I know these guys are doing what they love but geeze the number of dead from this race is just brutal.
I know these guys are doing what they love but geeze the number of dead from this race is just brutal.
Its tough when the fatality rate for a multi week racing event is measurable in bodies per week. Reminds me of 70s F1. Sucks to hear about racing claiming lives in the modern era...
Yep. It's rough.
I lost a friend in a motorcycle wreck on the street that me, him, and 2 others were involved in. He was a local CMRA champion and the like and made a mistake at 5/10 and lost his life on the road.
At least these guys have the choice to chase glory.
It's better to be shot out of a cannon rather than squeezed out of a tube.
I love the tt, it's sad that there's such loss of life but I'm glad it's still happening. I look forward to it every year. I love that some humans are willing to sacrifice life itself for the pursuit of their dreams. It's inspirational.
Guy Martin got lucky with his crash 
:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjZXaUwYoog
while Man is not as nanny like as the UK, it's only a matter of time until the stacking of bodies takes a toll on what the people will put up with.
mad_machine wrote: while Man is not as nanny like as the UK, it's only a matter of time until the stacking of bodies takes a toll on what the people will put up with.
It's a tug-of-war with safety improvements on one side, and the bikes getting faster and people getting tired of all the death on the other. Safety is constantly improving but at some point the organizers might have to take some measures to cap speed to keep the "upset with death" side from winning.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
It's not the outright speed that is the problem. It's the cornering speed as that's where the time is made up. That's where people push to get an advantage. The little twins and possibly even the Mugen electric bikes this year are cornering just as fast, if not faster than the super stock and super bikes. Lowering the speed is going to do nothing to increase safety and I can even make a case for it making things more dangerous. Even a 30MPH get off can be most certainly fatal even in the latest and greatest safety gear.
The organizers, racers and citizens of northern Ireland and the Isle of Man know the risks and accept them. Nobody there is pushing to see the races changed in any way. The only people complaining about the safety are people who read headlines and freak out while having no understanding of what it means to the people involved. Leave them alone, they'll be fine.
And I bet you that if for some reason the insurance companies decide that it's too much and try to shut it down the Isle of Man government will underwrite the races. It's too important for them. As far as the number of deaths go this year was below average and far from the worst.
I have a hard time understanding why people would be up in arms that racers die. It's a choice they made when they climb on the bike and it really doesn't bother me that they take a chance and some of them pay the price.
You could increase the death rate 100% and I'm willing to bet 100% of them would still climb on the bike and take the chance.
In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock: for a normal bike race with big run off zones, cushioned barriers, and all that. You can get off the bike at a pretty good clip and be ok. Isle Of Man is a different sort of thing with stone walls, buildings, curbs, and generally being a public road not designed to be raced on. I'm not saying racing is bad in any way. I'm not even saying these races are wrong. It's just rough that so many people are dieing on this particular island. It's a bit morbid to watch, not applauding the skill of a particular maneuver but constantly wondering if you're about to be watching a snuff film.
Toyman01 wrote: I have a hard time understanding why people would be up in arms that racers die. It's a choice they made when they climb on the bike and it really doesn't bother me that they take a chance and some of them pay the price. You could increase the death rate 100% and I'm willing to bet 100% of them would still climb on the bike and take the chance.
I agree 100% with this, but for me, personally, it's not something I'd want to watch.
The Isle of Man TT is the most extreme test of bravery in the racing world. I hope it never goes away.
In reply to KyAllroad:
It's not just the island. Look up the North West 200 or Tandagree or Cookstown. And unlike the island those are races not a time trial. 180+mph, on imperfect public roads and often in the rain battling in a group of five or more riders only inches apart. A young man named Malachi-Mitchel Thomas died at the NW200 last year. Listen to what his father says about the races. Listen to what the wife of Paul Dobbs has to say about the thought of shutting the races down.
The fact that it's not a prepared surface with safety run offs is the draw. That is the thing that makes it so magical.
Obviously I'm a massive fan of the sport and I do get a little defensive about it. But to me, it is one of the last pure forms of Motorsport left in this world and I absolutely love it. Much like rally and targa events. It's a completely separate form of Motorsport than circuit racing and it attracts an entirely different person to it.
My advice is if it's too much for a person to take, then don't watch.
I link this whenever I can because I find it fascinating. https://youtu.be/MsZBXlTHPCg
I'm not big into motorcycles so don't usually look into things like this but, WOW!
Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: I link this whenever I can because I find it fascinating. https://youtu.be/MsZBXlTHPCg
that was awesome
thanks for sharing
In reply to fasted58:
Thank you for watching it.
I'm attributing it because I know you know everyone knows who said it, but it has to be said: Hunter S Thompson.
Appleseed wrote:It's better to be shot out of a cannon rather than squeezed out of a tube.
In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:
That was a very interesting video. Thanks for posting it!
It was an eerie feeling marshaling next the spot at Dundrod where a German rider had lost his life previously. Also once going home we came across a local rider who left what must the largest pool of blood I'm ever likely to see in my life. It had drained/spread for many feet by the time we came along. He actually survived but apparently had to walk long distances each day on Irish country roads near his home to keep alive/and or healthy. Used to see him. Very luck fellow.
This is one of the most action packed races I've found so far. Amazing course. And the passing at the front is astounding. MotoGP is awesome, for sure. But to me, this is awesomer.
In reply to sirrichardpumpaloaf:
Even though it's been a quarter century I still remember the Lindsay hairpin and the spot I marshalled at. 
Another memory was how pristine the pavement was in that little corner of Ireland. Funny how that happens. 
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