Racing a dangerous sport? Some thoughts...

[MSTRS:Me]

Well said, Biggles.
Yes, motorcycling is dangerous. Yes, it hurts and kills people. Yet, most of us wouldn't stop riding because of that. We feel the fear, manage the risks as best we can and do it anyway. Just like parachutists, mountaineers, rally drivers...and so on.
Life is for living and enjoying while you have it. If your passion is no longer pleasurable, find another passion that is. And if your 'time' is up, so be it.
The term "a life not lived is wasted' comes to mind, yet who of us is qualified to judge what another deems 'living'?

[Gremlin]

I don't have a Facebook account and was able to read it fine.

Yeah, can see it fine on the desktop... must have been the mobile...

Well written Biggles

[White trash]

Hmmmmmmm, it is well written Marcus. But I wonder, how many in agreement with you are also of the opinion that the IOM TT Races should be banned?

Oh. Hello?

[CHOPPA]

Lets just hope we dont have to have a minutes silence to think about shit like that just before we go on track. I had to ride past a horrific accident at puke, actually had to race past once then ride past a second time.

It was hard to get my head around but I put it behind me so I could concentrate on racing only to have a minutes silence to 'think' about it at every bloody race meeting I attended.

[Nicksta]

nice writing Marcus....
i agree we are selfish to race and risk life and limb every time we go out.
My reasons to race are selfish too... to honour a biker taken by the sport and keep the memory alive... seems a little strange to risk more life to honour life lost but i see it fitting.
I know i have caused a lot of pain and stress with my big accident last year and i cant tell you how many people cant believe i'm back doing it again... I understand the risks and also know how it feels to be on the other side, worrying and watching crashes unfold.
Racing/biking is our passion, without passion what are we?
I race to remember, i race to enjoy, i race to honour and i race for me..... Racing is dangerous but so is crossing the road.

RIP riders who are lost doing what they love.

[hughie495]

Well said mate,We had the pleasure to lease Tim a bike for his first ever roadrace meeting at Hampton Downs on the 17th of October,He was in my opinion a very level headed young man who thought very carefully about his every move and was very keen too learn more.It was inspiring too see his enthusiasm and willingness too learn,I was gutted when I heard yesterday it was him that had been killed on friday.

Its coming up 40 years involvement in the sport for me next year and the list of fallen seems endless,But the fact is motorsport is dangerous no matter how many air bags/haybales/medics and layers of cottonwool we apply and death/serious injury are always going too be part of it.

RIP Tim

Amen I often rode with Tim, he is a very good friend of mine. He was always the sensible one, although we were all pretty good, he would always make calculated decisions and generally not push nearly as hard as the rest of us.
Fantastic guy, nobody would have a bad word to say about him
RIP!

[roadracingoldfart]

Its coming up 40 years involvement in the sport for me next year and the list of fallen seems endless,But the fact is motorsport is dangerous no matter how many air bags/haybales/medics and layers of cottonwool we apply and death/serious injury are always going too be part of it.

RIP Tim

Its only about 29 years for me Billy , but like you i have seen far too many incidents with some ending in the worst way or wheelchair injuries.
The worst incidents are the ones you actually witness or are involved in which is a few for me but i guess i was somewhat hardened or numbed to the outcome, we all deal with things in a differant way .
I personally dont seem to be quite so affected emotionally if i know the rider but didnt see it or didnt attend the meeting.
I have lost count of the times i shouldnt have walked or been carried away from a crash and all the bad ones were on the track, not the road.
I will end this as i do in a lot of my emails , .... "stay safe and take care all " .

RIP all the fallen.

Paul.

[DEATH_INC.]

Good writeup Fella.
Though I unlike you though do often think about the consequences of shit going wrong while I'm out there. It helps keep me from being too crazy.

[Gremlin]

From a marshals perspective, and I certainly don't speak for all, we know you go onto the track accepting the risks that come with it. As racingoldfart commented, the incidents can affect you, and differs from person to person. We do indeed lose people from marshalling that witness bad incidents, and most of the racers are a tight knit bunch, so they're affected as well. Personally, I find it a bit easier not knowing most of the racers.

[ellipsis]

....your thoughts are relevant...if you think like that....never bothered me in the past....a few flutters before a race meeting....more to do with, having to pay the mortgage and getting to work on monday, than the BIG thought....have worked in industries that do kill a lot of bods....cant afford to have those feelings in those situations....my sons are now motorcyclists and m/c racers....their choice...my worries....gotta shrug it off or it will chew you up.....i am more terrified of not being able to race, than of racing....and a lot more terrified on the road...stepped off a low scaffold yesterday. missed the deck ...fell a meter and a half....nearly poked my nuts up to my throat with my hammer handle and have an ankle the size of a grapefruit...relevant or not...dont know....

[Kickaha]

.stepped off a low scaffold yesterday. missed the deck ...fell a meter and a half....nearly poked my nuts up to my throat with my hammer handle and have an ankle the size of a grapefruit...relevant or not...dont know....

I hope that went in your accident register

[Clivoris]

Well said Marcus.

[steve_xland]

I feel bad for anyone who has lost their life or even suffered life-changing injuries through MotorSport. I was witness to one guy when I was racing Superkarts in Australia... he hit the wall hard at Oran Park & was very badly hurt, to the point where had to learn to talk & walk again & is still (12 years on) not fully functional. Lost his business & had a Family who had to try to pick up the pieces & move on.

We all know the risks but still we go out there because it is what we do. We love it.

What pisses me off though, is that my insurance company won't cover me if I am hurt whilst being involved in any form of motorsport. Statistically I have more chance of getting hurt or killed on the public roads than on any race track. So I wonder how they come to this sensible conclusion that Motor Racing is so dangerous. Surely, speeding in a controlled environment is always going to be better than the open road with trees, ditches and also moving obstacles like trucks & cars.

I wonder how this poor bugger's Family got on.

Anyway, good write up...

[D-Meister]

I've been round superbikes/trackdays for the last 10 years and in the racing scene for only 2years now.

It's actually bloody scary to see the amount of injuries sustained per season. Just last season my team-mate managed a highside at Phakisa, Welkom, SA onto the fastest part of the track at about 190km/h. He bounced and got struck by a bike from behind shattering his pelvis, breaking legs and ankle. He's still in and out out theatre every now and again over a year later with his crutches.

But just before he went out he had a vision of falling and joked about it.....
He will also now admit that he was pushing himself beyond his own abilities trying to prove something.

Now I'm not the best rider out there by a long shot but I take every race very serious and just want to finish in one piece. I race because I enjoy the camaraderie, the excitement and the competitiveness....... and a bad day of racing still beats a good day at the office

Bottom line is IMHO, when you get on your bike do it for yourself, don't try to prove anything to anyone. We not all fast and we can't all win...... but at least we can tell the story on Monday and that is what makes life worth living. RIDE WITHIN YOUR OWN CAPABILITY. Go to a trackday and find out what you can learn, ride defensively and expect someone in a car to try and kill you and think before you try and be a hero........ sermon over

[woodyracer]

racing is dangerous, thats why i like it..dangerous stuff is fun.