500cc champion Kevin Schwantz denies MotoGP a contact sport - MotoGP news
Kevin Schwantz, the legendary rider from the 500cc motorcycle class, was not pleased to hear the statement from Head of Race Direction, Paul Butler, calling MotoGP a contact sport. Schwantz opposed the statement and maintained that he himself has been on
the track for a long time and has not experienced any such thing.
Last week’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France has garnered a lot of news and gossip about the riders especially after the Le Mans action was full of incidents. The head of Race Direction at Le Mans, Paul Butler, gave a statement during the pre-race press
conference calling the MotoGP race a contact sport.
This statement was not deemed accurate by the legendary 500cc World Champion, Kevin Schwantz, who is a veteran in the motorcycle racing world and knows a couple of things about mixing it up on the track. The American rider discussed the incident that occurred
between Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa and San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli during an interview with a sports magazine.
Kevin Schwantz expressed his opinion upon the accident and said, "I've heard all kinds of different things mentioned this last weekend. Is motorcycle racing a contact sport? Well, I think sometimes the bikes touch. I think sometimes the riders touch. But
I wouldn't call it a contact sport.”
He further elaborated and said that football could be called a contact sport but not Moto GP. That is a proper contact sport in Schwantz’s mind. The veteran rider added that when it comes to MotoGP, occasionally when riders are packed together tightly in
the corners, there can be contact between bikes or riders and for only that moment could some call it a contact sport.
Schwantz spoke about Dani Pedrosa and possibly what happened and he added, "I don't think you should put yourself in a position with your motorcycle that maybe you know what's coming, and you've seen it happen before, but, I'm going to do this and hope that
this guy that I'm racing with thinks better of it. Maybe sees me here and decides not to do it."
The Texan rider also said that, it is not possible to use your bike as a defensive mechanism or a weapon. Schwantz has become good friends with Marco Simoncelli and helped him by supporting him morally following the incident.
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