Isle of Man

Check my post on the CM forum - screwed up and put it there. Gist is: This is IOM TT week, 11 pm on velocity (281 DirecTV). Don't miss it, fabulous photography of the world's last great real road race.

Last I heard there were 2 dead, and that was just in practice.

Is this the most dangerous (to the driver/rider) sport in the world?

It's gotta be up there. I often tell my kids about how things were done before our time.

I show them how tough and unsafe the industrial revolution was as far as worker safety etc.

This has got to be right up there with building a skyscraper in the 1920's.

237 dead since it first ran in 1907. I'd call that dangerous.

Basil Exposition wrote: Last I heard there were 2 dead, and that was just in practice.

Aparently one of those two was a spectator rather than a competitor.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/isle-of-man-tt-claims-life-during-qualifying-on-wednesday-060315

The element of death is part of the thrill. I'd like to believe the spectators know this, too.

ebonyandivory wrote: Is this the most dangerous (to the driver/rider) sport in the world? It's gotta be up there. I often tell my kids about how things were done before our time. I show them how tough and unsafe the industrial revolution was as far as worker safety etc. This has got to be right up there with building a skyscraper in the 1920's.

When I used to play Grand Prix Legends I remember the box said that something like half of the drivers gridded for the 1967 Formula 1 season would eventually die in auto racing incidents.

Someone once asked Michael Schumacher after he had won one of his multi-World Champion titles whether he wanted to go to the Indianapolis 500 and try to win there to really show he was the best. The provincialism of the question aside, Michael answered that he felt that he had proved all he needed to and the Indy 500 was just too dangerous. This from a guy that raced motorcycles, as well. Don't know if anyone ever asked him whether he would do the TT.

TT racers are just a different breed of cat altogether.

Basil Exposition wrote: TT racers are just a different breed of cat altogether.

^Fact. It as to take huge balls to enter a race that its a proven fact that on average at least 2 people killed every year. it takes a manlier man then I to know that risk and still go for it.

on a side note isle of man side cars are also epic

jstein77 wrote:

Basil Exposition wrote: Last I heard there were 2 dead, and that was just in practice.

Aparently one of those two was a spectator rather than a competitor. http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/isle-of-man-tt-claims-life-during-qualifying-on-wednesday-060315

True, but he died in a motorcycle crash of his own from the sounds of it. Not like some participant lost control of his bike and flung it into the crowd. That would be terrible

Still sad tho...

Look up some YouTube videos of on bike camera views of IOM TT. They tend to look like video games, as in it looks like it couldn't possibly be real. But it is and its terrifying.

Yeah I'm not sure how I feel about the IOM. I'm firmly in the camp that says our world has become too sterile, and that a certain element of danger is indeed part of the thrill of motorsport and in fact life in general. But there have been a lot of "brave" young men killed at the IOM. Say what you will about how they died doing what they loved bla bla bla. They're still dead. The risks seem too great to justify this in my mind.

In reply to doc_speeder:

They all know the risk going in, and age doesn't matter. They do it for the sake of doing it.

Some guys in their 40's and onwards still compete in it BTW, its not just young people who don't know better.

To me the Isle of Man is the most impressive race in the world. It's dangerous, the speeds are mind-numbing, and it takes true courage to win. In my mind, it's everything racing should be.

Enjoy it now......before the safety nannys shut it down. It's amazing a race like this has survived in our bubble-wrapped times. I can't see it lasting much longer. Think of the children.......

Joe Gearin wrote: the speeds are mind-numbing

"Mind-numbing" means boring, you're looking for "mind-blowing" or "mind-shattering." Please don't make this mistake, I cringe every time I see it on Speedhunters. Tell the other writers, thanks

In reply to GameboyRMH:

The speeds are simply astonishing. No other way to describe it.

Kinda like Schumacher and his comment about Indy, Valentino Rossi has stated that he'd never do the IOM TT because it's too dangerous.

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news--general-news/rossi-iom-tt-is-too-dangerous/22211.html

Although you never want to hear of someone getting killed in an event, the danger is probably a significant component of why they race it in the first place.

-Rob

sooo, would signing up to race in the IOM breach my life insurance contract?

GameboyRMH wrote:

Joe Gearin wrote: the speeds are mind-numbing

"Mind-numbing" means boring, you're looking for "mind-blowing" or "mind-shattering." Please don't make this mistake, I cringe every time I see it on Speedhunters. Tell the other writers, thanks

FWIW---- my mind gets blurry and numb when I see motorcycles going through town at those speeds. It's not boring, just hard to comprehend. I think your definition is just that......yours.

I got this through the Googles.....so it has to be correct:

mind-numb·ing

adjective

so extreme or intense as to prevent normal thought. "the jury sat through hours of mind-numbing testimony"

In reply to rob_lewis:

I think it is more the challenge than it is the risk of death. What other race is that challenging?

At the same time I'm thrilled by the IOM TT, it's also horrifyingly dangerous.

The thing is, there is no way to really mitigate the danger without just canceling the race. In Formula I they have been able to improve safety of the cars and the courses and the equipment to mitigate danger, but no matter what you do with a motorcycle or what gear you put on the guys there isn't much that can be done to help when a human flies off a bike at 150mph.

Maybe someday they will come up with some sort of airbag suit to keep these guys intact if they fly off the bike, but until then it's pretty obvious what these guys are getting into as well as the risks involved.

Harvey wrote: Maybe someday they will come up with some sort of airbag suit to keep these guys intact if they fly off the bike, but until then it's pretty obvious what these guys are getting into as well as the risks involved.

There are these, but I don't think they'd help much in an IoM TT crash...

Maybe something more like this size:

You guys know about Mad Sunday right?

Mad Sunday.

I read about it in Performance Bikes years ago. They pretty much open the Isle TT course to anyone that day. No speed limits.

In reply to Joe Gearin:

I get the same sense of awe watching IOM TT runs as I do watching helmet cam videos of World Cup downhill racers. Possibly moreso as DH racing/riding is something I do, so I am well aware of how over-the-top the terrain they're riding on is and how much steeper and rougher than it looks in the video. My brain simply can't look far enough ahead and be able to process the terrain that fast.

^^ those guys are mighty impressive! I was visiting a friend in Vail once and they had a pro downhill course groomed. It was insanely steep. I've done my share of skiing, but it's hard to imagine going down something so nearly vertical.

I remember a video back in the mid 90s of a guy who would "practice" his runs by strapping his skis to the roof of a Supra Turbo (single turbo model) and having his buddy drive him at 130mph or so down a run-way. They'd keep the targa open so they would communicate.

hardcore indeed!

In reply to Joe Gearin:

Skiing, yes - also impressive, although it sometimes loses the sense of speed, since it's so wide open. But what I do is downhill mountain bike racing. Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBgqBglSWL4

Not the steepest of roughest course, but gives a good sense of the speeds they can go.

Here's another one (same racer) at a crazy-long race in Whistler, B.C. (most W.C. races are around 4 or 5 min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf3Ls2di1oQ

How he can maintain that level of concentration for 13 minutes just blows my mind. And the strength required to keep the bike under you... And he's just one of the top pros (although still hasn't won a World Cup yet). There are at least a dozen more who are just as fast.

Our top US pro is a Cali guy Aaron Gwin (who happens to be leading in the World Cup standings right now after two races with a 1st and a 2nd). This is his race run at a NJ mtn local to me on trails I've ridden on. Some of these sections are so much rougher than he makes them look. For half the run, I just sit here going, "how the hell did he not hit that tree?"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3cw9j0Nitk