Date: 28-03-24  Time: 19:40 pm

Author Topic: I.O.M TT fatalities  (Read 3235 times)

lew600fazer

  • GP Hero
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,253
  • There is only one form of racing, road racing.
    • Main bike:
      Other
    • - 2017 MT-09 Tracer ABS
    • View Profile
I.O.M TT fatalities
« on: 10 June 2017, 12:00:11 am »

 Really is time this was stopped


 I think that is one of the most over used statements in Motor cycle sport
They have died doing something they enjoyed doing, usually followed by RIP.
It is time this event was stopped or else made a hell of a lot safer.
There have been 5 fatalities this year the death rate is going up year on year.
No doubt I will get hammered for this. I have been a road race fan since I was 14 and still go to at least one or two road races a year in N Ireland. I have never been to the TT as one it is to bloody expensive to get there and two, to what see the riders go past every 17 minutes for 5 laps. No thanks. My last road race was the Tandragee 100 last year. There was a young gun called Malaci Mitchell Thomas, a new wonder kid on the block. He was flying and everyone was raving about him. I thought to myself then, son you are quick but take your time and learn the track and your craft as well. He was killed at the NW200 about a month later.

The death toll in this year’s TT Races which finished on Friday is just one fewer than the worst year for the event, which was 1970, when there were six fatalities. Enough is enough
MT-09 Tracer for those who no longer can handle a BIG boy Fazer

celticbiker

  • Club Racer
  • ****
  • Posts: 441
    • Main bike:
      Fazer8
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #1 on: 10 June 2017, 07:48:55 am »
Don't even know where to begin.
Yes it's a sad loss when a rider dies but the sentiments are spot on. If you have never raced then you don't and never will understand. Racing is in the blood and unstoppable, usually the harder the better, the danger is part of the enjoyment.
No rider/driver enters a race unaware of the possibility of it being the last sunrise they will see, they know and accept the risks.
You might say that this is selfish and childish and it is, it's not fare on those left behind but spouses made that decision to marry a racer and the parents encouraged it.
I have known my share of racers that have died and not one of the parents/spouses have blamed the sport.
I can only hope that I'm lucky enough to die with my boots on.
If you are going to apply your logic then we should ban road cars because people die in those all the time or sky diving or any other thing you care to mention where there is the potential for people to get hurt or killed.
« Last Edit: 10 June 2017, 07:53:04 am by celticbiker »
(\__/) This is bunny. Copy and paste
(x'.'x) bunny onto your page to help
(")-(") him gain world domination!

lew600fazer

  • GP Hero
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,253
  • There is only one form of racing, road racing.
    • Main bike:
      Other
    • - 2017 MT-09 Tracer ABS
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #2 on: 10 June 2017, 10:14:01 am »

My original post was not correct, it was 3 competitors and 2 bikers during the week, sky news as usual reported it wrong.
I know what you are saying, I have been biking for over 50 years now. I know I should stop as I no longer have the skills or concentration I used to have, it is a drug.
Is there any need for a 1000cc Super sport bike at the TT, even some of the top boys are opting now for the Super stock. Okay I know not a lot of difference. Tyres have improved and bikes are getting faster year on year, but the roads are getting worse year on year.
Why not at known accident black sports slow them down ? introduce chicanes were possible if not at the actual spot then before it or just after it. I know it will take away some of the thrills but hopefully also the spills.
I am not a tree huger or an HSE freak just the older one gets it hurts to see and read about some one dying at a sporting event.
MT-09 Tracer for those who no longer can handle a BIG boy Fazer

Mick-H

  • WSB Pack Hound
  • *****
  • Posts: 764
    • Main bike:
      FZS 1000 Gen1
    • - Honda C90
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #3 on: 10 June 2017, 03:00:11 pm »

It's all about personal choice, everyone that races knows and accepts the risks, no-one is forced to do it.
Like you say some are choosing not to ride the 1000cc bikes anymore their choice and just how it should be.
So is there a need for 1000cc bikes? probably not but then is there a need for 1000cc+ road bikes when a 600 can do double the speed limit, it's all about personal choice.
 






Freck

  • Club Racer
  • ****
  • Posts: 377
    • Main bike:
      FZS600 98-99
    • - Triumph Daytona 955, BMW R9T
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #4 on: 10 June 2017, 08:10:30 pm »
I listened to an interview with Philip McCallen on Manx Radio whilst I was at the TT, during practice week, and he was very passionate in his derision of all the people who call for road races like the TT to be stopped. He got quite angry about people not involved in racing trying to sanitise, restrict or completely stop it.


His attitude, and that of many other racers, is that they all know the risks and danger involved yet still choose to compete in the sport that they love. They try very hard to make it as safe as possible, but by its very nature it is dangerous and that is a lot of the appeal, as well as the competition.


Personally, I find it very sad that there are deaths almost every year during the races, but I have to agree with Phil's sentiments; it's each persons own choice to compete, just as it's our own choices to ride bikes and risk injury or death every day on the roads.

YamFazFan

  • GP Hero
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,626
    • Main bike:
      Other
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #5 on: 16 June 2017, 07:53:43 pm »
Does anyone know how important the TT is to the I.O.M. economy?.

It's only for two weeks of the year, but I'm guessing it's a significant amount.

Would the economy be seriously affected if there were no TT races?.


Freck

  • Club Racer
  • ****
  • Posts: 377
    • Main bike:
      FZS600 98-99
    • - Triumph Daytona 955, BMW R9T
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #6 on: 16 June 2017, 08:01:46 pm »
Does anyone know how important the TT is to the I.O.M. economy?.

It's only for two weeks of the year, but I'm guessing it's a significant amount.

Would the economy be seriously affected if there were no TT races?.
That was one of Phil's points too, as well as the road racing in Ireland. It's a big earner for a lot of businesses and  a vital income for lots of people.

F4celess

  • Club Racer
  • ****
  • Posts: 394
    • Main bike:
      FZS600 98-99
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #7 on: 14 December 2018, 02:58:22 pm »
This is the draw / excitement of this event, motorcycle racing on a "public road" circuit.
Having a 'bad year' where there were the most fatalities does not automatically mean the event should end.

Those individuals who did regretfully lose their lives, how many were professional riders compared to riders on the opposite end of the racing scale ?
(more of the latter would explain a lot).

The riders know the risks, they chose to compete, they enjoy the thrills of racing as much as we do watching them race.
Deaths are a potential outcome for alot of motor vehicle racing sports.

limax2

  • Creep.
  • GP Hero
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,929
    • Main bike:
      FZS600 00-01
    • View Profile
Re: I.O.M TT fatalities
« Reply #8 on: 14 December 2018, 05:31:55 pm »
I raced in the M.G.P. over a ten year period from 1972 when the top speed of my bikes was no more than 125mph. I remember thinking at the time it was a crazy speed to be going in places like Kirk Micheal, more so in the early couple of laps of practice until you settled into it all, but at the same time a great thrill that was never quite the same at short circuit racing. At the time I had a young family and my mother used to tell me I had no business doing such a dangerous sport. I was already short circuit racing when I met my wife and she never tried to discourage me from racing and we always enjoyed our racing holidays in the I.O.M. as a family and the kids grew up going to race meetings. After i stopped racing and as i have got older I started to see the wisdom of my mothers words, but didn't see it at the time. As it turned out I escaped any serious injury's and as a family we have many happy memories of the racing years. My enjoyment of spectating at the I.O.M. has definitely diminished as a result of the number of riders killed when i have been there, to the extent i very rarely go these days. Every time another rider is killed i think it should be stopped but at other times I think why should others be  denied the experience of racing there when I enjoyed it so much. A radical suggestion of mine to make it safer would be to introduce speed limiters to the bikes for safety reasons, but that would also even things up a bit and brink it back more to the skill of the rider.
« Last Edit: 15 December 2018, 09:11:48 am by limax2 »

 


* Crash.Net racing newsfeeds

MotoGP

World Superbikes

British Superbikes

RSS to JavaScript