Northwest 200

[GJL]

Its Stephen Watson's sport. He owns it.
Each to their own, but I think its f**kin brutal, actually all motorsport is when I think about it.
And they all talk funny too.

Brum-Brum

I've followed Motorsport all my life and have competed for the last 15 years. I have never considered myself or what I do brutal nor have I ever been accused of talking funny. Just because it is not your thing does not mean it is a bad thing. RIP Simon Andrews.

[Eamonnca1]

Its Stephen Watson's sport. He owns it.
Each to their own, but I think its f**kin brutal, actually all motorsport is when I think about it.
And they all talk funny too.

Brum-Brum

I've followed Motorsport all my life and have competed for the last 15 years. I have never considered myself or what I do brutal nor have I ever been accused of talking funny. Just because it is not your thing does not mean it is a bad thing. RIP Simon Andrews.

Was just thinking that myself. Motorsports people talking funny?  First I've heard of it.

[GJL]

I stole this from elsewhere. It helps explain the sport to those who don't understand it.

Road Racing is Dangerous
Simon Andrews lost his life at the 2014 North West 200 in a crash on a very fast, straight section of road into Portrush. He was dismounted at high speed and suffered an impact with the kerb causing severe injuries. Typically in these circumstances the rider is put into an induced coma and airlifted. Simon showed some signs of recovery but passed away on Monday 19th May.

This along with an incident on the previous Thursday when a French rookie rider sustained severe injuries has induced the inevitable outcry from those who have nothing to do with the sport, suggesting that running the event is no longer feasible and indeed any government funding should be stopped. I feel the need to comment.

I feel this reaction is insulting to the life of Simon Andrews and all those other riders who have lost their lives for the sport. The implication that these riders need protecting from themselves assumes the commentator has a higher level of intellect than the rider, or at least understands risks that the rider cannot or chooses not to understand. Let us take Simon as a case in point. Simon Andrews has suffered three previous serious injuries from accidents at Le Mans (both arms and legs broken, all ribs broken, back broken and a collapsed lung, his liver failed, he was put on a ventilator and he was put into a coma for a week), Isle of Man TT (Two ruptured eyes balls, a broken shoulder, a broken wrist, a broken ankle on the already injured leg, a dislocated shoulder and a dislocated thumb) and Thruxton. So don't tell me that man didn't understand risk. Consider what it took for a body that badly broken to be worked back into shape fit enough to take on challenges like the NW200. That just shows how utterly determined the man was to follow his dream.

There is no stopping these men. They have a certain type of mind that needs adrenaline that the rest of us spend our lives avoiding. They live fast and often die young. But when they are alive – they are really alive. To quote another great rider who is sadly no longer with us as a result of a crash in Moto GP, Marco Simoncelli, 'You live more for 5 minutes going fast on a bike than other people do in all of their life'. That ought to give you and idea of what makes these people tick – what they LIVE FOR.

So don't presume that these great men and women don't fully understand what they do. They dedicate their lives to it, they get hurt and they keep doing it. Because otherwise they would be unhappy. I'd rather be happy for 25 years than miserable for 90, and who is to say which is right? There is not one rider on the NW200 grid who has not been directly affected by a racing tragedy. There are fathers riding the year after they lost their son to the sport. There have been sons racing the same week their father died in the same race. These people are not stupid. To them, it is worth it. Most lay-people will never understand that and to my mind are poorer for it.

Remember that these men can't be changed. If they were not taking part in legal adrenaline rushes, they would find much more dangerous illegal ones. Better to be riding round the NW200 with as many crash barriers as can be provided, with medics and marshals and air ambulances than jumping off a bridge in the desert with a silk sheet in your pocket.

So feel free to spend your life trying to make it last as long as possible. Spend your time piling up your cash for a retirement you may or may not reach or be able to enjoy. Stay safe, avoid risk, concentrate on getting through life without getting hurt.

But please do not be so presumptuous as to think that your way ought to be imposed on anyone else. Because life without risk, to some people, is no life at all.





If Simon was anything like me, the worst thing he could imagine would be that his death would stop others enjoying the sport he loved.

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May 20, 20142 Replies

[All of a Sludden]

Road racers are a different breed, they really are. They know the risks, we all do, but they'll never stop, it's who they are. Michael Dunlop won the 250 race at the NW a couple of days after his father Robert died at the same meeting. His uncle Joey needs no introduction.

I haven't been to a race in years, always preferred Dundrod to to the NW in fact I don't even own a bike anymore, nor do I miss it. Been to one too many funerals, but I still have huge respect for everyone who gets that rush when you are all alone on the bike.

As GJL has attempted to show above, here is an insight in to how those of us feel who are left behind.



After a tragic accident at this year's Northwest 200, Simon Andrews has passed away. I'm trying to find the words on why I was such a huge fan, or even how to describe him. We didn't lose a legend, or the best road racer, or someone who broke records. He came in 9th, or 7th, or 16th. He'd make it to the podium here and there. Si raced road and track and placed about as well in both.

However, Si was so much more than his on paper statistics.

Si, and I'm crying as I write this, Si was That Guy to the nth degree. Road racers are a different breed, and Si was among them living his life to the fullest. Si went hard on the gas, hard on the road, and full bore in his life. He went all out on his recovery from last year's crash. If I recall correctly, his first tweet back was talking about the nurses by his bed side. He found humor in so much, it was awesome to see. Whether he was joking about his last wreck, taking the piss out of John McGuinness during a Honda Legends race, doing imitations of people, or letting us know he was going to "run a train," through a box of cookies he excitedly just found, he was so light in a sport that can have some real danger and darkness to it.

Perhaps that was Simon just balancing it all out. I loved watching Simon race. I loved hearing about his runs in endurance racing. I chuckled at his antics in the box, and in his life. He died earlier today, age just 30, and I will miss him for a long, long, long time. Goodbye, Si, and thanks for everything.

Heather can be found on Twitter @McNewbie1. Image pulled from Facebook.

http://rennsport.kinja.com/goodbye-simon-andrews-1578603889/+ballaban

[give her dixie]

Throughout all the dark days motorsport gave people a chance to escape and to enjoy themselves, not matter what way they faced to pray. I love rallying, and while I havn't been to many events recently, I still keep up to date on the events. Weekends in Killarney and Donegal were highlights of the summer, and the craic had by all will never be forgotten.

Never in my time following rallying did politics or religeon come into it. People got on together and shared one thing in common, the thrill of the race. If someone needed help, it didn't matter wether his name was Billy or Mick. I have seen men take parts of their road and rally cars to give to another competitor in order to help them out.

Bertie Fisher and Joey Dunlop were 2 sporting icons, not only here, but further afield. They are still greatly missed, and if we had more Berties and Joeys in this world, it would be a much brighter place.

Each and every competitor knows the dangers before they put on their helmets and race, and when something goes wrong, everyone hurts together.

[5 Sams]

There are lads killed most years, if not every year, at the TT and the North West. If the same thing happened in Croke Park every September what would the reaction be?

[GJL]

There are lads killed most years, if not every year, at the TT and the North West. If the same thing happened in Croke Park every September what would the reaction be?

There are more people killed or seriously injured every year falling of horses than motorbikes.

[give her dixie]

There are lads killed most years, if not every year, at the TT and the North West. If the same thing happened in Croke Park every September what would the reaction be?

How many horses die every year in events, and how many riders are injured or killed?

As pointed out above, motorsport is a very dangerous sport. Those who participate know the risks, and accept that anything can happen around the next corner.

Driving a lorry or being a farmer exposes people to high risks of death and injury. Yet people still chose that as their profession despite the risks.

There are risks in everything we do in our lives. Putting on a helmet to race just increases these risks, and people are prepared to take their chances.

[Orior]

The NW200 defence appears to be along two lines of argument

1) Riders want to drive fast along ordinary roads
2) It is not the most dangerous sport

So, if I want to jump off a cliff with 100's of people watching then I should be able to do so? Not much of an argument.

I think if you compare the number of deaths in other sports in relation to the hours played and the number of players then road motorcycling must be the worst. Every year someone dies. What other sport can compare? Is there a jockey killed every year at the Maze or Downpatrick?

[GJL]

The NW200 defence appears to be along two lines of argument

1) Riders want to drive fast along ordinary roads
2) It is not the most dangerous sport

So, if I want to jump off a cliff with 100's of people watching then I should be able to do so? Not much of an argument.

I think if you compare the number of deaths in other sports in relation to the hours played and the number of players then road motorcycling must be the worst. Every year someone dies. What other sport can compare? Is there a jockey killed every year at the Maze or Downpatrick?

So what do you propose?

[Eamonnca1]

So what do you propose?

I'd propose racing on a properly designed track where the risks can at least be mitigated, even if they can't be eliminated.  Gravel traps and run-off areas are better to crash into than stone walls and lamp posts.

[GJL]

 I guess you already know that Circuit racing already exists. Road racing is a different variation of the sport which some riders much prefer. Who are we to tell them different. It is their choice.

I compete in rallying and would have very little interest in competing in circuit racing in a car. Bores the life out of me.

[trileacman]

Alcohol, smoking and driving kills thousands of people every year. If you didn't do any of the previous 3 things looking in from the outside you'd think that the participants are f**king loopers. But if you do any of the previous then your perspective is changed.

It's not your right to tell someone what they can or can't do with their life's if their actions don't affect how you live yours.

[trileacman]

So, if I want to jump off a cliff with 100's of people watching then I should be able to do so? Not much of an argument.

Technically speaking that action isn't illegal, as the law stands you are able to do so. Is it any more bizarre than 80,000 at Heineken Cup final watching 30 men try to inflict spinal and head injuries on each other?

[Eamonnca1]

Wingsuit flying looks pretty mad too, but banning it "for their own good" isn't feasible either.

The thing about road racing is it's similar to safer versions of motorbike racing, so it's a bit jarring to see the death toll from it.