due to injuries & deaths, but this complaint sounds very familiar - Love, Loss & Speed when Kim dies after complaining about a corner being unsafe and subsequently crashing there.
It just sounds like Paul's accident is deja vu. Not trying to aportion blame, but don't think it should just get the brush off, either. If there's a problem, it needs to be addressed, surely.
Instead of slagging each other, how about banding together. The post just raised some concerns which I saw being glossed over & honestly can't comment - guys who use the track - thoughts?
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