MARK246 Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Incidentally, Ward didn't look or sound at all 'hungover' in his TV interview, so was probably not 'pissed' as you put it! (and I'm not excusing it!!) Maybe they should have interviewed him before the start of the meeting, not hours later 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Ed Kennett got a six month worldwide ban and a £2500 fine for using an illegal silencer. Should a similar penalty be imposed on Darcy for being over the limit? Taking Kennett's ban as a yardstick should Darcy get more, less or the same ? What do people think ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 I wouldn't put money on it!!! Maybe 'random' testing should become compulsory testing before ever GP - it might explain some riders' unexpected performances!! Incidentally, Ward didn't look or sound at all 'hungover' in his TV interview, so was probably not 'pissed' as you put it! (and I'm not excusing it!!) I said he got pissed the night before. Not minutes before the GP. Don't forget the GP started at 3pm local time so eve if he stopped drinking at minight that was 15 hours to sober up - even the most lightweight of drinkers will have sobered up enough to appear on the tele and not be pissed in 15 hour (plus the hour and a half it took for him to be on tele) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buttons Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) Cannot believe this guy he is such a talent, but how much more trouble is he going to get into, the others problems are well documented so I won't go into them again, but now he has failed an alcohol test. Whatever was he thinking, whatever bad news he has recieved there is no excuse whatsoever for drinking too much the night before your riding in a match or a GP, if the news was as bad as he says and he felt he needed a drink maybe he should have pulled out of the GP!! The authorities must not push this under the carpet, whatever pressure if any maybe put on them as no doubt Darcy is a crowd puller, our sport needs to have some credibility. Edited August 17, 2014 by Buttons 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orderly Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 First of all, what is the limit for riding a speedway bike? Is this a speedway regulation or a local regulation? The alcohol drink driving limit for road users varies massively country to country. Perhaps they forbid any alcohol at all? It's not uncommon for somebody to drink heavily one night, and feel fine the next day but still be over the legal limit. I'm just saying it's not uncommon for somebody his age to have a heavy Saturday night and not realize the effects might last so long. He could of been well under our legal drink drive limit in the UK but over theirs in Daugavpils. Not defending him, just brain storming. Doesn't always pay to judge somebody without the facts. It is only fair that any potential ban considers all factors of his defense, and so should we. The alcohol limit for all riders, Promoters, and all other officials including track staff is ZERO. there would not have been time for a result on any other substance unless they have a Laboratory at the track. All riders know what the limit is and in my days of involvement in speedway I always advised that they do not drink alcohol for at least 24 hours before a meeting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Fever Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Not strictly true! Many people in everyday life DO take to alcohol and many go on to ride/drive motor vehicles, putting themselves and other road users at risk!! And when they are caught, they are punished as Darcy should be!! Has it ever been proved however that ANY amount of alcohol 'puts themselves and others at risk' ? IF the FIM's limit is an absolute zero amount then its a bit harsh as that means he couldn't even have a shandy!! No doubt Darcy had had a few but it's unknown whether he'd reached any significant limit. Maybe any other day he'd have been fine if it had been an evening GP as normal because it'd have worn off but he certainly spoke quite lucidly when interviewed and indeed was man enough to admit he'd made a mistake. Whilst not condoning his actions as he was obviously aware of the consequences, I agree that YES if he'd exceeded the FIM limit the ban from this GP is correct, but to ban him from the rest of the GPs or anything else would be an over the top reaction imo. IF however, he does this regularly then maybe missing this GP will make him think twice before doing it again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtommo Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 this will be interesting to see what happens being as he is a monster rider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostwalker Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 No way am I trying to defend the idiot but does anyone know if alcohol tests are normal at GPs or are they random? I guess what I'm asking is did someone see him drinking and reported it. As I wrote in the thread in the GP section; There are tests at each GP but I think what riders are tested are random but that there might be more frequent tests of riders that are suspected to be under influence of a forbidden substance (which alcohol is during meetings). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouncers monkeymask Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Should have the same ban Steffan Danno did for failing a breath test , can't be one rule for and a different one for another 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g13webb Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 There are posters on here who will say its a Poole thing, but you couldn't be further from the truth. We all know Darcy has immense talent, but he has no defence of a crime this bad. Bearing in mind Michael Lee got ban for 12 months for upsetting the Powers at b, a similar ban must be expected as a minimal penalty for Darcy. During which time, hopefully he will have grow up and be the Champion everyone prophesises when he come back.. Today, not only did he let the Fans down, the sponsors, his clubs, and the sport, but he also let himself down . Big time...... And Middlo, he has no excuse...... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orderly Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) Cannot believe this guy he is such a talent, but how much more trouble is he going to get into, the others problems are well documented so I won't go into them again, but now he has failed an alcohol test. Whatever was he thinking, whatever bad news he has received there is no excuse whatsoever for drinking too much the night before your riding in a match or a GP, if the news was as bad as he says and he felt he needed a drink maybe he should have pulled out of the GP!! The authorities must not push this under the carpet, whatever pressure if any maybe put on them as no doubt Darcy is a crowd puller, our sport needs to have some credibility. if you live in a glass house then don't throw any stones. Darcy is a very young lad and living on the other side of the world to his family, and I understand that is his choice, but given the situation he was in what would you have done, I don't condone his actions, but I can understand the action that he did take, but first read my first sentence,he may well be a very mature lad as far as speedway racing is concerned but he may not be as mature in life skills, it could be that his removal from the GP was a blessing in disguise as his mind would not have been 100% on his racing which could have had dire consequences. Edited August 17, 2014 by starshooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave69 Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 this will be interesting to see what happens being as he is a monster rider If Monster had any bollocks it should read "...was a Monster rider." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostwalker Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 The alcohol limit for all riders, Promoters, and all other officials including track staff is ZERO. there would not have been time for a result on any other substance unless they have a Laboratory at the track. All riders know what the limit is and in my days of involvement in speedway I always advised that they do not drink alcohol for at least 24 hours before a meeting Alcohol limit for a rider at meeting is: blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 g. "P1. ALCOHOL¨(page 67); http://www.fim-live.com/fileadmin/alfresco/6572010_ang_ANTI-DOPING.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinMills Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 so if they ban him and he drop out of the top 8, you know full well, some idiot will hand him a wildcard next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSC67 Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Ed Kennett got a six month worldwide ban and a £2500 fine for using an illegal silencer. Should a similar penalty be imposed on Darcy for being over the limit? Taking Kennett's ban as a yardstick should Darcy get more, less or the same ? What do people think ? IMHO He should receive at least an 18 month ban maybe that would give him time to reflect on his behaviour 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunce Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't been selected for a random breath test? Would he have still ridden under the influence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haza Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Like every drink driver no excuses - fact is had he rode he would have endangered the other 15 riders - end result like a drink driver a ban . The sport is dangerous enough without actions like this . All I will add every GP every rider should be breath tested at every GP . 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Turner Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 so if they ban him and he drop out of the top 8, you know full well, some idiot will hand him a wildcard next year! He will almost certainly drop out of the top 8. I would like him to have a wildcard for next season. This could be the kick up the rear he needed. He is definitely Grand Prix material. IMHO He should receive at least an 18 month ban maybe that would give him time to reflect on his behaviour I think an 8 month ban is more than sufficient. He certainly won't take an 8 month ban lightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinMills Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 id make him go throug the qualifyers, and not hand it to him on a plate, then just maybe, he may respect it a bit more! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Fever Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 so if they ban him and he drop out of the top 8, you know full well, some idiot will hand him a wildcard next year! Hope so - he's probably the most talented speedway rider on the planet atm whatever else he might get up to - his mistake and ban has hurt his GP standing this year and it'd be churlish to carry it over to next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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