Motoamerica at V.I.R.

It seems like (some of) the leaders were executing attempted passes under a stationary yellow while a rider was in the impact zone so I’m also wondering if a waving yellow would have been more likely to be noticed. I get the different meanings the FIM assigns to standing / waving yellows, but it seems we have another example of a standing yellow not being as noticeable when in the midst of a tight race at the end of a fast straight.

My vote is to throw the red flag sooner or wave the yellow and maybe have one of those big foam / air bag blocks I see in GP racing that can get deployed to protect a rider and highlight where the off track caution is at.

 

can you race with a broke fibula?

 

Fixxerated.

 

Can you walk ten miles, uphill both ways, in the snow with a broken fib to the med center ??

 

I'm with you, I believe those signs are that very light corrugated plastic stuff, like plastic cardboard, and I'm sure that seemed like an acceptable risk before this. But I also think I'd rather not hit one at all at 100+ mph, and had he not hit that sign, he would have had one less thing to bitch about. I know they put them where they are unlikely to be hit, but we've seen plenty of riders hit stuff that was way out there, and then we put some more airfence or whatever to make it even safer.

And, I agree it would have been nice if the whole thing had been caught on camera, so everyone could have seen what happened in real time. But that was hardly specific to that finish and that crash. I am still hoarse from shouting at the TV all weekend, "What are you doing??? Go back!!! There's a race going on and you missed it!!! Aaaaaggghhhh!!!" But that happens everywhere, even in MotoGP sometimes, drives me nuts. Yeah let's miss a great battle for the podium to watch the winner wave to the crowd, or the team jump for joy. Ideally they could get both, but there are limits to what they can do with what they've got.

As for the doc being able to see the crash, again sure that would be ideal. I know every time I've been in the ER they've asked me over and over again, how fast were you going? I'm guessing they have protocols that kick in above certain speeds where they might want to do more tests, send you for x-rays or a cat scan to check for internal injuries or whatever.

The whole tone of DPs latest tweet was much more reasonable, and had that been the first tweet I think it would not have provoked any big reaction. Just like the 2nd tweet from Atlanta. You can express concerns without going straight to full attack mode, get yourself calmed down and very importantly, get your facts straight. But like Pridmore said about Herrin, an apology or a back-pedal is nice, but wouldn't it better not to have to be apologizing or back pedaling all the time?

 

Yes, it's less of a problem than a broken tibia.

 

MA isn't going back to VIR till next year but there are some takeaways here.

- This is not a motorcycle track.

- several racers end up in the grass run off after T1/finish line

- there are potential obstacles/hazards in the run off

Im sure adjustments will be made next event.

 

Someone here has to be able to Photoshop that into reality

 

The Herrin comments were brutal.

 

I believe on that lap I was leading and had just been passed by Rispoli going into the corner. I personally did not see a flag or notice anyone in the runoff in the moment. I didn’t see anything until the trackside lights came on for the red flag exiting turn 1.

 

Don't most,if not all the big teams run camera's?
I have a hard time believing Petrucci doesn't have video of the crash,that no one else seems to have?
He did in fact hit 37 signs,lay in the woods for 3 days drinking his own urine,later walked out and was life flighted ..I kid I kid

He just reminded me of a co- worker talking about his new truck. Every day the fuel mileage got better. Finally a guy spoke up and said his truck was now producing fuel

 

It was interesting what Stanboli said about Dakar. Average response time of 20 minutes. Not sure how correct that is, but if so I don’t see how Petrucci can possibly complain about MotoAmerica’s safety protocols.

I still like Petrucci and was fortunate enough to see his Mugello win in person, but man all this is a bad look.

 

"...............The mainly reason that make Dr. Pommerie so special and appreciated by the pilots is that she can assure a urban response time during a 6500km wilderness race. The average of an intervention is around twenty minutes. And the evacuation time is similar, because there is not only the primary field hospital, but also specialized hospitals nearly the track........ "

 

That's a stupid comparison. You don't compare one to the other. You compare expected vs. actual response time for each.

And I'm surprised they can get to Dakar competitors as quickly as 20 minutes on average.

 

In race 1, I was making a pass into turn 1 and then noticed a standing yellow at the last moment (near the apex in fact) / too late so my thought process is really just that a stationary flag is harder to notice in the heat of a battle.
For the record I slowed and gave up the position just to be sure and 4 racers came by me! Lol…

And obviously Teagg ran into Jody in race 2 with a standing yellow there and to me, that can’t happen. Maybe a waving yellow would have helped or maybe it wouldn’t, maybe a red flag / lights earlier would have helped. And an impact foam block in front of the downed rider would have been great in that situation.

 

Agreed, 20 minutes seems awfully optimistic.

BTW, Pettruci brought up the Dakar thing...not Stamboli.

 

Stanboli has always been harsh on Herrin.

 

Curious what you think about Road Atlanta hazards and runoff? VIR has done some stupid “improvements” which have hurt safety for motorcycles but I would argue it’s safer than Road Atl.

 

Those they need to know. . know exactly what happened. Just because it wasn't on the broadcasted cameras doesn't mean they don't have footage.