An interesting piece on Tomizawa

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-noyes-notebook-without-a-
poem/P1

 

Indeed. All motor-racing is a blood sport. It's not supposed to be and
we don't admit it most of the time. The one's with the difficult
decision are the people who help the young men put themselves in danger
(and profit from it), the organisers. They try to do the right thing and
make it as safe as possible, but they're the ones who have to live with
the side effects. And in the knowledge that even if they personally step
away, somebody else will do it.

Life is short.

That screed was written because my Dad used to organise car race
meetings. He worked at it until he ended up as Clerk of the Course at
international meetings, mostly at Silverstone but also places like
Snetterton[1]. He finally gave up after having to attend one too many
inquests. He basically just couldn't do it any more. That one was an
E-Type that had one of those accidents that nobody has ever had before
and ended up landing on a marshall's post. Not good. Since then the
safety of most circuits is vastly improved and lots of lessons learned.
But I still remember the feeling of "I just can't bring myself to do
this any more".

[1]Coram curve is named after Dudley Coram, a family friend and "the old
man" that was my Dad's predecessor. I have a childhood memory of being
taken in his DB2/4 up Wiscombe hillclimb.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

Wasn't it, though?

 

Thanks for that. Puts a few things into some sort of perspective.

 

Champ points to:

Agreed, though it made me a bit queasy. My son is
13 (same as Peter Lenz). We attended his interview
(with four or five other md250 series kid racers ) at
Indy MotoGP the afternoon before he died. I was struck
by how young they were and how much pressure they
seemed to be taking in stride. I would never have
considered having my kid do that, or race in front of
that many people. Not sure that there's anything
wrong with it but I've tried to not steer my kid into
anything that serious. I'd rather he was a kid.

We're going short tracking tomorrow night though. Mark
changed tires on his TTr125 last night and is pumped.
I promised him a steel shoe for next season and we'll
probably turn my CR125 motocrosser into a flat tracker.

How's that for conflicted. I love racing. Having my son
love racing is a wonderful thing. Unless he were to get
hurt or worse. If it's me, I know the deal and I've been
around enough to know all the consequences, including
suffering some of them. If it's him, he doesn't really
understand anything. He's only 13 and in spite of thinking
he knows everything, he's just a kid and doesn't.

I can only imagine (and it's painful to do so) what Peter
and Shoya's dads are going through.


Go fast. Take chances.
Mike S.

 

In communiqué

I've tried not to consciously push my lad in to racing, but I suppose
the rot started when I bought him his first auto 50 mx bike when he was
7. We never took the KX65 that replaced it a year later to even a
practice track, he just rode it round a trail we blazed on private land.

When the NHCA organised a lad's day out at an indoor MX training school
he asked if he could do it. He turned out to be pretty competent, but
the instructors said a 65 was too small a bike for him buy then. Once he
had a YZ85 he asked if he could go to a MX practice track near us that
has juniors only sessions. He got to a reasonable standard, but didn't
like the traffic, so he never entered a race.

It was his idea that we should get supermoto wheels and take it speed
hill climbing (on tarmac for the benefit of US readers) once he was 13.
At least nobody can ever fetch you off or use you for wheel grip. He has
done 5 events now and is having great fun.

I was pretty anxious when he did Wiscombe last Sunday because it was a
proper hill, with some high banks through the esses which can get you in
to big trouble if you lose it. Being in the same capacity class I had to
just queue up 4 bikes behind him on the line and hope no red flags went
up. So that I could video him I didn't do the last 'open' run of the
day. I was pretty anxious when the clock display at the start just kept
ticking on past 60 seconds. Then he appeared back down the hill grinning
to say he had been flagged because the rider in front had stopped and
was getting a re-run. I was even more anxious when the same thing
happened again. This time the red flags obviously had gone up for him.
By this time I was getting as close to the start line marshals as I
could get for any news and was relieved when they told me he had slid
off but was OK. He soon reappeared down the hill with just a slightly
scuffed boot and some mud on his footrest having had an excursion in to
the laurel bushed just after the notorious 'gate'.

He was still grinning broadly and I asked him if it had put him off
doing any more hill climbs. He is invincible 13, what did I expect him
to say? We'll see about next year, but he is already asking if we can
get the YZ bored out to 100 and eying up lowered 125s. I won't even ask
him if he wants to do the first meeting he is allowed to next season I
will to see if he enquires when it is.

AOL.

--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Two mentions of Wiscombe in one thread. What are the chances of that!
It's a scary course, isn't it. I wonder of Sir Nick Williamson still
holds the hill record.

 

Interesting and thought provoking.

 

Down in the low 34s for the fastest cars these days. The 250 record was
broken at 42.15 on Sunday.

--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

this is what a Swiss newspaper reported Shoyas' Dad having said, on
site;

http://www.lematin.ch/sports/moto/grand-prix-323939

and in english that gives - ...find me a more beautiful place to die,
for someone as passionate (about racing)as Shoya. In a corner full out
at 250km/h.