I think the Skerries(like the TT)is a road race, they are chosen because of their difficulty to navigate, thing is the walls, the railings, the ditches, the acute bends in the road, the trees etc are all real and there's no protection against hitting them at high speed except a crash helmet and elbow and knee padding. ****ing ridiculous.
there is a long tradition of road racing in Ireland but the thing is with modern road "furniture" added to the increased speeds it is if anything getting more dangerous.
I don't think it should be banned, tend to agree with Z ... those riders know other riders regularly die racing in such events so if they choose to ride it's with that risk well in mind, banning it would seem a bit extreme They could however be working to better improve safety, how you do that effectively on an umpteen mile long circuit comprised of public roads would be rather challenging though
Imo they should design bikes with low top speeds and power to cut the stupidity. Like... ok we all know back in the day f1 etc was a death trap but there's no excuse in 2018 to have a death or glory sport
Do you need a 200mph machine in close proximityto walls and trees or could you get just a bit less risk outbof a 100mph machine?
Would you still watch football if they halved the size of the goals and double the size of the pitch?
Probably.... I don't see that any of that would really make it "not football" Yeah it'd be different Look at f1. Look at how radically different monza, spa and the nurburgring are compared to what They started as. Some of those were death traps.
It would be boring as ****. Same for bikes. The excitement is in being on the edge all the time, slow them down and it's simply not the same. Go to a classic bikes weekend and see the number of difference spectators. Go to supervised and you can't move, at a classic bike weekend you can pitch twenty tenets and still have space to make a temporary quad track!!!
As for your F1 comment, that's on a track. Not too many bike fatalities on track days, it's the road races that are the issues being discussed. Sure, there are a few road circuits but again, it's easier to make safe when they're in a car!
I was referring to your comment of reducing bikes speeds. It would remove the excitement and therefore a reduction in spectators. Less spectators means less money and the slow death of the sport.
Yet as I said the transformation of old tracks to new ones has not dulled the f1 crowd. sticking grooved tyres on to slow cars didn't stop fans going either. all I am saying is at some point killing yourself as any mistake is a disaster isn't sustainable. like.... Switzerland had one accident and banned racing.. period. that's not what I'm saying needs to happen by rights. as i said in not a real fan. I know guys who are.
And my point was, the tracks are safe already. It's the road races that we're talking about and the riders do it despite the risks involved. They do it because of the thrill it brings; being so close to death bumps the adrenalin. My comment about spectators dropping off is purely in response to you suggesting a suited reduction.
and my response is if they want to ride on roads maybe they need to reduce the risk before they kill someone besides themselves and that if other fans of other motorsports have not vanished through safety maybe they wont as you suggest?
Mweh... Safe F1 is boring as ****e. As for banning stuff... suppose it depends... is anyone being taken advantage of? Would the participators do it illegally anyway etc?... would they be more dangerous to the public etc? Think it's a fine line I suppose. Televised Russian roulette anyone?
