| Author | Message | ||
     Elvis |
How about we support motorcycle racing that doesn't include stone walls defining the racing line? This raises an interesting point, and I might need to know more about the history of safety at the race to take a more educated stance. Is there 'reckless abandon' on the part of the race organizers? Have efforts been made to address the most dangerous portions? Could relatively simple, reasonable and practical things be done to improve safety? That stone wall might look nice and have some history to it, but are aesthetics put above human life? If those involved are going to profit (and I don't know the details, but I assume there are people other than racers making money off this) from this event, they do have a responsibility to make reasonable efforts to improve safety when specific deficiencies are noted. I could get behind an effort that said: "We have seen a history of safety being ignored by the organizers in the form of X, Y and Z and reasonable fixes A, B and C could be done with minimal effort and investment." And the argument 'this is a community, not a racetrack' is a little weak considering how much emphasis is put on the race. It is a racetrack at this point, and the community has to make certain sacrifices if they want to continue to use it as such. I could sign on to an effort that intended to withhold support until those reasonable things were done. But I'm working from a point of general ignorance and I don't know what the historical record is regarding specifics such as that. (Message edited by elvis on June 01, 2014) | ||
| Davegess |
Dave, Indy car drivers died every week??? An exaggeration but the deaths were common. Half the drivers who started the 1955 racing season where dead within two years. Indy killed drivers on a regular basis. It was considered a blood sport for a season, Hemingway famous said "There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” The story in this months Cycle World is informative, the changes made to the TT in the last 8 years have reduced the deaths dramatically at the TT. | ||
| 46champ |
I have been wondering are the deaths at the TT scattered all over the race track? Or are most of them confined to a few locations? | ||
| Trojan |
How about we support motorcycle racing that doesn't include stone walls defining the racing line? How about you supoort the racing you like and stop banging on about the TT being dangerous? Everyone knows it can be dangerous to race on the Isle of Man. However the medical facilities and staff there are second to none and even if you do crash it is rarely fatal (despite your assertions). Have you ever worked out the amount of mileage done every year by all the competitors at the TT and Manx GP over the last 100+ years? I've said this countless times, but nobody races on the Isle man Man unless they want to. Nobody puts a gun to anyones head. If you object than don't watch it, simple surely  Elvis, You obviously have no idea of the improvements that have been made over the years in terms of mdeical facilities and rider training/coaching that goes on at the TT. You cannot just turn up with your bike and race you know. There is a stringent selection procedure followed by months of laps in cars and on a bike even before you get to practice week. Newcomers are then instructed by course exprts, taken around and shown the corners and points to watch out for, then lead round on a bike before being let loose on the course on their own for the first time. Safety is at the top of everybody's agenda at the TT but it is run on public roads thatare used for the rest of the year by the population, not a race track. By the way, congratulations to Micahel Dunlop on another superb win in the Superbike race  Pity the EBR's and Norton didn't finish but there is always next week. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Thanks Dave, I'll have to check out the cycle world article... I'd like to read the EBR review also. | ||
| Davegess |
46, crashes are all over. Every year they add air fence to spots that can use it and where it can be used. Some spots it would be hard to install. With 37 miles to cover it is tough. As Matt said medical care and emergency services are second to none. The marshals are very, very good (and dedicated, most are taking two weeks of vacation to volunteer for the event. It is very dangerous but if you look at the total race mileage run it is less so than at first glance. There are 75 entrants running 3, 230 mile long races in the week. Another 75 running 2 150 miles races pus two 150 mile sidecar races and the shorter electric bike race. It is essentially a full season of MotoGP in a week. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Brandon posted the following on the WERA board; "Retired on lap 2 at Ballaugh Bridge. Clutch was acting strange. But...I ran my fastest ever lap on my first and only lap today, a 118.3mph lap from a standing start. Mark retired on lap 2 at Creg Ny Baa due to a fueling issue but not totally sure what it was yet. The bikes are very strong here and very fast. Amazing and can't wait to ride it more as we continue to figure them out." Full story here; http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=314164 | ||
| Trojan |
The bikes are very strong here and very fast Except they are neither strong nor fast really in terms of the competition  They need to finish all 6 laps to be strong and lap at 130mph + to be considered fast by IOM standards. I hope they can pick it up for the Superstock race though. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
sad to say, but yep | ||
| Hughlysses |
Anybody seen the superstock results yet? I saw where Dunlop won again. Cretu posted to his FB page that he had clutch issues and had to retire again, just like in the superbike race. Team still trying to figure out the problem. No word on Miller. (Message edited by Hughlysses on June 03, 2014) | ||
| Court |
It is ...... However ...... Really cool to see the EBR go from showroom straight to the race track. I'm betting the niggles get worked out. | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
Anybody seen the superstock results yet? I saw where Dunlop won again. Please post SPOILER ALERT so I can skip your post or avert my eyes. Some of us in Blighty are lucky enough to catch ITV 4's superb late night coverage on TV!!!!  Rocket in England | ||
| Noone1569 |
Another racer died today =( http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-2 7684730 | ||
| Hughlysses |
Please post SPOILER ALERT Oops! Sorry about that, Rocket. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Prayers for the family of the dead riders. | ||
| Hootowl |
I'm coming off the fence. Hello Blake. | ||
| Hughlysses |
RIP to both racers. POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT Complete superstock race results here: http://www.iomtt.com/~/media/Files/2014/Downloads/ Race-Results/Superstock/Superstock%20Result%203.6. 14.ashx No listing for either of the Splitlath-Redmond EBR riders. Brandon Cretu posted to FB that he had to quit on the first lap due to a recurrence of the clutch problem he experienced in the super bike race, but he's not listed as DNF. Any word on Mark Miller? | ||
| Jens |
Mark lost the shift lever | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Brandon posted this about the EBRs on the WERA board; "Honestly The bikes are phenomenal here. The engines are strong as hell and we're not losing much time, if any on the straights I set my fastest lap ever at the TT so far on the EBR and Mark is going faster than he went in 2 years of riding the Aprilia Mark had a bolt come off of the shift linkage which ended his race My clutch issue is a very rare and strange thing that was something we didnt fix from the first race, even though we thought we had. Unfortunately the only time to test our fix was the Superstock race. Not ideal. The bikes are amazing and they have impressed everyone. First year for them ever at the TT...teething issues are bound to occur" http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=314164&page =13 | ||
| Trojan |
The bikes are amazing and they have impressed everyone. First year for them ever at the TT...teething issues are bound to occur" Jeez, where do I start Nobody has even mentioned the EBR bikes in any coverage I have read or watched on TV (and believe me I read everything I can find!). I haven't heard anyone say they were impressed by them, in fact I haven't heard anyone who even noticed them. If they were amazing they would have at least finished the race. The bikes are phenomenal here. The engines are strong as hell and we're not losing much time, if any on the straights has he looked at the leaders times and speedsd or is he comparing to his previous races at the IOM? The sad fact is that both bikes failed to finish both races they entered and were nowhere near competitive when they were running. It all sounds a bit too familiar to me I was hoping that the EBR's on the Isle of Man could put up a better show than the WSb versions but sadly they seem to suffer from exactly the same problems. Lack of speed, poor reliability and inability to fix problems in time for races. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I was hoping that the EBR's on the Isle of Man could put up a better show than the WSb versions but sadly they seem to suffer from exactly the same problems. Lack of speed, poor reliability and inability to fix problems in time for races. Yes, it was a pretty disappointing showing but the bikes and riders showed more promise than EBR's WSBK effort has so far. At least it sounds like their problems at IOM were all small ones rather than detonating engines. The unique format of IOM (~30+ mile course and no warm up lap) makes what might be a sufferable problem elsewhere fatal at IOM. Miller was about 10 MPH off the fastest pace in practice, which is considerably better than they've done in WSBK so far. Unfortunately as they say "to finish first, you must first finish". (Message edited by Hughlysses on June 04, 2014) | ||
| Reepicheep |
We all knew where you would start long before you wrote your post. | ||
| M2typhoon |
^  | ||
| Trojan |
We all knew where you would start long before you wrote your post. Maybe the truth hurts. To be honest I would have a lot more respect for them if they had said something like 'We know we were not good enough but will come back stronger' rather than all that cr*p about the bikes being so strong etc. That was just PR bullsh*t. The plain fact is they entered too late, had no time to prepare and suffered for it. Now they need to start preparing fornext yar NOW, not 3 weeks before the start of racing like they did this year. | ||
| M2typhoon |
How about you let some of talk for while rather than taking up half of this thread with your predictable negative insight. We get your point Trojan. Over the last three threads you have been engaged in, you've posted the same basic garbage for the last month or more. There are doctors that can help with your constipation. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"How about you let some of talk for while rather than taking up half of this thread with your predictable negative insight." uhhhh what? let some of talk for a while? Trojan is spot on, these bikes arent impressing anyone at the IoM, they couldnt finish they race and werent leading (or close to it) when they stopped running. This isnt 2008(or was it 09) when Eslick was leading and battling for first with the two yamahas at Daytona when bodywork messed up and he had the long pit etc No, this is a bike failing to perform well. Just because you dont like to hear it doesnt make it true. And everything Trojan has said has been right on point. 10mph off is a lot better than 20-30, sure, but thats still a lot in a 150 mile race...but that doesnt matter if they cant get to the 150m mark. | ||
| Trojan |
How about you let some of talk for while rather than taking up half of this thread with your predictable negative insight. Feel free to contradict me and post some 'positive' results. I'd be more than happy to cheer EBR when they achieve success. I'll also be here to tell them to stop the BS when they lose because they broke down and weren't fast enough. Maybe they need to listen to other more down to earth TT racers such as Guy Martin or John McGuiness, who tell the truth when they break down or don't win, rather than spouting some corporate rubbish that is patently untrue. I'm getting more than a nit fed up this year with EBr saying 'we are making progress' and ' The bikes are phenomenal here. The engines are strong as hell and we're not losing much time, if any on the straights'. What nonsense. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Don't put their lap times all on the bike. Did they DNF, yes, but you know what? Shit happens. Everyone knew that these riders were not going to have a shot at winning the race, as there really are only a handful that are capable of that. They put in a respectable showing (minus the DNF's, those do hurt), and did so with balls of steel just to mount up and have a go at it. I for one applaud both Brandon and Mark for their efforts, they were both improving throughout the event. The fact that they are turning PR's does show their confidence in the machine and their abilities. We can all sit here and armchair this to death, but get over it! | ||
| Noone1569 |
Can't wait for Trojan's motorcycle company to debut their bikes in 2015 and win! WTF, seriously, can we just applaud the fact that EBR, 4 years old, has motorcycles actively racing in the most premier events in the world? For me, that's good enough at this point. Good enough for me to plunk down the twenty thousand dollars and buy an RX. Well, that and the fact that the RX is a hell of a machine. (Message edited by noone1569 on June 04, 2014) | ||
| Tpoppa |
Racing at the pro level is about victories not moral victories. |
