[ondablade]

SSG-esque??? No comprenez...

[OSIRIS]

ondablade : SSG-esque??? No comprenez...

SomeStrangeGuy sometimes posts loooooong posts like all yours seem to be lately...usually packed with good info but my short-term brain can't take it

[ondablade]

Too much TV maybe?? I unfortunately get a bit long winded on topics I've lots to say on, and unfortunately I've been thinking about road racing for a long time...

[coderedcbr]

I really enjoy watching the TT. Maybe some air fencing their speeds are most likley to high for them.

Thanks for the links Ondablade. I barely got on the first one and found that safety is being addressed a little at least. Safety here

[ondablade]

That's the Ulster. There's been quite a lot of work done on the circuit, but if you saw it I think you'd probably feel that despite huge efforts by the club in recent years the scale of the problem is such that it's in a sense like moving the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Bear in mind also that there are many more circuits, most of which are used once a year only. There's no way the finance can possibly be raised to complete the massive land purchases and civil works which would be required too even remotely approach track safety levels at these venues.
For example - how can you make a safe a twisty and undulating seafront road like that in the NW 200 which has a pavement to the outside, with steel railings and street lights behind that.
They do their best by putting foam bales against the fence and lamposts at the corner exits, and by placing foam ramps at the kerb edges at corner exits but this again is largely palliative. The fastest corner on the stretch is a 130 mph right hander on the run towards the finish. It has a kerb, sidewalk and 60 inch timber fence to the outside with parked mobile homes immediately behind that.
I'd not want to take from the efforts of the organisers which have been immense, but I think the basic choices are fairly simple - either stay with a multiplicity of road circuits with minor improvements and slightly reduced risk, or move to a small number of carefully chosen, heavily upgraded and much safer circuits.
One pity in this matter has been the way the sport has split. Many support the latter approach, but the traditionalists fight any such move tooth and nail. It's a great pity, becuase it looked in the political climate which followed Joey Dunlop's death that very substantial government funds could have been extracted for a credible plan of this sort if the sport could have rallied behind it. Those concerned about safety are meanwhile drifiting away from involvement in the sport.

[allred]

I thought this issue was addressed years ago when some riders boycotted the Island to protest the fact that it was part of the Grand Prix series....and therefore they were 'forced' to ride in it.
The I.O.M. was taken out of the Grand Prix and now no-one 'has' to ride the course to gain points.

I remember the late, great Mike Hailwood's lighthearted comment on the subject. When asked what he thought about the riders who were boycotting the Island due to it being too dangerous, he replied with a smile on his face,....'How would they know, they haven't been around it fast enough to find out!!!

[abtech]

as a former participant I can say without any reserve: No comment . . .

[OSIRIS]

abtech : as a former participant I can say without any reserve: *No comment . . .

WOW...you raced the IOM?!?

[Jay]

You know why I like IoM?
Because its one of the few sporting event that actually seems to be reel.
I am having a hardtime putting into words here, but the is something alluring about the fact that race does not feel staged, it happens under everyday conditions and elements and that makes it so much more exciting. Just like Rally Racing.

And the competitors know exactly what the race is about, and the risks, yet they come out in droves!!
I think it should be left as is, why is someone trying to change this too??

[Aychdot]

Hey why don't they use the quick change rear tire setup in IoM like in the Daytona 200?