PeteN95

I cant believe they are actually worse than the AMA?!? From Roger Edmonson on the controversy of rain racing at Mid Ohio and other tracks:

This led to Roadracingworld.com asking Edmondson, does the Rider Safety Council still exist?

“I have no idea,” said Edmondson. “I know that there is one, but I don’t know who they are. But this is not an issue (track safety!) that riders should be taking up, in my mind."

Holy CRAP!?!

Here is the whole ugly story :

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=32836

PeteN95

I can't believe no one else is outraged by this except me? This smells like a return to the dark ages of racing safety! They intend to race in the rain at Infineon too!?!? WTF!!

theJrod

We race in the rain at Pacific.....

Infineon and Mid-Ohio would be like GP tracks to us.

theJrod

Actually, let me add:

I'm completely fine with what DMG is doing here. They make some very valid points:

If a rider or riders feel a course is unsafe in the rain, then don't race. DMG won't force them to race either. The problem arrises when a prominent racer, presumably fighting for a championship, chooses not to race. Not wanting to give up a significant amount of points to his rivals, he tries to stage a boycott of the race. If he gets enough support throughout the paddock, the promotors are forced to cancel the race. This is BS, IMO. If the top 5 guys don't want to race, then fine. It give the privateers a shot at getting some recognition and possibly more sponsorship.

Racers are there for the fans. Period. DMG is *very* misguided on a lot of their rules, but this is at least one fact they recognize.

GixxerPete

The first part of the article sounds horrible, gloom and doom. But the second part with the reply from Edmondson sounds a lot more reasonable.

I'm still very concerned that they are trying to model motorcycle roadracing too much like NASCAR racing and not taking the differences between not only the machinery, but the fan base into account. For example, making 600s the premiere class is absolutely retarded. Stifling the factories completely is also stupid.

Tdawg

They tried a boycott in moto-ST last year. One team decided to race forcing the others to compete due to close points. A knarly crash happened in the race were the teams were concerned. Could have killed them, hospital trips, fireballed bikes. In the end the teams that wanted the boycott got fined, and proven correct. Don't think they race there anymore.

The tracks need to be safer and allow for a true superbike class, 1000cc factory supported bikes. That's why the 200 runs 600s now.

theJrod

I think we all read the same article. The Moto-ST incident was unfortunate, but ultimately the promoters/organizers should be responsible for the safety of the racers. If riders have issues, they should voice their concerns to their reps. It needs to go through the proper channels. A boycott is not good for anyone - riders, fans, promoters, advertisers, sponsors.. nobody.

Note that nobody "forced" anyone to race in this example. Riders chose to race because they'd lose too many points if they didn't - that's racing. They could have sat out if they truly believed it to be that unsafe.

Tdawg

the org. threatened a team ban if both bikes didnt start. a mechanical was faked BMW sat it out

they've gotten better since then, with the rules and pace car stuff.
imho it stems from DMG running motost on car tracks with the GT/ALMs series

it was a nasty wreck, don't think i've got it saved though

PeteN95

Yes, I know, I raced there in the rain and snow. But you've never raced at Infineon or Mid Ohio, have you? The local club at Infineon won't race in the rain there, but what do they know? What if there was a concrete wall on the outside of T1 at PR? No issue in the dry, but you could crash there in the rain. PR is much safer than Infineon, you want hairball, try racing at Coos Bay, OR!

Edmonson's attitude toward rider input is the scary thing to me. He wants to keep you from being able to discuss safety issues with your fellow riders!

theJrod

I'm not saying riders should race at unsafe tracks in the rain. There are a lot of different issues at play here.... My main gripe is the coercion used by a select few riders to convince the rest of the field not to race - essentially a boycott. They should be going through the proper channels to voice their concern. It sounds like DMG hasn't implemented those channels though, which does create a problem.

There should be a safety board, made up of racers, promoters, and track officials. Whether or not to race in the rain should be a decision made by that group of (hopefully) educated people. The rest of the riders should have a forum to voice their opinions, but they should not directly have a say in the matter.

theJrod

That part I must have missed, and it makes more sense now. You can see how a boycott was pretty much the riders' last and only option.

PeteN95

NASCAR doesn't race in the rain!?!

Amorget

And they don't play baseball in the rain... what about it?

MotoGP runs in the rain, F1 runs in the rain, WSBK runs in the rain.

GixxerPete

Edmondson made a big deal about fans paying for a race and expecting there to be a race. NASCAR doesn't run in the rain. So what happens to NASCAR fans when they buy a ticket and it there's no race?

Amorget

Have the seen the turnout at rain delayed races? It's pretty low.

But, if you can't tell the difference between a circle track and a road course I can't help you.

PeteN95

And they don't and couldn't race MotoGP, F1, or WSBK at Mid Ohio or Infinion or Road Atlanta because they wouldn't pass FIM safety regulations, even in the dry. Ask most Euro racers, American tracks are dangerous.

Amorget

"The facts are quite simple. Every request of AMA Pro Racing has been completed by Mid-Ohio. There are no unfinished improvements to be completed. Indeed, there is nothing more that can be done. When the requests were made of Mid-Ohio, it was stipulated by AMA Pro Racing management that if they did the work, racing could take place in both wet and dry conditions. Unfortunately, this commitment was not kept by the recent management team. I intend to do so.

I also intend to restore Road Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway and Infineon Raceway to their rightful positions as facilities approved for racing in both wet and dry conditions.

Road Atlanta has completed a comprehensive remodeling of specific areas of concern, as well as a complete repaving of the track surface. Infineon Raceway has been a leader in our sport in their efforts to deal with motorcycle racing related issues and other racing organizations have used the track in wet conditions without significant problems. Virginia International Raceway has no outstanding characteristics that justify the prior dry-only designation."

Seems some changes have been made to the tracks.

I have zero knowledge of the tracks, but if they really are unsafe in the wet, then yes, they shouldn't be run (Duh) and changes should be made to the track to insure they are safe or risk losing their race. DMG should chose tracks that are safe to run rain or shine.

PeteN95

More warmth and fuzzyness from DMG, from a Cycle news article on a NH newspaper article about the AMA returning to race at Loudon. You remember, the place where Duhamel slide into an unprotected wall in the wet and broke his femur and Thomas Wilson's carrer ended:

Edmondson made it clear in the Union Leader that rider safety isn’t a priority.

“There's no more conservative group of people than motorcycle racers," the paper quoted him as saying when speaking of changes to AMA racing, including adding different venues. "They have a comfort zone the size of a gnat."

Oh yes, motorcycle racers are constantly making conservative safety choices, like draggin knee at 100+mph?!?!? WTF?!