Poll and results from Road & Track website today: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Which public road race circuit would you most like to drive? The Nürburgring-52% Spa-Franchorchamps-8% La Sarthe (Le Mans 24)-11% Monaco-19% Long Beach-8% Albert Park (Australian GP)-1% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- One good thing about being European... So far I've driven on The Nurburgring and the part of the Monaco GP that is in the tunnel under the hotel. One American racetrack I would like to race on is Laguna Seca. I've driven hundreds of laps there on my computer but I would love to drive there for real. // Peter
peter.....you/they missed out the best.....the Isle of Man TT course.......37.73 mile through towns, villages, countryside and even up and down a mountain. And, for 70% of it there is absolutely no speed restriction. And, it's five minutes from our front door ! Paradise ! cheers, david
Isle of Man would be my first choice to ride on a motorcycle. The guys that race that course must have no fear, riding 6 inches from curbs and stone walls at 130 mph. How many people have been killed racing in the TT over that last century, 100, 150? Would the Mille Miglia route count as a road race course?
I've raced the Isle of Man. You don't want to go fast there. An example: Brae Hill. Right after the front straightaway. If your piloting something fast, you get airborne. If you walk that hill, you'll notice that most of the housing has picket fences, wrought iron, picket fences. On a bike, circa 1988, you're going about 160 - 170 mph when you get airborne. You don't even want to think about falling. Road courses are being obsolete for a very simple reason: too dangerous. If you think the Isle of Man is ok, I know a guy by the name of Pat Hennen who you should talk to about that. To those of you who don't know about Pat, he was on the way to being a World Champion in the 500cc class, when he went to the Island, came off the Island with severe head injuries, never raced again, probably never worked again. Art
I've always wanted to take a vacation over there and watch the races. After watching the on-bike cameras, I agree racing would be totally crazy. I'm glad some brave souls like to do it, because it is spectacular. The penalty for any error seems so severe, racing the IoM would be like climbing Everest. One small error could be fatal. It would still be fun to ride the course though at a more comfortable pace. I've read that there are usually several fatalities each year as adrenaline-pumped fans ride the course before and after the races of the day, and crash riding over their head. Is this true?
Used to be Mad Wednesday. I've seen spectators crash, with 30 - 40 bikes on the ground, sometimes with fatalities. Not pretty. Art
good stories boys.....speeds nowadays are up to aprox 190 mph.....a pal of mine (paul orritt) is staying with us at the moment - he had a tank slapper at the bottom of bray hill at the start of the big race in 1999, smashed into the fencing, broke loads of bones, lost two fingers, but fortunately survived. I remember pat hennen crashing....i wonder how he is ? Eight people unfortunately lost their lives this year - racers, visitors on bikes and one local van passenger. The festival is unique though, fantastic atmosphere.......there were four riders from usa this year, wade boyd is one i know quite well. Will post some pics when i get chance. cheers, david
Mad sunday is the middle sunday of the fortnight festival......the part of the course "over the mountain" is one way for aprox 9 miles - awesome, but as you say there is sometimes a few clowns. cheers, d
I raced against Wade's dad, Bill in the AFM. Very few of the top riders from the US go to the Isle of Man any more because of Hennen, who I understand isn't doing all that well, given his injuries (last heard about him many years ago, and he was still impaired substantially from the crash). I wrote a Sports Racing Motorcycle 750 F1 bike. You may have heard of Steve Wynne, the guy who put Hailwood's Duc together. He owns Sports Racing, but is now retired, I think. Art
MotoBytes, 6/16/95 http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcdaily/day0025.html "Islanders remember the American rider Pat Hennen, and his stratospheric rise to fame in the late seventies that was cut short by one tragic mistake that almost took his life, stopped his career in midflow, and left him with serious head injuries. The TT extinguished this star, but it couldn't kill his TT fever. Hennen went back to the Island last year, with little publicity, and was welcomed back with open arms by the motorbike-mad islanders." It's been 9 years since this was published, but perhaps the author has a knows somebody who knows somebody...