How long do you hold a grudge against someone that took you out in a race?

Just thinking about how I'd feel if my name was Bulega

I had a dude take me out in a race in 2010 at Willow Springs. Typical crash there: Bike mostly destroyed, along with leathers, gloves, boots, helmet.

I believe I was running in 2nd or 3rd place. I don't think I'll ever let that go.

I had a friend torpedo a female racer on an Aprilia RS250 in turn 1 at Willow. She and her husband had been coming to Willow for years. They never came again after that day.

 

But who was it?!?

 

He's well known in the industry. I ain't gonna drudge it up.

 

I can only recall one time I got fully collected by someone's bonehead move. I wouldn't say I hold a grudge, but years later I still think "dumbass" every time I see him

 

Back in the mid 70's in a British Championship race, my brother was totally outriding a bloke on a much faster bike (TZ250 to a British 250 single). The Yamaha rider eventually stuffed it up the inside of my brother and deliberately rode him to the outside of the track and eventually onto the grass. Over ten years later I was still looking for that guy but even though he was at the same meetings we were always in different races, even now if I had the chance I'd do the same to him and I normally don't hold grudges but that one really pissed me off.

 

Me and a buddy were going slower than we should’ve been and a racer that thought he’d made a fast step was too close to us and tucked the front about 120 mph and took us all out… I got up and looked fiercely at my buddy with the WTF arm gesture… he pointed to the other guy that I couldn’t see because my brand new first weekend GSXR landed on its top… like a bicycle on its seat and handlebars… wish I had a pic… I was so pissed I went and kicked it on it’s side and picked it up… the crasher was all apologizing and we didn’t want to hear it… next race we were all good so a few weeks I guess

 

Is it okay to think " Until you punt him into cactus "

 

Holy $hit that's a long time to hold a grudge!

 

Yeah I mean if the dude is profusely apologetic, then I think I could let it go. If they don't show up in your pit and make the effort, then f*&^CK them!

 

I was like the first guy out of the pits one day at Willow for 2nd or 3rd round of practice. So everyone should have had some laps, been warmed up and thinking...so to speak.

This douche on a clapped out vintage GS/CB/whatever 750/1100 comes up the inside of me in T2...on the out lap. And i dont ride 'slow' on out laps..I would kinda get after it compared to most. There wasnt alot of room..like it was close...dudes knee was over dirt not pavement so I wasnt "wide" . Not needed for a practice outlap, a race....yeah I get it.

Well anyway dude gets by me and is about 5ft in front of me and the clapped out twin shock gets all out of shape...bucking bronco style. and he slows up. So know i have this yahoo about to crash on my inside..slowing and i cant get by as he is drifting us both towards the outside of the track. near the exit of the turn he pushes me off the track. he stays on...barely. I go down hard as the track at the exit of T2 was maybe 3-5 inches higher than the dirt edge and my front tire must have hit the edge and thrown me down.

So now I am tumbling/sliding down the track, heading back towards the middle of the track full in the knowledge that about 40+ bikes are going to be coming by me any second. How I didn't get hit is a small miracle. I'm a little banged up, the bike is a little banged up and Mr old dude douche nozzle vintage guy is happily riding around the rest of the session.

Some friends in the pits persuaded me from visiting him with a crow bar.

Too this day if I saw that dude on fire I wouldnt piss on him to put him out. He's probably already dead anyway...so that comforts me a little.

 

To me it all depends on how the person handles it. I got taken out at Summit Point going into turn 1. Guy apologized all weekend long. Ended becoming very good friends, that was 22 years ago. Only other time was an AMA guy at a track day before the season. He made a bad judgment and took 2 of us out. Never a word when we stood in the grass waiting for the crash truck, no apology late. Nothing. I guess it rubbed me the wrong way as he took his Bike back to have someone else repair the whole thing and we got to take our's home and fix them. The other guy fared worse as his was pretty much a total loss. We all go in knowing it can happen, and does. But the attitude was the issue. Never cared for him after that.

 

It is but he would have finished in the top four, unheard of on the bike he was on by the 70's.

 

My GF and I ride a similar and competitive pace. Podium Club, AZ. We did this for 8 laps!


She recently punted me off the inside of turn 3 Buttonwillow into the mud, last lap and off the podium at the same time

She took 2nd, and the drive home was very, very, quiet.

 

My bike on its top got me remembering funny ones…

I’ve had hundreds of crashes and very rarely took anyone out thankfully… one time when I first started on F3s I tucked the front hard while nearly still vertical… my buddy was right in front of be doing his T1 braking… I watched my bike slam onto its side then bounce into the slot between his back tire and tail section and the tire kept grinding it into his bike… he couldn’t stop and ran off into the gravel and stopped still upright with my F3 sideways into his F3 like a couple of scissoring dykes I slid into the gravel right beside him and said “what’s up?” We laughed and I helped him fix his now green acres tractor style D&D and he was like new… mine was just scraped up… funny shit

 

34 yrs!

I got tackled off my bike in a mx race at Glen Helen I think. I was in the outside rut, he got pitched off in the inside rut, and somehow he made 3 perfect giant strides in my direction and cleans me off of my bike.

Which one of you bitches was that?

 

One of my son's most hilarious moments was in a MiniGP race when he was like 10. He and another kid came together (not intentional) going into T1 at the start of the race....the other kid kept going...my son's CRF110 was all fucked up in the front end. Forks twisted and bars bent.
I can see this happen from my vantage point and I see he's up...so he's OK and that's all I really care about. Next thing I know he's trying to get his bike restarted to continue and it's not working...he starts absolutely swinging haymakers at the bike...I mean beating the living shit out of
it with all he's got in his little chicken wings. It's blind rage.....but honestly funny as hell. @pickled egg and the little nestlings were there too.

He got back and had the GP110 race next....beat that kid for third place in that one....later on, they were at the other little guy's camper enjoying ice cream together.

 

Of all my crashes, 1 was mechanical, 1 was caused by another rider passing too close and hooking my handlebar. That was in my second year racing, and I just marked it as a normal racing incident. I didn't know who it was and didn't try to find them later.

The other 9-10 crashes were caused by "pilot error"

 

Holding a grudge and not letting it go aren't necessarily the same thing. 1986 GNF, running D Superbike on an RZ that nobody could touch. Got a great start, make it to the lead by T7, and the guy in 2nd T-bones me and I end up in the guardrail. He didn't crash. The guy who ended up winning, I had beat by almost 6 seconds in C Super. Never had the money to do the GNF again after that. I don't hold a grudge against the guy who hit me, but I'm still pissed I didn't get that championship. Ask me how much happiness carrying that regret has given me.

 

42 years and still counting. In the middle of a turn the rider in front of me checks up for no reason whatsoever and I lock up the front end to avoid her and the guy behind me, Tim Freeman, runs me over, causing him to go down to. We were both pissed as she was so clueless that she didn't even think to apologize or try to explain her shitty riding. It was on the first lap and we were just trying to get around her like always so we wouldn't have to see her again until she was lapped traffic.

 

I was coaching a kid at Nelson Ledges. We came around the fish hook onto the front straight where you are supposed to get on the gas......For some reason he didn't accelerate like he should have, that is until I hit his rear tire dead nuts square. He jumped forward about 5 yards (didn't crash) and I did everything just the opposite. Text book example of action/reaction. No grudge to hold, my fault....not supposed to hit the customers....that's somewhere in the rule book.