Unsung Heroes Of The Motorworld
Have you ever asked yourself why anyone would go to a stadium or a race track to watch their favorite sports? Why not just sit on that comfortable couch and watch the same thing from home on that big expensive TV?
Well there are many answers to these questions. One might argue that it’s about the thrills they get from roars of the crowd. Others might say that they just go there for the stadium food. Whatever the reason, there is always one thought that crosses the
minds of almost ALL fans. And that thought is, “Maybe there will be an accident or an injury, and I might be able to catch it as it happens in front of me!”
Face it sports fans, there is nothing like a nice bone crunching accident that makes your insides squirm. Hockey fans watch it for the fights, soccer fans watch matches for kicks to the shin (and maybe some head butts), and race fans watch races for the
epic crashes. Don’t be shy to admit it, it’s only human nature. What they don’t realize is that in the world of motorsports, these injuries can be life threatening if not fatal.
This article is a salute to those who gave their lives trying to chase their passion, and simultaneously entertaining the millions of race fans around the world.
It is this writer’s opinion that MotoGP racers are more prone to be in danger of getting severly injured, than any other sport. This opinion is based on the fact that there is nothing between them and the hard surface of our beautiful planet, other than
their helmets and their protective “leathers”. These bikes are moving at speeds that are over 300kph. At these speeds, even the smallest flick of the wrist in the wrong direction, or a small pebble the size of a finger nail, can cause damage to the bike, and
more importantly the person on top. The injuries that the riders receive are sometimes quite dangerous, and can even prove to be fatal. The following are three most recent accidents that have led to fatalities in the world of MotoGP.
Let’s look at this year’s motoGP for starters. A young rider by the name of Shoya Tomizawa died in a fatal accident in the San Marino Grand Prix (the Moto2 class). He came out of a turn and lost control of his bike, and was hit by fellow riders Alex De Angelis
and Scott Redding. He suffered injuries to his skull, chest and abdomen. He died at the age of 19.
Similarly, just eight days before Tomizawa’s death, rider Peter Lenz fell in a tragic accident during a warm up lap in the Indianapolis Red Bull Grand Prix (held in America). He was racing in the 250cc class. Lenz was struck by another rider and fell down
off his bike. He was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries. Lenz was only 13 years old.
If we go further back in time, during the Japanese Grand Prix on the Susuka circuit, Japanese rider Daijiro Kato, fell down and sustained injuries. Kato hit the corner wall at the neck breaking speed of 200kph. He sustained head, neck and chest injuries.
He was taken to a hospital where he was in a coma for two weeks, after which he succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
In my opinion, these guys are heroes. They sit on their motorbikes and chase after their dreams. Winning is the only thing in their sights when they are on the tarmac. In fact, I’m going to go as far enough to say that we could all learn something from these
men. We can learn to never give up achieving our goals and that if we believe something is worth getting, we should never let anything stop us from getting it. To all those who lost their lives on the race track, I salute you.
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